We got our family pictures taken from ChicGeek Photography over the weekend! Click on this link to preview the highlight gallery.
Category Archives: photography
Smartphones & Geo-tagging
I posted an entry about the dangers of geo-tagging on smartphones (like iPhones) on my other blog. Please read it if you can.
http://iamghislaine.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/geo-tagging/
All parents should read this in my opinion.
Posted in photography
ChicGeek Photos
Our friends Joe & Sharon came by our house this weekend for a ChicGeek photo shoot. They are starting out their own photography business and are really talented! They took some fantastic shots of our family and some really nice belly pics. Check out some of the photos that they took in my Flickr set. 
Thanks for the wonderful pictures Joe & Sharon!
Posted in baby, family, photography, solomon, son
Hawaii, Birthdays, and Other Things…
Well hello! I have been way overdue for an update to this blog. I am sure more people would actually read this blog if I bothered to update more frequently.
Here is a recap of some interesting happenings in the last month:
- I bought a new camera. The Canon T1i really rocks!
- We went to Hawaii (yes, again!)
- My son celebrated his 2nd birthday
- My dog celebrated his 6th (human years) birthday
I got the new Canon T1i and I am so pleased with it! If you read the specs for this camera, it’s hard not to want it (unless you already have the 5D Mark II!). It was about time that I upgraded from my Canon XT (which I so dearly loved also). The sensors are great (colours are wonderful) and the faster speed is a definite plus. Now that I finally got a new camera body, I am coveting another lens. I am very pleased with the EF 50mm F1.4 USM. This is an excellent lens that is fast and that takes really sharp images. I highly recommend this fixed lens to anybody that likes to take portrait shots. I have heard that the 24-70mm is also another great Canon lens. I am going to test it out late when I rent the lens for a wedding in July. In a way I hope I do not fall in love with it or I am going to want to purchase it (it is a $1K plus lens).
We visited the island of Oahu (we when to Maui back in September) and it was a much more pleasant trip this time around. My son really enjoyed the beach and it was especially nice for us to not worry about him too much since the beach in Waikiki (where we stayed) is rather calm and shallow. We had a great time of eating a lot of great food and just relaxing a lot on the beach. The highlights were going to Hanauma Bay, the Honolulu Zoo, and the Lantern Floating Festival. We were lucky to have a friend show us around the town too since he is now a local there. We were there for a week and I wished we could have stayed longer. I do miss the Hawaiian beaches. Hawaii is definitely on my top 3 list of best places to live in the world. Vancouver is of course also on this list .
Check out my flickr account to see the rest of the pictures taken in Hawaii. Or click here to see the slideshow.
My little monkey turned 2 last month. I cannot believe that my baby is growing up so fast! Isn’t he the most handsome little kid you have ever seen? Of course I am biased but how can you not like this little guy?
My dog Solomon also had a birthday recently. He is 6 years old but he still acts like a pup! He is really a wonderful dog and I am very thankful for such a loyal and gentle dog. My son likes to play with him and sometimes gets a bit rough with Solomon, but even then Solomon is always so nicely behaved. Not sure what I did to deserved such an obedient little dog. That’s a picture of him with his new couch on the right. Isn’t he also a handsome little dog? I guess I am just filled with handsome boys in my life!
So besides those updates above, this is going to be a busy month. I have 2 weddings to go to (I am taking pictures for them too!), bridal showers to attend, and birthday parties to celebrate (mine included). Oh, and Father’s day is also coming too.
I am hoping to finish up some sewing projects that I want to eventually sell on Etsy. I am sometimes too ambitious with the things I want to do. If only there was more time during the day! I have also been reading a lot of interesting books lately. I really love the local library as a resource. Apparently there is this feature where you can request books and they are reserved for you for 5 business days once the book is available. It is really a great system and I have been totally taking advantage of it. The Vancouver Library also stocks a lot of very current books. I have been taking out craft books, sewing books, gardening books, Malcolm Gladwell books, business related books, etc. I love absorbing all that knowledge! Perhaps that is why I have so many hobbies because I want to know more about everything.
Anyhow, I really must finish this update as it is getting late and I must get some rest (despite wanting to do so many things, it is also very important to get some rest). I am looking forward to hanging out with my son tomorrow morning. Hopefully he will sleep in a little so that I can catch some extra zzz’s.
Goodnight folks!
Posted in photography, random, solomon, son, travel
Granville Island & New Toys
Well, it’s the end of my second week off. Feels rather slow but I guess it’s been nice to rest and just take it easy. No, the baby isn’t here yet…
On Wednesday I went for a walk to Granville Island. Took some pics as usual (with the new digicam). It was a lovely walk indeed. I ended up buying some pot pies for Thursday night’s dinner and a Micro Playmobile set from the Kids’ Market.
Yesterday, I also received my Tailor Gibson Blythe from HLJ. She is my first RBL mold Blythe. Her hair is so much softer than I expected it to be. Probably the softest hair of all the Blythe dolls that I have. I had to fix her bangs a bit though because I did not like the gap that came from the factory. So I gave her a hair wash, ironed her bags (with a towel), and gave her a bit of a fringe trim. I have to admit that she looks much cuter in person. Wasn’t sure if I was going to keep her but I think I will. I still need to think of a name (although I quite like the name Tailor itself but then it almost seems thoughtless of me to choose that!).
I made a bear softie last night for a present but haven’t completed it yet. I will take a picture of it once it is done. Made it from some Japanese pattern books (no I am not that talented to come up with my own patterns!). I also just made some cinnamon bread pudding right now. I hope it tastes alright.
Posted in blythe, dolls, other, photography, pocket fairy
New Digital Camera
We bought a new hand-held digital camera over the weekend. We wanted to get a new compact digicam that we can easily carry around since our dSLR can be rather bulky! I have been doing a bit of research to figure out which one has the best features for the best price. I really wanted the Canon SD800 IS but it was just way too much for our budget so we went with the Sony DSC-W80 which was more affordable with similar features.
The colour balance seems a bit off when I take pictures of my dog, but when I take pictures of my dolls, it seems OK. I probably need to fidget around with it some more to get a better feel for it. It is definitely better than my old Sony DSC-P7 (really really old-school digicam that we bought years ago). Also, of course I cannot compare to my trusty dSLR Canon XT.
What do you think of the pictures below? Yay or nay? For around $300 CDN I guess this isn’t too bad…
Posted in dolls, moof, pets, photography, pocket fairy, shopping, solomon