Photography Class Part II

(I will warn you now. This post has nothing to do with cute stories regarding my children or quirky antics among our household....so I apologize for the boring nature, but writing is how I learn!)

So last week I embarked on a 6 week photography class at a nearby college campus. Jason surprised me with the gift for Christmas. Yeah, he must REALLY love me to put himself in a position to fly solo with the kids for 4 hours for 6 consecutive Saturday mornings! ANYWAYS, last week was basic intro: quick history of photography, basic functions/buttons on DSLR cameras, etc. This past week we focused on Aperture and Shutter speed.

After the class my head was spinning. It all made sense to me, but my thought process was slow to get from "wanting to shoot" to "having the settings I want to shoot" that there's no way I could do it in a natural setting. SOOOO...with that in mind. I'm going to try and blog what I've learned each week, in hopes that writing it down and in my own words will help it all sink in that much more!

Now, I'm the first to admit that I have no clue how to use my camera, nor do I know much of anything about photography in general. If you're not a novice like myself....you may laugh at me. Go ahead, its ok...I laugh at myself all the time. If you DO happen to know what you're doing and can shed some more, or CLEARER light, on the topics, feel free to comment...I could use all the help I can get!

Shutter speed: So shutter speed controls how long the "gate" is left open and it is measured in seconds or fractions of seconds. The longer the shutter is open the more light you allow into your photo (thus affecting exposure) Shutter speed is particularly important when dealing with fast moving objects (i.e.: my children) or when you want to blur a picture to show movement (i.e.: a waterfall). When wanting to freeze time you need a fast shutter speed (1/125 or faster usually works for kids) However, anything slower than 1/60 and you need to use a tripod to avoid camera shake (this is usually needed when working with very low lighting)

Aperture: Aperture controls how wide the gate is open. It is tricky because it is counterintuitive. The larger the opening= the more light you allow = the smaller the F stop number and vice versa. Aperture and Shutter speed work together to create your exposure. But aperture also affects your depth of field (essentially what is and is not in focus in your picture). DOF helps add interest to your photos. The lower the number = the higher the aperture = more shallow depth of field (less in focus) and vice versa.

Probably the most interesting thing I learned was how to use the shutter and aperture priority modes on my camera, how to bracket and check exposure while in manual mode, and that it isn't always the shot that is perfectly exposed that you'll like the best. This last one was the most surprising to me.

Our homework was to play with shutter speed and aperture, mainly focusing on exposure, looking at the difference between a shot perfectly exposed vs. one under exposed vs. one over exposed. Here are a couple different pics that I took while practicing. I didn't have a lot to work with: the backyard while the boys napped. I couldn't' imagine going out to shoot with the kids in tow....all of these were at ISO 400 (don't even know what that means yet, but that's what the instructor told us to put the camera on).

One of the trees in our backyard, I tried to shoot it from the ground up to add interest. Another thing I learned: never take the shot that everyone sees (i.e.: change angels)

F/9 aperture, 1/13 shutter speed=over exposed (too much light allowed in)

f/9 aperture, 1/30 shutter speed. This one is considered perfectly exposed. But I liked the last one best.

f/9 aperture, 1/60 shutter speed.

The following is the one and only flower growing in our back yard right now, which is kind of cool if you consider its a gerber daisy that isn't suppose to make it through our winters. It has not only survived 4 years for us, but is blooming in the middle of January....

f/9 aperture, 1/200 shutter speed = under exposed (also the one I like best)

f/9 aperture, 1/125 shutter speed = perfect exposure

f/9 aperture, 1/60 shutter speed = over exposed.

And this next one is the shot I ended up printing and I am going to take for critique next saturday. The flower (as you can see) is a little gimp on one side, so I tried to shoot it off center to compensate and add interest to the shot. Not sure it worked, but its all I got!

f/5.6 aperture, 1/250 shutter speed = under exposed

f/5.6 aperture, 1/125 shutter speed = perfect exposure

f/5.6 aperture, 1/50 shutter speed. This one is actually my favorite. I like how the very edge of the flower almost blends into the overexposed white in the background. I could see this picture being cropped on the right side and adding text on the left. Again, this is me talking like I have any clue what I'm saying....

Whew, and that's about it so far... we'll see where next week takes me!

Just a couple pics...

With this new photography class I am taking, and photography book I am reading, I have been a little hesitant to pick up my camera lately, I'm on overload of info and have yet to start really making any sense of it...I got over it today and took just a few...I'll get there eventually, until then, these will have to do...

Kylie got her first big girl hair cut today. And by that I mean, we splurged and spent the $30 it cost to have my hair stylist give her layers, frame her face, and cut the dead ends off. She's was very excited about it and about the idea of someone other than MOM cutting her hair (as was I, seeing that it will hopefully ease the frustration of combing her hair after baths)

Her hair is getting so long, I'd love to cut it shorter, but she won't let me. Her actual response was, "No mom, I don't want it to look like yours!" Well, alright, I didn't know mine looked that bad! =)

I snuck in on Beck napping today and played with some of my camera settings. This is about the only time this boy is still so I tried to take advantage of it...

L-O-V-E and Wrestling...

From the moment we were told baby #3 was a boy, we would go on and on about how close he and Beck would be. Being that there is only 16 months between them, and that they are both boys, we envisioned our future, or rather their future, and would cringe in fear. Boys can smell trouble, they go seeking it out, are drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

Kylie was devastated when she was told that her new sibling was going to be a little brother when we were pregnant with Beck (I mean REAL tears). And she was just as heartbroken about finding out she was going to have TWO brothers with the addition of Stratton. (Poor girl, all she wanted was someone to wear matching outfits with). While looking into our crystal ball, I always saw Kylie doing her "girl" thing and enjoying the uniqueness, so to speak, of her position in the family many years from now.

But you never know what life has in store for you...or for your children. Could it be that we had it wrong? Now, I know Stratton is still too young to really understand and appreciate the relationship of siblings, but the bond that Kylie and Beck has is something neither Jason nor I ever expected.

Given their age gap and personality difference (Beck is the class clown where Kylie is all business) we never anticipated these two being as close as they have grown to be. They look to each other for almost everything, from comforting when hurt or scared to laughter when no one else really thinks its funny.

On two separate occasions this week, these two blew me away with their thoughtfulness and care for one another. And it all started with a juice box.

At the end of last week we were low on groceries, causing Beck and Ky to have to split the last juice box. Ky ended up getting served the glass while Beck was handed the half empty juice container. Ky was NOT happy about this decision. I think the thing she likes best about this particular drink is being able to play with the bottle it comes in. Half way through dinner she was still sulking and on the verge of tears when Beck willingly picked up his juice box (still half full of juice) and slid it over to Ky's placemat without saying so much as a single word. Now this boy loves his juice, but it was nothing compared to seeing his sister happy. It was one of the most selfless acts I have ever seen from a two year old (let alone seeing it come from MY two year old, one who I happen to know is VERY selfish indeed!) It literally melted my heart.

Two days ago (after days of nothing but rain) Ky decided she wanted to head to Target and use some of her birthday money to get a new toy to play with. I happily obliged, needing to get out of the house myself! On the way there, I was explaining to Beck that Kylie was going to pick out a toy because she was using her own money to buy it with when out of no where, she asked if it would be alright buy Beck a toy as well (with her own money) Now, I'm not sure that I'd go so far as to call Ky frugal...but ask her at any given time how much money she has and she'd be able to tell you. Once again, I was floored by the consideration and selflessness these two seem to have towards one another.

This evening, as I sat on the floor in Beck's room and watched Ky and him sing five little monkeys and wrestle each other, I couldn't help but wonder how long will it last? How long will these two be the best friends they so obviously are becoming without them even knowing it? And how will Stratton fit into the mix a year from now?

It was definitely a moment I stored away in my bank of memories. I look back at a time when we were uncertain if there'd be any more children after Ky. I think about what she'd miss out on that she (and we) would never have known. Tonight, I am thankful for God's many blessings, but in particular, I am thankful for sending Beck to us, and more importantly, to Kylie. She needs him, just as much as he needs her.

I hope that never ends...

Watch out Martha Stewart~

Ky got a huge no sew quilt from my mom for Christmas and was SUPER excited about it! I couldn't even tell you how many knots both she and I ended up knotting over the two weeks we worked on putting it together. But she's loving the finished product!

Laying out her squares

Tying away!

Her finished quilt. She was very excited to put her initials on it and "bling it out"

Uncle Gary comes to visit...

There isn't much that excites my kiddos more than having Jason's best friend Gary come in town (Especially when he brings Christina with him). This past weekend, we were delighted to play host to both of them, who made the trip out here to celebrate Kylie's 6th birthday. While wrestling around on the couch I snapped a couple pictures of the rascals. Enjoy!

This one is by far my favorite!

Beck trying to tickle Gary



Kylie and Christina, Ky was like a leech to her all weekend =)

Kylie's 6th Birthday Luau...

When I asked Kylie 6 months ago what she wanted to do for her 6th birthday, it was an automatic, "I want a Hawaiian party, mom!" Hmm....a luau in the middle of January????....well, alright then! We ended up renting our neighborhood club house for the extra space and I went to town preparing! However, with her birthday directly following the chaos that is Christmas, I was a little low on creative mojo and I had to do a lot of last minute to-dos!

The Invites: I had this SUPER CUTE idea I was going to do for invites. HOWEVER, they were tough to do and would have cost probably $50 in paper alone when all was said and done. The thrifty side of me (haha, yeah right, more like the little Jason that sits on my shoulder while I shop) told me to do the right thing. Besides, with about 35 invitations to make, I thought twice about all the work! I used a 50% off coupon at Michaels and got a set of 200 cards/envelopes for $10. I ended up using the cards for MUCH of the decorating as well as thank you cards. Although they didn't end up looking amazing, they worked, they were easy, and the paper was cheap!

Decorating: We had an hour in there before guests started arriving. I thought we would have been done decorating in like 20 min. Boy was I wrong, we were still going when the first kids arrived! My dad almost passed out blowing up balloons...by the end of the party, they were a big hit! What is it with 5/6 year olds and popping balloons? There wasn't a single one left once everyone was gone...

Craft time: I had two crafts planned. This is a shot of the sand art table. Kids colored beach themed pictures then filled the sand areas in with real sand. I think this was their favorite. At one point I looked over and the table had about 20 kids all crammed around hard at work decorating.

Tissue paper Hawaiian flowers: Alright, well this craft was kind of a bust. I did a practice flower before hand and it seemed super simple and fairly quick. Not sure if it was beginners luck or what, but none of them turned out very cute at the party and the kids had to have a lot of help, oh well, can't win them all =)

The AMAZING cookies my mom made for goodie bags. I actually had a mom email me after the party stating that the cookies were AWESOME and wanted to know what bakery we ordered them from....my mom ROCKS!

The cookies and some candy went in some sand buckets as party favors. Picked them up for $1 each and the cookies cutters for $4 total. I used left over cards from invites to make the tags.

The tags read, "Castles in the sand, down by the sea, a bucket for your shells, and your memories! Thanks for coming!"

This was a Pinterest inspired idea. I used the invite cards to make tags spelling her name. And then placed a pic of Kylie at 1 yr, 2 yr, etc. It was really neat to overhear everyone looking at them on their way in the door.

Greeting table where kids would get their lei on the way in and their goody bucket on the way out!

Cupcakes, once again, by my mom. They had a gum ball as a beach ball, parasail drink umbrellas (I got 200 count from OTC for $4) paper flip-flops, and sugar for sand.

The birthday girl in her lei, flower hair tie, hawaiian shirt and grass skirt! She had so much fun! My old college room mate Kelley was in town from Houston and was sure to stop by with an old grass skirt she had that Kylie was THRILLED to wear at her party.

Action shot during craft time...

Hard at work at sand art table...

What would a luau be without a little limbo? I wanted to rent the "Dance like a hula girl" DVD, but thought twice when Ky said she wanted to invite her whole class, including the boys.

Ms. Ashlyn showing off her tissue paper flower...

Give these girls crayons, glue, and sand and they're set for life!

Blowing out her candle...

A quick shot with mom and pops while decorating! I really couldn't have done it without them and the help of my sister. Uncle Gary and Christina were also crucial in terms of helping kids out with crafts and snapping pictures while I ran around like a crazy person!

Opening gifts...

Playing hot potato, or rather, hot coconut as we used two coconuts instead. We also played duck,duck, goose. but it was hula, hula, coconut.

All in all it went pretty well. WAY more kids showed up than RSVP'd. So I wasn't ready for that...resulting in a shortage of goodie sand buckets, which I had to then make more of and deliver the next day. Ky said she had a blast, and in the end, that's what maters.

Whew, now a chance to rest...well, at least for a few weeks, Stratton turns one next month...!

Silence is golden...

Its noon....and quiet. The boys happen to be on the same afternoon nap schedule..or is it that I MADE them go down together? What difference does it make? I don't hear a sound minus the rain on the window and the hum of the computer, and I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I believe everyone has their "thing." You know, the thing that helps you keep sane in this crazy world of parenting? For me, it has always been the few moments of peace I get each day. Or use to get. Ever since the boys schedules have shifted I've been going days without any "me time" It doesn't have to be a lot, an hour of time where I can do whatever I want, or sometimes nothing at all, can do AMAZING things in the way of recharging and refocusing. Is that selfish? Or is it proof that all day long, every waking minute, I'm thinking completely and entirely of the kids? Although something tells me that isn't so healthy either.

This morning I was watching Beck play with his cars while I fed Stratton in the kitchen. He picked up his big rig and said to the bulldozer, "Hello, how are you doing today dozer? Good? Yeah? You want to make parking lot? Yeah? Ok, let's go" At which point he started to line all the cars up.

And it hit me. He's growing up so fast. It seems like yesterday he was taking his first steps in the playroom, and now he runs around the house like a crazy man. I remember how terrified he use to be of the black cloth that hid beneath the wood chips at the playgroup and would occasionally pop up and dance with the wind. This material kept him away from the swings for a solid 6 months, if not longer. Now, he stands right on top of it as he waits to be lifted, without a second glance at the "monster" right beneath his feet.

Yesterday I let him sleep an extra half hour during his nap. BIG mistake. Last night, the clock hit 9 pm and he was still in his room talking gibberish and laughing at himself. At one point I heard him say, "Momma, I bump my head on bed. HaHaHa" Who knows what he was doing in there?

He's getting too big too fast. An extra half hour of nap is enough to keep him up way too late at night. I can no longer sneak a cookie into my mouth and tell him its nothing. He knows, and will invariably want one as well.

After dropping Sissy off at school this morning Beck told me he wanted to go. I asked him where, and he said he wanted to go to school. Why can't they stay little forever?

Two is a terrible age for MANY reasons, It is also one of the MOST AMAZING ages.

Beck, You are a HANDFUL...and then some. And I wouldn't trade any second of it for anything in the world!

This week...

This week I've been trying to get things marked off the to-do list for Kylie's birthday party next weekend, however, with the boys naps no longer lining up, there's always someone around getting into trouble and causing mischief....

I told him to strike a pose and he laid down on the floor and gave me this face....

He's on the move and into everything. His favorite is any sort of cord. Vacuum Cleaner, Computer cords....he could care less if its plugged in or not...he's also very obsessed with Ky's hula hoop currently....