Rochelle's Blog ::: Subtitles Included

Another silly train of thought post.

So this train of thought must originally begin with this factor….

I’m getting a new camera lens for my birthday.

Cannon 50mm f1.8

And this lens is now constantly on my mind.

So this morning, when I saw this picture on thekitchn.com, my mind’s light bulb switched right on with bright obnoxious flourescent light.

Source: Apartment Therapy

This is how my days escape me. This is how I have too many projects. This is all because I can’t help myself. I love to create stuff.

So I’m looking at this picture, and I think about how I like it and about how I can’t wait to get my new camera lens.

And there is pornography for my lens. It’s a Flickr group of just pictures taken with this particular lens. And I look at it all the time! So I go there (AGAIN) and I see some amazing photographs and furthermore some pretty good examples of photographer watermarks.

I groan. I’ve attempted to use Lightroom’s watermark feature, but it’s just bleh. I wanted more, so I watched this:

And then I started to make watermark ribbons. Like five of them, until I settled on something very simple.

But while I was making watermarks, I thought, let’s do this for real. Maybe I need a domain to add to the watermark. God knows why.

So I bought a domain: rochellephotography.com

And then I implemented my watermark workflow, which included my new URL.

Well you know what that means right? I have to have a website to back that up. So I did some research and found a template that I liked, and I activated it.

The template

Trouble was, this particular template, as gorgeous as it is, sucks to manipulate. So I was nose deep in customizing this thing the whole rest of the day. The entire Super Bowl. Yep.

At this moment in time, I am unsure if I will keep it. It’s much too difficult to manipulate. I just think it looks super pretty. And, there’s still a bit I need to do with adding images and the like and actually having a consistent watermark.

So yeah. This train of thought cost me $14, and an entire day. But it was pretty fun and so I guess it was worth it.

Please tell me that other people do this and that I’m not a complete whack job.

I went with a handful of co-workers to the Rockies/Cubs  game. We sat out in center-left, but the view was great and the game was awesome. The Rockies played very well, and the poor Cubbies, only picked it up in the 9th inning. We got to see Troy Tulowitzki hit the cycle, which was very cool. I had a great time and took some pretty cool pictures too.

From L-R: Mike, Kevin, Ryan, Greg, David, and Caitlin.

Here are the rest of my pictures from the night:

This morning I got an exciting e-mail message from Nasim, the Estes Park photo walk leader. One of my photographs was picked for the top group for voting! There were 52 submissions total, and nine selected for the group to vote on. The winner will be submitted as our group’s best photograph for the broader Scott Kelby photo walk competition. The other eight photographs in the group are fierce, so I don’t have much hope of it being chosen as the best, but I don’t care! This alone is enough to make me delighted and keep me going. It really is a fun hobby.

Here it is, Main Street Details.

There was a retirement party across campus in the alumni center for a colleague. I ducked out a bit early and took a long stroll across campus. I thought ahead and brought my camera so I could practice photography more. I’m really trying to get as good as I possibly can before my trip. I remember being absolutely frustrated in Ireland that my pictures weren’t turning out like I would have wanted them. I especially struggled in cathedrals and castles. This time, that won’t happen. The campus I work on is a such a beautiful place, so it wasn’t hard to get some nice shots out of it.

Here’s my favorite:

Old Main is the backdrop for this CU Pride banner.

And here are the rest of the pictures from the shoot.

I had a great time with my mom taking pictures on a photo walk up and down Pueblo’s riverwalk.

I convinced her to upgrade her camera before our trip!

I went down to Pueblo this past weekend to spend time with my family and to go on a photo walk with my mom. Ever since I told her about the organized photo walk in Estes Park, the idea started formulating to do our own photo walk in the historic Union Depot district of Pueblo. I also wanted to squeeze in some time with my dad, so I did the usual bounce between the two of them several times while I was there.

As always, there were plenty of opportunities to eat down there. I don’t know if it’s because I grew up there, but I seriously believe that some of the most delicious food in Colorado can be found in Pueblo, and not just Mexican food either. There are so many unique places, privately owned, that have been in business for as long as I’ve been alive (most much longer). And it’s all quite unique and quaint. So quaint and loved by the city that the majority of places don’t have a website, because they simply don’t need one.

The photo walk itself was really fun. We mostly walked up and down the Riverwalk, which I had never really done before. It was built only about ten years ago, after I had moved away. After a little exploration, I was surprised to find that it turns into a heavily wooded path, with great shade and grassy riverbanks. There was also some interesting wildlife to shoot. No elk or hawks like in a national park, but lots of butterflies and adorable ducks. We even popped a squat next to a bush full of bumble bees. Only me and my mom could do such a thing, since the rest of my family is terrified of bees.

Right after the walk, I bounced back to my dad’s house and we sat on the front porch and watched the summer rain come down while enjoying some smoked cheese, grapes, and wine. It was the perfect summer day. My trip ended with one of the more delicious meals I’ve had all year at an Italian restaurant. Their Chicken Piccatta was to do die for. Just writing about it makes my mouth water.

Here are my pictures from the photo walk:

So the Photo Walk in Estes Park was totally awesome. I must admit that I’m not the greatest at getting out there and I mostly stick close to home. I’m also a bit shy. But I took the plunge and joined up with forty other photographers (amateur and professional) for an afternoon in Estes Park, Colorado. Estes Park is a cute little mountain town that sits at the foot of Rocky Mountain National Park, and is home to the famous Stanley Hotel, which was the used for Stephen King’s The Shining.

I love Estes Park. It’s near where I got married, and Brian and I loved to spend weekends up there. He has a long history of going to Estes Park. As a child, he spent a lot of time there with his extended family. They were from Evanston, Illinois, and Brian grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Together they descended upon the YMCA campground there and would always rent the biggest cabins at the very top of the camp. It’s a really cool place.

So anyway, we started at 2 p.m. at the old theater in town and then went on our ways to explore the downtown area and take pictures. I took a crash course in aperture and shutter speed, and how to work my camera in manual mode the night before. My whole goal was to master those concepts and I did pretty well. I was with a bunch of boys that I know from work, and we had a pretty good time together. I wasn’t picky, so I took pictures of everything. Others were really picky, and some weren’t satisfied with the town. I was just happy to be out and about taking pictures.

After a few hours, we all ended up at a cute restaurant. There had to have been thousands and thousands of dollars worth of camera gear there.

At the end of our time there, we picked up some pie and drove home. My friend Matt commented that it was hard not to see picture opportunities everywhere, even though we were done shooting for the day. I couldn’t agree more. I can’t wait for next year!

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day:

Today was the Photo Walk in Estes Park. It was part of Scott Kelby’s 2nd Annual Worldwide Photo Walk. It was a great day! I took about 300 pictures, and like about 40 of them! Here’s one of my absolute favorites, of the old Estes Park theater, which was where we met up to start our day.

Park Theater pierces the sky.

Having events to look forward to is always bittersweet. It’s so great to look toward the future with excitement and hope. Yet it’s sad that we wish our days away to get there. I realized a few weeks ago that I really needed to have something in my life to look forward to. Something to plan for and something that will keep me awake at night with excitement.

So in my own life, I have two events coming up that I’m really excited for. One small and one large.

First up is the Photo Walk I’m participating in on Saturday in Estes Park. My friend David told me about it a few weeks ago and convinced me to sign up. It’s part of Scott Kelby’s Second-Annual WorldWide Photo Walk. Around 50 of us are going to be walking around downtown Estes Park and beyond taking photographs. I’m so excited to learn some new techniques from photographers that are much more skilled than I am. After a few hours we’re going to have dinner and drinks. How great, huh?

And of course, there is my trip to London. I’ve been busy planning away. I’ve decided that we’re going to stay based in London and do day trips to Bath, Oxford, and Stratford-upon-Avon. The latest development with my trip is that my mom is coming with us. At first it was a bit of a shock when she invited herself along, but now I’m really excited for this! For as long as I can remember she has talked about how she would love to go there. I’m so happy that she can get to go. So now my sister, mom, and I will be sharing a room with three single beds just off Kensington Gardens.

My mind races with all the possibilities. All the things we can do, all the ways I can get prepared. I love it! Yesterday I got my passport taken care of. I had to get my name changed, which is just a huge bummer all around. I really wish I would have done it right after I got married, and not while I’m in this current state of marriage with Brian. I really wish I would have never changed my name in the first place. But oh well. It’s been great to have such an easy last name!

I’m already making lists like crazy. I think it’s exciting because I never really buy accessories for myself. I rarely buy new clothes, I hardly ever buy shoes, and I certainly don’t buy bags of any kind. But I have needs now, so I can justify it all. I’m definitely going to need new shoes to start off with. When I was in Ireland I was obsessed with footwear. Brian and I packed wore New Balance tennis shoes. We stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone around us wore much more stylistic footwear, that was still perfect for walking, but not their gym shoes. I refuse to do that again. So now I’m planning on going to the Walking Company and getting a couple of pairs of shoes. Also, I’m going to need some new clothes by then. Not a ton, but a few pairs of pants and maybe a jacket. Hopefully, I will be an even smaller size by then. I’m already wearing older clothes that didn’t fit me when I began losing weight. That’s been great, but I can even sense that they are going to become too big. Finally, I’ve been thinking a lot about a backpack of some sort. Since I’ll have more camera gear, I need something a little more substantial than my purse. But I don’t want a big bulky backpack either. I want something stylish, but practical too. Well this morning I went to the campus bookstore and ended up finding an awesome little backpack. It’s got a million compartments and lots of nice features. Not only can I use it on my trip, but I can try it out on my photo walk too!

So things are coming together quite nicely. Life is wonderful right now and I’m so happy. How often do we get to acknowledge that?

For a really long time I’ve wanted to get a digital SLR camera. My point and shoot camera works all right, but it just isn’t the same. Since I’m going to Europe in the fall, I wanted to get a great camera far enough in advance to be able to learn how to use it so I can take great pictures. So with the reminder of my Best Buy credit I made the purchase today! After listening to my friend David, I decided to go with a Canon, and since I’m new to all this I started with a EOS Digital Rebel XS 10.1-Megapixel camera. And I got a package deal, so I got a 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Zoom Lens to go with it too.

The hardest part so far was waiting for the battery to charge! But once it did, I went for a little nature walk in my apartment complex and took some photos, and of course I took pictures of the cats. I can’t wait to really learn how to use it!

Here are some samples from today’s shoot: