It was long holiday weekend. I did a lot, ate a lot, had some highs, had some lows - all of which I plan to blog about. But without a doubt, this second may be the most memorable of Thanksgiving Weekend 2009.
The family of five who fit on the sled (the previous record holders) ain't got nothing on me and my family. I have to say my family's pretty cool, even if they make me sit for Sears portraits.
I made what may have been a rash purchase this afternoon. Remember that lens I want so badly? Well I still want it, but don't have it. Instead, I bought a flash.
This flash is a significant upgrade to the one that is affixed to my camera. I hate my on-camera flash. I never use it. NEVER. It's garish, it's unflattering, it's way too strong and it leaves these harsh shadows. Allow Leroy to demonstrate:
Now Leroy is a very cute cat, but this flash does nothing for him. Without the flash though, there just isn't enough light. I can't hold my camera still enough, and the slightest movement by my subject is detected so my photos always go blurry. Allow Oscar to demonstrate:
My new flash is not harsh. It has a swiveling head, so instead of a pop up flash that fires directly into a person's face, this one provides a wider range of options. In fact, I don't even point theflash directly at my subject. Instead, I point it at the ceiling or some other close surface and allow the diffused light to float down to my subject. This diffused light gives a more even, balanced and true-to-the-moment photo. Allow Itchy and Oscar to demonstrate:
So much better! And actually this purchase wasn't really that rash. I have a running list of camera equipment I want to purchase/invest in. The items are even listed in order of importance. And this flash was certainly on the list - actually only a step on my importance ranking behind the lens I want and can't get at the moment. Plus, this flash was cheaper than the lens, so really it's a win-win.
With this new piece of camera equipment, I can head into my shoot this coming Friday without a care in the world. I'm covered should we need to head indoors. Now if only I could decide what to wear for the Sears family photos. Let's just say I haven't yet taken the mullet wig off the table as an option.
I hope you all have a tasty Turkey Day!
This past weekend I saw my friend Sean sing The Messiah. The entire Messiah by Handel, which I did not know what more than 2 1/2 hours long. Sean currently lives in Toronto but was flown in to sing the tenor part of this production. And he was fantastic.
Even better though, was this performance was in an old church in Evanston, just a few miles north of where I live. I brought my camera of course but was severely limited by the capacities of my lens.
I have been trying to find this one particular lens in the city, and thought I was going to get it Saturday. My plan was to play with it all weekend and then use it to shoot my next family session this coming Friday. After calling a few camera retailers in the city, I found one on Friday afternoon that had my lens in stock. I went to pick it up on Saturday but it had already sold out. I'm so mad I didn't ask to have a lens held for me when I called because I can't find them anywhere now, except online.
Any who, if I had the lens I wanted the lighting wouldn't have been a problem. This particular lens is perfect for times when there isn't much light to capture, like in this old church. Since I didn't have it, I put on my photographer hat, pulled out every trick I had. I drew on the knowledge I've collected over the past few months about my camera's capabilities and tricks for shooting in low lights and was able to catch this. 
Not too shabby for a girl with sub par equipment.
Of course I didn't stop with one photo. Once I saw what I was able to do, I also snapped the following. 
Here's hoping I can get as creative with my next shoot considering I won't have my fancy new lens to fall back on then either.
Whenever Mike and I tell people we live and work together, their reaction is generally the same. "Oh, I could never work with my husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend!" And while they might be right, I can honestly say when the day comes that Mike and I no longer work together, it will be hard.
Given that there are days when we take the train in together, eat lunch together, go on a coffee break together, take the train home to make dinner together and hang out on our couch together, not seeing one another from nine to five will take some adjusting. Granted our relationship calls for a lot of together time, but it's really the only kind of relationship we know. And there are some distinct advantages to it.
For example, on Thursday I received an email at work that sent me into a minor fit of rage. Instead of stewing on the contents of this email for the better part of the day, I immediately emailed Mike. I told him I wanted to get coffee. In the matter of the five minutes it took us to get coffee, I vented, Mike listened, gave me some advice and then I returned to work. I was able to put this minor incident out of my mind, do my job and forget the whole thing by the time 5 p.m. rolled around. That my friends, is a major advantage of working with Mike and one of the reasons why I'll never say we can't work together.
My hatred for inflatable lawn ornaments has been well documented on this blog. If you have known me for any length of time, particularly from November to December, you know I think the inflatable lawn ornament is quite possibly the worst invention to ever grace this earth.
So it brings me great sadness to say the following. I received an email from my friend Kristin this morning. She's currently living my dream life on the beaches of Australia. However, even paradise has its faults. Kristin said she has spotted inflatables in Australia. AUSTRALIA! My worst fears have come true. Inflatable lawn ornaments are truly taking over the world. And if the world does end in 2012 as Hollywood and The History Channel would have you believe, it won't be from massive earthquakes, meteors or hell fire from above. It will be because the inflatables have finally won.
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