3000 miles, 3 kids, and too many photos to count! FINAL UPDATE 7/11

[mom2rtk]

The next morning we headed back into Arches to see a few more things we missed the night before. It was nice driving through early in the day so the rock formations on the other side of the road that were backlit would now be frontlit and better subjects to photograph.

This formation is called "The 3 Gossips":

This one is "Sheep Rock":

This is a wide view of the scene, with "The Organ" on the right, "The 3 Gosspis" on the left and "Sheep Rock" just past it.

This formation is in "The Windows" area, where there are several impressive arches. Unfortunately the best one was shaded this time of day and didn't yield any of the memorable photos I had hoped.

I had the same problem with backlighting in the "Fiery Furnace" area, although Katie posed for one shot off to the side with better lighting:

Along the way, I did manage to snap a self-portrait.....

And just as we were heading out, with a less stellar view in front of us, I caught a glimpse of this behind us..... Slightly more interesting that my typical view of suburbia running to and from school after kids....

With that, we sadly exited the park, although with the temperatures soaring, I wasn't as sad as I might have been. We headed for the highway toward that night's destination of Las Vegas.

 

[DisneyDorkORama]

looks like you had fun! I want to see more pictures!!

 

[mom2rtk]

looks like you had fun! I want to see more pictures!!

We did have a great time. Of course it drove me nuts every time we drove past something really cool and I had to tell the kids to turn off the video games....... So I wonder if appreciation for scenery just comes when you're older???

There's lots more pictures to go. I'll try and get some posted soon! Thanks for reading along.

Someone tell Gdad that if he wants to break out of his slump he should visit the southwest. It's full of so much great inspiration. My shots aren't very remarkable, but the scenery is. I've seen some shots on Flickr of this area that are amazing!

 

[Marlton Mom]

I am just loving your photographs, especially when accompanied by your narration. It really isn't easy trying to get the photos that you have in mind when you're on the fly during a family vacation!

I'm sure Ansel Adams had all the time in the world and no family or trip agenda to take care of when he was making his magic with the camera. The weather is such a factor as well since it affects the light to such a great degree.

It's hard to have an idea in your mind about how you want to capture something and then not all of the factors are available to you and it doesn't come together quite the way you had intended.

Don't let all the distractions convince you that you aren't doing a GREAT Job! All those really great pictures you've taken have their own merit. We are our own worst critics, but time softens our expectations and leaves us with our accomplishments.

Thanks for sharing your pictures and your stories. It's sort of like you are taking us on vacation with you!



Marlton Mom

 

[mom2rtk]

I am just loving your photographs, especially when accompanied by your narration. It really isn't easy trying to get the photos that you have in mind when you're on the fly during a family vacation!

I'm sure Ansel Adams had all the time in the world and no family or trip agenda to take care of when he was making his magic with the camera. The weather is such a factor as well since it affects the light to such a great degree.

It's hard to have an idea in your mind about how you want to capture something and then not all of the factors are available to you and it doesn't come together quite the way you had intended.

Don't let all the distractions convince you that you aren't doing a GREAT Job! All those really great pictures you've taken have their own merit. We are our own worst critics, but time softens our expectations and leaves us with our accomplishments.

Thanks for sharing your pictures and your stories. It's sort of like you are taking us on vacation with you!



Marlton Mom

Thanks a bunch! I'm glad you're along for the ride. LOVE the little car guy! Gonna have to use that myself...... Anyone know how mock up one of these little car emoticons with a couple of kids tied to the bumper????? We had our moments you know.......

I appreciate your encouragement. It really is hard to navigate all the family stuff and still have a few brain cells left over to think about the photography. I'm still at the stage where none of it comes naturally. The little squirrels up in my brain still have to work really hard turning the wheels up there for me......

Still, the trip was like photography bootcamp for me and I did enjoy that. (You know... when I wasn't reveling in all that family togetherness.......)

 

[mom2rtk]

We had done the drive from Moab to Vegas before. But it never ceases to amaze me. The area known as the San Rafael Swell is absolutely stunning! It's just up my alley too.... no long hikes, just lots of scenic pull-outs with one great view after another.

Nearly everyone in the car was asleep by now. I just kept pulling over to check out these amazing views all by myself. It was nice though with no one fussing about me wanting to change camera lenses yet again, or dig to see just which lens I had left that dang circular polarizer on!

We're not a very exciting group. Vegas was really just a stop along the way for us, not much of a destination. Through the years, our Vegas stops have never been very fruitful. Last time, traffic had stopped about 30 minutes outside the city for 2 1/2 hours while we watched the temperature climb to 126. I made sure we had a full tank of gas and plenty of water on hand as we headed that direction this time, so of course no problem. Once again, I wouldn't be surprised if the bad economy minimized the number of road projects we encountered.

If you've never see the show "Pawn Stars" on the History Channel, you can skip this part. Don't ask me why, but we find the show fairly interesting. Remember, we're not an exciting group....... Anyway, we thought it would be fun to stop into Rick's Pawn Shop. We had meant to dredge up something to try and sell, but hadn't gotten around to it. I'm pretty sure the family would have pawned the camera if they could have gotten their hands on it.... so I held it tight and in we went. It was Saturday evening by then, so none of the show's stars were there. We at LEAST had expected a glimpse of Chumley...... but my husband got a t-shirt, I got a couple pictures and on we went.

I had 2 goals that night.... to visit the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, and to take a long exposure on the Las Vegas strip. One for two isn't bad, is it???

We found Mandalay Bay first, had a bite to eat, then visited the Shark Reef. I had really been looking forward to it. We love that kind of stuff, and I wanted to try some low light photography. Well, we made it there, and just as we neared the entrance, my 15 year old told me his stomach hurt. He said it REALLY hurt. He didn't think he could walk through. We hadn't checked into the hotel yet, and the exhibit was mere yards in front of us. After some thinking, he assured us he could sit outside on a bench while we quickly walked though. So there we were... rushing though yet something else. And I was worried about him the whole time, so I didn't enjoy it much.

I'm thinking there's more I can do with this photo in PP to lighten it up a bit, but the truth is the entire exhibit was really dark:

It would have been nice to have the stingrays swimming toward me, but I couldn't get them to cooperate any more than I can with the kids:

I was absolutely mesmerized with the jellyfish. I had never seen any this color before. This was really hard to get shots of because the lamps around the room reflected off the glass. I took a bunch of shots, and was happy with this one:

Fortunately Timmy didn't vomit in the lobby, and we made a really quick exit. We drove down the strip in the dark, and while I snapped a few frames from the passenger seat, none of them were keepers, and we scurried off to find our hotel and make him comfortable.

Unfortunately "comfortable" is not the word I would use to describe our hotel. We were a couple blocks off the strip in a chain hotel, and quickly found out how some of those hotels are coping with the bad economy..... they don't air condition the rooms during the day. It had been well over 100 that day, and the building felt even warmer. I swear it must have been 120 in there. We turned the air on the minute we got in but it was several hours before it finally got comfortable.

I felt so bad for Timmy suffering with a sick stomach in the heat like that! He's a trooper though and never did complain. I would have fussed and whined my way to sleep.... oh wait, I think I did anyway... He was fine the next day. I think he had been dehydrated from all the running around in Arches the 2 days before. It's really hard to make him understand how important it is to take extra fluids when running in a desert climate!

 

[Donold_Fan]

I am loving the pictures!!!! I'm from Omaha, driving through western Nebraska is pretty much the same as Western Kansas. Congratulations on surviving the first day!

We've been talking about driving out to Disneyland for our next Disney fix and your pictures are REALLY making that seem like a good idea. I can't wait to show my wife your pictures.

Looking forward to seeing more!

 

[mom2rtk]

I am loving the pictures!!!! I'm from Omaha, driving through western Nebraska is pretty much the same as Western Kansas. Congratulations on surviving the first day!

We've been talking about driving out to Disneyland for our next Disney fix and your pictures are REALLY making that seem like a good idea. I can't wait to show my wife your pictures.

Looking forward to seeing more!

Thanks for reading along! Isn't it kind of depressing being SO far from BOTH Disney resorts???? But then again, you could look at it as having both parks .... shall we say.... equally accessible........

I would highly encourage you to give it a go. The drive is part of the attraction. The fact that Disney is at the end is just a great bonus! Last year we drove to Florida, mostly for the beach, but also for one night at the Magic Kingdom. I have to tell you.... after driving through the Southwest......... that drive to Florida was sorely lacking.....

There is SO much to see that it's impossible to see it all in one trip. We caught all of this on our way out.... and there were even more impressive sights on our way back.

I'll try to add another installment tonight. Of course all of this great scenery will soon be interrupted with our stay at Disneyland!!! I hope no one minds......... Thanks Marlton Mom..... I'm loving this little guy.........

 

[mom2rtk]

I really like the jellyfish and shark photos above, but they do seem to be kind of "noisy". I have never used a de-noise program. Does anyone have one they would recommend?

As discussed earlier in the thread, I'm considering upgrading to LR3 and perhaps PS8. Is there a function in one of those, or is it something I have to add on?

 

[mom2rtk]

Somewhere in the night our room finally cooled down adequately. When I woke up the next morning, I was actually a bit chilly.... and it felt great! Timmy felt just fine when he got up, so I really do blame dehydration for his stomach issues the night before.

I decided to make a run to the car with a few things while everyone else got up and .....wow.... it was nasty hot already. We had planned to drive over the Hoover Dam and give my wide angle lens a workout, but that was losing appeal to me in the heat. We have that dang dam on our itinerary every time we go west, and it always gets the boot. Mostly I was concerned about our timeline. Our last chance to see "Aladdin" during our stay was that afternoon at 4:15 (It wasn't showing Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday). I wanted to get checked into the hotel and head toward the park by 3. I love the Disney stage musicals and didn't want to miss it. We saw it once in 06, but I really wanted to see it once more before it closed for good later this year. So it wasn't much of a challenge to talk me into passing on the Hoover Dam. I don't think it's going anywhere any time soon......... We'll catch it next time, right????

Drew didn't want to leave Las Vegas without at least throwing a few dollars in a slot machine, so we stopped at a no name casino not far from the hotel where we spent $8 and promptly quit when we were up by 50 cents....... told you...... we're the exciting type...... The kids teased us something fierce the rest of the day about our gambling addiction....

We did arrive in Anaheim early, and it felt awesome to drive down Harbour Blvd. and see the Matterhorn over the fence! A few minutes later, we pulled into the drive of the Grand Californian. Our room wasn't ready, so we checked our bags and headed for Downtown Disney for a bite to eat. We had stayed at the Disneyland Hotel before, but this was our first stay at the Grand Californian. The convenience of being SO close to the parks cannot be overstated. I loved it, and am probably ruined now for staying farther away on future trips. It's hard to go back once you've lived the good life! Around 3, the room was ready. Katie and I dropped our things and headed for Aladdin at DCA. Having an entrance into the park from the hotel was like nirvana for me. It just doesn't get any better.....

I had photographed the show when we were there in 06. But I figured I knew a little more now and could do better. A while back I figured out that I needed to change my metering to spot metering for a show like this (thanks to everyone here! ). And now with some low light lenses, I thought I could do better than my old "all-in-one" lens. I was pretty happy overall with the results, but I did still miss some shots. Some were still blurry. I'm still trying to understand the limits of how slow I can go with the shutter speed on my handheld shots.

I did figure out that if you want to use a wide angle lens, you should have a seat in the middle. I did like the wide angle though for a few shots to put the show in context. It's a gorgeous theater, and I can't even fathom them making it over for a Toy Story Musical! They just better not mess with our "Beauty & the Beast" show at DHS!!

As much as I hated to leave the park so quickly, we had 6:30 reservations at Goofy's Kitchen, so we hustled back to head out with the rest of the family. It's tradition for us to visit Goofy's Kitchen on our first night at DL, and I was really looking forward to it!

 

[disneyboy2003]

I really like the jellyfish and shark photos above, but they do seem to be kind of "noisy". I have never used a de-noise program. Does anyone have one they would recommend?

As discussed earlier in the thread, I'm considering upgrading to LR3 and perhaps PS8. Is there a function in one of those, or is it something I have to add on?

Yes, Lightroom has always included Noise Reduction as part of its program. In previous versions of Lightroom, noise reduction has been so-so. But now in Lightroom 3, noise reduction is arguably as good as stand-alone noise reduction programs!

Photoshop Elements 8 automatically includes Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). ACR uses the *same* RAW processing engine as Lightroom, so the same features of noise reduction are also available in PSE 8. (although ACR is usually used to process RAW images, I believe there's a way to open JPEG images using ACR so that you can take advantage of ACR's noise reduction features for your JPEGs, too)

Other really good noise reduction programs include Noise Ninja, Neat Image, and others.

btw, I've really been enjoying your trip report and your photos! Great job on the Aladdin show, too. I didn't see your previous show photos from 2006, but sounds like you've really improved a lot.

 

[lov2b@disney]

I am enjoying your photo story of your journey! Cant wait to see more!

 

[mom2rtk]

Yes, Lightroom has always included Noise Reduction as part of its program. In previous versions of Lightroom, noise reduction has been so-so. But now in Lightroom 3, noise reduction is arguably as good as stand-alone noise reduction programs!

Photoshop Elements 8 automatically includes Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). ACR uses the *same* RAW processing engine as Lightroom, so the same features of noise reduction are also available in PSE 8. (although ACR is usually used to process RAW images, I believe there's a way to open JPEG images using ACR so that you can take advantage of ACR's noise reduction features for your JPEGs, too)

Other really good noise reduction programs include Noise Ninja, Neat Image, and others.

btw, I've really been enjoying your trip report and your photos! Great job on the Aladdin show, too. I didn't see your previous show photos from 2006, but sounds like you've really improved a lot.

Thanks for the info Disneyboy. My plan right now is to add both programs. I downloaded the trial version of LR3, but need to add a service pack to my Windows XP to have it fully supported. So I need to have my son help me with that and I'll be able to try it out. My apologies in advance for all the countless questions I am sure to have......

Is there a tutorial somewhere anyone can recommend?

I am enjoying your photo story of your journey! Cant wait to see more!

Thank you so much! I'm glad you're along for the ride....... Told you I love this little guy..... After 3000+ miles in the car, it just seems so fitting.....

 

[mom2rtk]

I have always enjoyed Goofy's kitchen. I love starting the trip with a little dose of characters without even using our park tickets. At DW we usually have enough days on our tickets that we could just head into the parks. This trip Katie and I did the 5 for 3 tickets in advance so we could use our Give A Day vouchers for the fastpass option. Drew and Timmy used their GAD vouchers and upgraded to 2 day passes. Robbie just used his voucher for one day. So popping into the park that night would have cost a bundle.

I loved the walk through Downtown Disney toward the Disneyland Hotel and Goofy's Kitchen. It's such a festive atmosphere, even though several of the shops we recall from previous trips were now gone. I just love the way the parks, hotels and DD are integrated so closely at DL. Most trips to WDW, we never even make it to DD. It takes too long and I'd always rather be in the parks.

This is my wide angle shot up into the Sorcerer's Hat by the DL hotel. I like that you can see the name on the side of the hotel through it:

When we got to the restaurant, there wasn't even a wait to get it. The boys were with us, but you won't see much of them in the photos. Every time a character appeared, they suddenly needed to make a trip to the buffet.

I mentioned previously that I sew custom costumes and dresses. So whenever we go to Disney, I love coming up with new things for Katie to wear. She still loves wearing special things and the extra fun that goes along with it. We especially enjoy the reaction from the characters and other cast members. They see the same thing day after day. It really livens up their day to see something different.

Pluto was our personal greeter that night:

Once seated, it didn't take long for Goofy to come find us!

Our server referred to Katie as Goofy's "sous-chef" and Katie loved every moment of it. Minnie was also quite taken with the outfit and came over for a group shot:

Dale came by to see the boys, but this is all he found.......

Funny thing, they showed back up again as soon as Dale was gone.... Go figure......

After dinner, we made our way back through Downtown Disney and headed for the room to organize and decide our plan of attack for the parks.

 

[mom2rtk]

I continue to struggle with the best settings for taking character pictures in these dark-ish restaurants. I know I need to use my flash, but unless I up the ISO, the people in the foreground are well lit, but the restaurant background is always too black. So I crank up the ISO, which gives me an overall acceptable look, but is pretty noisy.

Anyone have thoughts on what settings would be best?

I had a lot of problems with my pictures this night. The first one with Pluto turned out way too dark. I did realize later that the spot metering that had been my friend during Aladdin had been my downfall here. I forgot to change it back. That happened quite a bit with various settings.

Do I just need more time to make checking the settings second nature? Or do you seasoned pros still do that?

I'm thinking that every time I leave a photo-taking spot, maybe I should turn it back to the program mode as a backup in case I forget to choose new settings again.........

 

[disneyboy2003]

I continue to struggle with the best settings for taking character pictures in these dark-ish restaurants. I know I need to use my flash, but unless I up the ISO, the people in the foreground are well lit, but the restaurant background is always too black. So I crank up the ISO, which gives me an overall acceptable look, but is pretty noisy.

Anyone have thoughts on what settings would be best?

I had a lot of problems with my pictures this night. The first one with Pluto turned out way too dark. I did realize later that the spot metering that had been my friend during Aladdin had been my downfall here. I forgot to change it back. That happened quite a bit with various settings.

Do I just need more time to make checking the settings second nature? Or do you seasoned pros still do that?

I'm thinking that every time I leave a photo-taking spot, maybe I should turn it back to the program mode as a backup in case I forget to choose new settings again.........

Taking indoor flash pictures is kinda tough, and I think you did a pretty good job with the ones above.

Here are a few tips that I've learned over the past couple years through a lot of trial-and-error (mostly "error"). You actually may already know these tips, so please bear with me.

When you're taking a flash picture, you've actually got TWO different exposures going on at the same time: the foreground exposure and the background exposure. The flash helps to with the foreground exposure. Your camera settings determine the background exposure. That's the key to flash photography!

I typically set the flash to TTL ("through the lens"), which is the flash's "auto" mode. In general, TTL does a pretty good job on its own, so I just set it and forget it. You might need to add or subtract a little Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) depending on whether you've got a lot of white or a lot of black in your photo, respectively. In simple terms, FEC adds / subtracts a little bit of power from the flash.

For indoor flash photography, I typically set my camera to Manual. Again, the camera settings (ie. shutter speed, aperture, ISO) control the background exposure. That's why when you increased your ISO, you saw that the background got brighter.

I typically start by taking a test shot without flash, just to get the correct camera settings to expose the background. Actually, it's okay if I slightly underexpose the background, too. That way, my foreground subject (lit by flash) can stand out from the slightly darker background.

Through lots of trial-and-error, I finally found the ballpark camera settings that work for me...at least as initial settings:

• shutter speed - since my subject is posing, I really don't need a super-fast shutter speed. I just need a shutter speed that's fast enough to stop any camera shake. So I'll start with 1/100 sec. I might go as slow as 1/60 sec, which is the typical point-and-shoot shutter speed, or if I'm holding the camera really really steady, I may go slightly slower.
• aperture - I usually start with f/5.6 to get a little bit of depth of field for my subject. If my wife is posing with Donald Duck, I'd like to see both of them in-focus as much as possible, so that's why I start with f/5.6. (although, I should probably try plugging in some numbers in a depth-of-field calculator, just to see if I can go with larger apertures)
• ISO - I typically start with ISO 400, if I can. But now with better camera sensors and improved Lightroom 3 noise reduction, I'm gonna start venturing out to ISO 800, if needed.

So these are the settings I use for *indoor* flash photography. For *outdoor* flash photography, I'll set my camera to Aperture priority mode, and let the camera figure out the background exposure. The flash is still in TTL.

There are a couple other things you can do to brighten up your background in flash photography. First, instead of pointing the flash directly at your subject, see if you can point the flash at the ceiling (if the ceiling is not too high and if the ceiling is not some strange color). This will turn the ceiling into a HUGE light source, which will lighten up much of the background AND will soften the shadows.

The downside to this, though, is that the light is now coming from above your subjects, so you might get unflattering shadows under your subjects' eyes and nose, like racoons' eyes. I think there are a few flash accessories that help to address this by throwing a little bit of "fill flash" forward to your subject. They range from do-it-yourself flash accessories to overpriced stuff.

The other thing you can do is brighten the background in post-processing. Did you shoot in RAW? (it's okay if you didn't, but I think this works best with your RAW photo) You can use your newly-purchased Lightroom to increase the Fill Light in the photo. The Fill Light slider brightens some of the shadows in the photo, so in your case, it should brighten the darker background. If you use too much Fill Light, you'll start to see a lot of noise in those areas.

Anyway, these are some of the things I've learned about flash photography over the past couple years...and I'm still learning. Hope that helps. Sorry for the long post.

 

[Steve's Girl]

Great job mom! Loving all the photos. We leave for a 2 week western vaca this Saturday (not quite as far west as you were, but never the less pretty west for us).

 

[mom2rtk]

Taking indoor flash pictures is kinda tough, and I think you did a pretty good job with the ones above.

Here are a few tips that I've learned over the past couple years through a lot of trial-and-error (mostly "error"). You actually may already know these tips, so please bear with me.

When you're taking a flash picture, you've actually got TWO different exposures going on at the same time: the foreground exposure and the background exposure. The flash helps to with the foreground exposure. Your camera settings determine the background exposure. That's the key to flash photography!

I typically set the flash to TTL ("through the lens"), which is the flash's "auto" mode. In general, TTL does a pretty good job on its own, so I just set it and forget it. You might need to add or subtract a little Flash Exposure Compensation (FEC) depending on whether you've got a lot of white or a lot of black in your photo, respectively. In simple terms, FEC adds / subtracts a little bit of power from the flash.

For indoor flash photography, I typically set my camera to Manual. Again, the camera settings (ie. shutter speed, aperture, ISO) control the background exposure. That's why when you increased your ISO, you saw that the background got brighter.

I typically start by taking a test shot without flash, just to get the correct camera settings to expose the background. Actually, it's okay if I slightly underexpose the background, too. That way, my foreground subject (lit by flash) can stand out from the slightly darker background.

Through lots of trial-and-error, I finally found the ballpark camera settings that work for me...at least as initial settings:

• shutter speed - since my subject is posing, I really don't need a super-fast shutter speed. I just need a shutter speed that's fast enough to stop any camera shake. So I'll start with 1/100 sec. I might go as slow as 1/60 sec, which is the typical point-and-shoot shutter speed, or if I'm holding the camera really really steady, I may go slightly slower.
• aperture - I usually start with f/5.6 to get a little bit of depth of field for my subject. If my wife is posing with Donald Duck, I'd like to see both of them in-focus as much as possible, so that's why I start with f/5.6. (although, I should probably try plugging in some numbers in a depth-of-field calculator, just to see if I can go with larger apertures)
• ISO - I typically start with ISO 400, if I can. But now with better camera sensors and improved Lightroom 3 noise reduction, I'm gonna start venturing out to ISO 800, if needed.

So these are the settings I use for *indoor* flash photography. For *outdoor* flash photography, I'll set my camera to Aperture priority mode, and let the camera figure out the background exposure. The flash is still in TTL.

There are a couple other things you can do to brighten up your background in flash photography. First, instead of pointing the flash directly at your subject, see if you can point the flash at the ceiling (if the ceiling is not too high and if the ceiling is not some strange color). This will turn the ceiling into a HUGE light source, which will lighten up much of the background AND will soften the shadows.

The downside to this, though, is that the light is now coming from above your subjects, so you might get unflattering shadows under your subjects' eyes and nose, like racoons' eyes. I think there are a few flash accessories that help to address this by throwing a little bit of "fill flash" forward to your subject. They range from do-it-yourself flash accessories to overpriced stuff.

The other thing you can do is brighten the background in post-processing. Did you shoot in RAW? (it's okay if you didn't, but I think this works best with your RAW photo) You can use your newly-purchased Lightroom to increase the Fill Light in the photo. The Fill Light slider brightens some of the shadows in the photo, so in your case, it should brighten the darker background. If you use too much Fill Light, you'll start to see a lot of noise in those areas.

Anyway, these are some of the things I've learned about flash photography over the past couple years...and I'm still learning. Hope that helps. Sorry for the long post.

Thank you for taking the time for such a thorough tutorial Disneyboy! That all makes a lot of sense. I'll start metering the room without flash to get an idea of where I'll want to be for the background before adding the flash. I have only used it on TTL, so I'll stick with that.

I think I had 2 problems that night. First, I mentioned having left the camera on spot metering. Second, my daughter's jacket was white. My biggest complaint was how dark her face turned out in some of the shots (oddly enough not all though). If I have this right, I should have added some flash compensation because the camera thought the scene was brighter than it was (especially with spot metering. Yikes!). Sort of like taking pictures in the snow????? I always have the same problem when I take pictures of her with Mary Poppins. All that white you know..... It seems to be making sense. Is that right?

I'm still not taking in ALL of my camera settings when I glance at the screen. I seem to always be missing something! But I still feel like I'm "getting" more all the time.

Great job mom! Loving all the photos. We leave for a 2 week western vaca this Saturday (not quite as far west as you were, but never the less pretty west for us).

So where are you headed? And where are you leaving from? I hope it's something photogenic so you can share when you get back!

 

[disneygolfgirl]

Really enjoyed your trip report and all the beautiful photos!

Jo

 

[Steve's Girl]

So where are you headed? And where are you leaving from? I hope it's something photogenic so you can share when you get back!

Leaving from Michigan - headed to Yellowstone. Plenty of opportunities for photos! Two weeks traveling in the car with three kids.....hmmmmm. That could be another story. Are we there yet?