Day 16...Happy Birthday

Today, or yesterday as you're reading this, is my sister's birthday. Happy birthday, again, Sissy!

Her mocha roll cake from Goldilocks. It was good!

See y'all tomorrow!

Day 15...Why I feel you should always print your photos

As I was flipping through old albums to search for photos of my sister and I when we were little (for her birthday collage to post on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram [find me @veronicahudley]), I came across photos of my parents when they got married. And this is why, internet peeps, you should print your photos- it's just plain fun to flip through albums to relive the memories.

Yes, the photo may fade because of the chemicals and age, but that's one of the best parts! It's vintage! :) Just holding the photo in your hands, passing it around asking 'who is this person?' and 'where were you?' is why I love printed photos.

Here's my parents on that one February day in Hawaii.

Getting ready shots...

Not quite sure if they had a first look because this was the first photo in the album.

First kiss :)

My mom's dress was pretty! Simple, yet classic.

Cake time...

First dance. My mom still makes that face :)

I love you mom and dad. :)

Day 14...Pointy heels make me smile :)

Just more detail shooting. This time, shoes!

My attempt at spotlighting my hot pink Rock and Republic pointy heels. 

Day 13...Practice makes perfect

Now that I'm on day 13 of this Thirty Day Photo/Blog Challenge, I've been thinking a lot about the types of photos that I want to share. 

I don't want to just post a photo and blog about it because I ran out of time and had to publish it for the day. (Even though the majority of what I've posted already is in fact the result of that.) I would like to share photos of what I specialize in, weddings and boudoir.

So with that being said, I'm going to try my hardest in doing just that. Whether it's actual weddings or boudoir sessions that I've shot, or details (because I LOVE the details), or just practicing, you're going to see more of that.

Tonight, I practiced on ring shots. I don't own a nice macro lens, so I can't get those up close shots of the rings. But that's okay. 

Last week while on the computer, I saw a shot (I totally forgot where I saw it) where the photographer photographed the rings on an iPhone. Not using his iPhone, but stacked on it. It was pretty cool because the light from the iPhone helped illuminate the rings. That got me thinking, "I could totally use my iPhone to do that too!" But not like how that person did it. I was thinking more like using my flashlight app to help illuminate it from the side, or even shooting the ring shots with my iPhone because it can get in there really well and be sharp at the same time.

Here's what I mean...

I shot this with my Canon 7D and 50mm lens. 

I was at ISO 6400, f3.5 at 1/1600th of a second. And that's the September issue of Vogue, that I have yet to finish going through. :)

Here's the photo shot with my iPhone 4s.

 

The rings look sharper in the photo shot with my iPhone, don't you think? 

I still like the depth of field in the first photo, but the second photo looks just as fine. I would still play around with my angles when using my iPhone, but if you're in a pickle and can't get that perfect ring shot with your DSLR, try busting out your iPhone (or smart phone) and play around with that. 

Here's another one shot with my 7D.

I love this one because of the blue lights in the background from my husband's computer. :) This was shot at ISO 6400, f3.5 at 1/2500th of a second. 

Hope this post helps at least one person out there. :)

Day 12...They're getting bigger

I always have to watch what I say when the boys are around. Not because of bad words, but because they will always remember what was said and never let it go. For instance, when I say "we're going to Grandma's house on Friday" they'll always ask:
       
          "Mommy, are we going to Grandma's house yet?" 
          "Mommy, is it Friday?" 
          "Mommy, what day is it?" 
          "Mommy, when's Friday?" 

See what I mean? And that's times TWO!!

So when my husband said (two days ago) "you can wash the car with Mommy", you can bet the only thing they asked was:

          "Can we wash the car yet?" 
          "When can we wash the car?"

This morning, they were finally able to wash the car...but with Daddy. LOL! :)

Day 11... Sorry I'm late....but I'm here!

I had a late night last night. I got home at midnight from an event in the city (San Francisco). And that's why this post wasn't scheduled to publish this morning. Sorry!

Anyhow, I was invited to attend the SF Underground Market by my friends at CAVA Funnelcakes. 

Have you heard of them? They are located in Solano County, but also cater to surrounding areas. (Just click their name above to find out more about where they'll be serving.) They create gourmet funnel cakes that are absolutely TO DIE FOR!!!

My favorite is their Bananas Foster, but coming up close is their new one called 3B's (Basil, Brie and Bacon). (Their Oreo one is awesome also!) Here's what they were serving last night.

Don't worry, I'll wait while you wipe that drool hanging off the corner of your mouth. :)

Man do they WORK! Non stop...forreal! I wanted to jump in and help out, but for one thing I don't know their procedures; and two, there was literally no room back there.

I also got to walk around and see what other vendors had to offer. There was a grilled cheese station. Yeah, you read it, grilled cheese. I didn't get a chance to try it, but everyone else did. Their line was long! Some other stations included waffles, chili, lasagna and salad, gluten free fried chicken, frozen yogurt, and some others I don't remember what they were. One that I tried was the Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Wow! That was awesome! It was spicy and fantastic! 

Did I mention there was also music? I didn't hear what their names were, but the music was pretty good.

To my friends at CAVA, thank you for inviting me. It was a treat to see you guys in action. I can't believe how far you've come from last year and I'm super excited to see what your future holds. I'm here when you need and I'm grateful to have friends like you. :)

Day 10...Time to hit the books

I'm multi-tasking right now...watching The Young and the Restless on one side and typing this blog post on the other side. :) Sorry...I haven't watched Y&R in SOOOOO long. I'm missing out on all the stories!

Anyhow. My photo for today is a heartfelt one.

Part of my tiny library. Honestly, I love reading. But lots of things get in the way. I know, that's a terrible excuse. Luckily, the books in this photo have been read. All except The Lucky One. I bought this book a week before the movie came out and I still haven't finished it. I bought the DVD last week and I still haven't opened it. I don't know which to do first, read the book or watch the movie. I think it'll be the latter, only because Zac Efron is in it...without a shirt. :) Oh YEAH!!!

My favorite book out of this bunch is The Wedding. No, not because I L.O.V.E. weddings and I photograph them for a living, but because the book is part two of The Notebook. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE The Notebook also. I cried while reading it. But The Wedding....that one...ugh! That one just tugs at the strings of my heart. Actually, I might even read that book again, soon!