{say cheese}

My weekend went pretty well. I had two photo shoots this weekend. One was a senior session and another was a family session and both went great. I shared some sneak peaks up on my photography page and will be busy editing the rest of them in the days to come! I have six more photo shoots scheduled through the middle of October. This is definitely a busy time of year for me and I love it. I will admit, that I get a little worn out by the end of the fall, but then I tend to have a few months with little to no shoots because of our lovely Wisconsin weather, and get ready for them again in the Spring. I itch to be behind the camera and love it! I had so much fun with the two photo shoots I did this weekend. I love that I can make a few extra bucks from it and do it on the side. I will admit, because I am doing more and more for individuals that I do not know, the pressure that comes along with producing a good shoot rises a little bit, but I think it also pushes me out of the box to be the best I can be. And when I release the shutter on my camera, my insides swell with joy. I get a high from taking pictures and being behind the camera. I've always loved taking pictures... pictures of just about anything. I look at things with a different eye most of the time, wondering how it would look in a picture. How I can manipulate it so it ends up like the vision I have in my head. I'm weird like that, haha! I'm not super artsy fartsy, but put me behind a camera... and let me loose!

I would have loved to grow up with my own dark room and to learn about photography that way. I know there are still people who have their own dark rooms and develop their photography that way. I am not one of them. I remember when I was younger having a film camera and begging my mom to get my film developed. So, my love of photography began well before the digital era. However, then it was more point and shoot whatever than try to set up a shot. Either way... And then digital began and I got my very first digital camera... this was probably a year before Ayden was born, a 1.3 mega pixel digital camera. We're talking big league here, lol! (Especially considering that my current phone has an 8 mega pixel camera on it!)

The very first pictures I have of Ayden are all grainy and wonderful. You can't even imagine their glory! And as time progressed, so did technology and so did my want and need for an upgraded camera. It simply just continued like that, especially after I discovered the technology of editing my pictures. Let me tell you, some of those beginning ones are just wonderful, lol!

And then...

I discovered the world of dSLR! Um, hello! Blow me away! I HAD to have one, just HAD to! And when I did, I knew there would be no turning back. I had a relatively good point and shoot camera at that time and thought I would keep it to bring with me in my purse on the occasions where I didn't want to carry my big camera around. Nope, didn't use it once after getting my first dSLR. I couldn't back track.

I had my first dSLR for about two and a half years before craving an upgrade again. At this point I had begun taking pictures for others and wanted something that would last me for quite a number of years. So, I upgraded and I have a current love affair with my Canon 7D. It is my second baby. It ranks right up there with my most prized material possessions. I do find that with my current phone, a Samsung Galaxy S2, that when I do not have my big camera with me, I am always taking pictures with my camera phone. It takes relatively decent pictures when the lightening is good. The shutter lag still gets me because my dSLR is super fast, but it is good for a phone camera. And I just love taking snap shots and sharing them with my family and friends on facebook.

I don't know that I'll ever stop loving being behind the camera. I hope I don't.

You know the saying... the first child always has the most pictures and then it gets less and less with the more children you have. For some reason, I doubt that that will be the case with our second child. Maybe third or fourth, but not the second... since I haven't had the opportunity to shower a new baby with the love of my newest camera. Just not going to happen. Sorry second child, whenever you decide you may come, you will be your mommiest newest obsession! Hehe!

And in a coming post, I might just decide to share with you some recent pictures that I've taken for myself. You know, because every now and then I do tend to get behind the camera for my own purposes and don't shove my son in front of it all of the time. Actually, speaking of that, I would like to get a nice 8 year old photo shoot of him!

CIAO! LOVE ME!