….And Now I Have Three!
I’ve wanted a tattoo for a years ! I’ve even mentioned it in this post but I’ve always been too chicken to do it (a tattoo of a chicken was mentioned in the comments – haha, very funny :-P)
Then last year, after a devastating event, I decided it was finally time to overcome my fear and just DO IT! And I knew exactly what I wanted. The initials of all four of my kids in the shape of a heart….and I must say, it worked out perfectly. The design was a bit of a problem for me, though, because I was working with all upper case letters…until a friend’s genius idea of using lower case, then it all came together nicely.
My hip seemed the perfect spot for it, because that’s where I carried them when they were little (not to mention the fact that there’s a bit of umm…padding…which would hopefully make it less painful 😉 ) It really wasn’t bad at all. It stings a little bit and kind of feels like someone’s drawing on you with a mechanical pencil. The weirdest thing was the vibrations I felt from my hips all the way down my legs.
The thing about tattoos…..they’re addicting! You can’t just stop at one, because you’ll want another one. NEED another one! LOL
And the perfect second tattoo for me? A camera of course! A very good friend of mine was nice enough to agree to draw one for me (Thank you! Again) because my camera drawing skills just aren’t that great, and I wanted something original. As expected, this hurt a bit more than the first one, but still not too bad. Ha this one done in February, about a week after my birthday.
When I got my camera tattoo, I already knew that I wanted a third (did I mention tattoos are addictive??) and decided on a butterfly. Just because I like butterflies. And this time it was my own drawing, too. I chose my left shoulder because it just seemed like the right spot to put it, and it would balance out the other two that are both on the right side of my body. Had this one done just a couple of days ago
Not sure if I’ll stop at three. I might. But there’s also a chance that I might…maybe…possibly….get two more. Just need to decide what and where 😉
A big thank you to Matt (who did my first tattoo) and Daryl (who did the other two) at Scarecrow Tattoo and Art Gallery for doing such a wonderful job.
Tiny Mushrooms
…growing on my fence…
And to show you just how tiny they are… 😉
Trevor wanted to take some pictures of them, too!
Yashica A
The third in my collection of vintage cameras is this Yashica A from about 1958.
It is a medium format 120 film TLR (twin lens reflex) camera and features twin Yashimar 80mm f/3.5 lenses. It has a Copal rim-set shutter, with shutter speeds of 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, and 1/300, and apertures of f3.5-f22. The picture size is 6x6cm.
With 120 film still available, and labs able to develop it, I decided to order a roll of film and try it out. As of this writing I have not yet finished the roll though, so stay tuned for the results. I hope!! This camera is manual everything and doesn’t even have a light meter (and I don’t have a hand-held one either) so it’s all pretty much guess work.
Please excuse the picture overload, I just couldn’t narrow it down any more 😉
This photo was taken by my daughter Sara when I let her play with my Nikon.
Kodak 1A Autographic Camera
The second in my collection of vintage cameras (although I don’t quite consider my Minolta XG-1 a vintage camera, as it’s from the early 80’s) is this foldable Kodak 1A Autographic camera.
From what I could find out, it was manufactured between 1917 and 1924 and the original list price was $21.
It takes autographic 116 film, which unfortunately isn’t available anymore.
f-32 at f-5.6
Minolta XG-1
You may have seen my post of the photos I took of a friend’s vintage camera. I’ve since acquired my own little collection of vintage cameras. This one was really the first one of the collection. Hubby bought it in the early 80’s but it spent many years in storage and I always assumed it didn’t work. When I found out that it DID in fact work, I “confiscated” it and started using it. There were even several lenses, too, and I acquired quite the collection of filters. I had so much fun with this little camera, it still works now….and I still consider it mine 😉
Mine…
… just long enough to take some pictures of it before it went off to its new owner
(I think I’m in love… no… I know I’m in love! ♥)
2011/283: Filming The Photographer
It’s wrong. You really shouldn’t do that.
(Having fun Killing time DRIVING ME CRAZY! at the Plano Balloon Festival)
2010/208: From The Archives – Shutterbug
I came across this collage when I went through my files, looking for something else. These were taken in 2005, with my old point & shoot, and Sara was about 21 months old.
Click on the image for a larger view.
2010/111: Got The Shot?
Easter Sunday in Oklahoma. Melissa actually brought her camera AND she actually took pictures!! Unlike our Indiana trip back in December, when she brought the camera and never even took it out of the bag!
2009/296: Nikon In Space
Of course NASA would pick nothing but the best!
Nikon F This camera was used to familiarize Apollo astronauts with the use and function of the Nikon F. This off-the-shelf camera was used inside the Apollo spacecraft for photo documentation of mission events.
2009/253: Videographer
This was during Nick’s visit, on the day that we went to play soccer. Nick gave Melissa his camera so she could take some pictures for him, and not only did she take pictures, she made some videos, too.
2009/61: My Heart Belongs To…
Move over Greg, I’ve found a new love!
Geez people, what do you think of me?! I’m talking about my new Nikon D300!
He needs a name, though…. can’t call him Nick (for Nikon) because that’s what we call Nicholas. Cam (for camera) won’t work either, because that’s what I call Cameron sometimes. Isn’t it funny that my boys ended up with those names? Guess we messed up with the girls and I should have thought of something photography related for them, too. We considered Julie for Melissa, but that wouldn’t have worked either. I really, really wanted Isabella for Sara, and I guess that would have been close enough to ISO 😉
2009/49: Best Birthday Ever
Finally!!! I thought this day would never get here!!
I’m proud to say that the camera arrived on January 22 and I’ve waited until today to start taking pictures with it!
I did get to take it out of the box the day it arrived (or I should say evening, because that darn UPS truck didn’t get here until 6:42 pm!!!), and I did charge the battery the next morning and adjusted all the settings to where I wanted them (for now). I even put a lens on, but no memory card… or I probably would have accidentally taken a picture or two (or three).
I told Greg that as long as I could take pictures OF the camera, I would be OK waiting until my Birthday to take pictures WITH the camera… who knew that box would sit there for WEEKS, begging me to open it!! But I resisted. Talk about willpower!!! LOL
Thank you, Honey, for the best Birthday present ever! (But don’t let him fool you, he did make me fork over the $900 that I had saved up for it so far! So it only counts for half a present, right? I think the other half should be a new lens.)
Needless to say, I’m heading out today to find a suitable first subject for my new baby.
Friends At The Arboretum
Amber and I went to the Arboretum on Thursday and had SO much fun! It was nice, getting out for a whole day and not have to rush back to pick the kids up from school (our husbands were nice enough to do that). We got to the Arboretum just after they opened at 9 am, and I think we headed back home around 4:30 pm.
(I shot your Canon with my Nikon! 😉 )