Back to Blogspot and Blogging

I haven't blogged in 6 months but I think it's time to get some photogs back up and on the interwebs. Here's one photo from our road trip back in July. We got stuck in a small town called Field on our way to Abbotsford. There was a head on collision on the #1 that shut down the highway for 7hrs. Fortunately, there were a couple rooms left in Field and we spent a brilliant night in the mountains that surround this quaint town.

At dusk(which was 10pm), I went out to shoot this mountain with the bridge and river in the foreground. I set up my camera on my wobbly tripod (I seriously need to get a good tripod) and set my aperture to f22 so that I could get the star burst effect on the lights. This was a 30 second exposure at iso 200. I converted it to B&W but I'm still not sure if this is the final edit. I'll post the colour version later.

New Photog Blog

Check out my new photog site at:

www.andrewwillmsphotography.com

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas

Before shot. I'll be sure to post the during and after.



My Dad made Joshie his own shelf. Awesome!

Canon 5D Mark II

I finally made a decision and bought the Canon 5D Mark II. After much debate and even thoughts of defecting to Nikon I chose the 5D. I've had about 24hrs to play with it and although it hasn't made me a better photographer, the high iso capabilities, the new zoom lens and the megapixel madness of this camera has me quite excited.

Shot with my trusty 20D.



I'm still customizing my new shiny toy and struggling a bit with some of the button locations. I'll post some images of Christmas tomorrow!



Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Alert Level ORANGE!

Today Eva showcased her mad Tae Kwon Do skills at the local university in front of 9 judges! They were measuring her discipline, skills and how long it would take Eva to put the other 4 year old girl in a choke hold. I kid, no choke holds, only good sportsmanship. It was neat to see Eva, without fear, walk out onto that big mat and do her thing as the head instructor barked out orders.

Warm-up time!


Eva with her teacher Barbara.


I love this look.


Eva's cheering section.


The class was stretching it out.


She's got her Dad's flexibility.


The jumping jacks were amazing. The kids were all over the mat.


Some more stretching.


Eva really takes direction well. I love how attentive she is in this photo.


EXAM TIME!






The judges.


Good yelling Eva!


Great form!


Time for a little defense.


Attack!


Everyone loves a high leg kick.


FIGHT! (ok, there was no contact)


After the exam all the kids from Eva's class had to wait for the other classes to finish. Eva waited very patiently.


You are officially looking at an Orange Belt.


GREAT JOB E!

Eva's School Christmas Program

Today we went down to Eva's school to celebrate Christmas. I am so impressed with her school. The head of the school, Rosa, is always so friendly. She always makes a special effort to come say hi. And I always awkwardly wonder if I should shake her hand or kiss her cheek or should I call her "usted" (formal you because she's my elder) or tu (informal you). So instead of headbonking her (headbonking is my version of a kiss on the cheek...I always come in way too hot and then whammo I head bonk and black out for a second) I opted for the handshake and "como (tu) estas". Ahh, the social nuances of Mexico. I'm still a moron after 4 years down here.
Okay, back to the main story. EVA WAS FABULOUS!!!
Beloved 12 followers, my daughter was not only singing in a choir but she was singing in SPANISH. I must admit that my eyes were a touch watery.

Here is Eva in warm up.


The real deal.


All kids aged 3-6.


Eva back at her desk.


It's starting to get cold here. All the flowers/leaves are falling off the trees. This lone flower on a tree at Eva's school had caught Dana's eye for the last couple of days so I snagged the photo before it was completely gone.

EVA TKO in TOKYO

Here is Eva in her new outfit!



Big test on Friday. We'll be sure to take a bunch of photos of the big day!

Eva

Today I tried to capture Eva learning how to pump. This is not that easy to do using a still camera. I also brought my flashes, umbrella and stand to try some off camera flash work. I'm loving the strobist stuff but I need more time to learn. I'm looking forward to some time at Christmas to shoot with Gary and a bunch of strobes. Here are a few pics of Eva with some off camera flash. (

When we got to the park the sprinklers were running so Eva wasn't overly impressed. (Flash with shoot through umbrella camera left) I like how Eva pops in this image.)


There is a hint of a smirk...


Again, it's hard to catch her pumping but this panned shot worked pretty well. Go Eva! (Dana gave me the panning idea)

The Cave of the Supreme Powers.

Today was a National Holiday in Mexico and we decided to check out an historical site called, La Cueva del Tabaco aka The Cave of Supreme Powers. I'm not sure what we expected to find there, but I was secretly hoping to see some of my childhood super heroes. Dang, that was the Justice League NOT the Supreme Powers. I should have known that I wouldn't find Aquaman in the desert. And I digress...

As per mexconnect.com,
In Viesca, in 1864, [President Benito] Juárez, a guest in General Jesús González Herrera's home at number 19, Hidalgo street, was introduced to the patriotic Mexicans who would soon become the official guardians of the federal archives which Juárez was carrying with him. The archives were hidden for several years in a cave, then known as La Cueva del Tabaco (Tobacco Cave), but now renamed La Cueva de los Supremos Poderes (The Cave of the Supreme Powers), before being restored to the nation in 1867 after the French left and Maximilian was executed. The cave is about 12 kilometers east of Matamoros. While there is little to see there today, this important event in national history is one rightfully remembered by all Mexicans and the entrance to the cave is via an impressive, modern, stone stairway.

Because I didn't take any wrong turns this time, we made it in 30 minutes! Micah found a way to sleep despite Josh's loud protest against car seats.


Dana snagged this image on the way to the cave. Love the road.


Dana also grabbed this shot as I pushed on to park so I could extract Josh asap. (Dana is shooting way more now and will be inheriting a well used Canon 20D this Christmas...which means one thing for me...)


The kids hustled up the stairs to the cave entrance. I had to slow them down to get a shot.


Not much of an entrance but we decided to push on inside. It was tight, dark and smelly. We lasted 30 seconds and then got out. Apparently, the caves run the length of the mountain. However, we weren't about to confirm that.


Lots of rocks with Mexican flag colours.


And some more. (This is an HDR photo. I took 3 shots at different exposures to get this look)


Eva climbed up the mountain and struck this pose.


Micah's turn. I love the smile.


The kids and I stopped here and took this pic of Mom and Josh down below.


We climbed back down and the kids found this massive boulder. Micah was a little nervous up there.


Check out his eyes in this photo. That is some serious concern.


Watching the sun dive from this old abandon road.


The van gets into the blog this week. We put it through its paces this week and it still looks good.


Eva and Micah doing their best to look mean.


They couldn't hold it though.


I brought my strobes and umbrella to try some outdoor lighting. This shot isn't good (D and J still look great) but the cool thing was that Eva was holding the umbrella and Micah was holing my flash while I made this image. We'll work on it and come up with something better next time but it's awesome having assistants.


Another HDR image on the way home.


What a nice way to end the day. Another beautiful Torreon sunset.