Sunday, October 14, 2007



I took this photo in Sacramento; in the gardens near the State Capital.

It's been a busy few days! On Friday night Phil and I did some more wedding planning and I practised using our new flash. I'm getting more nervous by the day - what if I screw up? I'll never forgive myself!

Saturday we went shopoing for wedding outfits. Sian and Phil are sorted, Kate needed trousers, footwear and a jacket and I needed a suit. At first it was a disaster....M&S was having a sale, was in a real muddle and if I found a jacket that fir i couldn't find the matching trousers in my size! The changing rooms were hot and overcrowded as well as badly lit. I saw myself in my underwear which reduced me to tears LOL.

We headed for Debenhams with me feeling very dispirited but phew, once in there all was much better. I found several lovely jackets complete with trousers and nearby sutitable blouses to try with them. Changing rooms were LARGE, well-lit and COOL. Staff helpful - result: i got a nice suit and blouse. Kate got lovely black trousers and a black jaclet plus boots - she looks gorgeous and SO grown up! So that's one worry over!

In the evening we visited the Wildcat; watched the rugby and ate pizza and a nice time was had by all. This morning we attended a christening; the afternoon was gardening and laundry. Phil starts his commission tomorrow and will be away most of the week although we are having lunch tomorrow!

7 comments:

artisbliss said...

Thanks for your nice comments on my blog. I took lots of pictures of the garden with you in mind especially because I knew you'd love to see them.

Re: trying on clothes in a department store--sister, I feel your pain. I've found the best solution is to keep your eyes closed while you're in your undies and only open them once you're fully dressed again. Can't think why they don't put in more flattering lighting. It would certainly help sales!

I'm sure you'll do a fine job with the wedding pictures and I hope you can share some on your blog.

xoxo

photowannabe said...

I think you will do just fine, especially now that you have new clothes.
I hate fitting rooms, too hot and ugly lighting. Most unflattering.
Hubby and I have a 2 day job in Sacremento so I will not be blogging until ABC Wednesday.

picperfic said...

You will be fine photographing the wedding, I get nervous too, just make sure you have some imodium handy! As for trying on clothes in shops, well I'd rather buy them and take them home to try on, aprt from that, the changing rooms and getting changed makes me all hot and bothered! So glad you found something, I love John Rochas stuff, it seems to flatter my ample curves!

JAM said...

I usually don't "get" abstract art, so things like this statue are much more moving to me than more odd art is.

About the wedding, are you planning to go to the rehearsal? I did this and it helps a lot, and I got permission and shot with my flash and tried different settings and was able to show up for the real event with much more confidence.

I have an SB-600 with my D70s, and I put on my Sto-fen Omni Bounce and for the shots in the actual wedding, which had rather low lighting, I added +2 stops on the flash. For the closer shots, and the reception which was in a room with low (normal) ceilings, I just left the Omni Bounce on there and dialed back the compensation on the flash to 0.

I had a few shots that were a bit dark and also a bit too bright, but overall I LOVED the gentle light of the diffuser.

Most of all, I am SO glad that I shot in RAW mode. Yes, I had to convert all 367 shots from RAW to jpegs eventually, but there's no substitute for the amount of adjustments that shooting RAW allows, especially on something as important as wedding photos.

Plus, the wedding I shot had very mixed lighting, both candles and incandescent as well as flourescent in the reception room, I could adjust white balance afterward if necessary.

Again, if you have enough memory card room, shoot RAW. I thanked myself many times for having done that and it allowed me to resurrect some photos that would have been unsaveable had I shot in just jpeg mode.

Anyway, best of luck to you. I was actually able to relax and have fun, this was my fourth wedding, and having had shot the rehearsal the night before allowed me to know in general where I needed to be at any given point.

Akelamalu said...

I just love that statue.

Stop worrying about the photos - you'll do great!

RUTH said...

This statue is lovely. I'm convinced changing room mirrors are rigged because I always think "Do I really look that bad!!!". You are bound to feel nervous about the wedding photos...you'll be fine though..I can feel it in my bones :o)
Love & {{HUGS}}
Rx

Lori Schmidt (LoriProPhoto) said...

I hate shopping for clothes, can't think of very much I hate more LOL so I can relate. On top of it I can never find something that I like in my size which is very frustrating.

Enjoying your photos, thanks for your visits, you are always in my thoughts ((((Hugs))))

Lori
xx