Photos from last weekend

Katie LOVES to float around the pool.


JM was not allowed in the pool on this day (long story for another time), and he wasn't thrilled about it. But he survived. Notice the RAIN drops in this photo? How cool!

Then...the entire series of Samuel jumping....he didn't stop and he LOVED every minute of playing in the pool.










Okay, so this is a COOL series right? Only you wonder how in the heck did I click the shutter that many times?! I didn't. I pushed it once and held it down until the camera stopped, or Samuel was in the water. On most cameras you have a "burst" mode as an option in "shutter drive" - single shot is one box, the stop watch is the self-timer, and then there is another option of MULTIPLE boxes stacked on top of each other. That is burst mode, and the number of frames per second is totally dependent on your particular camera. My sister's new point and shoot will do about 3-5, the 30d that I was shooting with will do 7-9. The 5d? something like 3 if I'm lucky.

Each camera is designed for a different purpose. This is why I can't recommend a particular dSLR or camera to any one person without knowing what they want the camera for. It's just...well, so dependent on how you will be shooting. KWIM?

When do I use burst mode? Well, mostly during sporting events (or swimming). I've used it to capture my younger brother doing his crazy dives off the diving board (lots of fun), I use it during baseball games to capture the hitting of the ball (or the entire swing), and I've used it to capture my boys sliding on the slip and slide (will re-do that later this summer as well).

I do NOT use burst mode to capture portraits. It's overkill. It's for capturing the motion of actions. It ends up making a GREAT "flip" movie book, or a storyboard. ;)


NOW....for the photoshop portion. ;) Compare these two versions of the same photo. One is "batch processed" with my basic edits, the other I edited fully.



and before I get any criticisms about no one being right next to Katie....my BIL is a lifeguard and was in the pool and within quick reach of her at all times. Of the 3 kids in the pool, there were 8 adults around the pool. ;) 1 big kid sulking and wanting a chance to jump in, and one 3 year old who was REFUSING to even get on the steps.