The New Sidearm

Pretty much.

For those of you who know me outside of cyberspace, you may recall I somewhat enjoy taking copious amounts of pictures.  On occasion, of noteworthy things. . . but more often than not of nothing special at all.


I had a problem with taking too many pictures back in the days of 35mm film, and used to pay out the ass for film back in my my college and Peace Corps days.  Fortunately I was able to develop them for free back in college, as I worked in a store that had a photo lab and I'd sneak my film in on the queue, and in Ghana their film developers charged about 80 cents to print off double prints.

Damn, I miss Africa.

Anyway, since digital photography has decimated the need to purchase film rolls and pay - even if a little - money to develop them, my picture-taking has gotten much, much worse.  Where I used to be that annoying person with a camera in someone's face for no reason whatsoever, now I'm the annoying person with a camera in someone's face for no reason whatsoever taking upwards of 45 pictures.  Not that I keep all 45 pictures, mind you - I generally like to take an obnoxious amount and then whittle them down, deleting all the poorly-lit, blurry shots and keeping a 'master set'... which, if we're using '45' as the original number, would probably end up being something like 20 - 25.

My wife hates it, sure enough, but I'd rather take too many pictures and miss nothing rather than look cool and take a few pictures, thereby missing out on sheer awesomeness.

You feel me, America?  Damn right you do.

Canon Rebel XT

So about a year ago, my Canon Digital Rebel XTr SLR started acting up.  It wouldn't turn on.  I purchased a new battery and charger off of Amazon, but to no avail - nothing worked.  I had originally bought the camera back in January of 2006, but after six years of heavy use, it finally crapped out on us.  Since it happened after we had spent our income tax plunder, I tearfully relented to wait until our 2013 income tax returns before replacing it with a new SLR.

Canon PowerShot ELPH 300hs

In the meantime, we had to settle for a temporary point-and-shoot:  the Canon PowerShot ELPH 300hs.  Remember?  Anyway, for a point and shoot, it did its job well - it took great pictures, was sleek and easy to carry around, and took great video as well.  But, as a point-and-shoot, it lacked the response time of a more 'professional' SLR, as well as the zoom, aperture, shutter speed, and capture options.  It suffered quality in low lighting, and we often missed those mili-second moments that would've been captured in eternity with an SLR.

I was gnashing my teeth for twelve months.

Then, we processed our 2013 income taxes and bought ourselves a replacement.  FINALLY.

Behold - the Canon EOS Rebel T4i 18.0MP CMOS SLR:

This is both the most popular and highest-rated SLR on Amazon under $1000, and after spending about a month reading reviews, cross-referencing websites, and speaking with other amateur photographers, I picked this up with an assortment of necessary accessories.

An upgrade from their famous T3i model, the T4i features some new settings that allow you to capture better light in dark settings without getting that whole 'blurred to shit' thing, while at the same time avoid over-powering flashes.  I could write up a whole review of the thing, but I guess if you're that interested you could just check it out here for yourself.

The T4i, unlike its predecessors, features a larger, touch screen. . . which is a small, aesthetic feature that doesn't really matter to me as much as the camera's operational settings.  But is still pretty cool.

. . . and it also does this.  Which is also pretty cool.

. . .and, because I have a thing for leather, I picked up this case so that I could throw the camera into a backpack or messenger bag when out on adventures.  My old SLR received quite a few bangs and scrapes in its years of service, and I want to make sure this new one lasts longer than six years.  Plus, I have that Italy venture coming up next month, and I don't want to lose a camera half-way through the trip. . .

The snap-away feature is actually pretty cool with this case - it allows for you to keep the screw-on base cover attached without having to keep the lens cover hanging out off the camera. . .

- Brian

Random Late-Winter Updates, etc.

Hey creepers,

Not much has changed over the last week or so - whenever the hell I last updated this thing, I don't know.  We're both still working a lot, keeping our heads down and killing time until those fun things on the horizon (Wicked for Kris, Italy for Yours Truly, St. Patrick's Day for all of us) finally decide to get their lazy asses in gear and show up.

The weather down here lately has been horrible - in the morning it's 40 degrees, and by noon it's in the low 80s.  There's no way in Hell one can prepare themselves for this, either physically or clothing-ly.  All this hot/cold/hot/cold crap is making everyone sick - allergies are running rampant, kids are walking around with smoker's cough, snot rags litter the floors, and nobody knows how to dress themselves.  At this point, I'd be totally cool with winter weather if it would just stay winter weather long enough so that I could get used to it.

I hate Florida.

Anyway, now that I've grumbled about the weather like some 76-year-old man, here's some random pictures from over the last two weeks or so.

Enjoy.

- Brian

Sunchild Spring 2013 Portraits 

The Little Rocks Kids Choir, performing at the Osceola County Fair (the Cannonball's the short one)

Exit, Stage Left.

I don't know who this other kid is.

After the concert. . .

I hate camels.

At the Heavy Petting Zoo. . .

Alayna, petting some kind of furry quadruped.

I'm not sure, but it looks like this cow's head is stuck. . .

Pumped.

The Cannonball apparently loved this (she's second from the back)

Alayna wanted to be dressed up like Pocahontas.  Abby just hates wearing clothes.

Alayna's last day with Ms. Virginia, the teacher who is primarily responsible for teaching her how to read.  Ms. Virginia is moving back to Ecuador, so the VPK kids are going to be getting a new teacher, who will hopefully be just as good at teaching reading and writing.

For the last few years, the kids have monopolized our living room TV - I guess that sorta thing happens when you have kids.  On Saturday, however, I wanted to use the Wii (something I never get to do anymore) while having my morning coffee, so I rigged up a VCR to an old TV we had in the garage and set the girls up in their bedroom for the morning.  This may have to be a weekend ritual from this point forward. . .

While shopping in the Loop, the girls get distracted with a fountain. . .

Seizing other folks' wishes. . .

Stopover at Menchies - the kids' favorite ice creamery 

One of our lilly clusters, back from a winter nap. . .

If you ever want to keep preschoolers occupied and out of your hair, give them a big pile of dirt and a shovel.

Field hands.

Kris wanted these plastic things gone.  Personally, I'd like to ring the smaller fruit trees with stones - not sure why the previous owner was so obsessed with all the white plastic in his backyard. . .

The Cannonball attempts to water the grass. . . which, as you can see, is REALLY thirsty.

I have a shit-load of rocks.  No idea what I'm doing with all of this crap. . .

Sunset over Ginger Mill. . .

I decided to break out the old Playmobile sets so the girls could play with something new. . . I forgot this stuff was like plastic heroin.

Back for action, after 20 years. . .

Loving sisters.

Kris should really know better, sitting in the Splash Zone. . .