17 PICS!

Thank you to everyone who has already PICd my assignment. I really appreciate it! I am now ranked 138. I need to be in the top 20 to get my assignment before the judges so please keep up the good work! Share my link and story with as many people as you know! Thanks again!

Happy Wednesday!

A few things that I want to share with you today.

First, if you haven’t already please “Pic” my dream assignment. It takes just a second to sign up. The assignments are first judged by how many “Pics” they receive so please pass it on! While you’re there please “Pic” Jana’s as well! Thank you.

Second,

I podcast the audio version and was listening to it this morning on the bus. Needless to say, I think I scared some lady sitting near me when I couldn’t control my cheers for Professor Dyson.

Third, if you are not listening to The Bugle you don’t know what you are missing!

Lastly, it’s a beautiful day, and although I am stuck inside, I am still going to be grateful for it.

Weddings, Sundays and the Future

On Saturday Jana and I shot an 8 hour wedding.  It was, let’s say, a very  interesting day.

We stopped to eat lunch at an Outback and for some reason we were totally giddy. We apologize to our server who might have thought we were laughing at him. I don’t know why we couldn’t control ourselves. Just one of those days I guess.

The location for the wedding was just absolutely gorgeous. A wedding photographer’s dream. I was awestruck at the portraits from my 5D. Finally the quality of the images matches the image I see through my lens.

All in all I think the promotion was a success. We met a lot of great people and a lot of business cards were gone by the end of the night.

I think I finally found the perfect outfit. I was comfortable and had plenty of pocket space. My shoes weren’t bad but I think I could still keep looking. At some point I’ll have to give in and spend the money on really good shoes.

Sunday was a wash for me. I would have liked to have spent some time cleaning and relaxing but I was at my computer the whole day editing pictures and working on my script. It wouldn’t have been such a waste of a day if it wasn’t for the fact that it was my only day off.

This weekend made me all the more resolute that I am doing what I want to do. To have the freedom to plan out my own days. To have no one to report to but myself. To be motivated not by a paycheck, but by my own pride in my work. These are my goals. This has to be my future.

I have lived this dream in my mind many many times: I wake up on a Monday morning, not by an alarm, but by the sun. I throw on my robe and fix some breakfast. I sit down at my computer to check my email and read the news. Then throw on some gym clothes and head to the gym for a nice workout. Head back home, shower, pull out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and head to the office. I imagine that Mondays would be more of a prep day, these are things we need to accomplish this week. If we had a shoot or an event over the weekend, I imagine Mondays wouldn’t even exist.

But until that day comes, and it will come soon, and perhaps just when it is supposed to, here is a little proof that my dream isn’t just a fantasy, it is just a few steps away from being real.

My new Canon 5D!

Palms on my street

I finally got to take my new camera and lens out for a test drive this weekend. I shot some beautiful snaps of my courtyard on Saturday.  I was utterly amazed when I uploaded them into my computer. Sure they could be tweaked in lightrooom, but they didn’t need to be.  The images were so crisp and clean. The amount of contrasts and depth was perfect.

My new lens was a great buy.  I tried to choose something that would give me lots of range for the price. I ended up getting the Canon EF 28-105mm.  Not only do I have the variety of focal length, this lens also shoots in macro.

Ashes

Without much effort I can now take the perfect portraits.

Yesterday, I popped on my flash and took some shots of my cats. I was utterly amazed at the images I was able to capture.

You can see my flickr page for more samples of the test shots I took.

I am deeply in love with my new camera and know that very soon it will become my new best friend.