THEMACGIRL*

Christy, Jenn, Kim, and I

Jason, Christy, Paul, Rudy’s girlfriend, Rudy, Me, Rob, JJ (Santa), Kim, Scott, Jack, Jenn, John, Ben, and Tom

We had a Christmas party at Kim and Scott’s new place on Saturday, where we all engaged in some fun photography. I wish I took these photos, but alas, I did not. I have John and Jenn to thank, who are the masters of light. You guys rock! :)

The top photo were all individual photos of Kim, but Jenn put our heads on Kim’s body. Thank god, because no one would want to see me in that outfit! ;-P I have to say I do look pretty good with a gun, right?

The bottom photo, John took individual portraits of each of us and grouped them all together. This is definitely my favorite group photo to date. I am very glad that I met these fantastic people in 2008 on Flickr. I have learned many things from this group of people, and I always look forward to hanging out with them. I can’t wait to see what 2009 brings to us!

Last night Rob and I ventured out in the cold weather, and we headed to downtown Louisville to take long exposure photos. The photo to the left Rob took, and the lower one I took.

The photo of me wasn’t a long exposure; Rob simply placed his strobe on the ground in front of me. I was really surprised how dark everything behind me looks, given the fact the bridge (2nd Street) that we were on was fairly lit up. I imagine as he took these photos he blinded many drivers as they passed by. Fortunately, there were no accidents! Heh.

By the end of the night, I wasn’t sure how I felt about my photos. Compared to Rob, who has been doing this much longer than I have, my photos were pretty mediocre. However, I was happy to find a few that I did like this morning. The photo below was taken with Rob’s 16-35mm f/2.8 L lens. I’m really surprised that he let me borrow it, considering that I told him I was going to steal his 5D Mark II camera when/if he bought it! O;-)

I’ve been saving a little money here and there for a new lens to replace my kit lens. I’m torn between a wide angle or a lens with a focal point similar to the kit lens (18-55mm). I’ve been eyeing the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 and the Canon 17-40mm f/4 L lens. The 17-40mm would be wide enough for what I’ll be using it for, but I love the look of most photos taken with an ultra-wide angle lens. I have to add that Rob’s 16-35mm f/2.8 L lens was really nice…. but definitely out of my price range! I think the lens itself is more than I’ve invested overall in my camera collection. Ha!

In a little while I will be turning 24, and while it feels insignificant, like many birthdays do after the age of 20, I have many things to be happy about this year. I have a great group of friends, friends that I’ve grown up with, as well as friends that I’ve met in the last year. On top of that I’ve finally figured out what I want to do with my life and what needs to be done to achieve it. I really don’t think any gift can top that feeling of independence.

I’m not sure what kind of celebrating I’m getting into this weekend. I have the entire weekend off and my brother Roy is coming in Saturday from Seattle. I have a feeling we’re going to end up in Louisville Saturday night to celebrate. I’m sure there will be a couple drinks on my part. The following weekend I have plans with friends that I’ve grown up with.

The photo above is from my first birthday on August 7th, 1985. I wanted to find a photo of my siblings and I together and this was the only one in which I had clothes on. According to my Mom I didn’t like clothes when I was a kid. Ha ha. Check out my sister’s glasses!

I wanted to wish Courtney a very Happy Birthday too! :)