Tense

I forgot what the kids were watching though. 

Selfie #1

Reflection on an iMac by the window

(I know, I should get the screen cleaned!!)

2014 is here, and I'm aaaalive!!!

I almost forgot I had this blog! Can't believe it's been 2 years since my last post! Some rut, huh. I can't even remember what changed from then! 

Let's see ... I'm pretty sure I bought an E-PL3 after the E-PL2, dabbled in Nex via the C3, gave in to the Fuji bug via X-E1, traded it for an X100s... Whew! And that doesn't even include the lenses!! 

Oh wait .. you wanted to know about what's been up with me, not my gear? Then in the words of Marvin Gaye, let's get it on! 

Let's start to let the pictures do the talking, starting with this tsunami of a change:

Play time

Lately the urge to shoot hasn’t really been there, but last weekend we went to a kids’ party, and I thought I got a few interesting ones – apart from the usual party snapshots.

Snow, Day 2

So finally New England got a dose of “normal” snowfall and accumulation. And there’s just something about snow and kids – so off the two kiddos went, and really enjoyed their share of snow.

I posted a few pictures yesterday of my eldest, and the next two below is my youngest.

And this is one of my favorites from this afternoon’s “session”:

Starting to Fall

Or... Fall is starting. :-)

But yes, I am starting to finally appreciate and fall for the Panasonic G3.

My biggest gripe with the Panasonic G3 was the relatively high incidence of dark subject/blown background. It doesn't happen indoors, and it only happens if I happen to include a bigger portion of the bright sky in the picture. So I know it probably has to do with its AE lock. I half-press it (thus having AF/AE lock) and recompose the shot, but even with the shutter half-pressed, it still recomputes the exposure. This got me frustrated a number of times. But I finally figured out how to work it - I removed the AF/AE from the shutter, put it on Fn1 button, and held the Fn1 button while pressing the shutter.

Anyway, I brought it with me on a recent birthday party at a farm together with my E-PL1 (at that time I didn't figure the G3 yet so I was not confident in bringing only that). The Panasonic 20mm stayed on the G3, and the E-PL1 had either the 17mm or the Canon FD 50mm f/1.4. Here are some shots that I really like.

Some portraits:

With the 50mm





With the 20mm




With the 17mm




Etc.

Woohoo!

Yes, this is a bit late, but …

I MADE IT TO THE TOP 12 !!!

I know, I know, I didn’t win. But c’mon – Top 12 out of about 250 entries? That has got to count for something. Baby steps, man, and I’ll get there.

But seriously, more than the “good pat on the back” feeling, this is a confirmation for me personally that I am getting good at this photography thing. Not “AWESOME!!!”, just better.

Here’s my “winning” shot, again.

Sorry I’ve been really busy …

.. with this.