Meet Long and Shorty of Denver

Oh and those Joy Pictures…how is everyone doing on those? 

Made a CD cover with Photoshop

ETA: Playlist for the cd is posted over at Musicmaven.wordpress.com

Every year I give out a cd of holiday music. This year’s cd is all women singing yuletide music…I call it “Comfort and Joy”.  So I needed a CD cover worthy of the great ladies (Etta James, Diana Krall, The Roches, Aretha Franklin, Peggy Lee, etc)…an image with plenty of moxie.   I thought maybe I would take a picture of one of my angel ornaments.  Then I noticed this saucy mermaid ornament on my tree that was perfect.  I played around with lighting effects and added text in Photoshop…so here is the image that I will make my CD cover. Thoughts?

DSLR or DPAS?

Digital SLR vs. Digital Point And Shoot…

in light of Brc’s latest purchase I thought it would be helpful to post an article that details the finer points of DSLRs and DPASs to help you decide which you’s like to carry…but as Brc and I discussed many people carry both for full shooting diversity.

TheDigital Photography School blog has a dynamite article on this subject.

“I’m using a compact point and shoot digital camera and i would like to ask it is worth it to upgrade to a DSLR camera? How huge a difference do DSLR cameras make compared to compact point and shoot digital camera?”

Thanks for the question – I’ll attempt to keep my answer brief and not too technical. This is a question that I’m regularly asked, increasingly so as the price of DSLRs have dropped and become much more in the reach of the average digital photographer’s budget.

Let me declare up front that I own both a Point and Shoot digital camera (a Fujifilm FinePix F30) and a DSLR (a Canon EOS 5D). I like having both because I do feel they compliment each other and are each suited for different situations. My preference in terms of quality of shots is with the DSLR but for convenience the point and shoot sometimes wins out.

I also want to say up front that the digital camera industry is constantly evolving and changing. The lines between DSLRs and point and shoots are blurring (or at least this seems to be the intention of manufacturers). What I write below unfortunately will have elements of generalizations in it as I classify hundreds of cameras (each with their own distinctive features) into two camps.

To read the full article please visit The Digital Photography School Blog where they provide detailed descriptions of the weakness and strengths of both types of cameras.

Guest Shutter – Brc’s Excellent Adventure

Brc sent this most excellent tale… 

So Saturday night I decided  that if I wanted to buy a digital SLR before the holidays I had better get my act together and do something about it.I emailed Shrew and Ivoryhut with some camera deals I had come across and asked for their advice. They not only helped me decide which camera was right for me, but Ivoryhut passed along news of a great deal she had seen at Costco. After a flurry of emails I decided I was going to buy the Canon Rebel XTi. Shrew finally convinced this lifetime Nikon girl to go Canon. So this morning I called Costco before they opened and they said they had the kit that Ivoryhut had seen, but they only had 4 left on the floor. We had lots of snow last night and this is what the car looked like when I looked out the window. I’ve gotta get the snow off that car and get to Costco!!!!

Dear hubby said he would clear off the car, but he left a layer of ice that was below the snow…. arghhh. Costco opens in 15 minutes and they only have four kits left… gotta get to Costco.
 
Okay, car cleared off. Driveway still full of snow but I’m going to plow through it. Little Subaru is good in the snow. But Costco opens in 4 minutes. Better hurry! 
 
There it is. Hope there hasn’t been a run on Canon Rebel XTi’s in the past half hour…

Here I am. Two left. Phew. I’m just in time.
 
I loaded my new toy into the car…
 
Did I mention that I’m incapable of being at Costco and not buying more stuff than I came for? I mean their paper towels are da bomb. And the juice and milk are a really good deal compared to my local supermarket. Oh and the pizza and the pasta too. Um and the bread. Uh, well, the cereal is really cheap as well. Can you see my new camera there in the corner? I would have bought my favorite wine, but there’s a very archaic law here that you can’t buy alcohol before 11am on a Sunday morning. So see!!! I saved some money after all. Yes siree I did. 
 
So now my camera is sitting on the counter in its box. I’m a little afraid to open it as I’ve never actually seen or held the camera in person. I might have to go to a local camera store to check it out before I open it. See now you’re getting a peek into my real personality.Alright, alright I’ll open it. Oooooo look at all the goodies that were inside the box. It comes with the camera body, an 18-55mm lens, a 70-300mm lens, a 1G memory card, a polarizing filter and a camera bag.
 
Look how purty the camera is.
 
Now for the real test. Take some photos without reading the directions… Here’s what I’ve got. First photo is from the old camera followed by the same photo with the new. What do you think?

Test #1:  Run the faucet into a glass. Take a picture with the flash:
 

Test #2:  Photo of EMC standing by the window. No flash.
 

I’m thinking that I should have taken the SLR  plunge a long time ago!!! Thanks to Shrew and Ivory for giving me the push I needed. 

 

AND…thanks to brc for this very exciting and special post.  Many happy wishes and clicks with your new camera! 

Where I have been seeing most of the sky…

Newark Terminal A is the most lack luster terminal an airport ever had…but it does have great window views.

One more – the Different Sides of Denver

Colorado Panos…

Good going BRC!

You’ve won these images of Denver Skies…

 

Take me to your leader…

What is it?
 

Does this help?
 

oh okay…then I am sure this will help.  It’s right near this little guy.
 

VOTE!

PLEASE, this kitteh’s life depends on it