Discovery

First of all, thanks for all the well-wishes in the comments. I'm fortunate in my depression that I've been through it enough times to know what's happening and to know, even at my worst, that it will lift. I can even roughly predict when. It's just a matter of getting through it, one day at a time. Part of that is making myself get up and do things, like blog!

The last couple days have been about delighted discovery, thanks to the prompts at HSMSHS.

Yesterday's prompt was "handle", and before I could start I had to "get a handle" on myself. I was so discouraged at first, thinking that I surely didn't have any good handles in my space (whatever a good handle is!). I just live in a boring house in the country! No fun handles here! I had the vague idea that if I waited for the girls to get home from school I could pose one of them with the shovel to get an interesting handle, but they were totally uncooperative with that idea.

Kids these days!

So I stayed indoors and started searching. Much to my delight, I started finding all kinds of handles! Besides the obvious door handles, there were all kinds of handles on briefcases and bags, shovels, sleds, appliances, the piano lid, the wood stove, the grandfather clock. I spent a good hour quite happily snapping photos of handles at different angles and settings. I now have a fun little file of handles and a new way of looking at my space. Here's my favourite:


These are the handles on our fireplace tools. Usually I hate them. The holder takes up a lot of space and wood, though economical, is a very dirty way to heat. But just now I'm appreciating their curves and lines and this particular angle (which cleverly disguises the mess!).

Then this morning I did it again! Went to HSMSHS and saw that the prompt was "sport" and immediately started having a little fit in my head, as we're none of us into sports at all. I thought I was going to have to dig into the summer photos, but remembered the experience of yesterday. I asked the kids at breakfast: "what could I photograph for sports?" and they had a ton of ideas. Once they got me started, I began remembering more and more sports equipment we have (and use!). I took a few shots and decided I like this one the best:

These are Sweetpea's new skates, still in the box, waiting for her skating term to start at school (next week!). She's got weak ankles like her mom, and the one time I took her skating last year was a disaster, so I tried to talk her into hockey skates (they have a lot more ankle support) but she wasn't having it. Nothing would do but the pretty white figure skates. So they're sitting waiting for her to discover hidden talents, while her mom discovers there's more in her space than she ever dreamed!

Wheels on the bus...

Go round and round, round and round, round and round....

Last week the wheels fell off my bus for a few days. I watched the HSMSHS bus pull away from the station without me. Actually, I watched all the buses coming and going without me, and sat and had a little pity party about it. It's winter, and despite my attempts to avoid it, depression has found me again. It's cyclical, and though I dodge and weave, it always seems to find me. Traditionally, January isn't a good month for me. Actually, I can usually fight my way through January and then February delivers the knock-out punch. I struggle back to my feet in March and we're back to normal by April. Heck, I'm downright giddy by May. Summers are awesome. Fall is fabulous. I just have to endure through January and February.

The secret to coping is twofold:

First, lower your standards. If just getting out of bed makes you feel brittle and exposed, then get out of bed. When you can. No rush. You're up! Congrats! Anything else you manage today is bonus. No guilt allowed. Guilt only feeds the depression, so it is banished.

Second, try again. So yesterday was bad. Here's another sunrise, another chance to do something right. Not everything, just one thing (see rule one above).

So with Spring only 67 days away and the sweet knowledge that I'll be kicking depression in the face before that, I'm back to playing along with today's sweet prompt: technology.

How I love technology! I love my appliances, I love my OTT-Lite, I love my digital camera and my printer...and mostly I love our computer and high-speed connection. Incidently, we only got high-speed last year, and the cut off is just past our house. We still have friends on our road with good old dial up. I never take my connection for granted. Thanks to our computer and our connection, I have sisters in scrapping, photography and motherhood. I can keep in touch with old friends and family and make new friends all over the world.

So here's our sweet technology. Purchased in 2006 when our old 'puter died, I remember thinking that no one could ever use that much memory. I was wrong, because we've already filled it up, along with an external hard drive. Now we need another. One thing about technology, it's always changing, isn't it?

Snow Exposure

Yesterday was our first snow day of 2009. It was actually a wimpy sort of a snow day, Hubby made it into work just fine and the kids spent lots of time outside playing. Of course I had to get photos of the kids outside! It was my first time bravely taking the Canon out in the winter instead of the old P&S, and I'm really glad I had read a lot of articles about shooting in the winter first.

First shot, I left the camera on the settings I had been using indoors:

Yikes! What a mess! Obviously my settings are so very,very wrong. Let's start with White Balance, shall we?

Oops, had it set on cloudy. It's definitely not cloudy out! In fact, with the sun hitting the fresh snow, it's the exact opposite of cloudy. The world is one giant reflector!

This is going to be an example of making adjustments on the run. I'm walking and adjusting...

So much better! Wow, that WB sure makes a difference, doesnt' it? A simple switch from Cloudy to Auto makes a world of difference.

Now we're still a little blown out. Does it seem bright to you? It seems bright to me! You know what's a quick fix? I'm going to dial down my Exposure Compensation, see what that does for me...

Much better! And just in time, since now I'm nice and close to the kids!

These photos are SOOC just for you (and me), to illustrate the differences and the adjustment process I made. Learning to think on my feet has been one of the biggest parts of understanding my camera and getting great photos. All photos shot using the 50mm, AV setting, f/4....ISO 800? Is that right?

Oops! Guess I should have checked ISO before worrying about Exposure Compensation. Yikes again! That's what I get for going from shooting indoors at night to outdoors in sun and snow. Now we've really learned something--check all your settings before shooting! If I had realized I would have changed that first thing!

Next lesson to learn: spot metering. Because my closeups turned out great, but backing off a bit....

Oh, how that 800 ISO is messing me up! Fortunately I shoot in RAW, and just dialing back the Exposure Compensation a couple more stops in the software that came with the camera....

Saves that one from the dreaded delete key. They're right you know, once you go RAW, you'll never go back! It can allow you to save yourself from even the most boneheaded mistakes...like shooting on ISO 800 on a sunny day.

Thanks for learning along with me! For those of you wondering where my HSMSHS is, well, so am I! Yesterday's prompt was "Homemade" and I was determined to get a scrapbook page done to share with you, but never quite got there. I'm going to see if I can do it today and post a double, otherwise I'll just do today's prompt and post later.

PS: shot of the day:

Around the house

Today's HSMSHS prompt: sphere. In a house with kids and cats and rock hounds, spheres come in every size and material imaginable. This little crystal ball (onyx actually) sits on my scrapdesk to help inspire me.

And how could I not use that font? (CK 8 Ball for anyone who's wondering)

Update on yesterday's kijiji find: The speedlight works just fine with my camera, but the lenses are the old blade mounts. I'll be looking around the internets to see if there's any sort of adaptation to make them work, and otherwise I guess I'll buy some film and play around old skool.

I've got to get some food before I run the Princess to piano. It's one of those crazy days where I have the car and lose my mind.

Keep clicking!

I heart this morning!

Not only is it Little Christmas, which means I can finally take down all my decorations and clean house without guilt, but look what I found when I did my weekly peek at kijiji:

Canon T 70 35mm camera with multiple program AE / dual metering system
two Vivitar telephoto zoom lenses (28-90 and 70-210)
one Canon Speedlite 277T flash unit

But how sweet is it? Can I use that Speedlite? Are those lenses any good?

While using my powers of google-fu to find the answer, I discovered this amazing resource: Photography on the Net; a forum for Canon users to discuss...well, everything Canon by the looks of things. You can bet I'll be playing around there! Anyone else already a member?

And I found my answer: yes, I can use the Speedlite. It's not as good as the ones out now (direct flash, no pointing it at the ceiling) but I can use it until my pennies are saved for a better one. AND the lenses will work too. They have mixed reviews, but since the seller is only asking $35 (yes babies!) even if they're absolute crap I'll be getting my money's worth!

It's a good day! A day of hearts and flowers...which, incidently, is the HSMSHS prompt!




So what do you heart today?

Happy New Year!

It's a brand new year, though it didn't really feel like it until today. Up until now it's just been one big holiday hoopla with lazy days and feasting and trying out new toys and games.

Today though, I sent Hubby back to work and the girls back to school. Today I fell back into habit and routine. Today I faced the laundry and the dishes.

Also today, Her Space My Space His Space came back from their holiday break. I guess it's really back to work now!

Today's prompt is perfect for the start of a new year: beginning. What kind of beginning can I share? I photographed my girls getting on the bus today for Project 365, but that's not so much of a beginning as a continuation. I photographed my new calender, but that just didn't feel monumental enough.

So I got brave and photographed this:

Oh. Ouch.

The last time I saw that number I was about to squeeze an 8lb+ baby out of my body. All year I've been trying to deny it, but all year that number just kept rising, and with my mother's wedding looming this summer (along with the requisite trips to the dressmaker), something must be done about this number and all that it represents.

So today is my beginning. My beginning of healthier choices, of fitness and portion control, of watching that number go down instead of up. The next time I post a photo like this one, I expect that needle to have moved (to my left please).

What's your beginning? Anyone else beginning their year by staring at the scale (or mirror) and wondering what happened?

Towel, I am so tempted to throw you...

I just had the BEST two days. A really wonderful, fun, relaxing New Year's Eve bash, followed by a really wonderful, fun, relaxing New Year's Breakfast hosted by my church. Breakfast turned into a mini piano recital, then a mad volleyball game, then lunch at McDonald's before we all finally parted ways.

Of course, I took a ton of photos.

That I'm very unhappy with.

I can't say I'm all that excited about the photos I took over Christmas either, and that's just sad.

I'm sorry, but since I first picked up a camera I have been unable to figure out how to take photos in low light settings or gymnasiums. It is my giant Achilles heel of photography. I keep trying, I keep experimenting with lenses and settings, but I have yet to hit upon that magic formula that will get me great photos.

The fact that the teenagers with cheap point and shoots who were also snapping photos like mad have already posted their photos to Facebook...photos that are WAY BETTER THAN MINE is just salt in the wound. When the camera phone photos are better, it's probably time to throw in the towel.

I've read books, I've practiced and practiced, I've listened to friends (the suggestion at the party was that I turn my ISO all the way up, and it helped a bit, but the noise is still gastly), but unless I drag my subject outdoors it seems I am a very incompetent photographer indeed.

Can you help me? What do you do to get great party photos? Be specific, what settings do you actually use? Or do you leave the dSLR at home and just take the point and shoot?

I'll be anxiously awaiting your ideas. In the meantime, I'll keep dragging my kids outside if I want a photo. Who cares if it's winter? Oh, and I think I'll be saving my pennies for an external flash. And maybe converting some of my photos to black and white.

Oh, and seeking therapy.