cameras cameras everywhere

Right after I bought my first camera, the Canon Rebel, last May, Dale bought a Canon 40D.  I was a bit jealous :)  In December, Travis got me the 40D!  Mom was a bit left out, UNTIL NOW!  Dale gave her the 40D for her birthday in April.  So the 40D seems to be the camera of choice in our family.

Last weekend, Travis was on his annual motorcycle trip to North Carolina.  I figured it would be a good weekend to go to Des Moines to visit my mom.  We were all looking forward to playing with our cameras together and helping mom learn a bit more about hers.  For the first 8 months or so of owning a digital SLR I kept the settings on P (auto with no flash) or AV where I only chose the aperture (or how blurry the background is).  There were a lot of photos that were just too dark or a lot of out of focus images.  I started shooting on manual, where I choose all my settings.  I really wanted to encourage my mom to shoot on manual too.  After a few rocky shoots, it's almost easier than a programed mode because you get to choose how the photo looks, unlike the camera deciding.
I showed her the light meter on the camera, and she was really good at reading her settings.  It was a lot of fun to help my mom learn some of the things I've been trying so hard to get a grasp on this last year.

My mom taught me how to use a camera when I was young.  More importantly, she taught me the love and passion for taking pictures.  I think I saw her photographs and that's how I initially knew how to set my shots up.
Dale is also quite passionate about photography!   I'm not sure if this is a new interest to him, or he's always been interested.  But he sure has gotten some mileage out of his camera.  It's really fun that we all have the same one!
This saturday in Des moines we drove around for probably 1/2 hour looking for a good photography spot.  After being there 3 minutes it started to rain :)  So we didn't get too much time outside this weekend.  My mom did help me to mend some dress pants I bought many months ago that have drug on the ground since.  We ate much good food, and I  gave my mom a haircut.  I bet you didn't know of my many talents... ?!?!

I also got to see one of my FABULOUS friends KATE for an afternoon!  Her, and her family were one of the VERY first to hire me to photograph them last fall.  I felt soo honored!

Kate is a great photographer herself!  I recently decided to sell my Canon Rebel and knew she would love to have a great camera to play with.  I'm so glad my "first" will have a great new home!