Butterfly

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly.
~Richard Bach

Friday I took the kids to my Mom's house out in the country to take close ups 

of insects and flowers.    There was this beautiful yellow butterfly 

that was so focused on the butterfly bush, that it didn't mind 

my giant lens.

Most of these pictures were taken at F2.8  1/400   ISO 200
All handheld and cropped

 

F4   1/600   ISO 200

  I had to start working full time as a dental hygienist since February to help pay the bills.  (we've given up on trying to live on one income here in California)   As a result, my new camera and photography book have been collecting dust.........I also had some setbacks when my camera fell off the tripod on to concrete, requiring a lens repair.    Once my lens was sent back and in working order, the next incident was the mirror falling off on the Canon 5D body.  (it was a problem that had been recalled and they fixed it free of charge)    Then with our recent move, I haven't had any time to play with the camera.   I finally have the photography bug again and ready to hit the books. 

 
So I did some calling and found a site to rent nice lenses for a really good price.   I want to try them out before making a big purchase.   The first one came yesterday;  Canon 100mm macro 2.8L with IS.   The pictures I've seen from professionals with this lens are amazing.      I only wish I knew how to use it like they do.    It's one heavy lens!    Last night when the sun had gone down, I went outside and took random shots around the backyard testing it out and playing with aperture settings.    I didn't do any editing on them so they are very blah.  I have so much to learn with photography.  My subjects have not been sharp enough, and I don't want to use a tripod.   Judging from my pics below,  I learned the shutter speeds were too slow for handheld I think.   Hopefully in a few months I'll have this camera figured out.  Going manual is fun, but a lot of trial and error.

f2.8  1/30

F6.3   1/60

F2.8   1/500

too dark

F5.6    1/40

F2.8   1/160

F3.5   1/60

need more detail

F3.5   1/60

F2.8   1/40

the rose is too soft

Birthday Girl

When we arrived for my niece Marlee's 3rd birthday party,  this is what we found:

 Isn't she precious? 

Tangled

For the last year Baila has been saying she wants short hair.
I couldn't let her cut it all off.
Long hair makes doing ballet buns
much quicker, and I love her long golden hair.
When Lainey had a really short A-line cut, it would take me
tons of hairspray, clips, and time to pull the hair back for dance.  

Now that we have a pool,  Baila's hair has been a tangled mess everyday
and takes so much work to comb out. 
I finally relented and made a haircut appointment at the local Brockway.
I'm glad they had an opening that evening or I may have changed my mind.
I think Baila was a little shocked that I was allowing her to cut it all off,
and almost had cold feet about going short herself!

I made the evening a Mommy daughter date and Baila requested dinner at
a yummy Indian restaurant.   We love curry!  

Before making the first cut, we tried to donate her braid to locks of love,
but her hair is so thin/fine that it didn't make the requirements. :(

 


 Nervous and excited!


Choosing the style....


My favorite part


Last time to comb out those tangles






 

No turning back now






We love it!

It wasn't planned, but Baila's haircut looks very similar to her cousin Caitlin's.
Even their siblings mixed them up a few times!   The other night Cait came into my room
around 3am to let me know she was cold, and I had to ask:
"Are you Baila or Caitlin?"   In my groggy state I really couldn't tell who it was!

We refer to them as "The Twins."