We had an amazing time in Nashville, we learned a ton!!!  When we got back we ordered lighting equipment and we’ve been playing with it every chance we get, and can’t wait to take it to Mexico with us. Yes, Mexico, I will get to that in a minute.

First I want to show you a cool photo Ryan took with our new strobe:

No one was home, so he used the tractor for a model.  He is adorable!

So, like I said we are going to Mexico. . .

It is a much, much needed break!

I can’t wait to be sitting on the beach enjoying this weather:

And a cold beer, of course!  ;-)

We will have limited internet access during our trip. We were hoping to prepare some posts ahead of time to and have them publish automatically, but time got away from us.

You want to see what else we’ve been up to??  We haven’t done anything with our Nashville photos yet, but we do have a couple other events up if you want to see!

Brace For Impact Show:

Tina’s Bridal Shower:

Tina’s Bachelorette Party:

It is our first trip to Nashville!

We’re taking three classes offered by Zach and Jody Gray, of Gray Photography!!

When we told you about our trip, here, we were only signed up for one class, since then there was an opening for us to squeeze into two more!!!

And what makes it even better. . .

We have been blessed with a BEAUTIFUL weather forecast:

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!

Mama Swartz brought us this beautiful Easter Lily yesterday.

We hope you have a wonderful Easter!

I am constantly amazed by my grandparents.

I know people half their age who would never be able to send an email with scanned attachments,

or even know that it is possible.

This is the email:

We thought these would give you some ideas!

-Grandma

They are great ideas!

I am looking forward to a weekend of 80 degree temperatures and lots of yard work!

WE RAN OUT OF SERVER SPACE!

We have gotten it under control and moved to a better host, and the site is now up and running faster than ever!

Thank you for your patience!

This is her daily bathing routine in Sport’s water bowl.

Keeping a close eye on Sport.  She’s not scared of him, she’s just waiting to attack if he gets too close!

Both feet in the water bowl, this really pisses him off.

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.