Little Mow

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Ellie took a long nap yesterday so I decided to use that free time to practice photographing objects in motion. Since Sam never holds still, he made the perfect subject. He chose to spend most of his time riding around in what he calls his “Little Mow,” which is a kid-sized gator made by John Deer. It was his second birthday gift from his paternal grandparents and Gabe and I. At the time, I thought it was way too over the top for a two year old, but Gabe insisted and I have to admit that once Sam figured out how to steer (three months later), it is pretty great. It allows him to keep up with his dad while he’s doing work on the property without slowing Gabe down. Every now and then he runs into something and you have to guide him into reverse, but those moments are few and far between.

I think I nailed the whole motion aspect of photography. I shot mostly in Tv Priority, and very few of my photos came out blurry. The challenge was the lighting. Once I was able to capture Sam without blur, my photos became too dark. I tried messing with the aperture, ISO and exposure compensation but I couldn’t seem to find the right combination. As we were waking back to the house from the pasture, I attempted to take a picture of the house and skyline. Contrary to what the last photo might lead you to believe, it was actually a sunny day and the sky was quite blue. I was able to accurately capture the clouds, but the blue sky and green treetops look much too dark.

Oh, well. Practice makes perfect. And as long as I have an excuse to walk around our property sans baby strapped to my chest, I really don’t mind one bit.

Side Note: In the photos that show Sam kneeling by “Little Mow,” he is pretending to fill it up with gas. It’s so adorable.

Wednesday Yarn Along #3

 

 

I actually finished these fingerless gloves last Fall, but I lost them during the move, only to discover them in a box in the garage yesterday. I had forgotten how pretty they are, and so I decided to post them. The pattern is here on Ravelry. The yarn is Madeline Tosh Sock Yarn in Ginger.
Boo is modeling the gloves for me. She’s such a natural.

Side Note: WOW, these are out of focus. I should have retaken these photos after my photography class. It would be good practice, and boy, do I need to practice.

Too Many Hobbies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This past week or so I decided I needed to make more of an effort to devote time to myself; this includes self-maintainance such as working out or getting my nails done, or carving time out of each day for one of my hobbies, like knitting, gardening, reading, photography, blogging, etc..
Just writing that sentence makes it seem all too obvious that I have too many hobbies.
Anyway, I managed to cut my nails this week. (Not paint them. Not file them. Cut them.) But that was about it. Oh, and I actually did attend a four hour photography class, but I’ve had that planned since October so I’m not sure if that really counts.
The class was great; it covered the basics, which was was incredibly helpful. I walked out knowing exponentially more than I did before (as in, I know what ISO means) and I’m excited to take another class. Hopefully my newfound photography knowledge will develop into actual photography skills that I can share on this blog.
Half of these photos were taken before the class and half were taken after the class. I can totally tell the difference.
Alas, I’ve only managed to buy myself about 20 minutes of practice time in the last two days. Ellie has developed an awful case of eczema and she’s just miserable. I’ve been applying lotion and cortisone cream to her little body like crazy but it just seems to be getting worse. I’m going to try to get her in to see the doctor tomorrow. I hope they can do something to at least ease her discomfort.
In addition to Ellie’s fussiness, Sam has skipped his naps for the last three days, and Gabe is recovering from hernia surgery, so he can’t lift…or really even walk upright. Basically, I picked a bad time to focus on me.
Because we haven’t set up our office, my layout plans for our new raised beds, as well as my current knitting projects have spilled out into the dining room where they have taken up residence for the past week. Before every meal, we shove aside my laptop, camera, grid paper, gardening books and  random double point needles to one side of the table so we can eat on the other side. It’s becoming tiresome but I have nowhere else to go. Gabe says the office will be our next “house project.” I can’t wait.