Aperture, depth of field & shutter speed - oh my!

Sigh... That's all I can say...

I've been working my little jewelry fingers to the bone. And I.am.exhausted. However, I believe I will hit my goal for May & get my savory little prize. Pics to come in July after I go to Texas to claim it. And hey, who knows - perhaps I will be wearing it while I'm in the new car I could win?... (also, many thanks again to all who could attend the mystery hostess show I did at my house! It was a lot of fun & my mom was the big winner of over $200 in free jewelry!)

B-rad had strict orders (the weekend before the show) to mix a concoction of chemicals to kill all the weeds I haven't had time to pull. He didn't do it until the night BEFORE the show. He also had to mow the yard. Which he did AFTER he sprayed. Uhm, we now have an interesting dynamic to our yard. Pics to come...promise...

After I got home Saturday evening, Brian & Cole were there watching B-rad work on his new(est) toy. (Yea, yea, I will take pics of it too when I get time. Sheesh!) So I had to show off MY new toy to Brian. I also informed him how I will not charge him too much for the pics I will take of him & his kiddos this summer skiing behind the boat.

So anywho, I had my fancy schmancy camera out playing with the settings & the extra lens. I figure that's the only way I'm gonna learn. However, I am impatient & this is difficult for me...the waiting to figure it out... [One of our neighbors went to college for photography so she knows her stuff. I have adopted her as my 4th mother -whether she likes it or not (behind my mom, Marcia & my Premier mom) She checked out my camera & said I made a good purchase (yay me!) & she also said we'd have a "Jaime & Judy" day & she'd show me all kinds of stuff. (Yay me, again!) ]

I was outside taking pics of birds that were 9000 feet away & things like that. Cole was up front harrassing my cats & his dad yelled at him that it was time to go. He came bouncing down the sidewalk. And I happened to catch this pic: And ya know I hate to brag, but I think it's one of the coolest pics ever. Ok, maybe not EVER, but it IS the coolest one I've ever taken. Even B-rad was like, "that's a cool pic!" Please, don't brag on me in the comments. I just hate that...

Ok-so now to Sunday. One of the motorcycle gang members wives graduated nursing school. We were one of the elite few that were invited to her par-tay.

B-rad & nurse Shauna.

Shauna is hella good at taking pics. And since I had my new fancy schmancy camera with me - her hubby just HAD to bring hers out to show me up. Hmph... One of the dudes from the gang is like a walking freakin' encyclopedia. He reads everything AND remembers it. Of course, he was telling me all kinds of stuff about my camera. He gave me a 45 minute crash course about the aperature, changing the shutter speed & which ISO to use in day light & night. Now, if I could only remember it all...

He took this pic of me. Ahhhh, this is what I wanna do. Take a pic of something in the foreground clear & the background blurry.

Nice fillings, huh?!

So I, in turn, practiced on him. Not too shabby huh?! That shed is totally blurry.

B-rad was playing corn hole when Hannah got there. We don't get to see Hannah as much now. And that's sad. We really like her.

Shauna & I got challenged to a game of cornhole by our hubbies so Railing (the walking freakin' encyclopedia) took some pics with my fancy schmancy camera.

His fiance', Lara.

Hannah doing something truly vile with her tongue. Ick!

We had the lead for awhile & the boys ended up pulling out a 'w'. Dang, so close...

Yet another reason I love my fancy schmancy camera? Shauna decided to take her bootie down the kiddie slide. So I put the camera on continuos shooting (uhm, Railing showed me how...apparently I was not doing it right before. Or at least the way HE thought was right... You remember I got Sonny yawning - classic...)

I beg of you to click on this one to see her face. Priceless!

and this one...

Please note the 2 men that pushed down the end of the slide so she'd go flying. Yup, our hubbies...

C'mon! You just can't get action shots like that with a point & click. I'm SO excited about using it this summer!

Ok, so here's what's on tap: Jewelry show tonight in Sellersburg. And it's my last one for 2 whole weeks. I do enjoy doing shows, but I've been SO busy lately trying to keep my eye on the prize that I am DEFINATELY looking forward to the break!

Memorial Day weekend is coming up. I don't know what we're doing, if anything, yet. If it doesn't rain anymore, B-rad says, "I'M PLANTING!" So if he plants, I guess I'll have to get my boo-tay in gear & put down mulch - & pull weeds.

I am also glad all the tv shows are ending for the season so I can get caught up on the dvr. I had 9 hours left on it before the weekend. Gasp! But now the problem is there are new summer shows on that you know I'm gonna wanna watch. I have an obsession...