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Posts Tagged ‘photo’

  1. Gatorland, Will You Marry Me?

    March 3, 2010 by Kelly

    Ok, that’s not quite how it went.

    But I did get to be apart of a special moment for two of my really good friends at Gatorland!

    I received a phone call late Saturday (2/27) afternoon, “I need your help.”

    Honestly, the first thing that went through my mind was, “Oh good lord! What happened?!”

    Thankfully, Tommy quickly told me that he needed to think of a place to propose to Ashley.

    So, my brain started going crazy.. “What about the Sanford Zoo?” That got shot down.

    Ok, fine! “The fair is in town. You could get her a funnel cake and put the ring on top and hope she doesn’t eat the ring!!” A laugh and a no, combined.

    As Tommy said something to the fact of, “Just think about it and let me know. I’d like to do it next weekend.” I blurted out “Ok sure. We’ll think of some places.” (And here is what could have gotten me in trouble….) “Oh, by the way, we have tickets to Gatorland. The Florida resident discount ends soon, we should all go.”

    There was silence. Then came, “Maybe I’ll ask her there.”

    After some research, I found out the Florida resident discount ended the NEXT day. A phone call back, he agreed that Sunday would work. And then I waited, and waited, and waited to call and plant the seed to Ashley.

    After that was complete, 10AM at Gatorland was decided upon.

    —

    On Sunday, we got there earlier than Tommy and Ashley so I could ask some of the Gatorland employees where a good stop for a proposal could happen. As much as I was expecting to get laughed at, they all told me that someone had gotten married there.

    (Incase you’re wondering where you should pop the question to your special lady at Gatorland, I was told the tower or during a show.)

    Tommy and Ashley showed up LATE and Jeff was convinced that Tommy was getting cold feet or he was stalling to get there.

    Either way, that wasn’t the case and they finally got there and we went in and watched some gators. Most of them were being gators and just laying around. However, we did see the Jumparoo and those gators sure do love some chicken.

    I had to pull Tommy aside and try to figure out WHERE he was going to ask so I could be ready with the camera.

    Our master plan:

    Me: “Hey, will you take a picture of Jeff and I?”

    T or A: “Sure.”

    After our picture:

    Tommy: “Can you take one of us?”

    Me: “Sure.”

    Then Tommy made it AWKWARD (in his own party words) by doing some stretch and making a speech about surprises (she knew what he was talking about, so that’s all that mattered) and then pulled out the ring.

    I was waiting for him to get down on one knee. But no. He failed me. However, it was very sweet and I’m glad we were there to be able to get some pictures and video. And now I can not WAIT to take some real engagement pictures of them!! :)

    Category Blog, Featured | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  2. Bean, The Anti-Vegetable

    September 12, 2009 by Kelly

    After toying around with the Argus Bean for a while, I had the perfect opportunity to have it tested to it’s best ability. A two year old.

    Subject (in the best sense of the word): Carter
    Carter

    He is always around cameras and will pretty much only come near me when I let him play with one of my cameras (which is more than his mom lets him do!) I didn’t see any reason to not let him try it out, seeing as though it seems like that’s the target audience for this type of camera. They are slightly rubberized around the outside, built to take a beating from a child and the button is large enough for someone with small fingers to find no matter what. There is a carabiner clip built into the camera design. Which makes it perfect for clipping on to your belt, or a stroller when a child isn’t using it at that exact moment.

    Clip

    This particular version of the Argus Bean that I was given was 3 megapixels. Which means it’s doesn’t get the best size photos to print and I would never use this as my MAIN camera, but for Carter, or any child, this is defiantly a way to figure out what they find is “important” and to get a view of what they see. And what better place to give them that freedom than at a theme park!

    There is 16 megabytes of built in memory and also a SD card slot. So, I put a 4 gigabyte SD card in the camera and gave him full reign of the Bean. Between three adults and Carter’s 13 year old sister, we tried to help him out and show him how to use the camera. Telling a 2 year old to “Look at the screen” (which is a 1.5 inch LCD screen) when he’s taking pictures seemed like it would be a waste of time, but as we were watching him take the pictures, he seemed to understand that he could actually see what he was taking when he looked at it.

    ScreenLooking

    Throughout the 6 hour day at Animal Kingdom, he took over 150 pictures, given most of them were other people’s feet or his stroller, or my personal favorites: pictures of him because he had the camera turned the wrong way. (See example below.)

    face

    There was a point where we were in a petting zoo area. Let’s just say, Carter was following a goat, got sidetracked and took a spill. He and the camera went sliding. Carter had some scrapes and so did the Bean. After making sure Carter was alright, I went to clean off the camera and make sure that it would survive as well. I cleaned it off with a wipey thingy that parents use on kids to clean them. That was about half way through the day and we have pictures from the rest of the day, so the Bean survived!

    pettingZooafterFall

    I took pictures, of him taking pictures.

    IMG_4880PICT0099

    Here are some of the pictures from our day at Animal Kingdom, through the eyes of my favorite 2 year old photographer, Carter.

    PICT0030PICT0031PICT0032PICT0050PICT0044PICT0052

    As you can see, having the white balance on “auto” didn’t help out much. A lot of the pictures are blown out. He didn’t need the flash since we were out in the sun for the most part. However, when we were in some of the queues, I would turn on the flash and like any camera, getting too close to something, does NOT help out. At all. The flash is very over powering and has quite a bit of a delay.

    PICT0084PICT0085

    The battery is rechargeable through the USB port on the computer. The battery lasted all day long, even though it was left on and clipped onto the stroller for 30 minutes or so.

    Overall I would take this camera with me to places where I didn’t feel it was “safe” to carry my big cameras, ie. water parks, near water, rainy days. So, water. I haven’t tried the camera out in any water yet, but I believe it would survive more than my Canons would. Plus, this would be a great gift for any child, which is why our 5 year old received one as a birthday gift in July! Haven’t heard if he uses it a lot, but I’m sure he’s loving it!

    Picture of and specs from the camera that I was given:

    IMG_4349IMG_4351

    A huge thanks to Argus Bean (@ArgusBean) for giving me this camera to review. You’ve made one child’s mother very happy seeing as though she can treasure these pictures forever and not have to worry about HER camera being broke. As for me, I had a great time watching my friend’s child playing with this camera and enjoy taking LOTS of pictures. Looks like he needs a Bean Sprout for himself now!

    You can find Bean and Bean Sprouts at all different types of retail stores.

    Main Argus Page

    Amazon

    Target

    Category Blog, Reviews | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,, | 1 Comment

  3. How We Celebrate!

    July 1, 2009 by Kelly

    The weekend before my birthday, Jeff and I met my parents in Palm Coast. My mom never gave us the address to where we were staying, just kept saying “either a Microtel or someplace like that”. We drove there, called for directions and we pulled into this place that had restaurants and shops. After walking in and being told to “Hurry up!” by my parents, because “a maid let us look at a room for a few minutes, so we need to be quick.” I started to think to myself, “What in the world is going on and WHERE is the toilet?!”

    Walked into the room and saw lots of streamers and a balloon! We were fooled! My parents had rented this nice condo for the weekend, with these wonderful beds, a flat screen tv and a kitchen!
    balloon

    After it sank in, I started realizing that I was sweating like crazy. Why? Because the air conditioner wasn’t working!

    Temp

    Two hours, a few phone calls to the owner and a walk around the area, the a/c guy finally came out to tell us that there was nothing he could do until MONDAY! (Remember..this was Friday!) Mom confirmed with the owners that we were going to get everything cleaned up and looking exactly how it was and that we would be staying else where. So we then got a room and went to dinner at a wonderful place in Palm Coast called Bourbon Street Bar and Grille.

    Saturday rolls around and we head to St. Augustine for the day. On the way there we passed through the intersection where our accident took place five and a half years ago. I had a little mental breakdown and then I was fine. I hadn’t seen where it happened since that night, so it was a little shocking and lots of memories came flooding back.

    accident

    Mom, Dad, Jeff and I had a WONDERFUL lunch at the Spanish Bakery right off of St. George Street. It was THE reason I wanted to go into St. Augustine! That made my entire weekend and I’m already wanting to go back and enjoy more lovely food from there.

    bakerymenufoodwater

    Saturday night, Mom and I did some shopping and then we all went out to dinner.. Dad however realized that he had left his credit card somewhere. THANKFULLY it was traced back to the restaurant we ate at on Friday and they still had it.

    Sunday we went out for breakfast, after we found Dad’s keys (which he left sitting in the hotel room when we checked out!), plus we then spent 20 minutes looking for the Denny’s that was RIGHT across the street from the hotel! After breakfast/lunch, we went to the beach to get some pictures!

    beachbeach
    turk

    No less than craziness happens when my family goes some place. And the weekend before my birthday was no let down! That weekend made me realize all over again how much I love my parents and how thankful I am to have them and spend time with them. (The craziness is just an added bonus!)

    Thanks Mom and Dad!! (aka Whodi and Father Unit!!)

    Category Blog, Plog | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  4. Point (& Shoot) Your Way To Basic Photo Tips

    May 16, 2009 by Kelly

    Take a moment to read the title again..yes, these are tips. Not rules. When it comes to photography, there really aren’t any rules. You do what you feel is best, what looks best, and you’ll get what you want.
    If you’re in the market to get a point and shoot digital camera, please keep these simple tips in mind.

    *Make sure that the camera you’re getting has at least 7 megapixels, even though most cameras now a days are 9 or 10.

    *If you’re worried about the zoom on your new camera, do NOT worry about digital zoom. The only zoom you should be concerned with is optical. Digital zoom does nothing but make your picture very pixelated when you go to print it out (which is far from a good thing).

    *The camera should have a USB Port to make it easy enough to plug the camera directly into your computer or laptop.

    *Memory cards,

    CF Card

    CompactFlash (CF) and Secure Digital (SD) are the 2 most common cards that are on the market. It will be easiest to use those cards with external card readers.

    *Also, when it comes to memory cards, cameras normally come with a very tiny memory card. You’ll want to get another card (I would recommend a 1 gigabyte, which you can get for around $10). If you (a) take a lot of pictures and/or (b) don’t empty the card too often, this size card or larger would be good for you.

    *Make sure that the LCD screen is big enough for you to see and constantly use.
    The bigger the screen, the happier you’ll  be.

    Other tips to keep in mind,
    not pertaining just to point & shoot cameras.

    *When taking pictures make sure you fill the frame. Not all pictures follow this “rule”, which is good. But for the most part, you want the entire frame to be filled.

    *Do not rely on the flash. If you can get away by not using the flash, take advantage of it! If you are outdoors, in the sunlight, turn off the flash! Most cameras have the flash to automatically be used. Check out your camera manual (you know that book that came with your camera that you never looked it!) and see how to turn it off. Most flashes can be turned off in a button press or two.

    *Plus with built in flashes, unless you are close enough to your subject, the flash won’t do anything for the picture, but more than likely make it underexposed, which you do not want.

    *When photographing children or pets, it’s best to get eye level. Sit on your knees, lay down on your stomach, do what you have to do. Standing over your child won’t have the right feel. Try not to shoot down at them. Don’t get me wrong, unusual angles do work! But it’s just like framing, it’s not a “rule”, just something to try to remember.

    Hudson River*Don’t count out camera phones. While I would never rely on my camera phone as my everyday camera, look what broke the news on the Hudson River plane crash. Yep, a camera phone. And that picture was used all over the news! You know the one..

    *Always have a camera with you, you NEVER know what you’re going to see or come across. Always be ready!

    What are your favorite photography tips? Are there some tips that you think should just go away forever? Do you think about it or just take a picture? Are you such a pro that things just come natural?

    Thanks to Adam Wiggall for this tip:
    Showing is as important as taking.

    Meaning, when you have been out and taken 200 shots it is unlikely that your audience wants to see every single one of them. Be a ruthless editor and remove anything you wouldn’t hang on your wall, four shots at a slightly different angle of exactly the same thing is boring, pick the best and delete the other three.

    It is tough to do, but it improves not only your photography (as you learn to not press the shutter unless you are sure), but also everyone else’s opinion of your work. Win win baby!

    Category Blog, Featured | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

  5. It Was A Beautiful Disaster

    April 3, 2009 by Kelly

    Angela and I arrived at Universal Studios around 4:00. I was quite sure there were going to be lots of people, but wow. I underestimated. The line was already zig-zagging back and forth at least 4 times and we were back by the ever-so-horrible Twister “ride”.

    Around 5 they started letting people in. I must say, that’s the ONLY thing Universal did alright with. It wasn’t a free for all. They let in small groups at a time and everyone got to find their spots that way. Angela and I found quite a good spot close to the stage, so I laid out the towel and we had a seat. Oh no! Don’t do that! Security was making everyone stand….”MUST MAKE ROOM FOR EVERYONE!”

    After 4 extra hours of standing around, yelling at someone for getting in front of us and our new friends (which included Lindsay — @littlehuff, who came all the way from Atlanta to see her 16th show of Kelly Clarkson!) and the parade to finish — 9:15 came around and Kelly came on.

    She was amazing. High energy to ballads to just being someone that you would want to go hang with — the show was wonderful. After taking over 550 pictures in a hour (that might be my new record) and going through them to find the best ones — here are some.

    Kelly did quite a few songs songs, which included: I Do Not Hook Up, My Life Would Suck Without You, All I Ever Wanted, Break Away, Miss Independent, Since U Been Gone, Behind These Hazel Eyes, Because of You, Beautiful Disaster (rock version), Addicted, How I Feel, Walk Away, Never Again.

    As I said, show was great. But Universal is HORRIBLE! Getting out was the worst. They are so far below Disney standards it’s not even funny. Entrances CAN turn into exits. Everyone should not have to be shoved out of 6 little tiny turnstiles all the way over to the right. Barricades should have been taken down and employees should have been in the middle of the road keeping people moving. It doesn’t take a genius to figure this stuff out. I did this..I know it’s possible! Clearing a FULL park does NOT have to be a difficult thing.

    Here are just a select few of what I took that night. The rest of them are in the gallery and also for sale in the store. I am working on doing a giveaway, so check back!

    KC 2412KC 2494KC 2557KC 2608KC 2636

    Category Blog, Featured | Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, | No Comments

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