Around Ames

I like going home. I like seeing my neighborhood and my family in the house we grew up in. I think it's a good sign that Maya sleeps well there.

Going Home

Over the weekend we went to Ames to visit my family. My mom lives in the house that I have known as "home" since I was eight years old which means that the house has become a part of the family. And if you look around it, it's as if my mom hasn't decorated it, it's just evolved. It's the little things scattered and tucked into corners that make it home. The scotsman toy on the mirror, the etched rocks sitting on the 100 year old sled (coffee table), the blankets made by friends and family, and Pete quietly banging away at the bathroom cupboards trying to open them to get Q-Tips out. I sleep well here. And I never sleep well.


While in Ames we had a Girl's Day Out (Jo Momma, Brynna, Me, and Maya) where we had lunch at Ivy's Tea Room at The Shoppe's On Grand. The last two photos are from there.I exclaimed while getting my hair cut that I was "straight for a day" because I got my hair straightened after the cut.

I figured out what I had said about four hours later.

Camera Jargon and Making Mistakes

After milling about posting blogs on myspace, I figured I'd expand my horizons with blogspot. Flcker would be nice, but it's not free.

I don't have much time to blog, seeing as how I'm supposed to be running right now instead of churning out a blog that no one will read. Sad tears. Just Jokin.

All I really want to say right now is I'm a little obsessed with photography and more than a little pissed that ever since I got my badass Canon four months ago I've been taking photos at 1600 iso. I should start this story with an instructional video I watched....

Last night Kyle made me watch ( I shouldn't say "made" but I am) this "how to use and take pictures with your digital camera" instructional video. Kinda a refresher course since I haven't used a manual camera since 1999. And I realized that I've been shooting crappy pictures with a HUGE iso and I know, I know that you use 100 speed film whenever possible as a photographer..so I'm a little dumb. AND, I wasn't shooting my pictures as RAW (I was shooting them as jpeg's which isn't professional!)..so they are all full of noise. Pixelated and stuff. Not terribly noisy or pixelated because it's a 10.2 megapixel camera..but I'm still upset with myself.

So, now I have to start over and see if I can be as good at photography as I think I can. I'm excited to see what I can do. It's just too bad I didn't figure all this out before I went to Maine and...and before I shot that wedding in Minneapolis...

Live and Learn, and then learn some more.