Fail.

Yeah, this is how today has gone.  I had high hopes my girl would be the perfect cake smasher and I would get kick ass pics but that was not in the cards today.  

But lets focus on what I did get out of it, some camera practice.

 Sorry but I am still learning how to get great pics with very little natural light.  Our house just doesn't get great light and on top of that, it is overcast today.  I took this pic with the AV setting (Canon) and ISO 1600 (I think).  I also edited it a bit in Picassa (because it is free).  I am using a Canon EOS Rebel T3i with 85 mm 1:1.8 lens.

A sheet draped over two dining room chairs, gold and lace banner, 2 gold picture frames and a chalkboard banner.  A cake and cake stand.

For this shot, I switched to manual mode with shutter speed 1/80, aperature F 1.8 and ISO 400.  The cake is out of focus because I had my point of focus behind it.  It definitely gave me more light and I am liking those setting for this area of my house.

The set:

I started with a bed sheet that I ironed but I am a terrible iron-er and there was still wrinkles.  But I was willing to work with it anyway.  Pinterest seems to suggest using a large sheet of paper instead of a sheet so you don't get wrinkles.  

Next, I made a banner using some wall decals and lace and twine I had laying around.

 I think I got these from Target about 6 months ago.

I cut a section of lace and twine and then applied the decals.  See below.

I sandwiched the twine between two decals then strung the twine through the lace after each set of decals I applied.

The lace is only attached where the twine intersects it.

The frames I picked up from an antiques mall on the east side of Madison yesterday.  I got them for my living room or maybe for a Craftshop project but they were gold so I had to use them.  

The little chalkboard banner I picked up at JoAnn's months ago. 

I got the cake at Metro Market and added some gold sprinkles.  

I waited alllllllllllll night for daylight and finally, it was today!

I dolled up the girl in her perfect gold hair bow (Etsy) and tutu (Carters) and set her down with the cake in front of her.

Annnnnnnnnndddddddd.....

Foiled by an uncooperative child again!!  I didn't even try this with the boy as he was highly offended by anything wet or sticky.  I had high hopes for the girl.  Nope.  Apparently I just have kids that don't have the same vision at I do.

I kept with it for about 30 minutes and got a few ok shots...

Then we called in some superheros to assist....

And then we started sticking stuff in the cake so she would take them out of the cake....

And we ended where we started.   Sigh.....

I had to do some straightening and cropping in Picassa so I lost some quality with the photos.  I don't shoot in RAW as I am afraid I am going to need a whole lot more room on my computer for this but that would definitely help keep the quality during edits.  I know Photoshop is the optimal edit software but I am not sure I have the time and patience to delve into that right now.  Meh.

New lens!

I just bought a "new" lens from a friend of mine who upgraded to a super fancy lens.  I was using a 50 mm 1.4 lens for pretty much all my pics.  I bought it about 3 years ago shortly after I got my camera.  About a year ago, I looked into buying an 85 mm lens but just could never pull the trigger and spend the money.  But when I found out my friend was looking to sell hers, I was all over it.  Here are some of the pics I took with it.

 I seriously love this pic of my brother's dog, Buddy.  So soulful.

 This one is slightly blurry mainly due to the fact that with three toddler boys, you don't have time to get the perfect shot.

Then, of course I had to get my favorite subject outside for some more practice.

Yeah, I am still practicing but I love it already and feel like my pics are instantly a thousand percent better than before.

For any of you Canon EOS users out there that want to know what settings I typically use, I almost always shoot in Tv mode since my subject is almost always the little Mister and he moves at the speed of light so I need the shutter speed to be fast.  I do adjust the ISO sometimes, especially if there is low light.  For the white balance, I just choose from the white balance menu depending on if I am in the sunlight, shade, inside, etc.  I don't use a grey card.  I NEVER use the flash.  And any lens I use has to be an auto focus.  Any editing I do is in Picasa because it is free!

Edward Scissorhands, throat surgeon

I have been MIA for a good reason lately.  Edward Scissorhands got at my throat.  It was no accident.  It was a planned procedure.  A tonsillectomy in a 32 year old person.  They had become the epicenter of all my sickness.  They had holes and secret crypts in them where I am pretty sure I had a few tonsil stones that had hardened into diamonds at some point.  Additionally, I had a chronic low grade tonsillitis that sucked my energy over the past 2 years.  I was ready for my appointment with Surgeon Scissorhands.

Of course, I spent the entire night before reading horror story after horror story regarding tonsillectomies in adults.  It was almost enough to make me back out, almost.  I didn't.  The Midazolam was a glorious as I remembered from a previous surgery 8 years ago. Really a nice way to go into surgery.

I am currently post op day 6 and I still feel like Surgeon Scissorhands was just in there yesterday.  The first 2 days are smooth sailing but then post op day 3 happens and you can no longer get out of bed as on top of the razor throat, you now have what feel like bilateral ear infections and a migraine to boot.  I literally spent 3 full days in bed, taking liquid percocet on a 2 hour schedule.  I am now on a 3-4 hour schedule because the liquid percocet is literally making me sick to my stomach.  But as a bonus, I lost 5 lbs!!

The hubs dragged me out of the house today for a cancer benefit for a little guy at Sully's daycare.  It is pretty amazing how people come together for kids with cancer.  Afterward, I had to take a full dose of pain medicine and a 2 hour nap.  I was determined to do more with my day though.  I dragged the family to that train track I spotted this summer for some family pics (Sully at 2 and Christmas card pics).  I should have known the mission was going to be a bust when we heard a gun shot and then something whizzed past my head.  Not to be deterred by gun fire (it was in the middle of Cottage Grove for Christsake!), I forced the family to trudge on and told Clayton he was imagining things (but for the record, I clearly heard the whizzing too).

We did get a few good shots in between toddler crying, making Craisin advertisements and yelling at my husband for having "no vision."

In the end, it just is not worth my sanity to have to take these pics on my tripod with timer.  Therefore, if there is a fellow amateur photographer in the Madison area who would like to trade off picture taking with each other a few times a year, I am so game for that.  I will even make you a cute camera strap cover.

Potential

So I have this problem obsession.  I love to scout out new places where I can force more family pics on my hubs and son.  And I found the perfect location for some family pics this fall.  I learned about it a few weeks ago when my friend, Ashley, took me there.  It is a little park where the swings are shaded in the afternoon.

And so is most of the playground equipment.

But that is what caught my eye.

The choo choo.

So Sully and I went there today to scout it out some more. He loved it.

Or at least he did until I started forcing him to take pictures...

I can't wait to go back in a few months.  I have lots of pic ideas.  Hopefully, I can talk someone into snapping a few pics with my camera.

Yes, choo choo, we will be back...

Practice

I have been more interested in practicing photography today.  I have been looking into some editing programs. I even considered buying one.  Because if I am going to take pics, they need to be perfect, right?

Wrong.

I have to be careful because once I get my mind wrapped around something, I tend to run away with it, elope with it and spend all of my time with it.  It consumes all of my time and I just plain get carried away.

Thankfully, this time, I was able to recognize it and think a bit more logically.  Yes, I enjoy taking beautiful pictures but I do not have the time to be editing every picture to death.  I am not a professional photographer, nor do I someday want to be.  This is a hobby and over time, I will figure it out.  For now, Picassa works just fine for me.  Just a few tweaks here and there and I am done.

Luckily, I have the perfect subject to practice on...

Focus problem.

Have a great weekend!

Mothers' Day

Every Mothers' Day, I remember being a kid and asking my mom, "Why isn't there a Kids' Day?"  I mean, there was a Mothers' Day and a Fathers' Day, I really could not figure out why on Earth there would not be a Kids' Day.

My mom replied, "Everyday is Kids' Day."  At the time, I didn't think much of the answer.  Now, as a mom, I totally agree!

I had a good two hour window to just think today as I drove back to Madison from Mosinee, where we spent the weekend celebrating my nephew, Jack, turning 3 and I spent some time with the moms in my life. Although it is hard to make the trip with all the stuff I have to bring, especially when I need to make the trip alone, I never regret going.  I know that I will never look back on my life and think, "Gee, I wish I didn't make all that effort to see my family."  Nope, it is time and effort well spent.

Which brings me to my thoughts for the day...

I am so very grateful.  Grateful that my mom is here and I can call and see her anytime I want.  Grateful that I got to be a mom because there a time when I did not know that would happen.  And it is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  Grateful that my Grandmothers are still around and still enjoying their lives.  Grateful that I got not one, not two, but three cards from my boy.  Grateful that I know so many amazing, inspiring moms to look up to and try to emulate.

So I am going to bask in this most perfect Mothers' Day.  Because right at this moment, I have it all.  And I could think of lots of great things that would have been a really awesome Mothers' Day gift, like a new camera lens, photography class, mani/pedi, spa day, etc.  But those things would never compare in richness and meaning to what I already have.


And I think of all of those who can't spend the day with or talk to their mom and my heart breaks for them.  I think about all those who want to be moms but struggle with making that dream happen and my heart breaks for them, too.  I truly hope everyone who wants to be a mom gets to be a mom because it is the greatest gift there is.

And now, a few pics from the weekend...

First up, a photo shoot for my friend and her family.

Then it was time to celebrate my nephew Jack's birthday.

 Here is baby Jerry.

 Beer accident...

 Jack did not like the singing.

 But he loved blowing out the candle...

 Gina did an amazing job on the cake!

Status post black frosting attack.

I really hope you all had a wonderful Mothers' Day weekend!