Tag Archives: dslr

I spent this beautiful day taking pictures at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx! Picked 16 of my favorites (out of about 900 shots) to share below:

Click here to leave a comment.

A late response to Valentine’s Day.

Feb 16, 2010

Personal, Photography, Travel

1 Comment

Maybe it’s true that we only acknowledge Valentine’s Day because of good ‘ol Hallmark, but that doesn’t make it any less worthy of being celebrated. Yeah, yeah, people complain that Valentine’s Day is really just “Singles Awareness Day”…but then couldn’t you also argue that Mother’s Day is just a painful jab in the stomach for those whose mothers have passed away, or even for those who desperately wish to be mothers and simply can’t do it? I don’t think there’s any good argument against anything that provokes us to spend an extra moment considering the ones we love. There are definitely worse things in our lives that were born for commercial purposes.

Anyway. Loren and I spent a lot of time debating what we should do this year. After much indecision and procrastination, we decided at almost the last minute that we wanted to spend this Valentine’s Day (and coincidentally, Chinese New Year) up in Montpelier, Vermont. It was frigid, it was snowy…but it was also gorgeous and amazingly fun. We rented a car (a shiny black Volkswagen Beetle!) and drove all around. On Sunday Loren surprised me by slipping a heart-shaped box of chocolates into my bag before I woke up. So adorable! (And, of course, delicious.)

A dozen random photographs from our trip, in no specific order:

A list of places we especially enjoyed, for anyone thinking about venturing up there:
- Vermont Historical Society
- Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks & Cross-Country Skiing
- Cold Hollow Cider Mill
- Bear Pond Books
- Rivendell Books
- Samosa Man
- Coffee Corner
- The Skinny Pancake (we ate there three times in two days — it was that good)

We thought it was a pretty good itinerary for a fun weekend trip.

And equally necessary — a list of the yummy things we purchased:
- Grade A Dark Amber Maple Syrup (Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks)
- Pure Maple Cream (Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks)
- Pure Vermont Honey (Butternut Mountain Farm)
- Maple Apple Sauce (Cold Hollow Cider Mill)
- Peach Butter (Hidden Orchard Farms)
- Pumpkin Butter (Hidden Orchard Farms)
- Berry Berry Rhubarb Conserve (Vermont Harvest)
- Pure Maple Candy (Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks)

Scrumptious is an understatement! I really can’t wait to dig into some of these jars…the maple cream is probably my favorite.

Aside from all that, happy Year of the Tiger!

Click here to leave a comment.

Addicted to accessories (Etsy love).

Jan 31, 2010

Shopping

4 Comments

My new obsession: fashionable accessories for the camera-toting young woman. I find it so frustrating that the majority of the dSLR camera gear available on the market is boring and black. Not black in that sleek, trendy New Yorker way, but black in that I-only-come-in-one-style-and-it’s-not-even-really-a-style, harsh square edges, crappy-looking canvas material way.

Not to mention, these accessories are usually decorated with brand names, huge and bolded. And I don’t mean fashion-statement brand names like Louis Vuitton or Gucci. My camera came with an ugly strap that has “CANON” plastered across it in thick white letters. Yeah, you know the one I’m talking about. Are there really so few women in the photography world that companies don’t see trendy camera accessories as an untapped market with great potential? Hmph. I refuse to believe it.

All I can say is: THANK GOODNESS FOR ETSY. On Etsy you will find a large variety of cute camera strap covers, handmade to fit whatever you’re using. Here are some by SillyJilllyBoutique, who I believe offers the cheapest ones (and in the greatest variety of funky prints). The first two are the ones I absolutely adore most:

And a couple lovely ones by HowardAvenue:

On Etsy you will find LENS COZIES — whoever dreamed up that we would need these? Of course we don’t actually need them…but we’re women. We want them. We will always be able to rationalize a need for these things.

By Sarah Goldschadt (Goldylocks):

Okay, I admit, maybe these animal ones are slightly on the weird side. It’s definitely my honey bee obsession that makes me partial to the crocheted bee cozy. But check out the ones below!

By GypsyRoseHandbags:

By TracyJoy:

But here is the must-have accessory that has me OBSESSED. On Etsy you will find these GORGEOUS, GORGEOUS CAMERA GEAR BAGS. By Ketti Handbags:

The woman who makes these even saves you the trouble of thinking up a rationale: “Who wants to be toting around a giant camera bag that screams ‘I’m full of expensive gear?’ Not me.”

Me neither! Plus, why should we have to compromise fashion for photography? Swear to god, I will be purchasing one of these the moment I have the discretionary income for it. Or I’ll beg for one for my birthday. Whichever comes first.

A couple of other ones I love…

By GypsyRoseHandbags:

By JanineKingDesigns:

On a side note, I can’t wait for the day that Etsy makes it possible for people to purchase generic, Etsy-wide gift cards. It’ll be the best day of my life. Well, not really. But close enough.

Click here to leave a comment.

Cameraphilia.

Jan 24, 2010

Photography

7 Comments

My boyfriend and I decided to spend today meandering through a park and snapping lots of photographs. It was probably just a few degrees too cold to be out there for as long as we were, but we got some fun pictures. Below are a dozen snapshots to give you a glimpse of what we experienced today, captured by my Canon Rebel XSi.