I Suck in Manual.

Ok, so I'm having a rough time with taking pictures in full-out manual.  I have a basic understanding of what I'm supposed to do, but I am totally not fast enough with changing my settings to catch anything before she moves.  I also hate that when I move even a fraction to the left (or right, or up, or down - you get the idea...), the light changes, and I then have to change my settings. I'm sticking with it because I hear that shooting in manual is the awesomeness (think:  clouds parting, the lights shining down, and the angels singing) once you get the hang of it, but in the meantime, don't have high expectations for photos from me...  (and I can't promise that if I want a good picture to not switch over to aperture priority from time to time until I get the hang of it!).  ;-)

At any rate, here are a few photos I took this week in manual.  These are all SOOC (straight out of the camera - for you followers who are not on the Photography board).  My trial with Lightroom (photo editing software - for those of you wondering WTF Lightroom is...) just ended, and we ordered it last weekend, but it's still not here yet.  I'm kind of experiencing Lightroom withdrawal at the moment, so bear with me on some of these pictures.  I'm hoping that things will improve once I:

A)  Get (significantly) better with manual - haha
and
B)  Get Lightroom safe in my house and back on my computer.  I swear I'm already addicted.  Adobe is pretty smart with that 30-day free trial...

Casual days at home:
























A day out with Grandma!  (Terrible exposure and some white balance issues on this one, but editing will have to wait til next week when I get Lightroom.  I hope I can fix it some!)

A Walk with Dada

I'm already a little behind on the blog.  These pictures aren't from today, but they were taken within the past 2 days, so I figure that is close enough.  =)

The girl has got her daddy wrapped around her little finger.  Or in this case, her whole hand wrapped around his. 

Starting My Photography Journey in the Snow

So, technically, I'm already breaking the rules of the 365 blog.  I took these pictures on Thursday, and I'm posting more than one.  Oh well.  My blog.  My rules.  =)

It's been immensely cold in Arizona (comparitively speaking).  I realize that this is not uncommon winter weather for anyone who lives pretty much anywhere in the U.S. but the desert, but I'm an Arizona native.  So, I've been living in multiple layers and two pairs of fuzzy socks, and still huddled under a blanket.  With this crazy Arizona winter storm, it also brought snow to Tucson!  It happens once in a blue moon, but it's always exciting.  Granted, it melted once it hit the pavement (except in certain parts of town - not ours).  But snow flakes are snow flakes!  With the snow fall, it inspired us to bundle up Bella and drive up to Oracle (about 45 min north of our house), which saw a pretty decent amount of snow!  And certainly for the Tucson area.

We set Bella down in the snow, and within about a minute she tried to take a step in the two inch deep snow, and immediately fell down.  She didn't have gloves (we live in Tucson, afterall...), and her hands were cold and wet.  Needless to say, she was not loving the snow.




She did much better once she was safe in Daddy's arms though.







Trying to put her back in the snow = fail.





But after warming back up in the car, she was ready for round 2.



I was even able to pry her out of her daddy's arms for a few pictures with me.  Anyone that knows Bella knows what a daddy's girl she is, so these pictures with her made me a very happy mama.





And then back to the arms of her daddy.









As we were heading home, we took a detour down a quaint little road to see more of the snow and scenery.  As we passed a cattle crossing sign (not a terribly uncommon sight), we happened upon some cattle on the side of the road (which IS an uncommon sight!).  I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures from the car window.







And here he is in black and white



We also passed this cute little snowman that someone had taken the time to build.  I loved seeing a snowman in front of snow covered cactus.  A completely abnormal sight.







Snow covered mountains in the desert.  It happens.

New Year, New Goals, New Blog (or at least an active one!)

Hello everyone (all 6 of you!)  ;-)

As the New Year approaches, I can't help but think about some fresh starts in my life.  A few areas in particular have grabbed my attention, and I'm hoping to set some goals and make some changes in my life to make 2011 a really great year.  As some of you may know, 2010 was full of some really difficult times for me, and I am looking forward to the fresh start of 2011.  Of course, 2010 was also full of happiness and pretty amazing moments too (specifically related to my close friends and family - especially a select few of you! - my husband, and especially my bright-eyed little girl).  However, with all that I have been through this year, I can't help but sit here and be a little reflective and a bright-eyed optimist for what the new year will bring. 

Here are my goals to help fill my life with happiness in 2011:

1.  A big one for me!!  Photography!!  Before Bella was born, we bought a used Canon 20D (a very nice DSLR camera - although a little old, it takes some pretty amazing photos - assuming you know what you are doing!!).  This camera has always frustrated me because it was not a point and shoot, and therefore I had no idea what I was doing, and therefore my pictures always looked terrible when I used it.  As some of you may know, I'm a bit of a photography fan. I love looking at pictures, especially beautiful ones, and I made a decision that I need to know how to use this camera to start taking good pictures.  Thus, my photography obsession began.  I got a new lens for my birthday (and Christmas - one of those combo gifts that I normally hate, but this year I love it!).  Since getting it, I have been immersing myself into learning the photography foreign language (words like aperture, bokeh, metering, ISO, etc are no longer quite so foreign to me).  I can already see a huge improvement since figuring some of this out, but I still have a long way to go, which brings me to one of my goals:

- A 365 Day Photo Challenge.  Not a new concept, by any stretch of the imagination, but I am setting a goal to take at least one photo every day this year.  I hope to focus on building specific photography skills this year, and hopefully get a few great pictures along the way.  I'm not going to lie - most of my photos will be of my daughter, but I'll try to throw in some non-Isabella photos to keep things interesting.  I know myself.  I know that I will not update this blog every single day.  Look at my track record.  haha  However, I really want to build on my photography skills, so I think that will hold me more accountable to this blog.  I'm really excited for this challenge, and even if I can do it weekly, I will be good with that.  =)

Here are a few recent favorite photos from Christmas time.













2.  Getting healthier and losing some weight.  It's time.  I'm trying to set realistic goals as far as working out and eating healthier so that I can try to stick to it over time.  This is always so hard for me, but with a very active little girl, this is something I need to do.  Plus, I definitely want to lose some weight before we try for a second baby, and time is passing very quickly...  I'm not going to get super specific here on my goals, but hopefully I can stick with it this year.  I feel ready.

3.  Disneyland.  It's calling to me.  I need some pixie dust and Disney magic this year.  And some more special moments like this...


























 
 
4.  Spend more time with these girls.  Hopefully 2011 brings us some fun adventures together.
 

 

 
 
5.  And most important - lots of quality time with these two.  This year, whenever things got tough, these two have been my constant source of happiness and love.  Despite all I've been through this year, I have to say that I have had a pretty amazing year - due mostly to my husband and daughter.