Not a bright gal! Maybe I should stay away from the camera!

I have been beating myself up for over a week now. I made a stupid mistake, one that new camera users make...or so I thought.

My family and I went on an amazing 3 week vacation to Italy. As I expected just in the first week alone I filled my 4G card. No problem, I had two other cards, both 8G each. I was surely not going to loose the chance to capture some amazing memories.

So when I arrived home the following day my daughter had her nursery school graduation ( I know...I know..). Of course I wanted to capture some great shots of her and friends she will forget about by the end of the summer. So I started snapping away. I probably took about 40 photos when an error popped on the screen telling me that my CF card was not formatted for the camera. Really? Hmmm. I turned the camera off and on again a few times, but still the error came back.

I would like to blame what happened next on jet lag rather than sheer stupidity, be lets face it, I made one hell of a stupid mistake. Because I did not want to miss any photo op, I formatted the card. It was not until immediatly after that my heart sank. I realized that I just lost 2 weeks worth of vacation photos! Oh, and the 40 photos I just took of my kid.

I was shocked, heartbroken and stunned! I cried. I know there were some great photos in there. I am so saddened by the loss. My husband said to look on the bright side "I guess we will have to go back again!".

The moral of the story is never, never format the card if you have images on it! Remove the images to your computer 1st, then format the card!!!

My Beloved Is On The Mend

Since I received my first DSLR camera 3 years ago, a Canon EOS 40D, I have been hooked on photography. The camera is with me whenever I leave the house. I have become one of those crazy stealth shooters, always sneaking up in my loved ones and snapping some dreadful candid shot. The camera has become my third eye if  you will.

I am sad to report that the 40D has decided she needs a break. For the last few months I was having difficulty getting shots. The camera had trouble focusing therefor the shutter would  not release. At first, being a newbie to cameras, I though the sensor needed cleaning. Then I started to second guess what I thought I knew about exposure and what not. I decided to put the camera through as many 'tests' as I could thing of. First I did some indoor shots using all 3 of my lenses, with and without on camera flash and speedlight. I used every single setting on the camera. The shutter would only release 1 out of every 10 attempts. So then I took it out on a nice sunny day and did the same thing. Still I had the same problem. I brought it into a camera shop and had the guy test it and he concluded (as did I) that there was a malfunction in the camera body, not a problem with me or my lenses.

I shipped the camera off to Canon and am crossing my fingers and hoping that the problem can be repaired. Thank God I still have warranty left on the camera, even if it is only a few months remaining!
I can't wait until my beloved 40D and I can be reunited. My shooting finger has got a terrible itch!

Samantha

I forgot what it was like to be a tween girl when I started this shoot with then 11 year old Samantha. She wanted to look so pretty and wear makeup and pose in ways that might be just a tad too grown up. I remember how awkward I felt at that age and tried to comply with  her wishes without frightening her parents. Samantha is a beautiful girl who was great in front of the camera (even if she did often give me a funny nervous smile).

 

 

 

Sisters

Photographing these beautiful young ladies was an incredible experience for me. It was one of the first times that I have photographed kids outside of my family. These three sisters were a joy to work with and wonderful models!