By Far the BEST

Ok, this has nothing to do with photography but it is worth sharing:

It has arrived....

My Canon G9 got here today and I couldn't be happier with it :) Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Nikon and am very happy that I made that jump into DSLR's with it! This Canon offers me all the features of an SLR with the versatility of transportation. It is bulky, yes, but not inconvenient. I have had the most fun playing with the Color Accent Mode, as will become obvious in the photo's below :)

Anteaters and the Women who Love them

Went to Tijuana flats last night to see some of my friends perform their musical stylings. It was a lot of fun and every one loved them. I was stuck in one spot taking pictures cause it was absolutely busting with people.

To see the photo's go Here.

I just can't help myself

I was using stumbleupon and I came across this magnificence of an informative blog with a little ditty about Canon's Loyalty Program. Read up on the site for more information but basically: If you have a Canon Camera or even Printer that is not functioning properly, out of working order and out of warranty (all or 1 is fine but Warranty Exp. is a must), you are elligible for MAJOR discounts even replacements. I had a Canon SD200, my first p&s camera and I loved it. Unfortunately, it came face to face with concrete way to much and the zoom lens broke. So now it is permanently Clicky. I went online and found out that I could get a G9 for more than half the price or even the Rebel XT. I love my Nikon D40x and really saw no reason for having 2 SLR's so I opted for the G9. It is a beautiful P&S camera with the great features of an SLR including somethings that the SLR doesn't have.

MOVIE MODE

TIME LAPSE movie mode

COLOR SELECTER (basically desaturates every other color and isolates the wanted color)
12.1 Megapixels (my slr is 10.2)

and More.....

More importantly, it is a much smaller camera which is great when I don't want to risk taking my SLR to theme parks, the Beach, etc. It can also be fitted with an Underwater case :)

All in all, I am very excited to be expanding my tools!

In Memorandum

In memory of my beautiful Miami. (2 months tomorrow):




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkIhEGBTMo4

Travel Anywhere!

More Fun with Photo Shop

I learned how to "Enhance your image with selective color". Lots of fun! Still practicing though

Photo Shop Fun

Mini Vacation- Uber Photo Opp!

I promise that I will never use the term "Uber" again. I heard it once while on Hollywood Beach this week and it has been floating around in my mind like a baby in a bathing pool. So in any concern, my mother and I joined my father at the Marriot Hotel on Hollywood Beach (Mon- today) as he had a work seminar and presentation. Hollywood Beach is only some 20 minutes from my house but it was a free hotel stay and an opportunity to play with my camera. What more could a girl ask for?

There weren't that many people yesterday that were willing to be my models so I found solace in Nature.... that translates to "there are a lot of pictures of trees and plants". I found a beautiful victim, however. I called him Leonard because he could have been a DiVinci. Sat there and just posed for me as long as I wanted. And then this morning on my balcony, perched 10 floors above the beach was Micaelango.

Before I post the photo's, I ran into the first frustrations of new photography: Night Shots. I really don't like complaining but it's so hard to take a night shot that isn't shaky, blurred and noisy. I guess it doesn't help that I don't have a pod to perch the camera on, but still. (no pun intended). I was able to learn my exposure and ISO settings a bit better. I tried to stay away from the Pre-set settings and stay on the MASP's. Lot's of interesting new things :) The beach is a great venue to take pictures.

Speaking of:

Too funny!

Comedian Bernie Mac dead at 50.....

BREAKING NEWS

updated 7:04 a.m. PT, Sat., Aug. 9, 2008

CHICAGO - Bernie Mac, the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actor and comedian who worked his way to Hollywood success from an impoverished upbringing on Chicago’s South Side, died Saturday at age 50.

“Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away this morning from complications due to pneumonia in a Chicago area hospital,” his publicist, Danica Smith, said in a statement from Los Angeles.

She said no other details were available and asked that his family’s privacy be respected.

The comedian suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease that produces tiny lumps of cells in the body’s organs, but had said the condition went into remission in 2005. He recently was hospitalized and treated for pneumonia, which his publicist said was not related to the disease.

Recently, Mac’s brand of comedy caught him flack when he was heckled during a surprise appearance at a July fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate and fellow Chicagoan Barack Obama.

Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine, Mac joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language. The performance earned him a rebuke from Obama’s campaign.

Always a performer
But despite controversy or difficulties, in his words, Mac was always a performer.

“Wherever I am, I have to play,” he said in 2002. “I have to put on a good show.”

Mac started his comedy career at age 8, with a standup performance at a church dinner. In 1977, at age 20, he took that act to comedy clubs in Chicago.

His film career started with a small role as a club doorman in the Damon Wayans movie “Mo’ Money” in 1992. Mac went on to star in the “Ocean’s Eleven” franchise with Brad Pitt and George Clooney and his turn with Ashton Kutcher in 2005’s “Guess Who?” — a remake of the Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn 1967 classic “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” — topped the box office.

Mac also had starring roles in “Bad Santa,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” and “Transformers.”

The comedian drew critical and popular acclaim with his Fox television series “The Bernie Mac Show,” which aired more than 100 episodes from 2001 to 2006.

The series about a man’s adventures raising his sister’s three children, won a Peabody Award in 2002. At the time, judges wrote they chose the sitcom for transcending “race and class while lifting viewers with laughter, compassion — and cool.”

The show garnered Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Mac. He also was nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2001 along with his “The Original Kings of Comedy” co-stars, Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley and Cedric The Entertainer.

Planned to retire soon
In 2007, Mac told David Letterman on CBS’ “Late Show” that he planned to retire soon.

“I’m going to still do my producing, my films, but I want to enjoy my life a little bit,” Mac told Letterman. “I missed a lot of things, you know. I was a street performer for two years. I went into clubs in 1977.”

Mac was born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough on Oct. 5, 1957, in Chicago. He grew up on the city’s South Side, living with his mother and grandparents. His grandfather was the deacon of a Baptist church.

In his 2004 memoir, “Maybe You Never Cry Again,” Mac wrote about having a poor childhood — eating bologna for dinner — and a strict, no-nonsense upbringing.

Mac’s mother died of cancer when he was 16. In his book, Mac said she was a support for him and told him he would surprise everyone when he grew up.

“Woman believed in me,” he wrote. “She believed in me long before I believed.”

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.