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Picture This

Lewis River Adventure

Lewis River by Lucia FallsI’ve often been fascinated by how photographers get pictures of oceans and waterfalls where the water is soft and stream-like. I eventually learned that letting the camera shutter lag will produce the effect and I was able to reproduce it when the opportunity arose.

Then I wondered how people got really soft effects and found out that there was a lens filter that that reduced the amount of light going into the camera. Normally, most photographers are trying to get more light in, but this was an exception.

After a few paid photography jobs, I had some money to spend on new stuff. In addition to a flash, umbrella, and light stand, I picked up a neutral density filter. Jenni’s favorite place is Lucia Falls, and the filter would calm the waters (at least photographically) for a peaceful setting.

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Cute-Babays

Bouncing Baby: The Parent’s Extended Cut Special Edition

The previous video was too short. Watching her bounce is too much fun to watch just once.

Categories
Cute-Babays

The Bouncing Baby

While we were on a photo job, there was an seven-month-old boy having a blast on a door jumper. I couldn’t help but smile watching him just bounce himself silly. We received a door jumper from a friend of a friend before Kadie was born. Seeing the door jumper in action reminded us of ours, so we got it out of the closet and spent an hour smiling at Kadie bouncing around in circles.

Categories
Clearing the Cache

We’ve Moved!

If you’re a frequent visitor of our little blog, you would’ve noticed some downtime this last week. Our computer had been overheating (c’mon, you’re only one year old…), so I had started turning it off at nights. Then it still had heating issues, so we had been shutting it off during the day. Which meant our blog wasn’t available.

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Picture This

My Umbrella Chronicles

Portraits with new umbrella
Ever since Kadie was born, and we took portrait shots of her, my interest in photography has shifted from journalistic to portrait (mainly babies) photography.

Jenni and I creatively used what we had to get the best lighting, usually diffusing our dining room fan light with white cloth and draping a black cloth as a background. We got some great shots, but it never felt like enough light.

So now, we’re experimenting with off-camera flash (much ado after reading the strobist web site and the lighting book I received for my birthday, Light: Science & Magic. I picked up a second flash last month and now we have our first umbrella and light stand setup.

Is it strange that a umbrella makes me feel more “official?” Maybe I can fly with this thing…

See more portraits using our new umbrella »

Categories
80's Movie Month Madness

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Ferris Bueller's Day OffI’m not quite sure what to think of this movie. I’ve known the music accompanying the Ferrari scene forever because of the Caramello chocolate-caramel candy bar commercials (and a special video project during college) so it was fun to see the origin of the song. Oooooooooooooh yeahhhhhhhhhhhh…. ch… ch-ch-ka!

Categories
80's Movie Month Madness

Romancing the Stone

Romancing the StoneI believe I saw this movie on television back in the nineties and thought it was a fun action-adventure. If I recall correctly, my mom saw it and enjoyed it.

Revisiting it now with Jenni was a new experience. Much of the dialog made much more sense now that I have more life experience (for better or worse) and it was fun enjoy the comedic portions with Jennilyn, Leah, and Stacy.

The part of the movie where they escape in a jeep through rugged terrain got the best laughs, as the driver is giving the main characters a tour of his hometown as a terrorist group shoots at them with machine guns. The driver isn’t oblivious, but confident that the jeep is secure and happily shares his childhood memories. It all culminates in a spectacular jump over a creek using a remote-controlled ramp— which angles up perpendicularly after they’ve jumped to stop their pursuers.

Treasure-hunting, romance, comedy, and action—a recipe for a fun evening.

Categories
80's Movie Month Madness

Sixteen Candles

Sixteen CandlesJenni and I had a hard time enjoying this movie. I think we both had preconceptions of a humorous, heart-warming story and instead we got something cynical and unsatisfying. Throw in the fact that it was our Valentine’s Day movie, it was a classic example of having the wrong expectations going in and slid into a downward spiral the whole length of the movie.

Categories
80's Movie Month Madness

Music Happiness

Say AnythingLately, I’m more aware of how the music is what really makes a movie for me. For instance, Beverly Hills Cop 2 has that awesome “Axel F” song that my brothers and I played on our boom box when we were knee high to a grasshopper. Trav carried it on his shoulder while we followed him marching through the house like a street gang. My impression of that movie… a little obnoxious at times, hilarious fashions such as spandex clad women with poofy hair, and gunfights that remind me of the arcade game Time Crisis 3. Wish I could’ve watched it with my youngest brother, Rex. We enjoy doing Mystery Science Theater style commentary during films like this.

Categories
Clearing the Cache

God’s Valentine

I remember dreading Valentine’s day because I didn’t have someone to share it with. I would daydream about what it would be like. Then after being in my first relationship, I dreaded Valentine’s day even more because of the unrealistic expectations I had brainwashed myself into from the media. The special day of love was almost on the order of orchestrating the night I would propose. And it was annually.