we got it up and then well we took a little break from working on it. . .

But, we did finally get some music on it!

The song, Theory of a Dead Man : All Or Nothing , is one of our favorites, I suppose you could call it “our song.”

Check it out:

We are preparing for a long trip to Mexico, followed by a short visit in Denver, and another long trip later this summer to Montana, a really wanted to find something a little “cooler” than our big hiking boots.

This is what we got:

Vibram Five Fingers- $80/$85

We LOVE them!!

They are the most comfortable shoes we have ever worn, next to just being barefoot.

And -

No, surprisingly they do not make your toes feel uncomfortable, although the first time you put them on your toes really don’t have a clue what to do, but after that – It’s Cake!

I’m not going to waste you’re time listing every little piece of equipment we own but I will tell you what we mainly use.

We both use:
Canon 7D bodies
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
Canon EF 2x extender
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 wide angle
Canon Speedlite 580EX II flashes

For backup: (We used our XSi to take these photos.)
Canon XSi body
Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

Accessories:

Think Tank Carry-On Bag

Lowepro bags

Manfrotto tripod

I’ll post later about some of the neat gadgets and other gear we like.

Feel free to comment on what you like to use,we’d love to hear from you!

All of the following photographs were taken of the exact same scene, outside of my door at work, months apart.

This one was taken on a sunny day:

You never know when you may be able to catch a good sunrise or sun set!

This photo was taken just before sunrise, with snow on the hill:

This is good black and white scene. The hill had snow on it and the clouds were fabulous.

Since I already had some great color photos, I made this one black and white:

The next one is straight out of the camera,

and its not black and white, that’s just how it looked.

This is one of my favorites:

Always take your camera!  You never know. I have learned the hard way more times than I care to admit.

Ashley and I have learned a ton of information from so many different photographers. The coolest part is that everyone is excited to teach others, well, most everyone. Every now and then you’ll meet a “stick in the mud” that is too good for the rest of us.  It also makes an awesome day and you have wonderful opportunities to make new friends!  Those of you who are new to the photography world, keep this tradition alive.

In April we are delighted to have the opportunity to finally meet Zach and Jody Gray of Gray Photography in Nashville, TN .  We have been huge fans of their’s for a long time and we are fortunate enough to be attending one of their Shooting and Post workshops.

We can’t wait!!!

Trust me, they’re worth every penny.

This is why:  Check out the chip beside the info. button

Sorry for the poor picture quality, I took it with my phone, for some reason I couldn’t get the camera to take a picture of its own LCD

I have no idea how this happened.  I’m very pleased to know the LCD screen wasn’t damaged thanks to this wonderful product from Giottos!   One of the other things I really like about them is that they don’t peel off like the film protectors.  It’s a piece of glass that looks just like the screen.  If you don’t like these at least put something over your screen to protect it from damage and scratching.  I am probably one of the most particular people when it comes to the care of my equipment but things still happen.  It’s cheap insurance!

You can purchase one for your camera at Amazon.com:

Disclaimer: Giottos in no way endorsed this article or our purchase of their product.  We are members of the Amazon Affiliate program and will receive a small commission if you make a purchase through our site.

I promised that I would explain how I took that photograph.

It’s a little late, but here it is:

Necessary Equipment:

Tripod: As with all Macro photography you MUST have a tripod.  Handheld macro isn’t necessarily impossible, but you can prevent a lot of camera shake with a tripod.

Macro Lens:  I use a 100mm Canon Macro lens, the one I got Ryan for his birthday.   Any Macro lens will work great!

Something that is a solid color (to catch snowflakes):  I used a blue silicone cake pan.  I put it outside before I began taking photographs in order for it to freeze.  It worked great!

Optional Equipment:

A Remote: With Macro the camera shake caused by pressing the shutter button is often enough to blur the photo.  In my snowflake pictures I did not use a remote, but should have.  They’re cheap and certainly help!

It may also be beneficial for you to lock the mirror on your camera, if you still have problems with camera shake while you are using a tripod and remote.  (The mirror snapping up and down causes a lot of shake.)

Taking the photographs:

I simply went out in the snow, as it was falling, and caught snowflakes (in my silicone cake pan).  I then returned to the front porch, where my tripod and camera were set up; and placed the pan under the lens and snapped the photos.  It’s that easy and a lot of fun!

If you have any questions about snowflake photography or Macro photography ASK!

The Rocky Mountain School of Photography is a well known school located in Missoula, MT.  For details on the classes click here.  They are traveling to many other states as well.  We have been looking forward to this for months!  Maybe we’ll see you there!

On December 11th, the photo of the day was one that Ryan took of me with my new Canon EF 70-200 Lens; this photograph is one that I took of Ryan that same day, at Silver Lake, using his new 70-200 lens.

As I promised on the 11th, there will be a review of these amazing lenses coming soon!

My first time shooting with my new Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM Lens! Wow!!

I will post more about the AMAZING qualities of this lens soon!

PS- If you see Ryan, ask him how I got that burn on my right hand.