Fast Weekend!

I borrowed a Canon 5D MkII from my friend Shelley for a photography job I had on Saturday so I did some practicing Friday night! Sweetie was my only willing candidate for outdoor practice on the foreign gear. I wanted to have a back up in case my own failed for some reason and I also wanted hers because the room I was shooting in was going to be somewhat dark for photography purposes and I wasn't getting good results using my external flash.

 

I practiced all night, trying different angles with my flash, trying my flash on her camera, trying to bounce the flash and all sorts of things. Finally I found a setting that worked like a charm and the harsh shadows I'd been fighting all night were gone! Hooray!

In the meantime I fooled around with Shelley's camera, testing it out in the basement with no flash at all. Hers can handle low light situations MUCH better than mine! These were all taken just using available light in the room and adjusting the settings for better light sensitivity. I couldn't get over the difference. 

I've been thinking about switching brands on my next upgrade and this has convinced me, Pentax just can't match results like this! I'm leaning towards a Nikon though, they're supposedly even better for not being grainy in low light.

Saturday morning the kids slept til after 8 & I think Sweetie crawled in with Murray and conked out til 9! They wake up for school at 6 each day so they must not be getting enough rest through the week if they need a 2-3 hour sleep in on weekends! Murray's got another bad cold so  he needed a sleep in too.

When I got home from the gym, it was time to pack up, go collect my lovely assistant, Babycakes and head to the shoot. It was at an awards ceremony in one of the government buildings downtown, all very serious and official! Not my usual speed! Babycakes handled all the paperwork for me while I got set up in the room. Everything went well and wasn't very long, except that I hadn't thought we'd need chairs to sit because we were "working" but man those speeches felt long while I was standing there trying not to shift around too much. It was interesting to hear all the good works being done by some of the teens and young adults in our province!

After the awards were done, there was a reception and more group photos to do a big mansion downtown. It was neat to be inside but I was a little more concerned about figuring out lighting and posing for the groups to really enjoy the ambiance of the place! One of my old bosses from the bank was there so that made things more comfortable for me!

By evening my legs were tired from all the standing (I know, rough life right?) and was glad to sit on the couch with my family & watch some Little House on the Prairie!

Sunday went by in a hurry too! Church in the morning, get home have some lunch, make some dessert for supper, then head to M&D's! I convinced Mum to have supper early so I could make it back in time for a special discount shopping night at TRU. Being the trooper she is, she did not stand in the way of me scoring some deals!

Luckily, the day before, the girls had gone to town on the TRU flyer and plastered their initials on everything pink, Barbie or baby doll!