Andrew McCarthy or Andrew Who?

My trip to NYC with my older sisters was a BLAST! I'm not sure if I should have had that much fun without my husband and kids (don't tell them... I don't want them to feel bad.)

Although Brett has no desire to EVER go to NYC, I have always wanted to go. I was not disappointed even though the size of my hotel room reminded me of my first bedroom when Brett and I got married. It was slightly larger than our bedroom but only just. (We couldn't fit a fridge in our bedroom or a side table.

The scenery was great and the weather cooperated all weekend.

Sheri took us to China Town where I discovered some new fruit that I had never before seen in my life.

I also discovered...

Andrew McCarthy.

If you just said to yourself, "Andrew who?" or you had to Google his name to figure out who I am talking about then unlike me you did not watch Pretty in Pink and Mannequin 30 times back in the 80's. Shame on you!

To say that I was star-struck would be an understatement. We were in a store in China Town and I looked up and he was just standing there two feet away from me. He was very nice about getting his picture taken. Sheri didn't recognize him and actually said, "should I know you?" In all fairness the store owners didn't recognize him either and told him that no cameras were allowed in the store. So they told him that the camera man had to leave. We went outside to get our picture taken with him.

Although I would have liked to talk with him longer, I was afraid of what else Sheri might say. You never know with her. After all, I did dare her to lick a total stranger's ice-cream cone and she did it (a mere $10.00 is all it cost me to overcome her aversion to a stranger's germs).

Don't think that Andrew was the only star that I saw. I also had a few other encounters...

I hope I can come back soon. There is still so much left undone. Thanks to my sisters for a great weekend and to my hubby who made it possible for me to go in the first place.

The Trouble With Models...

My latest school assignment had to do with different kinds of lighting. I had to choose one model for all of the lighting. I chose Giggles.

I had to do butterfly lighting...

loop lighting...

Rembrandt lighting...

and sidelighting...

He was a good sport for the most part but kids can lose their patience fast (especially when you don't know what you are doing). hahaha!!!

The toughest was trying to get the backlighting just right. I was struggling with the metering and he was struggling with holding the basketball because it was a very windy day and the wind kept blowing the ball out of his hand. The expressions on his face as he tried to hold the ball made me laugh.

But I finally got the picture I wanted.

Thanks Giggles!

Love is Bliss

Engaged couples are so cute.

I am always afraid of taking pictures of people because I tend to rush in the picture-taking process. But my husband's cousin, Lacie and her fiancé Dallas asked me to take their engagement pictures last weekend.

They were very patient and we took our time to be sure to get plenty of pictures for them to choose from.

It was great to spend time with them and to take pictures of such a cute couple.

Boys will be Boys

Life with boys is always interesting. Those moments always come along when I shake my head and think... what would it be like to have girls?

But I have boys.

Usually I leave the hiking up to Brett. I forgot to remember that I don't like hiking. Chalk it up to old age - or early onset Alzheimer's. I'll try and remember for next time. But it was too late once we got there and started out on the path with my giant camera backpack and my bottle of water in hand. A few steps into it I remembered though.

But at least I had my camera in hand to distract me from my huffing and puffing. Still, I almost went back to the car when I saw this...

But Brett and the boys were already across the bridge and someone had to keep them safe.

And although I didn't capture anything worthy of National Geographic the park was beautiful.

When we came across this monster of a tree you know they had to at least TRY to climb it. Sheriff gave his brother a boost...

but it just wasn't enough.

Other trees were a little more accessible though.

Leave it to my boys to climb every tree they could.

We had a great weekend and I hope we can go back again. I am just wondering how I can get some great pictures without doing any hiking. hmmm...

Giggles the Quietest??? Are We Talking About the Same Kid?

Parent/Teacher Conferences are here again. This time around I decided to throw tradition a curve ball and leave my kids at home.

Don't panic! Sheriff is now old enough to watch his younger brothers (although the maturity factor is still up for debate). And his younger brothers don't even listen to me so I don't see how they could possibly listen to their oldest brother.

BUT... I am done taking four kids to parent/teacher conference for an hour and spending most of turning around to tell Smiley and Giggles to be quiet, stop touching each other, stop arguing, keep your chairs on the floor, etc. etc. and not being able to focus on what the teachers are saying.

It was heaven. And my heart went out to the moms with four and five kids in tow. I breathed several sighs of relief when I saw them.

The greatest revelation of the afternoon during parent/teacher conference came when Giggles teacher said that Giggles is her quietest boy in her class. As compared to what? A fog horn? She said that although she has to tell him to stop talking in class, the only way that she can tell he is even talking is that she sees his head shaking because he does it so quiet (sneaky). What? At home he shout talks. Example: "Giggles, I'm standing right here, you don't need to shout at me." "Giggles, your brother is sitting right next to you, you don't need to shout in his ear." Several times a day I have to ask him to lower his volume.

Apparently he talks so quiet she can barely hear him.

What?

This is the kid that I am afraid has a hearing problem because he is shouting so much at home.

The things we learn about our kids. At least I know that I don't need to take him into the ear doctor. I might need to take myself in pretty soon though if he doesn't start talking quieter at home. Hearing loss will set in.

Digital or Film?

As much as I am learning new techniques and skills with regards to digital photography, like the difference between diffused lighting on your subject ...

and spectral lighting...

(obviously this week's class topic is lighting)


But film photography continues to elude me.

I had picked up a roll of black and white film for my Spotomatic and was excited to take it out the other week when I was downtown on an assignment for my class evaluating photos in a gallery. While waiting for the gallery to open I pulled out my Spotomatic and shot a roll of film.

Today I picked up the pictures only there were no pictures. Instead it said this on the package...

And to add insult to injury I had to pay for those words in cash and in time and effort it took to take all those pictures that didn't turn out.

Dagnabbit!

Who says dagnabbit anymore anyways?

I do.

Dagnabbit!

So as much as I long to learn the ins and outs of my beautiful Spotomatic, I have to say that my Rebel is still my photographic best friend right now while my film camera is the naughty child who drew on the wall with magic marker one too many times. You still love him but you're momentarily upset.

Things can always change though. Did I mention I picked up two more rolls of black and white film today? :)