the girl with the curl.

There are not enough words to describe how much joy this little girl brings.

canada day reloaded.

We spent yesterday afternoon chilling out at Nana and Bumpa's, enjoying their pool.

We wanted to get some photos of what will be our last Canada Day at Nana and Bumpa's house (they are moving to a new house in the spring).

Cam is a natural water baby. She gets that from me.

We're trying to teach Cam how to kick her feet in the water. All she wants to do is have us carry her around.

Seriously, this girl is so cute I could eat her up.

Max loves running laps around the pool. We keep a very close eye on him.

Each lap consist of a trip around the pool and then around the perimeter of the backyard.

We let him have his fun because he seems to enjoy himself so much (plus it tires him out).

Eventually he ends up in the pool, and then it is hard to get him out! Though, pleasant surprise, both kids were quite co-operative yesterday with transitioning out of the pool. 

Max has to have a dry set of shorts to change into immediately after getting out of the pool because he hates being in wet clothes (me too).

for alana.

new nikon 55-300 zoom lens.

My family chipped in to get me a Nikon 55-300 zoom lens for my birthday (thank you to my folks, Scott's folks, Chris, and Scott). I feel like the paparazzi when I pull it out. The photos it takes are incredible, and if it ever stops raining I plan to get out and take a bunch more!

unimpressed in black tights with silver stars and blue face paint.

silver white winters.

While most of my friends work in downtown Toronto, I currently work in Milton, Ontario. Springridge Farm is a five minute drive away from my office and I like to go there for lunch. Today I discovered, much to my dismay, that they are closed until April.  Lucky for me, I had my camera in the car so  was able to take some photos.

getting RAW with Michael Willems.

I think he looks a bit like House...

Phew. Is that life starting to settle back into some semblance of a routine? Or maybe I'm just going stir crazy from being stuck in the house with Max (who is STILL barfing). Either way, I am finally finding time to play with my new camera equipment while also digesting all of the stuff I learned from Michael Willems (the handsome fellow in the mosaic above) at the Henry's Nikon Part 2 course back in December.  I should add that I haven't mastered all of things I learned in the Part 1 course yet either.

nobody is safe when mom has her camera out!

It was a tonne of information and I need to spend some time reading the training materials again.  The main thing I took away from the course was to never delete photos because the ones that don't turn out are the ones that teach you the most and help you improve.  Michael's suggestion was to look at the settings you took the photo with (viewable on your camera and computer once you download them) and see just what the heck was going on for the photo to turn out that way.  Then compare it to a photo that turned out great and see what the difference was.  He also got us all shooting in RAW format which allows for a lot more flexibility in post production.  Other tips?  The flash is your friend - learn how to use it and Adobe Photoshop Elements is the program use for editing your photos.  Lucky for me, I got a new flash for Christmas from Santa Scott and my mom hooked me up with the Elements program.  Be warned, if you come over to our house, you will probably have your picture taken...I'm in desperate need of models!

the first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event.

We got our first heavy snowfall last night. Max was delighted. At the first chance he got, he threw himself into the snow and made snow angels. Though he continues to refuse to wear a hat, I have sewn his mittens into his coat (much to his dismay). He spent almost two hours outside today, smiling the entire time. I finally lured him in with the promise of pineapple. (Cookies didn't work.)

souping up my nikon d3100.

Now that the holidays are wrapping up (phew!) I am finally getting some time to play with the new toys Santa generously left under the tree for me.  I will admit to sending him a rather detailed letter as to what I would like, down to the website link.  As it turns out, I'm not a big one for surprises so it all worked out perfectly.

The d3100 I got this Fall came with an 18-55 VR F3.5-5.6, which is a good all around lens.  I still use it for the majority of photos I shoot.  My west coast Santa (mom) got me the 50MM/1.8 AF D lens for taking portraits.  It doesn't have the auto focus feature of the 18-55, so it will take some getting used to and experimenting with.  Also, I think I need a lesson in changing lenses back and forth because I find it extremely frustrating.

My central Santa (Scott) got me a flash for my camera.  Yes, the d3100 comes with one that works just fine, but after taking a few classes with Michael Willems at Henry's, I felt like I needed an external flash, in the worst way.  I could not have been happier when I opened up the fancy gold Nikon box to find the SB-600 flash!  As an aside, I'll point out that I know I'm growing up because I didn't mind only getting one (very nice) present from my central Santa.

Now that we have checked out the accessories that will help me make my photos look good, lets look at the accessories that will help make me look good.  While I normally love the colour black, I find the sea of black bags and neck straps in the camera shop to be very boring.   My west coast Santa came through and the following items appeared under the tree for me.  I love this Crumpler camera bag.  My laptop bag is from Crumpler as well.  They have fun colours and are a sturdy product as well.  This bag is the perfect size for going to an event where you know you will only need one lens (which for me, is most of the time).  I ended up ordering a larger one for storing all my camera gear with a Henry's gift card I got from another generous Santa.

Finally, the pièce de résistance, a funky Boho Blossom neck strap from phat straps.  Wow did my west coast Santa ever come through for me or what?!

Of course, Santa Scott also made sure to tuck another 4G memory card into my stocking (along with Step up 3 and a quilting magazine!!). I got spoiled for sure!  I'm looking forward to learning how to use all this stuff and maybe taking a few more classes from Michael to get the most out of this flash!  Merry Christmas to me!

christmas 2010: photo essay.

...twas the night before Christmas, and Scott and I were up until past 1am putting the darn tree up and getting the presents out from hiding.

Needless to say, it was a lot easier getting the dolly versions of Cameron and Max to bed than it was the real versions.

Only child safe ornaments this year - all the breakable decorations have been wrapped in tissue for another decade.

One of the first things Cameron did on Christmas morning was put up the decoration her Nana got her.

Max was not sure what to think about the whole thing.  After jamming his hands inside the tree, he went back upstairs for a while.  When he came downstairs he opened some presents and seemed to dig his musical Elmo book.

Cameron was feeling generous, and she gave me a soo-soo kiss.

Max waiting patiently while Cam plays with the favourite gift of the day - his Glo Doodle.

Max in his favourite position, sitting behind Bumpa on the couch.  Bumpa is super patient and always lets Max do this.

Uncle Chris got a pile of books.  I dare say he has enough reading material to get him through until next Christmas.

Scott and his mom opening her stocking.  

Max in the thick of things with Bumpa and Nana.

I'm not sure I see a resemblance...

Scott threatening Chris with his Mangrate brush while Cam serves tea.

Chris took this photo of me taste testing the mashed potatoes with his iphone. 

And finally dinner was served...

After it was all said and done, Cam thought her Cam and Max dolls should also be fed.

A wonderful day - happy, relaxed and we didn't end up ordering pizza.  More to come on my new camera loot - I was completely spoiled!!