I <3 my iPhone

Its no secret that my iPhone ranks close second to my family as one of the loves of my life (wink, wink).  Earlier this week I dropped it, in the worst sort of way, face down, onto pavement.  It took me a second to even pick it up.  I think my heart may've skipped a beat.  The screen was shattered, GULP!  My mind immediately jumped to how I was going to replace it.  After a quick trip to the AT&T store, I realized my options were limited and were all SUPER expensive....UNTIL, I got the name of a computer guy in Camden that replaces the screens!  :)  Wooo-hooo! There was a chance that it might be fixable!  A short trip and only a few $$ later and I was back  in business with my precious iPhone!

(Sidenote...If you need the name of the guy who fixed my phone, message me!  He says he replaces 2-3 per day!)

The sad, sad part of this story is that I had just hit the buy button for this little baby the day before the "incident"!

My phone is good as new and its now protected in this SUPER-SWEET case from GET UNCOMMON (Image used on the case is by TwoSuez). 

If you would like a custom case with a picture from your session, just let me know!  I would be happy to design it for you and make sure it will fit in the Get Uncommon template (some images require a bit of photoshop work to make them fit right).  The cases are only for iPhones and the iPhone 4 case should be released soon.

My Family Portraits

My resolution for this year was to *finally* get some of my family pictures off of this stinkin' computer and up onto the walls where we can enjoy them.  Slowly, but surely, I've begun to make some progress.

These just make me happy!

The collection at the top are (3) 8x12s, with the middle picture by Two Suez.  I just hung these in our guest bath.  The room is small, so the matted and framed 8x12s really make a statement.  I will eventually add more pictures to this wall.

The bottom picture is a 12x18 print, picture by Two Suez, and is hanging in my bedroom just above my bedside dresser.  Our bedroom is the last room in our house that we have decorated.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that up until a couple of months ago, most of the pictures hanging in this room were just stuck on the walls on hangers that remained from the last owner!  Yes, we have been in our house for almost 5 years *sigh*.  Its funny what you just get used to!  I'm so proud to finally have furniture, paint, and pictures in their own special places.  :)

This next one is our family picture from last summer, by the fabulous Jessica James Photography in Destin.  Its a 20x40 canvas, I just love everything about it!

 

If you think 20x40 is big, well, it seems to shrink once its on the wall.  For comparison, the prints on the shelf next to the canvas are 5x7s.

Next up...Image Box and Spiral Albums!  These were my little treats from our spring session with Two Suez.  I ordered the spiral albums from the photographer, which was such a luxury!  Sure, I could've designed it myself but, I promise you that this time next year I would still have good intentions and no albums.  That's why these were a treat.  A couple of weeks after the session, here are my lovely little books.  Worth every penny! (I'm sure Nana and Grammy will agree!)

On the other hand, I did purchase the hi-res files from my session and I was excited to play around with them a bit.  This image box is my first creation.  It holds the all of the individual prints from the session (and more). 

These mounted 5x7s are super sweet because they have easels attached!  Even better, the easels fold flat so that they fit in my box (above). 

What camera should I get?

I've gotten this question quite a bit lately.  Mostly from Moms who are dissapointed with the shutter delay...want to get better snapshots of their kids...and want to experiment with getting more creative with their photography.  For those Moms (& Dads), I recommend upgrading from their point-and-shoots (P/S) to a dSLR (aka big fancy camera).

Before I get too far into this post, I just want to say that I still own 2 P/S cameras.  I use my iphone camera like crazy, and I love my little FLIP for short videos.  The thing is, if you don't have your camera with you, you can't get the picture.  The small size of the P/S is their biggest advantage...you won't be slipping a dSLR into your pocket!

Ok...for all of you out there who are thinking about buying a "real" camera, here is an AWESOME LINK to an easy to read write-up about the best entry-level dSLRs. 

If you're wondering what I shoot with...I have a Canon 5D as my main camera, a Canon 40D as my back-up, and an old NIKON D70 as a camera to play around with and {someday} for Hunter to learn with.

If you are on a limited budget, I recommend checking out ADORAMA-Used and Ebay for some great deals on older models...search for an old Canon Rebel, Canon 40D or Nikon D80.  I'm sure there are other great ones out there, but that's just a start.

AND, here's my random picture to go with this post...a little preview of tomorrow's activities...Hunter in his T-ball uniform!

 

 50mm, f/2.8, 1/500, ISO 400

Workshop ~ Part 1

Last Saturday, I met with a FABULOUS group of ladies at The Loft on The Square for a day of learning, practicing, and evaluating all things PHOTOGRAPHY.  This was my first ever photo-class, and I have to say I was a bit nervous.  I definitely don't think that I am an expert, by any means.  In fact, I know that I have a lot to learn.  I also know that in my 2 year journey from hobbyist to professional I have learned much from reading, trial and error, and from attending workshops all over the country.

My education is in engineering so the technical side of photography has always appealed to me.  The artistic side, and the business side has always been (and I'm sure will remain) the harder.  I'm not sure if the ladies in our workshop group knew it, but I was learning from them too!

In this first post, I'm including a few images I shot of the group...in The Loft as we discussed aperature, ISO, shutter speed, white balance, metering, focus points, etc; and outside as the group put the tips and tricks into action by shooting some super cute models.

The day wouldn't have gone as smoothly without my co-presenter, Jennifer Erickson.  We met at a Becker's workshop last fall and I'm so glad we got to reconnect.  AND since the NIKONS outnumbered the CANONS, I was super relieved that she was there to help with all of the buttons and setting on those "other" cameras!  :)

 

Stephanie Scruggs Catering provided our lunch for the day and it was pure DELISH...chicken salad on croissants, candied apples, homemade cookies and sweet tea...Mmmmm!   We all felt pampered for the day with the FABULOUS food and beautiful presentation.  (I just wish I had gotten some pics...booo on me!)

I am so grateful for all of the support that I have gotten from the local businesses here in Magnolia.  They have played such a huge roll in the development of my business and I appreciate it so much!  Some SUPER-SWEET gifts for the participants were provided by Melissa's Custom Framing, Pink 'N Blue Avenue & Cosmopolitian Ladies Club. 

I've asked each of the participants to send me their best pics from the day, so those will be in Part 2.

Fading Fast...

My normally good attitude is fading fast!  We are on Day 5 of no water here at the Manuel house.  Our pipes froze on Saturday and now we are waiting for the BIG THAW.  Up until now, its been a bit of a challenge...flushing toilets with 5-gallon buckets, washing dishes with water heated on the stove, cooking with bottled water, etc.  But, without this crazy contraption that allows us to take hot showers, I probably would've lost it a long time ago...

Its not a pretty picture, but it works.  I haven't missed a shower...and the water is warm.  I totally take back all of eye-rolling that I did when the hubby purchased this *thing* for his hunting trips!  Its worth every penny!

Tomorrow is another day, and if our pipes haven't thawed out, I'll start collecting quarters for the laundry.