I received my flash, light stand, reflective umbrella, and connecting cable in the mail.

The first challenge was to make the flash fire.

Then I got two willing subjects to pose.

They were able to stay still a long time while I fiddled with everything.

I think there must be a better way to attach the flash & umbrella to the stand.

The way I have it, I can hardly angle it down at all.

Eventually I got a 45° angle, powered down the flash,

& filled in some to make the shadows less harsh and the figures more round.

It was total trial and error.

There are ratios one could use to determine % flash power vs. # of stops underexposed vs. ambient.

Hopefully I’ll learn them soon. Most people aren’t as patient as these two.

Facing our subjects, the window is off to the right, the flash to the left.

natural light

with fill flash

Later: Wow! I got that setup completely wrong! 

Just goes to show you even an untrained monkey

could make a stuffed lamb look a little better with some fill flash.

Okay, stand here.

Now blow bubbles.

Turn your head to the left.

I mean, to the right.

Keep blowing.

Martin: “You are not allowed to post any pictures of me on your blog.”

For my 40th birthday, I went to playgroup with Iris.

The best part is when we all play with the parachute.

Up and down and round and round

and then Teressa reads a story.

But I didn’t get the photo I was seeing, so I’ll have to try again.

We went to the Shelburne Airport. There was a plane taking off.

Iris signed, “More! More!”

The pilot took off and landed repeatedly. We watched for 45 minutes.

It was really hard to get a photo of Iris watching the plane take off.

Mostly, she wanted to sit on my lap. I kept scooting her off, & she got upset.

This might be a good photo, if only the plane wasn’t crashing into her head.

Iris likes to browse the dresses in the upscale-resale shops

while wearing upscale-resale boots.

Later, we watch a masked-man making music. The little girl in pink started breakdancing.

I am looking at the light sources at Heather’s house.

The front window is quite nice.

I don’t think the Halloween decorations actually add to the quality of light, tho.

I also really like the light in Joshua’s room, where all the toys are.

 Joshua & Iris also like the light in Joshua’s room.

Joshua leaned in; Iris closed her eyes.

It was a kiss of apology. 

I was on my way to story time at the library when Iris fell asleep.

It was 10:15am— a horrid time for her to nap— but I decided to walk a little longer.

I went down the Ti Haul trail to where it overlooks the wetlands of the nature preserve,

fiddling with the color settings on my camera and texting to pass the time.

Iris only slept 45 minutes.

I had to bring a package downtown. Iris spent some time chasing pigeons. They were not terribly afraid of her.

It’s her favorite meal.

She is learning that mustard is a condiment and not the main course.