Funnnn
I took my camera to school yesterday.. I don't know why, I just grabbed it on the way out. 250 photos and many laughing-until-crying moments later, I'm so glad I did! My friend Jen and I got out in the sun and found a really cool tree. We tried some Anne Geddes baby poses (didn't go so well. Maybe because we're not babies? I may post some of those another time if I get brave lol), practiced our climbing skills, and Jen did an *awesome* faceplant into the ground below. I completely failed that moment though, I didn't get a picture or catch her! Ugh. She didn't like the idea of recreating it though. Too bad. We went to the tree twice, once around 3pm in full sun, and again around 6:30 right before sunset. The lighting wasn't great either time, and there are harsh shadows and distracting things in the background. But I totally don't care, I really love these. I wish I'd had my 30mm with me though, it's sharper and I needed the wider angle. CC on how to do better next time would be great though!

I hope you like these are much as I do. Jen is an awesome subject, and sooo much fun, so hopefully you'll be seeing lots more of her :) And she didn't do too bad with the camera herself, I'm actually including a picture of myself in here! Yikes.. At least now you'll be able to imagine me. Thanks Jen!!!

Sorry for the obnoxious watermark. I've decided with recent events that it's better to be safe than sorry...

My Best Friend
She *doesn't* like having her picture taken. At all. But I helped her with an essay last night, so she owed me a few shots today! For my birthday she also promised to let me do a "shoot" with her. I think I'll take her to yesterday's graffiti for that one sometime next week. She should let me take more pictures of her, don't you think? :)

Please offer any CC you have, I'm open to anything since I'm always trying to learn! Both are with my Sigma 30mm 1.4, at f/3.2, 1/200, ISO 100.

Urban Art
Took some snaps of the local graffiti today. I love colour, but I'm warning you, these are bright. I had fun with them though, and I like the look. Quite a change from the baby feet from yesterday :) I walk by the graffiti almost every day, but I don't usually pay much attention. I had fun exploring it today though, there's so much detail! Sorry there are so many, I couldn't choose. I'd love if everyone chose a favourite, I think I'll get one prined just for fun to see how the colours turn out. Thanks! (*Remember you can click to make the picture bigger*)

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Babies are sooo cute
I got to spend some time with this cutie tonight. She's less than a month old and was completely mellow. She just lay in my arms looking at me all night! So sweet. It's been a while since I've looked after such a little baby, and I really love them, so tonight was a dream. Grabbed a couple of snaps while I was there. It was night, so I only had the regular room lights. And I was too busy holding her to really worry about pictures. Nothing too exciting, but I still love them :)

I'm lucky this was a doll...
I'm really on a roll! This posting thing is turning into a good routine late at night. I took another of my dolls out for photos today when I got home from school, wanted to catch the light right before sunset. I'm so excited that there was still light at 6:45! Her hair was a mess, does anyone have any tips on taming doll hair? It sort of sticks to the brush when I try to brush it. Maybe I'll try a comb. I don't remember this doll's name, I think it was either Emily or Emma. I always thought she was sooo beautiful :)

Here she is gazing into the sunset.


And....

Here she is after she fell off the ledge onto the stairs below. Into a puddle. Her hair needs even more help now, but I'm happy to report that she's drying nicely and should be back to her old self soon. Thank goodness this wasn't a real kid.


In other news... I plan to get a life soon and have some pictures of things other than dolls!

Blast from the past
Wednesdays I'm in school from 11am-10pm, so there's not much time for picture taking. Tonight I really felt like doing something photography related, even if it wasn't taking pics. So, I went through some older files and these 2 jumped out at me. I must be in a nostalgic mood.

This is one of the little characters that sit by our plates at Christmas. My grandparents lived in France for a while, and I think they go them on a trip to Germany while they were there. These little guys are old and falling apart now, but I can't imagine a Christmas without them... Family traditions are cool, I'm going to try to appreciate mine more I think. Usually I just roll my eyes.


This is a little clown. Obviously :P
I love clowns. I have a whole collection of clowns, some beautiful, some cuddly, some creepy. When my grandmother announced she was moving into a nursing home last year and wanted us to claim what we wanted from her apartment, all I could think of was the little box of clowns. There are 3 little clowns like this in an old blue Birks box. I used to take them out of the drawer and play with them whenever we visited her house. And now I have them. I think they're my favourite clowns of all. I felt really guilty when this one kept falling off the fence into the dirt while I tried to take his picture.. They don't sit up very well!

To sleep like a baby...
How gorgeous is she?? I'm so jealous of the sleep she's getting in these pics. I'm quickly popping in to post this, but I won't have much internet time tonight/tomorrow otherwise. I've got a huge project due tomorrow that is nowhere near finished. Sorry to everyone whose blogs I won't get to until tomorrow/Thursday! If you commented here and haven't seen me at your blog yet, this is why. I will make it though, so don't hate me.

I'm ridiculously tired and I have no idea why. I really hope I'm not getting sick.

Stupid joke I've been laughing at all day: Two silkworms were in a race. It ended in a tie.

Have a great evening everyone! (Or morning, day, afternoon, whatever...) :)

Seriously? This is pathetic.

This is what I should be doing:


This is what I am doing:


I really love Grey's Anatomy though. And coupled with ILP it makes for an awesome afternoon. But those darn books keep haunting me... They wail and moan from under the bed, they creep into my thoughts at the most inopportune times. I will need to stop ignoring them at some point. But I'm happy with McDreamy for now :)

Bowl of bubbles, anyone?
Lulu (see link at right) inspired me to try blowing some bubbles for pictures today. Lulu, please tell me someone else was blowing them for you. Please. I couldn't do it. Put stick in mixture. Bring to mouth. Blow. Put down stick. Bring camera to eye. Focus. POP! Bubble is gone. Although really they were mostly carried away in the wind before I could even put down the stick. I had fun trying though! So I came inside and blew bubbles back into the bubble mixture instead. It's a mixture of water, dishsoap, food colouring, and blackstrap molasses. Not very exciting, but it was amusing.


I'll consider this a self-portrait. I'm waving to all of you, hi!!

Toy fun
Sooo, things get difficult when you don't have any subjects. So I took some of my old toys out to play today. I think they liked the fresh air after so many years in the basement! I tried some new post processing on these, do you think it works?

Agnes: Backlit.
Tried out some backlighting today for the first time. I don't think it went too badly. I like the results, actually, I'm excited to try again soon. I metered off her face and shot away. She has a tendency to look grumpy in all photos, so I was happy to get a smile!

Progression
I've been looking back at some older captures recently and revisiting them to see what I'd do differently now. This was taken in the end of December (ok, they're not exactly the same image. But close enough to prove my point) and I thought my first edit (the first picture below) was awesome. Now it just looks so blah. The current edit still isn't perfect (couldn't get the burning right), but it's come a long way. Progression is exciting! :)

Sooo, it's been a while. I've been really busy with school (and shouldn't be posting now, I have my stats midterm on Saturday morning!)... But, I can't leave Pedro at the top of the page forever. One of my favourite food blogs is 28 Cooks, and I love trying recipes from there because they're always amazing. When I saw black bean pie on there, I knew I had to try it. I'm only one person though, and most people I know wouldn't be caught dead eating something "weird" like this. So I knew I couldn't make a whole huge pie, it would go to waste. So, after a few days of figuring out what to do, I came up with a plan. I made a batch of flaky cream cheese pie crust, and while it was chilling in the fridge I made the pie filling. Greased up a muffin tin, rolled out the crust dough, and cut it to fit overflowing in the muffin holes (can't think of a better word... spaces?) I mixed the filling with the cheese, filled the spaces with the bean/cheese mixture, and pulled the excess crust up over the top. They look something like apple strudels, and OMG they're good. I ate a couple (ok, 4) and froze the rest. They reheat really nicely in the microwave or in the oven. I had some leftover filling, so I warmed it and put it on a roll as a sandwich. That was amazing too! I love this stuff! I even converted the vegetarian-food-haters that I live with, they love these little pies too. Try it, you won't be disappointed!