Just in time for the derby

I know it's been a while since I posted, but photography has sort of fallen off the top of the priority list since I started my new job, which by the way is still awesome. Anyhow, we just went down to Kentucky to visit the fam for my Dad's birthday and for the first time in 10 years I was able to go to the Spring Races at Keeneland as well as take in some of the Rolex 3-Day event. Everything "horse" is apparently sponsored by Rolex if you didn't know. And the Rolex 3-Day is apparently one of the 3 largest horse competitions in the world as related to me by a co-worker who, when I said, "Hey, I was in Lexington this weekend and..." jumped in and said, "Were you at the Rolex!? I'm so jealous!"

Most of the pictures I got were from the Spring Race at Keeneland. It really had that old money feel and was a lot more refined than I was expecting. But that's what Lexington is all about. We might try to go back for the World Equestrian Games in the fall which are being held in the same spot as the Rolex.

Our little girls got their own horses from the gift shop, but they don't love you back like real ones! Ella found her soul mate in a cool Apaloosa.

First K.I.S.S.

So I just received my first album on Christmas Eve. This was designed for the Riviera Maya wedding in August. Josh and Janet decided to go with an album from KISS Wedding Books, and it was a great choice. KISS, as the name implies, keeps their album choices and ordering process very simple. Minimum of 10 spreads (20 pages) and your choice of leather cover. They come in 4 sizes - 8x8, 10x10, 12x12 and the mini KISSES are 4x4. What's cool about their ordering process is that the books are designed so that one design can be printed in any size. So you could order a 10x10 and a 4x4 and they will look exactly the same. That also means that a bride could order a 12x12 for herself, and if her parents or grandparents loved the album, they could order a mini KISS using the same file that the bride used to order hers, and receive an exact duplicate of her album simply scaled down.

So before I shipped the album to Janet I took a quick video of it. I didn't have time to make it exciting because I wanted to get it to her right away, so you might want to turn on some background music while you watch. Filmed with the 7D by the way - I'm starting to get the hang of color correcting in camera and getting all the settings right for nice, high quality HD, although I might have overexposed the second half of the video slightly due to the sun coming right in the window. Anyhow, I hope this gives you an idea of the quality and craftsmenship of the KISS albums.

Baking with ella

So since I got my 7D I've been itching to do a video, but it's harder than it sounds. You need a tripod, or a steadycam rig or shoulder-mounted contraption because otherwise the viewer of your video will get motionsick. I have plans to build a DIY steadycam, but until then I have to keep it on a tripod.You also need something worth filming.

The other night we were going to bake Christmas cookies but the dough didn't turn out right. So we gave it to Ella. She spent the next couple of hours playing with it, and I documented it. I can't wait to really get into the video editing. I have a lot to work on, and iMovie is not really the right software to be using for it. But take a look at what this camera can do in the hands of someone who has only had it a couple weeks. Cooler things to come!

Joe

I did a senior session with Joe a couple of months ago and forgot, or more likely didn't have time, to post any pictures. This was literally days before our second little girl was born. I discovered a few new places in Hudson during this shoot, so that was cool. This was like the one day of sunshine we had the entire week too.

LIAM

Some friends of ours came over last night to get some pictures of their little boy. I was able to get two pictures that I've always wanted to do but have never been able. First off, naked babies in cute hats. Second, naked babies in hammocks. (My mom made the Santa hat and the baby hammock, if anyone is interested. She can pretty much make anything you can show her a picture of.)