Fun with my Camera

Yesterday, we picked up some dinner and went to the school playground and let the kids play for a bit. I took out my camera and had some fun taking shots around the playground. There are a couple flower/planter beds close to the playground and there were some gorgeous lilies growing there.




There is also a cool feature on this camera that automatically focuses on the main item in the middle of the picture and blurs the rest. I had fun with that, too.

New Camera

I got a new camera! I am having fun experimenting with different settings, but it's a different kind than my last camera, so there are new functions, etc, and I will have to spend more time reading the manual before my photos are awesome. Another thing that is different is the way the photos are organized. Not a bad system, but very different than my Canon.

My new baby is a Fujifilm. 10X zoom, 12mp. And... it's red! (That was just an added bonus). We bought it from London Drugs, and there were 2 strong reasons that we went for this make and model. First, because of its great history in the camera film industry, Fujifilm brand pays special attention to the colour of images. I know colours can be changed, edited and tweaked in photo editing software programs, but why not just get a camera that shows the right colours from the beginning?! Secondly, there is a 2 year warranty. Since we needed our warranty on my Canon about 6 months in, I figure that a 2 year warranty is a pretty great thing.

Why did I get a new camera?

- My Canon is almost 5 years old, and while it still takes fine pictures, I am finding that it is just eating through batteries, and they need to be changed at an alarming rate.
- My Canon is a 6mp, 4X zoom, and I would love to have the option to take macro pictures.

Why didn't I go for an SLR?

I love having my camera close by in my purse. I use my camera for my watch and as a notebook (when I see something that I want to remember, I take a picture of it, rather than writing it down. I even do this sometimes with voice clips in the video setting)

Another reason I went for small is: I don't have any desire to be a professional photographer. I have relatives that are professionals, as well as several friends that are semi-pro, and amateur photogs. If I need professional portraits, then I can call on them! I appreciate the work they do, and I am not sure that I am cut out for it, even though I love taking pictures. I take a lot of photos, but they are for fun and personal use. I would also be overwhelmed with how much organization it would take to keep everyone's photos in order and edited and delivered by a deadline.

So... kudos to the pros! I admire your skills! If you would ever like a reference to a photographer, I would be happy to give you one! We've had photos done by a few different people, in a variety of price ranges and styles, and depending on what you are looking for in your pictures, I guarantee that there is someone out there that can help you out!! Let me know :)

But, back to my camera. Here are a few pictures of it. (I took these with the Canon :)

Imagine Kids Portraits by Revival Arts

Last year, my kids got to be a part of a special project in the Fraser Valley. Revival Arts Studio put together a beautiful book of portraits of kids in the Valley.

IMAGINE

All the session fees were donated to Matthew's House.

♥

It was a great success, and Revival Arts is putting together another Imagine Kids book this year. If you are in this area, don't miss your chance to be a part of this great project! Click on the links I've included above, and you'll be given more information.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and blessings for a happy, healthy New Year.

I am planning on posting a few of the Christmas gifts I made this year over the next few days, but other than that, I will not be on here much until 2011... sounds so far away, but Christmas is in 2 sleeps :) If you are traveling, I pray for your safety, and if you are spending time with family and friends, I hope you create wonderful, long-lasting memories. Take lots of pictures! You'll want something to scrapbook in the long cold months of January and February!

Remember the real reason we celebrate this season -

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Elise... a photoshoot!

A couple weeks ago, a friend of mine who is a local photographer, Courteney Rodda, posted on her faceboook page that she was looking for someone to pose with an old phone for some photos. She wanted pictures to use on her new website, which will launch on January 1st. I asked her if she would like to use Elise. So, we emailed back and forth a few times, came up with an outfit for Elise to wear, and set a time to meet at her place.

It was a bitterly cold and windy day, but in less than 20 minutes, Courteney had worked her photographer magic and taken countless photos of little E... talking on the phone, dancing around the back yard, and pretending to take pictures on a vintage camera. It was so much fun to see Elise dance around and do whatever Courteney asked her to do.

I can't wait to see how she uses these on her new website. If you are looking for someone to take your photos, Courteney does a great job of photographing kids, babies, families, weddings... you name it.

Courteney Rodda Photography
- Facebook
- Blog

Photos

Click on the link to see a few pictures of my babies... these were taken in August for the "Imagine Kids" photo book being created by Revival Arts Studios.

My Kids' Photos.

My kids

In the Summer, we had the kids' pictures taken by Revival Arts Studio as part of the Imagine Kids project. This is a fundraiser for Matthew's House, an organization that will provide respite for severely disabled children, inspired by Steve's cousin's little boy. You can read all about Matthew's House here.

Here are the portraits we chose for our home.... Three 8X10s for the piano, and a larger photo of the three of them, which I put up in the living room, for now, but I'm not convinced that is where it will stay. It seems to be floating all on its own, so I'll have to play around with a few places around the house to see where it will fit best.

Vintage Cameras

Do you still have rolls of film in your fridge? I do. And part of me wants to call my old film camera "vintage," because we are living in such a digital, fast paced era. But then I saw these babies at the Heritage Museum last week, and I've got nothin' on them!



I subscribe to an email newsletter that arrives in my inbox every week from a site called Photojojo. They always come up with interesting topics of discussion in the photo world. This week's newsletter was all about creating that vintage look on your photos, using your modern equipment. While I am not ready to smear Vaseline onto my camera lens, I did find the article interesting. I also find it interesting how so many people long for what used to be.... Article: Vintage Photos

Also in the Heritage museum, there was a section dedicated to two brothers who generously donated their house and land to the community. Their names were John and Henry Newman, and the story of how they came to give away their estate is in the article below.

Enlargement of above article...

It just so happens that John Newman was an avid photographer. The black and white photos in this gallery were all taken by him over the years. They were very good.


Here's one of Newman's photos. I couldn't get over how this woman could contort her body. Many of the other photos were of boats and flowers.

In the early '90s, an article was published in the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper called "Brothers of the Land." It was written by Sandra McCulloch and photographed by Debra Brash. The following year, Debra Brash won an award for her photo of John Newman in his old claw-footed bathtub. I was living in Victoria at that time and I remember reading the article in the newspaper when it was published. It practically jumped off the page for my brother because he had once helped Mr. Newman out with his cow, and he recognized the man in the tub photo! One day, my brother happened upon Mr. Newman and his cow, who had gotten out of her pen and was wandering down the road. Angus helped return the cow to the farm, but the process was hindered by the fact that the cow was blind!


John Newman died in 1997 and his brother Henry died in 2000. The property was formally made a park in 2004.

Everyone has a story to tell. Perhaps the Newman brothers didn't think their story was all that interesting. They lived by late 1800's standards, but this was in the late 1900's... that makes for a good story!

Heritage Acres

Here are some more pictures from our trip to Heritage Acres. I made these ones all into sepia to give it an old fashioned feeling!

Abstract Photos

I had the wonderful privilege of being a volunteer mom for the grade one field trip to Science World today. On the way there, Scott had my camera for a few miles, and he really made good use of it. Just to humour him, I thought I would share some of his budding photography skills.

Tomorrow, I will share some of the pictures that I took of the day :)

The highway:

The side of a truck:

The front of a truck:

A driver illegally talking on his cell phone in a truck: (I blurred out his face, because he look rather less than impressed that his picture had been taken... get off the PHONE!)

Hmm... do you see a pattern? It's a truck!

Oh, this one's a sign:

He had a bit of a fascination for cell phone towers on the way in... took several pics of them:

Yep... you got it - a truck!

His shoe... must not have been any trucks out the window just then!

The other goal he had (kind of like a photo scavenger hunt) was to take a picture of a fire hydrant. He was quite pleased with this particular shot!

This one is probably the most clear out of any he took all day, so I had to include it! (plus there is a truck in the picture!! )

The front of the UPS truck. He took this one for me :)

He would have taken several hundred more if I had let him. He loves taking pictures... I'm thankful for digital :)