Another stroll through a meme in May . . .

Weird Facts About Myself The Rules:

Once you’ve been tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird, random, facts, habits or goals about yourself. At the end, choose 6 people to be tagged, list their names & why you tagged them. Don’t forget to leave them a comment saying “You’re it!” & to go read your blog. You cannot tag the person that tagged you, so since you’re not allowed to tag me back; let me know when you are done so I can go read YOUR weird/random/odd facts, habits and goals.



For me, I'm going through my photostream at flickr. Let's see what i come up with...



Some people think this is weird, but to photographers it's "the bomb". It's called bokeh and it's what you get when you shoot with your lens' aperture wide open. See that blur in the foreground and the background of the focused flowers? Yeah, that's bokeh and it's something cool to try to achieve which will result in "oohs" and "ahhs" from your photography friends (like me). :c) There are tons of "groups" at flickr just to showcase your "bokeh" photos. I'm one who has gotten addicted to it.

And here's another example of beautiful bokeh:





I loooove these green tea frapps from Starbucks. I tend to get these more than (frozen or iced) coffee on most days in the summer. And the color I'm in love with. For some odd reason funky colors of green have really grown on me lately. Isn't it snazzy? (This photo is from my photo shoots in Chicago when Jo and I took a break in air conditioning with some yummy chillers.)

This isn't so much weird, or maybe it is? But here are my necessities when going on long shoots (weddings included).



D200
cell phone
glasses
water
and Starbucks (usually it's coffee or sometimes something cold. Just has to have caffeine.)
and, a cool place to sit down and rest my tired feet for a bit before more shooting :c)

I take chances a lot with my camera.



That's me and that's me during a shoot in Chicago in WATER. You kinda have to take some chances when you want the perfect photo otherwise you miss perfect opportunities. This is about the only realm of my life where I take chances, but that's okay. :c)



I can't find anything weird to say about this one. (hehe) This is just a favorite picture of when my dear friend Jen and her daughter, Addy, came to visit us. I miss her.



Even with all the problems we had in this house and the money we spent and lost on it, I still really miss it.



If you've never been to Chicago, you should go. And make sure you see "the bean" in Millennium Park. This is the bean, well part of it, and our reflection in it. A couple hours later we would have gotten our picture taken with zillions of other faces in it, too. It's quite popular. What makes this weird is, I don't like how dirty it is! Usually (I believe) it is cleaned once or twice a day and obviously it hadn't been cleaned yet!

These pictures make me laugh. Again, not weird. I just need something to fill this spot and these two pictures are two of my favorites from May. Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Bob the Builder:




And, this isn't weird, either, but then again, maybe it is because it excites me. But remember my contest to win the free canvas? Well, my winner, Candi, she asked if she could buy one a bit larger. So I said YES! and gave her a canvas in a 20x24 (I think it was) at my cost --- so she walked away with an awesome deal-a-roo! She got the canvas up and here it is!

If you hop on over to her blog, you will see the before and after of the space where she put it. Isn't it awesome?! I'm so happy for her that she won because it really turned out so great and it just makes me smile seeing it up in her home. Congrats again, Candi :c) (I also gained a friend in all this! Cool, eh?!)



This is my new favorite shirt. I may be weird, but I love it. Hmmmmm...wonder why?


Okay, there we have. My list of 10 weird things (they aren't so much facts, but at least I played!). I am not tagging anyone. But please feel free to do it -- it's fun! (Thanks, AJ!)

No more worries . . . a new toy to save the day!

Even though I trust myself, I don't trust technology, so that means I'm taking extreme risks when shooting weddings because what if my D200 stopped working suddenly on me? What do I do? While I have worried about it in the past, I've never dwelt on it. I didn't have the money to buy another one and I guess I just had that much faith (and mostly hope) in my equipment. But I know I can't do that forever and I can't fathom the thought of risking my business and reputation. So, last night I broke down and ordered myself another digital camera.

Right now I use the Nikon D200. I love it. It's been amazing for me. I still have tons to learn about it, but I think I've figured out what I need to know for now. Just recently the D300 came out. Of course I'd like to have it, but that's not a habit I'm getting myself into. So many photographers constantly are buying the next bigger and (supposedly) better camera just because they feel the need for the next best thing (and to be able to say they own it). I don't get that because who really does care? Your client doesn't. They just want good pictures. I mean, I do crave the D300 (but one day soon it will probably be much cheaper) and I drool over the amazing D3 because I'll probably only ever dream of owning one. But it seems we always want what is better, don't we, no matter what it is? I'm a sucker to the phenomenon. It definitely holds true in the photography world as well.

I almost bought another D200, but I didn't. I bought a cute little D80. Still not cheap, but I only need the body. And from reviews I have read, it's a good choice for a back up. (Reviews are always a great way to make technology decisions.) Ideally another D200 is best because it will shoot pictures exactly the same, but, hey, any additional camera at all is a good thing in my book. Good thing about having all my camera backs the same make (Nikon) is that I can then interchange the lenses.

Why am I so proud of buying the D80? Because it's not the D200 or D300 which I honestly don't need. I tend to end up buying things I don't really need. I'm trying to get out of that habit. I'm finding out when it just sits and sits and sits and doesn't get used, it probably was not a purchase I ever needed. Not that I think I will feel this way with the D80. It's just a general habit I want to get out of.

Anyhoo, back to my purchases. Yes, I said "purchases". I also bought 2 lenses. One thing I've learned over the years is that lenses come in all shapes and sizes and all price ranges. I didn't realize that some "glass" is better than others, and that the numbers on the side of the lens really do mean something. For a long while I just shot pictures with the lenses that came with my cameras. If I purchased any additionally, they were always the cheapest new lenses I could find. I just didn't get why one lens that looked exactly like another could cost $1000 more. I now know why and I'll get to that in another post --- promise!

So I purchased a couple new prime lenses. One for shooting wide angle shots (I wanted one for group photos or outdoor wide shots) and one with a good zoom with a good appeture rating. I didn't have a really "good" one yet. At least not one that I was happy with. I also purchased the SB-800 flash. I already had the SB-600 so I am going to give the SB-600 to the D80 and now my D200 will have a new friend, the SB-800. I'm so excited for my D200. She's been asking me for the SB-800 for a while now. (*giggle*)

So why am I even telling you about my purchases? Well, for one, it's just exciting! It's fun for anyone I think, to get a new camera! Even though it's still a Nikon, it's going to be different and it's going to take some getting use to. But who doesn't like new?! I'm also excited because I haven't made a big equipment purchase in some time, so I feel like it's "time" to upgrade again. I'm also really excited because it's one less thing to worry about. I now have a back-up. Phew. That's the most exciting thing of all.

For you, this is also exciting. After helping Alexis in deciding what to purchase when she bought her DSLR for her big trip to Thailand, it made me realize that maybe I know what I'm talking about and that perhaps the information (which she said was invaluable to her) could be invaluable to someone else as well? So this weekend I will tell you what you need when purchasing a new camera. At least what I think you need. When you dive into it all head first it's extremely overwhelming. I want to help make that easier for you. Maybe I can save your day and help make the process easier? If not, I'll just be more confusing, but it'll still be worth the read :c)

Digital Photography 101

A great way to begin this course is to cover cameras themselves. And you might ask, "what is the best DSLR camera to choose?"

My (personal, of course) simple answer is: Nikon or Canon.

Some people will tell you Canon is better, others will say Nikon. This is an on-going battle in the photography world. Pro photogs go back and forth about this all the time, and no one has a perfect answer. If one really was better than the other, then they wouldn't be as big as each of them are, or they wouldn't be in business at all. It all really comes down to which one you pick up first at the store and which one you feel a connection with.

I've heard and read reviews from top photographers that a lot are married to their point and shoot Canon but prefer the Nikon DSLR. It's funny how one brand can differ camera to camera. So ultimately, it's up to you whether you go Canon or Nikon. It's really just a battle that no photographer will ever win.

All the top photographers use, basically, one or the other. The VERY best camera (again, in my opinion) is a Hasselblad but, I personally could never afford one. The very very very best camera that photographers use in the commercial industry are the Phase One cameras and backs. Pricing is anywhere from $15,000 to $32,000 or more. See why I'm not getting one of these but drool over the thought of owning one? I held one in my hands a couple years ago. It's a remarkable piece of equipment.

My advice: Stick with Canon or Nikon.

As to which brand, that is up to you. If you plan to have pictures printed larger than 11x14's, I would recommend a 10 MP camera. I have heard that a Canon Rebel XTi body is a good one to begin with as well as the Nikon D40x. Both are great professional-grade starter cameras!

It's no secret that I use Nikon. I have photographer friends who use one or the other and I made my decision at the time on price. Nikon's tend to be a tiny bit more affordable. I also read reviews and they were outstanding. I ended up with a Nikon D200. I don't own a back-up camera, and I admit, it is SUPER risky. So right now at this very moment I'm contemplating which back-up camera to get. I can't take anymore chances. I'm in between a D60 or a D80. I've heard the D80's are perfect for back-up use. However, the D60 just came out and it looks pretty dandy, too. Any advice for me?? What do you use?

There you have it. Day 1 of Digital Photography 101. There's tons more to come!