My 3 Sons

I would be lying if I didn’t admit I was a tad disappointed this baby isn’t a girl. And while I am not quite ready to let the dream die of having a daughter someday. I have been recently envisioning my life with 3 sons. Rather than dwelling on the fact that I am not having a girl, I have been mentally listing all the positives to having 3 sons.

Did you know you only have a 25% chance of having 3 children of the same sex? Amazing…..

The Pro’s To Having 3 Sons:

1. The boys will likely be close friends.

2. Close friends are great at entertaining each other.

3. We make really cute boys.

4. All future sex talks are now in Dads hands.

5. I don’t have to worry about my menstrual cycle syncing with my sons.

6. Hand me downs.

7. I get to remain the only princess in the house.

8. Little boys adore their mothers.

9. I will be so protected and loved when my sons are adults.

10. I know how to raise boys.

Cons to having 3 sons:

1. Pee everywhere in my bathroom, ceiling, walls, and the toilet seat. I no longer can safely sit down on the toilet with out checking first to make sure that urine isn’t splashed all over the seat. Which 95% of the time it is…..

 

2. My grocery bill in about 12 years. Its a really good thing my husband went back to school!

3. TESTOSTORNE! Yikes, am I ever outnumbered!

What am I leaving out?

Rule of Thirds, a Bloggography Tutorial

 

Text and pictures by Lolli

What is the Rule of Thirds?

The Rule of Thirds is a basic composition guideline in photography. It plays on the natural tendency for our eyes to be drawn towards certain parts of an image.

Imagine a tic tac toe board. Now imagine that tic tac toe board sitting on top of your picture. The four lines of a tic tac toe game break the image up into nine equal parts. The four points where the lines intersect are the strongest focal points.

How and when do I use the Rule of Thirds?

The rule of thirds can be applied to any photograph. It is not a set-in-stone, you MUST DO THIS type of rule, but a general guideline that will enhance the aesthetic quality of your pictures. The fact is that the average person tends to center all their subjects in photos, but that is rarely the most interesting way to compose a shot. See the following example of me and CandyMan:

Here’s the way most people would frame a shot of a couple (special thanks to my sister for taking this picture of us–centered–just because my husband insisted on it)…..

My sister and I convinced my husband that an off-center photo of us would look even better. He didn’t believe us until he saw the image later. Now he wants it framed.

It doesn’t matter which line or intersection you use, but some lines/points will have a stronger effect than others. Where you place your subject also adds to the “story” that it tells or the mood that it conveys. Placing your subject on the opposite line of the direction he or she is facing or moving towards is usually preferred, as illustrated in this photo. The boys are moving towards the left side of the frame, so I placed them on the right grid line.

Where do I find it?

Unlike most Bloggography tutorials, there is no simple guide to finding this on your camera. And I don’t recommend drawing the tic tac toe grid on your viewfinder to help you remember. This is one of those things that you have to internalize. Simply image that grid on all of your images as you compose each shot through your viewfinder.

The Challenge:

This week, we challenge you to imagine the tic tac toe grid and take some pictures using the rule of thirds. Think about where you position your subject and how that positioning effects the mood, message, or aesthetic value of the image.

4 Months

Yes, I swear there is only one baby in there! My husband gave me the endearing nickname “Gigantore” during my first pregnancy, its actually pretty fitting. Wait till you see me in my 9th month!

Nothing really new to report. I have more energy now (most of the time), which has been really nice. I broke down and finally bought some things for the baby. We have nothing in the way of baby gear. After Ezra got diagnosed I donated it all, because it was so hard to envision us wanting another child.

So even though I didn’t get a little girl, I still get to buy baby clothes which are insanely tiny! And may or may not of brought tears to eyes when I was folding them….

Almost half way there!

Your Questions, Answered

So a handful of you were kind enough to ask me a few questions, and I didn’t want to leave you hanging!

Kim asked:

-You may have answered this before but did you take photography classes or just kind of teach yourself?

I have yet to take a photography class, but would love to if I could find a good one and rationalize the cost! I am completely self-taught, and honestly I maybe know 1/2 of all there is to know about photography, I have so much to learn yet!

I learned mainly from books, and a few websites. If you are a complete beginner I recommend starting with an easy to read book like  “The Digital Photography Book” by Scott Kelby, there are three books in that series which are great. After you have read those books snag yourself a copy of “Understanding Exposure” by Bryan Peterson.

I like the website Digital Photography School, and I also love browsing the Flickr groups for inspiration.

-Also, if you could take a trip to anywhere and time/money were not an issue, where would you go?

I don't think I could pick one place, how about two? I would love to go to Santorini, Greece and also Holland. And maybe back to Jamaica for an anniversary!

Teri asked:

-How are you dealing with your bipolar disorder during your pregnancy? Do you feel less symptoms during pregnancy?

Good question. I seem to be doing pretty good so far. I am not taking any medication with this pregnancy, when I was pregnant with my other 2 boys, I stayed on an anti-depressant. Which now in hindsight probably made it harder on me. Since anti-depressants can trigger mania. Or in my case extreme nesting, and moodiness!

Its hard to say what is my bipolar disorder and what is hormones. I have felt slightly depressed at times and slightly manic at other times, but it is nothing that isn’t manageable. But I am only 4 months in…ask me in a few more months!

Cyndy asked:

- When are we going out to dinner again?

lol, I love food right now, so whenever works for me!

- When did you start getting interested in photography?

When I started my blog. I was reading all these blogs with amazing pictures and since we already had a DSLR camera, I made it my mission to learn how to use it! Best Christmas gift I ever bought my husband!



- Does Rowan understand Ezra's leukemia, and how did he deal with it?

I honestly don’t know. He knows Ezra has to go to the Dr. a lot and is in and out of the hospital, but I am not sure he understands why. We tell him Ezra isn’t feeling well and that the Dr.s and hospital are helping him to get better.


I have tried to explain that Ezra has cancer to Rowan, but it just kind of went over his head.


Ever since Ezra’s first long hospital stay, Rowan and Ezra have become much closer. I guess having your baby brother away for so long makes you realize how much you like him. I really don’t lie when I say they are best friends.

Erin asked:

I was just wondering how you deal with stress, or emotions that are hard to handle sometimes?


For me its really important that I get out of the house for some alone time. I don’t get to do it too often but when I do I so enjoy it!


Writing is also very therapeutic for me, that really helps me sort through all the different emotions.


It also helps that I have a really supportive husband, we always keep the communication very open between the two of us.

Natalie asked:

How did you come up with the names for your boys? Any name ideas for the bun in the oven?

With Rowan’s name I read it somewhere and suggested it to my husband and we immediately agreed on it.


With Ezra my mother-in-law was spewing out baby names at lunch one day and said that name and we both loved it.


For this baby, I have no clue! I of course have about 5 girl names picked out. But no boy names that I am really sold on. My husband and I both like different names, but not so different that they are teased or people don’t know how to spell it or say it.


I am going through a baby name book and writing down names that I kind of like. But likely we will just stumble upon a name like we did with the other two.

Lorie asked:

I'm wondering about how to use Photoshop.  Where do I start and how to I use it?

Photoshop can be so overwhelming. I recommend getting a book that has tutorials in it like "The Adobe Photoshop CS4 for Digital Photographers", or there are a lot of tutorials on youtube. Or just get on there and experiment!

Thanks so much for the questions ladies!

It’s a…….

 

I know, I am still mildly in shock too! At my last ultrasound the tech told me she thought it was a boy, so I have had some time to adjust to the idea. And you know what? I am truly happy. When I had that scare a few weeks ago, I knew in that moment that I didn’t care what gender the baby was anymore, as long as it was healthy. And he is, so I couldn’t ask for anything more.

There really was no mistaking the gender, Mr. Turtle was there in all of his boy parts glory.

My husband is a tad excited, he is convinced that since its another boy he can talk me into a 4th child. Yes, he is that crazy about kids, and he is the most amazing father ever. But….he doesn’t bake said babies for 9 months. Its nice to have dreams though hun!

We went out after the ultrasound and bought some clothes and mandatory Cons for the baby, which got me really excited. Its all so tiny!

I am beyond delighted.

I can’t wait to meet you little baby man…….

Bloggography Exposure Compensation Challenge

Each week, Lolli and I  pick out our favorite entry into the previous challenge, go check out Lolli’s blog to see who she chose. This week I chose Marie’s picture from Everyday Matters. Its a great action shot!

Now on to the assignment! This week we explored exposure compensation.  Here is my picture with a Spring theme, our azaleas are in bloom!

My first picture was taken with my exposure comp. on zero.

The next picture was taken with my exposure comp. on  -0.3. I like this picture better because less of the flower is blown out.

We'll be posting some of our favorite shots from this week's challenge in two weeks. Will we pick yours?

Don’t forget to grab a button or link back to Lolli and I on your post . And make sure you add your picture to the Flickr group as well. You don’t even need a blog to participate, you can just leave the link to your picture in the Flickr group.

The MckLinky will be up for one week, so you have plenty of time to take a picture still!

Don’t forget to go check out my co-hosts picture!

And now for the sharing of photos!

Mom time

I had been going a little batty spending so much time at home with my 2 darling little boys. So I took off to the closest beach, which happens to be a quaint little fishing town. I treated myself to some crab bisque and strolled around taking pictures. (thanks again dear husband for letting me go)

Here is what I saw on my happy stroll….

I heart this picture…

This sign may mean something to a novice fisherman, but it just made me giggle…

Locals call this the honeymoon shack…romantic right?

I loved getting out of the house and felt so invigorated after I left. It did make me wonder though……why don’t I do this more often?

Love this boy….

“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair...”  ~Susan Polis Shutz

Open Q & A

(image from Google images)

I am lacking blogging ideas, so I thought I would turn to my dear readers and have a little open Q & A session.

So is there anything you would like to know about me, my bipolar disorder, Ezra’s leukemia, my family, my pregnancy, blogging questions, photography questions? Anything? Anyone? Bueller….?

Please ask your questions in the comments, and make sure to leave your link (if you have one) in case I answer your question!

Exposure Compensation, a Bloggography Tutorial

This week we are going to explore exposure compensation!

What is exposure compensation?

Exposure compensation is a feature that DSLR cameras, and even some point and shoots have that allows you to manually adjust the exposure of your picture.

When your camera takes a picture the light meter inside of your camera reads the available light and automatically adjusts the exposure for you. However, the light meter does not always read the available light correctly, the ability to adjust your exposure manually can save many a picture.

Exposure compensation is measured in values ranging anywhere from +5 to –5 (varies in cameras). A positive exposure value will allow in more light, and a negative exposure value will allow less light in.

The way I remember this is + (positive) = add light, and - (negative) = subtract light.

Choosing a correct exposure value helps preserve detail in both dark and bright areas of an image.

Which exposure value should I use?

There is no easy answer to that question, it differs in every picture you take! So I will give you some examples instead.

Lets say you are outside on a sunny day,  but you want to use a large aperture to create a shallow depth of field in your picture. You take the shot and you notice it seems blown out, so to fix this you would need to subtract light by adjusting the exposure value to a negative number.

The first picture was taken with my exposure comp. on zero (f/1.8, ISO 200, 1/1250sec)

 

The 2nd picture was taken with my exposure comp –0.7 (f/1.8, ISO 200, 1/2000sec)

You can see the 2nd picture shows more detail and has richer colors as well.

Now lets say you are taking a picture in a shaded area, and your image seems too dark, and lacks detail. Then you would want to add light to your image buy adjusting the exposure value to a positive value.

First picture taken with my exposure comp. on zero (f/1.8, ISO 800, 1/13sec)

2nd shot taken with my exposure comp on +0.7 (f/1.8, ISO 800, 1/8 sec)

See how it lightened up the picture?

When I am out doing photo shoots, I use exposure compensation all the time. Especially since I take most of my pictures outdoors, and the light can vary so much. It really can help to bring out detail in a persons face.

The best way to learn exposure compensation is by experimenting.

Where is my exposure compensation button?

Your cameras exposure comp. button should look like a square with a plus and minus symbol in it.

Hold it down and turn your dial to make changes, you should see this info in your LCD screen as you are doing it.

Check out Lolli’s blog to see it on a Canon.

****Note: it should be noted that exposure comp only works on M,A,S,or P modes (at least on my Nikon that is how it is)

The challenge:

Experiment with your cameras exposure compensation, take an example of a correctly exposed picture and an incorrectly exposed picture.

For and added challenge find a sign of Spring to take a picture of. Spring is in the air!

***Remember + (positive) = add light, and - (negative) = subtract light.

Don’t forget to come back next Tuesday to link up and show us what you have learned!

It’s tough….

Ezra wanted you to know that it is tough sometimes being the little brother.

And that he can’t wait until he has someone to boss around and steal toys from…..

P.S. Doesn’t he look amazing!!?