I found another Groupon-type deal for 20x200 artwork here.
I’m thinking of getting this piece of art, another one I’ve been admiring for a while now.
Encyclopedia 2 by Valerie Roybal
And maybe I can convince my mom to buy me its mate. ;)
Secret Language 3 by Valerie Roybal
Available at 20x200.com
Spring has sprung early here in Indiana.
And boy am I getting a taste of what this summer will be like! With the lawn-mowing, and the flower planting, and the weeding…and the list goes on. :)
But it’s so enjoyable, and a few early spring flowers are blooming.
Like our lilacs:
Happy Spring!
And you thought I was married.
No, really, I am married. And what I love is my boyfriend of a camera.
Yes, I really do secretly kiss my camera. Okay, sometimes it’s not so secretive.
I’m sad my camera can’t take a picture of itself. What a great picture that would be. Alas, I must be content with this cell phone snap. Nikon D5100 with SB-400 bounce flash.
My boyfriend is a Nikon D5100 DSLR. He’s most often equipped with his kit lens (an 18-55mm) or a 35mm f1.8 lens, and the Nikon SB-400 flash in the bounce position. And I love him.
I could really talk about my camera for hours (pages?) and why I picked it but I’ll try not to.
I am no pro. I upgraded from a hand-me-down point-shoot, but I knew I wanted my next camera to do all kinds of cool things, so I started researching.
Why a DSLR? I settled on a DSLR instead of a more compact (and potentially blue) camera when I realized that the most important things to me were the ability to snap multiple photos quickly and the ability to use an external flash (and also to get the amazing ranges in depth of field that DSLRs can provide). Some more compact cameras have hotshoes for external flashes, but DSLRs have the quickest shooting and the most choices of accessories (flashes, etc.) And I just decided that I’d be willing to carry it around. And I have been willing. And I do carry it everywhere.
Here’s a cute snap I got of my goddaughter, because my camera’s so quick! 35mm f1.8 lens
Why Nikon? Really because Ken Rockwell told me to go with Nikon. Because he likes their flashes. The SB-400 flash is what sold me on a Nikon DSLR. Really, though, between Canon and Nikon, there’s so much quality, it’s really nit-picking when you compare.
Excuse my gruddy hair and makeupless face, but this is a great example of why I love my SB-400 bounce flash. The left picture was taken with the flash straight on and the right picture was taken with the flash bounced off the ceiling. Doesn’t it look better and so natural?
Why D5100? So, there was the D40 that seemed perfect but discontinued. Then the D3100 had come out, and Ken Rockwell told me that it was the perfect camera for me, but there were a few things about it that I was hesitant about: one being the LCD screen. So, I just waited. I had been waiting for a new camera and agonizing over the decision so long, that more waiting wasn’t hurting anything.
When I discovered that the D5100 came out (a little while after it was really released), it seemed perfect. It was definitely a little more expensive than the D3100, but the features that sold me were the better LCD on the back (so I can learn what I’m doing right and wrong as I take pictures), the articulating screen (I don’t use it all the time, but when I do, it helps me get some awesome angles), the ability to use the ML-L3 wireless remote (family photos with the remote instead of the self-timer! No more running back and forth. Just lots of fun family photos. I call it “tripod time” and my family knows what to do).
Silly family at tripod time! If you look closely, you can see my thumb pressing down on the remote. :)
When I got it, I immediately ordered these things:
SB-400 flash
Nikon NC filter
ML-L3 remote
extra battery
And a little later, for my birthday, I got this lens: Nikon’s 35mm f1.8. It’s great in low-light and produces a nice, shallow depth-of-field for those pretty blurry backgrounds.
Brandon’s grandma and our goddaughter.
Look at that nice shallow depth-of-field. And really, just another excuse to post a baby picture.
So far, that is my happy little family. I got this book and this book, which I referenced a lot at the beginning and still reference now and again. I liked that they each come with a gray card, which I keep in my camera bag.
I’m looking for a new camera bag, am planning a new camera strap, and of course, am shopping for new accessories. I’ll keep you posted on the additions to my boyfriend’s entourage!
On my way home from taking Brandon to the airport last week, I stopped by the University of Chicago, my alma mater, to snap a few pictures. The sun went down and it got cold too quickly :) but I still got a few that I like.
Early March daffodils in front of Eckhart Hall.
Eckhart Hall at dusk.
Reynolds Club at 57th Street.
Hopefully I’ll get a chance to go back before school’s out to catch some sunny daytime shots of students and life. :)
(I tweaked the first 2 photos a bit in Picasa, but the last is straight out of my boyfriend of a camera, who I will gush to you about one day!)
We celebrated with my auntie and a lunch of yummy fried calamari and juicy hamburgers!
I love you, mom!
(Boy will she hate it if she ever finds out I posted a picture of her!) :)
It’s been about a month since my last Aerogarden update.
I’ve given in and raised the light because the cilantro is just huge and wants to keep getting huger. You’re supposed to keep the light as low as possible to encourage the slower-growing plants (like my basil), but I feel like I can’t keep up with the pruning of the cilantro, so I just gave in, like I said, and raised the lamp a little.
My basil still looks dinky compared to the cilantro and now the parsley, but really it’s doing fine. I’m just aggressively pruning it, following the instructions of this forum poster, so that I’ll end up with bigger, leafier harvests once the plant is matured. I’m really looking forward to fresh bruschetta and basil with fresh mozzarella.
And lastly, I’ll admit that besides being amazed at how big the parsley is, I’ve kind of forgotten about it. I haven’t been pruning it (I really should get on that) and I haven’t interested in the recipes I have that call for it. (I can’t even remember which they are, but I know they’re good ones from America’s Test Kitchen and their books like Cook’s Country and the Family Cookbook.)
At some point, I’ll keep you posted with recipes that I make with these herbs!
