How many foliage photos can I take before you get bored?

Indy and I spent lots of time at my elementary school playground this week because we were staying at my parents' place [E is away...again!] and I was in awe of the amazing colours in the grove of trees behind the archaic slide and swingset. We jumped in piles of leaves, tried to eat berries [Indy tried, I freaked out and quickly slapped them out of this hand...I know, way to make him want to eat them more!], and of course climbed up the ladder to go down the slide which is at least 25 years old!

I played with the macro setting on my camera and loved how the depth of field looked in some of the photos, especially the *sparkly* white dots in photos #2 and #4. I also used Picnik to edit the photos, basically just playing around with their *Lomo-ish* action. It's so easy and fun!

Hope you're all having a grand weekend and spending some time outside while the weather is still nice [for those of us in temperate climate zones...for those of you in warm climates, I'm very jealous.]

You're lucky there are only four photos in this post. ;)

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What I loved in May

1. Nutiva Extra Virgin Coconut Oil in my hair, as a moisturizer on my face and body, all over Indio before a bath -- it makes my skin so smooth and smells divine! [If you don't buy *extra virgin* you won't get the delicious smell, but some people prefer that.]
   
2. Marc Jacobs Daisy rollerball perfume -- it's a great scent to tuck into your purse, car or suitcase when a full-size bottle is just too cumbersome. And for $20US, it's a steal!
3. My Nikon dSLR, though large and not as purse-friendly as the rollerball, is making me a better photographer. Sure, I only take photos for fun, but I can spend hours playing around with this *toy*, especially when the subjects are as cute as my boys.
4. As much as my husband would like you to believe that I don't like vegetables I actually really enjoy eating them [just not preparing them] especially during the few months of the year that everything is in season. One thing I have down pat though is a tasty spinach salad with homemade dressing...a staple in our house.
   
   ^via

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Foto Friday: week 6

Can you believe we're almost halfway through February? That means we're just thatmuchcloser to spring! Woohoo!

This week's selection is a smorgasbord from the Blackberry, Canon ELPH and Nikon dSLR, though I have to admit, it's been hard remembering to take interesting photos everyday. I've been trying to play with my camera functions to get photos that really *pop*, but I don't always remember what setting I used last. Maybe it's time I read the manual.

[day 36: You're bacon! No, you're bacon! Or is it *Urba-con*? This shot's for Alicia.]

[day 37: A daily reminder of what I miss most these days.]

[day 38: Entertainment in the Dr's office. Maybe the toddler toy shouldn't be attached to the wall directly above the exposed electrical socket. Just a thought.]

[day 39: Pretty Dollarama sugar sticks.]

[day 40: Jennee's birthday lunch at Asian Legend -- noodles=YUM & FUN!]

[day 41: Sophie has been getting some love lately with Indy's new teeth popping through.]

[day 42: 16F? (-9C for all you Celsius folk.) Gah, too cold!]

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Foto Friday

Today marks the first installment of *Foto Fridays*!  Instead of uploading a new photo everyday, a venture that I'm sure would fizzle out around day 23, I thought a weekly round-up of pictures for Project 365 might be a more realistic plan of action.  Feast your eyes on a pictorial synopsis of days 3-7 of 2010.

[day 3: A new puzzle for Christmas and already pieces are missing.]

[day 4:  Outgoing snail mail--my first homemade envelope features a little retro Rainbow Brite!]

[day 5: A little blurry, but it's pretty clear that someone isn't enjoying his first dip in a pool.]

[day 6:  Laying out clothes the night before, a habit I need to get into.]

[day 7: Two reasons I don't get enough sleep: reading and BBMing L, the only other person who can keep up.]

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New year, new project

I haven't given much thought to resolutions this year other than to stay on top of my photos. Last year, I had intended to create a Blurb photo book documenting Indio's first year as a Christmas gift for my in-laws and parents. Unfortunately, the book is still in the works and since the holidays are over, I have stopped stressing about it. [Don't worry, I still plan to finish it, I just don't know when.] I also began a *picture of Indio a day* project so that we could see our little guy's cuteness change over the year, but that lost steam a few months in.

This year is going to be different. I plan on setting aside some time every month to add to our 2010 photo book so that come December, I'll be ready to order my book in time for gift-giving. AND I'm going to try Photojojo's Project 365. I've been a follower of Photojojo for quite awhile now. They have great photography tips, cool photo-related gifts and my favourite offering: Time Capsule. Twice a month Photojojo sends me a sampling of the photos I took a year ago and posted to my Flickr account. It's really neat to have this mini-trip-back-in-time in my inbox.

With my 2010 Project 365 I won't pigeon-hole myself into just one topic, even if that topic is the cutest boy in the world! I plan to upload and update my project every week, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here are day 1 and day 2 [Yes, they both contain said boy.]:

[day 1: New Year's Day walk in the snow.]

[day 2: Trying to get the Nikon.]

What projects do you have lined up for 2010?

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The Good Stuff: Shutterbug

I have been coveting a digital SLR camera for what feels like forever, but couldn't justify the price tag of a new camera when my little Canon SD800IS takes great photos. I've Googled the different models out there on so many occasions I could probably recite the specific features of each camera by heart. [That doesn't mean I know what half of it means though!] Emil has been on my case to decide on a make and model, mostly because I'm sure he's sick of hearing me spew out facts about why a dSLR would be so great while continually saying I don't need one, but also because I take so many photos, especially since Indio's birth

I finally agreed to go to J&R sometime soon to "try out" the Canon Rebel XS and XSi with the Nikon D60 because I wasn't quite sure which one I would buy if I were buying a dSLR. So, the day before my birthday, after a delicious brunch at reBar, Emil told me that my gift was a dSLR of my choice! He wouldn't listen to my protests that I didn't need one, we shouldn't be spending the money, blah, blah, blah...

So, we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge [apparently along with every other New Yorker and tourist who thought it was a beautiful day for a stroll] to J&R and after a lengthy discussion with the salesperson, I went home with this:
The Nikon D60. It was part of a package deal that came with a 18-55mm lens as well as a 55-200mm lens. I'm so excited to try it out!

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