7D & 17-55mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8, 1/30, ISO 1000
I wanted to test the 7D’s capacity for taking shots in the Black & White picture style. This is straight out of the camera with no post-processing whatsoever. It might lack some of the depth that I could’ve gotten by shooting in color and converting to B&W, but I’m still pleased with this. Especially given that this was taken in my bathroom, under assuredly-tungsten lights.
What’s that? You’re wondering what happened to Days 5-7? Come again? Hey look over there – a great dane!
Ehem. Where were we. Day 8 resumes as scheduled. Level 1 will probably take me through this week, and then on to Level 2 next week. Either that or I might go back to the P90X, we’ll have to see. I’m also going to look into Beach Body’s Slim in Six. The best part about the 30 Day Shred is that it’s only a 20 minute commitment. I can fit 20 minutes into my morning. I can’t, however, fit 90 minutes into it so easily, as P90X requires. Slim in Six might be the middle ground.
Day 8 Observations: Really this only Day 4, but even at that Level 1 is getting easy enough to get through without thinking too hard about it.
Day 9 Forecast: More of the same…
Hiatus!!
Day 4 Observations: Even 20 minutes extra sleep is awesome.
Day 5 Forecast: Back on the train.
I don’t know how I happened into photography. Just before my son’s 2nd birthday I suddenly and uncharacteristically went out and bought a Canon Rebel Xti (don’t buy that one I linked too – it’s outdated and I’m not sure why they’re still selling it at full price. There are updated versions; email me for details). I owned a film Rebel that was a Christmas gift to me from my parents one year, but I never took it out of Auto and had absolutely no knowledge of the science of photography.
Xti & 50mm f/1.4, @ f/1.6, 1/400, ISO 100
At some point I realized all the mechanical potential in photography, and began devouring internet content on the topic. This is one of my left-brained obstacles – not just in photography but in everything – I can execute, but I cannot create. Well, I can’t create well. I lack vision. I can execute, so long as someone tells me what the finished product is. I can do anything Martha Stewart can do, so long as she tells me what the goal is! So the bottom line is, I can tell you all about the relationship between ISO, shutter speed and aperture, but you’re going to have to tell me what you want a picture of.*
Xti & 17-55mm f/2.8 @ f/4, 1/30, ISO 800
Xti & 50mm f/1.4 @ f/2.5, 1/320, ISO 400
Recently, after much review-scouring, soul-searching and husband-convincing, I pulled the trigger on Canon’s new 7D, and could not be happier with my purchase so far. I’ve only had it a week, and my real shooting challenges won’t come until this weekend (aforementioned birthday weekend extravaganza), so I will save a detailed review for another day. For now I can tell you that its low-light capabilities are unmistakably awesome. The upgrade from the Xti is night and day. The autofocus system was kind of overwhelming at first, but with a good study of the manual and lots of trial and error, I’ve already grown to love it. I bought the body only, and will keep the lenses I already own, the 17-55mm f/2.8, the 50mm f/1.4** , the 70-300mm f/4-5.6 and the 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5.
* Is this preposition driving you crazy too? Suggestions on how to make this sentence read like a human wrote it yet still be grammatically correct?
** If you don’t own this lens, get thee to B&H. It is the best lens for the price and you can quote me on that.***
*** Not that that will get you anywhere.
Let’s just start with this: immediately preceding this post was a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream. With sprinkles.
Now that that’s out of the way, Day 3 is almost in the bag. Jillian Michaels gets exponentially more annoying by the day and, 20 minutes or 200 minutes, she is not easy to overcome.
Food log for today:
1 glass of OJ;
1 Kashi bar;
1 turkey sandwich on a blueberry bagel;
1 handful of these, quite possibly my reason for living, at least through Easter;
1 1/2 cups spaghetti with ground turkey and whole wheat pasta;
1 aforementioned scoop of ice cream.
The weekends are the hardest, food-wise. This weekend will be especially hard, as we have out-of-town guests, two birthday parties and one birthday dinner. Wish me luck.
Day 3 Observations: Not so sore; still can’t do pushups, except like a girl.
Day 4 Forecast: Cloudy, with a chance of more ice cream.
I’m still alive. Today was better, though I’m still sore. Not like I expected, but still sore. I did Level 1 again today, which isn’t terribly difficult. I’ll move on next week, probably. Also, I’m less hungry today. Of course, that could be due (in part) to the fact that I added a Hershey bar to my food regimen. Which, since you asked, looked like this today:
1 glass of orange juice
1 Kashi granola bar thing
1 grilled chicken sandwich from Wendy’s
1 Wendy’s side Caesar salad
1 Hershey bar (aw yeah)
1 handful of Target trail mix
4 pork loin medallions (in a soy/vinegar/orange marinade)
1 cup cous cous
1 cup green beans
Too much water to measure.
Day 2 Observations: Booo to fast food and chocolate; and Man, that Jillian’s tough to look at, isn’t she?
Day 3 Forecast: Stay on Track!
Blake is turning 5 on Saturday. I know, right? 5! His party is going to be at one of those giant-ass warehouses full of bounce houses. Basically this means all I have to do is show up with a cake. Someone else will wrangle kids and do the clean-up. But every party needs a take-away, right? So what are 5-year-olds looking for in their swag? Well, if you’re a boy (and, more specifically, my boy), you are looking for weaponry. Army Guy is the official theme of this par-tay. Sorry girlie girls and hippie moms – we’re all about the Army Guys around here.
I bought some camouflaged treat bags from Oriental Trading, along with a bunch of goodies from the “camouflage” and “4th of July” sections of the site:
Army Guys love this stuff, I'm told.
Those personalized pencils were super cheap. Actually all of it was (just don’t add it up) except for those camo binoculars. Love the patriotic Tootsie Rolls, though. I mean, who knew?!
I printed some labels:
And used them to seal the bags:
Voila
These pictures are crappy, I know. But it’s the thought that counts. Cute, no?
I’ll be honest. I’m starving. Nonetheless, I press on. This summer holds a couple of things that fall pretty squarely in the NOT category. One being the sun. Sun…heat…pool/beach…bikini. You get the picture. The second is my husband’s 20th high school reunion. Granted, not nearly as frightening as one’s OWN high school reunion, but still.
I was blessed with good genes that enabled me to be completely free of weight-loss-worry for probably the better of 25 years. In college my regular lunch routine included a grilled cheese sandwich dipped in butter, and fries slathered in processed cheese sauce. It did not even occur to me to work out before my wedding. This is not to say that I didn’t need to work out. I tell you this only to prove that my good genes have taken me down a path of deceit and trickery, leading me to believe exercise was just a passing trend. Fastforward ten+ years later, and…well, let’s just say my goal is to lose 20 pounds by June 1. A seemingly feasible goal, for someone with a fair amount of willpower and dedication. That being…not me.
Anywho. I successfully (mostly) completed 90 days of P90X in ’09 – the single greatest (actually, just the single) fitness accomplishment of my entire life. But work, 2 toddlers, life, etc., are all prohibitive of committing 2 hours a day to exercise, not to mention the time-consuming diet program that goes with it. Enter Jillian Michaels and the 30 Day Shred. Nothing new, I know. But here I am.
Day 1 was not bad. It’s 20 minutes, uninterrupted. The uninterrupted part is the hard part. But overall Level 1 was pretty much equivalent to the P90X warm-up. I’m kind of sore.
And, just because what could be even more interesting than a log of my exercise efforts? A log of my food consumption – huzzah! I had a glass of OJ for breakfast, to go with my Colonics: Day 1 (we’ll get to that another day. maybe. if you’re lucky). Lunch was a large Asian chicken salad from Paradise Bakery and a roll. A handful of trail mix from Target mid-afternoon, and a -meh- sort of dinner: sunflower seed crusted tilapia with cilantro cream sauce, baby bok choy and a scoop of white rice. Dinner was courtesy of Relish! I’m not overly excited about that – that’s just what they call themselves: Relish! This was my second Relish! meal – it’s quite a week of new beginnings, I guess.
Day 1 Rating: Starving, and a little ow.
Day 2 Forecast: More starving, and probably more ow, topped with a little zzz…
