a bag of chips

It's about time.

I love to scrap and I've been missing it. I have a huge (really, embarrassingly huge) supply of scrap crap stuff and an entire half of my garage/scrap studio/spider haven is devoted to storing and organizing it all.  I have an abundance of stuff and a severe shortage of time.  I've been doing projects and assingments for Simple which I adore doing, but it's been pretty rare lately to scrap just for me.  So that's what I've devoted this evening to doing.  Scrapping.  Just me and my crap stash, some fave movies and a few cups of something warm and caffeinated.  What better thing to do on a cold and rainy night than a scrapfest?  (Okay, I can think of a few things, too, but let's keep this post G-rated.)

Here's my first which I also posted at the Simple Studio.  I'll post more tomorrow.

Scenes from a far away place.

We're back now from Trinidad and in recovery mode.  I cannot describe how good it felt to open my door and see Aidan running down the stairs to greet us.  He kissed Nadia first.  Makena was already fast asleep but still got some butterfly kisses in the dark from me. 

Miss Nadia was a gem of a traveler.  She was great on the airplanes and and so easy-going throughout all the festivities and hoardes of people she met.  She slept like a champ and loved playing in the rain. 

My mom deserves a medal (well, she deserves many, actually) for holding down our fort and keeping our kids alive while we were gone.  I've found all the kitchen things she put in strange places and The Bigs call out for her when mean mommy holds firm on the rules. 

And thanks for your kindness and sympathy over the loss of my Great Uncle Joe, and for your prayers for my FIL, Donald, who is doing much better.  You guys are the best.

I've got tons of things to catch up on now that we're back so this post is short on words but long on photos from our trip.  Enjoy!

#1. Hendricks the fruit guy who sold us some sugar cane.  #2. Colorful shack getting ready for Carnival.  #3.  My lovely SIL, Marti.  #4.  My lovely SIL, Andi.  #5.  The beach house we stayed at Sunday and Monday.  It was an idyllic beach house and so hard to leave.  We may just stay there again this summer for my DH's 50th b-day. #6.  Cute cousins.  #7.  Miss Nadia on the beach.  #8.  My goofy guy.  #9.  Some pretty ladies, friends of my MIL.  #10.  One of the little cousins playing on the beach.  Isn't she gorgeous? 

Some sad news.

So here I am in Trinidad, 8000 miles away from my home, when I receive a sobbing voicemail message from my mom.  My great uncle, Monsignor Joseph M. Champlin, passed away yesterday.  To say that Uncle Joe was a great man would be the understatement of the century.  He lived a full and faithful life and will be missed by a very great many people.  I take comfort in knowing that he is now where he worked his whole life to be and that his pain and suffering are over, but that doesn't mean he won't be any less missed here on Earth.  Please pray for us all as we say goodbye to a very beloved member of our family.

And it also seems as if my Father-in-Law, Donald, has another infection and is being admitted to the hospital again tonight.  It's a blessing in many ways that we're here in Trinidad to spend time with him as it's becoming clearer that this may be the last time.  Please keep Donald and this big, loving Trini family in your prayers.

Rest in His peace, Uncle Joe.  I love you and will miss you.  And say "hi" to my dad, please, and tell him I miss him, too. 

Hello and good-bye.

Well, it's time for us to limbo on down to Trinidad, mon.  We'll be back on Wednesday next week and I can guarantee a banana-boat load of photos to share. 

Before I go, I promised to pick a winner from all of those who asked questions for last week's Q&A.  So congrats to...(insert drumroll here)...Kristi (kribss)!  Shoot me an email with your mailing addy and I'll get a box o'goodies to you when I get back.  Thanks to all of you who questioned and commented.  I'm always open to questions, but I plan another Q&A in the next few months.

And pray for an easy 24 hours of traveling with this screaming mimi:

More Q&A and a few cousins.

On Sunday the lot of us went to my grandparent's house in Bel Air.  Quite a hefty drive from San Diego but totally worth it to be with family, some of whom I hadn't seen since August.  After a yummy lunch and some Christmas present opening, I dragged some of my cousins out for a walk, camera in hand.

Here's some of what we got:

That is Caroline.  This next one is Matthew.

And this is the whole gang looking way to cool with this rusty old dumpster.  From L>R is Mackenzie, Caroline, Alexander, Annie, Matthew, Molly and Elizabeth.  Back at the ranch are:

Miss Katie

And JoJo with Dylan helping with the leaves in the backyard.

Corin was helping, too.

We had lots of crazy fun with the cousins and the grands.  Family.  Love.

And now for the Q&A portion of the night.

One poster, kribss, asked three questions:

1.av mode, pictures come out yellow/orange. I know its the lighting inside the house/room that causes it, is it the ISO that I need to change- higher or lower? Or am I way off? (see question #2)
2. Money being no object which photoshop would you recommend for a new user? Just got my camera in October. I'm thinking of the mac daddy pcs3. I have all the time in the world to learn it.
3. How do you get your kids to try new foods? I have a 3 yr old.

Answers:

The yellow/orange tint in your photos has to do with the White Balance and not with the mode or ISO.  If you are indoors, you need to select the White Balance for the type of lighting you have to work with.  Read your camera's manual and practice changing the WB to see the effects.

Money being no object, I guess I would recommend you get mac daddy CS3 and take all that time to learn it.  For those with money issues, PSE 6.0 is Photoshop lite and is perfectly capable of doing to your photos what I do to mine in CS2. Really, unless you plan on doing some serious graphic design, most of us could do just fine with PSE 6.0.  And, don't forget, Costco has a coupon coming up where the price of PSE 6.0 is nearly half-off.  A hugely fabulous bargain and tons of bang for not a whole lotta buck.

Nadia is our champion eater who lately rarely looks at her own plate to see what's for dinner.  Makena can surprise me now and then with her adventuresome culinary endeavors (shrimp tempura being one), and Aidan is our whiney foodie crybaby.  As I said in a prior post, with The Bigs, especially Aidan, if it doesn't begin with Chicken and end with Nuggets, they won't eat it.  With getting The Bigs to try new things, I will put a teenie, tiny portion of what us grown-ups are eating on their plates and they have to eat it all gone in order to get dessert.  Sometimes it works, most times it doesn't.  Letting them dip everything in ketchup (even apples and bananas - shudder) can sometimes help them along.  But, if they don't like my lasagna, cool!  More for me.

A question from my bud Julie Hickey:

What aperture settings do you find that you use most often? For example, the closeup baby shots.

Answer:

With newborns, it really does vary with different lenses and lighting.   Generally speaking, somewhere between f2.8 and f5 or f6 is best.   

A few questions from Jenn: 

We are currently waiting to adopt ourselves (the Hubby and I), we are caucasian, and we are adopting a newborn African-American boy or girl.  My question is, how did you learn how to do your childrens hair (book? you just knew? internet?)? and what type of products do you use for their hair?--My husband and I have thin, fine hair so I am a little nervous on how to do our childs hair properly! Any help on that would be great!

My photography question is-how did you learn what lens was for what? I see all these numbers written on the lens and I am like 'whattt.....????!!!'

Answer:

As the white mom of two gorgeous black girls, and for most transracial adoptive parents of children with afro hair, hair is a HUGE topic of concern and anxiety.  Well, not really any more for me, but it used to be.  I read a book ("It's All Good Hair") and participated in forum discussions on adoption websites.  This site is great, too.  I also just practiced a lot.  I've never done cornrows and probably never will - I've got fat fingers and only so much patience.  Twists and puffs are the most common styles the girls' wear.  The most important thing about afro skin, hair and scalp care is moisture.  I swear by Carol's Daughter products for hair and scalp, and Cetaphil Cream and Aquaphor for skin.  The folks on the transracial adoption board at Adoption Forums have been beyond helpful with questions about the special care that black hair and skin need. 

And about what lenses to use when, it just takes practice with each lens to know what each of them do.  I decided on lens purchases by studying the photos of my favorite photographers and buying what they used most.  The amazing Carrie Sandoval and Brittany Woodall of Barebaby include the lens and photo data with their photos (and something I need to get in the habit of doing again).  This is immeasurably helpful for understanding which lenses are used and why.  Brittany's photos inspired the purchase of a 100mm 2.8 lens which I used to take these two photos.

From Clair: 

I know that natural lighting is best- do you call off a photoshoot if lighting conditions are not ideal? If not, how do you work around it? Along the same lines, do you try to schedule all your appointments at peek times for sunlight? Is it possible to do an indoor shoot without a flash? If so, how?

Answer:

For indoor sessions, I generally schedule them for morning or afternoon, and I ask the client questions about their home and the availability of natural light in their home in order to pick the best time of day.  All I really need is a decent amount of space in a room with a big-ish window that gets good light but not direct sunlight.  I (barely, rarely, hardly ever) use a flash in my photography.  I work with the light that's available.  If it appears that, upon arrival at a location, there is not sufficient natural light to work with, I would probably have to reschedule.

For working with only available light at an indoor location, knowing my camera, my lenses and how to properly adjust my settings for the right exposure is key to getting it right.  That takes three things:  practice, practice, practice.

Whew!  Keep them coming, my friends! 

And for Lisa, yes, I do think I'll do these Q&A events on a regular basis.  Thanks for the great suggestion! 

Answers.

Thanks for all the great emails and questions!  On Friday I'll be randomly picking a question-asker (or two!) to receive a box of scrappin' goodies, so keep those questions coming.

Question from Cathy:

How do you get shadowing around photographs?

This shadowing technique is sort of like vignetting.There are a few ways to do this, but I'll talk about the one I almost always use. In Photoshop and PSE, the Burn tool is the easiest way to achieve this effect.  Set a round brush size kind of large (on a 4 x 6 photo at 300 dpi a brush size of 578 works well but play around with it), the Range to "Midtones" and the Exposure to around 30.  For more drama, play around with the exposure.  Then drag the brush around the outside of the image.  Here's an example of the effect using the Burn tool:

Before:

After:

Another way to do this is by using the Lasso tool around the edges of your photo, inverting the selection and then use Curves and Levels to darken.  And there are many actions out there for vignettes as well.  Give it a try!

Cathy also wanted to know what flash I recommend for her Canon xti.   I am not a flash kinda gal.  I own one but I suck at using it.  I have the Canon Speedlight 430EX and it works great for what I can do with it as long as I also have on my flash the Gary Fong Lightsphere. I love this product and it is slowly but ever-so-surely changing my mind about the use of my flash.  Gary makes diffusers for many types of cameras so, with your pop-up flash on your xti, Cathy, I recommend you check out what he has available for your camera before you spend your money on a flash.

Heather asked:

I would love to learn to use the manual settings any suggestions?

Shooting in Manual Mode has its benefits.  There are times when Manual is the only way to take a particular shot.  However, and I'm going out on an unpopular limb here, I don't feel that anyone needs to master Manual.  Our cameras are smart, expensive cookies and they generally do a great job of figuring out the particulars of exposure for us.  So give yourself a break and don't feel pressured by Manual.  That being said, the best way to get to know how to use the Manual setting is to practice the effects that ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture have together to properly expose a shot.  I usually use Manual indoors in lower light when shooting a newborn (gosh that sounds horrible!) since lighting is stable and the subject is (hopefully) sleeping.  The horror of using Manual is forgetting to change your settings each time you move or your subject moves (um, been there, done that too many times to count).  For outdoors when chasing toddlers around, I think an auto setting or the AV setting (where you control ISO and Aperture and the camera figures out the right Shutter Speed) works best.  In fact, I use the AV setting most of the time.

And my friend, Tram, asks:

If you had to use only one lens, which one would it be?

Great question!  I'm torn, but I'd have to say it's my new baby, the Canon 24-70L 2.8.  It's a heavy thing but it's gorgeous and pretty versitile.  Before I got my new love, I used my 50mm 1.8, the best deal in lenses, quite a bit more than the rest in my stash. 

I also have some twin photos to share, so head on over here for a peekie!

Q & A + Tutorial

So, it's time, my friends, to get your burning questions answered.  It's open mic night and the floor is yours.  In fact, I've received a few questions already, so I'll go ahead and answer those:

Question from Lisa:

I got a digital SLR for Christmas a year ago, and although I'm very happy with it because it's so fast (I was missing so many pictures of my kids because my point and shoot was too slow), I don't think my pictures are that great. Other than using natural lighting and getting in closer, what is the one thing I can do with my SLR to take better photos? (Most of my pictures are taken inside and they are pictures of my kids.)

Answer:

Practice, practice practice.  Well, that's three things.  And then I actually have a few more basic pointers for taking better photos indoors. 

First, a decent lens is a good start.  I love the Canon 50mm 1.8 which is a steal at about $80.00 new.  The 1.8 aperture really helps in low-light surroundings. 

The second is to set your White Balance to Shade or Cloudy, and I know some who keep their WB on Sunny for everything.  But play around with the WB to find the indoor setting you like.

The next pointer is not be afraid of higher ISO settings.  The most important thing is to catch the moment - noise from a high ISO setting can be conquered during editing.  For using a flash, there are several awesome filter/diffuser products on the market for flashes and pop-up flashes.  I have the Lightsphere by Gary Fong and I love it.  I mean, I'm not a fan of flash photography but this product is far better than bare bulbs.

Next, if you haven't yet, invest in good photo editing software.  Adobe CS2, Lightroom, and Photoshop Elements (PSE) are wonderful, and LR and PSE are also fabulous for organizing photos as well.  At around $80 (Costco has a $30-off coupon for this coming up later this month) PSE is a great product from a great price.  Improving your photos with editing software is quite easy in just a few steps (levels, contrast, saturation and sharpening are a few great basic functions.)   

And, lastly, don't feel like you need to get closer.  In fact, some kids are easier to photograph if you just stay back a bit and let them do their thing.  This keeps it real.  Getting in their faces can intrude on the moment.  And you can always crop in later during editing.

Another question:

What do you use to carry your camera when going out with the family? i'm looking for something girly that doesnt shout "camera bag."

Answer:

I am currently using a Tracy Joy bag for transporting my camera and equipment.  And, while it's roomy enough for my camera, lenses and accessories, it's probably not the best bag for me.  It's cute and definitely not "camera bag" looking, but it's floppy and not well padded.  For our upcoming trip, I need something with better padding and better accessibility.  I'm looking at the Jill-e, AMM, or the Lowepro Slingshot. The Jill-e bags are quite pricey at $200+.  The AMM bags are less than half the Jill-e price, and the Slingshot (more function than hot fashion form) is around $70.  At this point, it's between the AMM bag and the Slingshot.  I'll be sure to let you know which I choose.

I also really like the idea of the the Shootsac for ease (and fashion!) during a shoot, but, since it's really only a lens bag and not a camera bag, for life in between sessions I need a bag that can handle both.  And for the price of a Shootsac and cover, I can get the Jill-e bag.

And now, for a teenie-weenie little tutorial on converting photos in CS2 from color to black-and-white.

Find a photo:

(My darling friends Kammie and Mr. T with their belly full of babies.  Baby boy Luke and baby girl Ellison are here and doing well, and I get to see them tomorrow!)

This color version has been edited with levels, curves, noise reduction and sharpening.  And I'm going to convert the photo to black-and-white using this finished image.  I've found that in many cases, if the color image was correctly edited, very little, if any, further editing is required after conversion.  If you plan to use only a black-and-white version of your image, you can convert to black-and-white and then make any additional edits after conversion.

First conversion method (and the one I almost always use):  Gradient Map

In Photoshop, select Image>Adjustments>Gradient Map.  Select the black-to-white gradient, then OK>OK.

The second conversion method is:  Desaturate

To convert this way, go to Image>Adjustments>Desaturate.  You could also go to Hue/Saturation and pull the Saturation all the way to the left.

The third conversion method is:  Grayscale

To convert this way, go to Image>Mode>Grayscale.

Then, lastly:  Channel Mixer

To convert to black-and-white, go to Image>Adjustments>Channel Mixer.  Click the box next to Monochrome at the bottom of the dialog box, and then set the Red, Green and Blue to the following:  24, 68, 8.  Or you could try 28, 72, 10.  Or any other combination of numbers to suit your taste.

There a subtle differences in each method.  From ease of use to shades of gray.  I like using the Gradient Map method because I think it's easiest and has the best contrasty results.  The blacks are blacker and the grays are a bit whiter.  However, there are times when a different conversion technique nets better results.  In the end, if I'm not happy with the results using Gradient Map, I'll pick a different one.

Now ask away!

Shadows and light.

This is one of my new favorite newborn photos:

This sweet dumpling girl is just about two weeks old in this photo and totally enjoying my beanbag and the heater humming nearby.  I love that she looks in this photo as she might have in her mother's womb just a few short weeks earlier. 

I love using black-and-white for newborn photos - there's just something about it that color can't do.  Soul, light, shadow, emotion, purity, and a bunch of other things I just can't put into words.  I am moved by black-and-white photos in a way that few colored photos have done.  I've even considered doing just black-and-white newborn photography, simply for the emotional reactions.

And, truthfully, black-and-white is easier for me to work with.  It's take me a while to find the conversion method and Photoshop settings that work best for me, but I think I've got it down now.  I have a great eye for color, but my reactions to shadow and light are visceral.  On location at a shoot, I can see in an instant how a photo will look in black-and-white the moment I take it. 

I'll be back tomorrow with a new post - it's question and answer time!  If you have any questions you'd like to ask about photography, scrapbooking, adoption or what brand of toothpaste I use, tomorrow is your chance!  I might even try to include a goodie giveaway somehow.   

Happy New Ear!

From Makena, whose cuteness quadruples when she says this.  It's been a crazy Holiday season - fun, but crazy.  I did way too much prior to and during the Holidays and then in less than two weeks, Chris, Nadia and I leave for a week-long trip to Trinidad.  Aidan and Makena will be here, driving my mother crazy and wearing her out. 

Aidan and Makena both got new bikes from Santa and a toy that I don't know how I, I mean they, ever lived without.  The Leapster game system is awesome.  The kids are ACTUALLY learning stuff while they play and I feel much better about them playing these games in the car than watching movies.  Makena's understanding of upper case and lower case letters AND her ability to write them all has totally improved.  Best money spent all year in the toy department. 

On Christmas morning, Nadia was oblivous to the fact that anything extraordinary was happening, other than there was lots of wrapping paper and ribbon to eat.  She got some things that have been a smash-hit, like these and this, and other things, like a totally adorable little Elmo doll and a wagon full of Mega Blocks, haven't been touched.  She's dying to get her hands on The Bigs' new computers, and has also been enjoying Makena's new microphone/recorder.  But, her favorite thing, handsdown, is the old tv remote:

Santa brought me a massaging chair pad with heat that has done a nice job of warming my tushie as I freeze in the garage/studio/spider haven.  I got lots of chocolate that is SO not on my diet, a new set of steak knives, and a nice collection of Christmas socks for next year.  I also got a Voyager phone from Verizon.  Well, at least I thought I did.  Let's just say that my recent experiences with Verizon trying to buy that phone has resulted in them losing a long-term customer FOR LIFE and that I will gladly be heading out tonight to the Apple store to purchase an i-phone and switch to AT&T.  How in heckfire companies like Verizon have stayed in business with such shitty customer service is beyond me.  Good riddance and Happy New Year.

My darling husband continues to be so supportive and giving and thoughtful and, well, utterly amazing.  He's horrible to shop for at Christmas since he's not into sports or techie stuff, so thank goodness he's content with a few bottles of good rum and a stack of new clothes.  We're looking forward to our trip to Trinidad, and I look forward to that look on his face that he gets when we step off the plane into the steamy sights and smells of his homeland, and when he sees his family.  We're going there to celebrate his mother's 75th birthday, and, since his father's been so ill recently, we'll be spending a lot of time with him, too.

And if any of you have any suggestions on how to politely travel for 18 hours with a toddler whose other favorite thing is screaming (ear-piercing, blood-curdling, headache-inducing screaming), I'd appreciate it.  I'd love to board the plane with a set of earplugs, an eyemask and an Ambien for all of our fellow red-eye passengers, but I'm not sure how that will go over.  Anyone?  Please?  A little help here?  Thanks. 

2007 was a great year for me on so many levels, with the Editorial Board position at Simple Scrapbooks and the success of my photography business, to watching The Bigs grow and prosper in their new school, to enjoying my baby girl and all her firsts, to the remodeling of our back and front yards.  As I typically do at the end of a year, I assess my successes and mistakes, lick my wounds and pat my back, and approach the New Year with a bit more wisdom and a positive new attitude.  I don't think I'll be making any formal resolutions this year outside of enjoying life and family, work and pleasure.  If I lose any weight, exercise more, read 100 books, learn something new, travel a bit, make a new friend or reconnect with an old one in the process, well, how lucky a girl will I be?

Many blessings to you now and throughout the year, my friends!