Our friends, Ryan & Stacy, are expecting their first child in about 5 weeks. Ryan was looking at my Flickr account one day and said that he really liked my photos. A few weeks later he asked me if I'd be interested in taking maternity pictures for them. I must admit that I was a little reluctant to say yes at first -- not because I didn't want to take the pictures, but more because I've had zero experience with directing a photo shoot involving people. When it comes to inanimate objects, I'm completely comfortable; I'd have to say that it's probably because a parking meter doesn't really care what it looks like on an 8x10. Human beings, on the other hand, do care -- especially when it comes to something like maternity photos that you'll be sharing with family members. Putting my fears aside, I packed my camera equipment last Saturday and we drove over to Ryan & Stacy's house.

The photo shoot started out in their back yard and then moved upstairs to the nursery before we piled up into a vehicle and drove out to a field next to Walmart that had a fantastic amount of bluebonnets growing in it. After about 30 minutes in the field, we headed over to Lake Pflugerville before finally ending up at Cele Store (which interestingly was a film location in Second Hand Lions and the 2006 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).



To keep the story short, let's just say that the shoot turned out to be a whole lot of fun and I found that while giving people direction and capturing the right moment is definitely challenging, I really rather enjoyed it. I've got a long way to go before it becomes second nature, but I really appreciate Ryan and Stacy's confidence in me and the opportunity they gave me to capture a special moment in their lives. I'm finishing up with the post-processing right now and should have a CD/DVD ready for them tomorrow. And would you just look at that picture there -- Stacy, you are beautiful! I really can't wait to share the rest with you guys.

The unfortunate thing about taking up photography as a hobby is that you'll eventually come to a point where you'll want to upgrade your lenses. While I can't afford to buy the ones I really want (i.e. the Canon-branded equivalents), I've read reviews on the following lenses and they seem to be more in my price range while providing comparable results.

First, the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 Di-II LD lens, which is comparable to the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens ($1,060) but can be had for less than half the cost ($460). I currently have a Sigma 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6 DC lens, which has worked fine for me thus far; however, the f/2.8 is very desirable because I've found myself struggling to get decent pictures in low-light situations without jacking up the ISO or pulling out my Speedlite 430EX.



On to the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM lens, which runs about $750. Canon's version, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM lens, makes me want to cry at no less than $1300. My current lens for this zoom range is the Sigma 55-200mm f/4-5.6 DC, which is fine and dandy when shooting outside during the day, but forget trying to use it indoors or in low-light situations. Once again, obtaining a lens with a higher f-stop is what I'm yearning for. Selina already calls my current 55-200mm lens my "stalker lens" -- would hate to see what she'd call this newer one, which is nearly 4 inches longer.



So there you have it -- not exactly the lenses of my dreams, but they come close enough. If anyone out there feels the sudden urge to splurg on a stranger, let me know which store and I'll be happy to meet you there.

I was contemplating the need to start watching the HEB ads closely for sales on fajita meat for Selina's upcoming birthday cookout when I remembered that I would also probably need to take into account any limits HEB places on the number of packs bought at the same time. Depending on the number of people that are planning on being there, saving $0.50 a pound can add up quickly, even if it means that I have to go through the checkout line a few times.

I chuckled because it reminded me of the times when I would go to the store with my mom -- if there was a good sale on, let's say, soft drinks, but there was a limit of 2 packs per purchase, she would still put four packs in her cart. When we got in line, she'd hand me two packs, a $5 bill and tell me to wait in line behind her and pay for the two packs. She wouldn't even leave the checkout line while I paid for the drinks and we'd immediately place them in her cart (right next to the other two packs she'd already purchased), so it's not like we were trying to be sneaky about it or anything. If my brother and sister were there, too, then our limit was bumped to 8 -- three kids standing in line behind my mom with a $5 bill in hand and a 12-pack of Cokes under each arm.

As you can see, the only limit that would apply to my family would be the number of children available to carry something. Speaking of which, does anyone have a kid they can let me borrow for an hour?