I have been taking pictures in my mind for a while..

I have always been intrigued by photography.  I have always loved artistic photos, with different angles and unique perspectives.  But, other than having point and shoot cameras, I never had any outlet for that interest, so I admired from afar.  The good cameras just seemed so out of reach, too expensive, too complex, too much to take on.  Then, I married Tim and his brother is a professional photographer.  I figured I'd leave it to the pros!

A picture I plan to try to recreate - some day!

Then, I had Emma.  I suddenly feel like I want to document every instant I can because as I'm living it, and even on nights when I would give just about anything to get her to sleep, I know that it won't last forever.  I know I can't bottle the way her hair smells after a bath, or how she feels just now when she cuddles up and puts her head on my shoulder, but I can document as she grows and changes.  I have already made one photo book of her first three months.  I hope to make one for every three month increment.  I know, with the time I (don't) have between work, baby duty and life in general, that it is unlikely to happen in real time as the next seven months tick by.  I can still hope.  I am saving the pictures up and will make it happen... eventually.

Also, best of all - earlier this week, my husband surprised me with a DSLR camera - a CanonT3i.  I am in LOVE.  What has always sucked me in about genuine photography is the ability to focus on one focal point and put the rest out of focus.  Now, I am on a mission to learn how to make that happen.  I have taken mental pictures for months, now I want to make real pictures happen.

Thank you, Pinterest, for keeping the ideas flowing! My favorites from the first few days with the camera are sprinkled throughout my post.  More to come!

I can't seem to stop playing with the camera and taking pictures.  I need to learn how to take pictures and interact with Emma at the same time.  Like, this morning, we did some tummy time and she was trying to roll over and I was so busy playing with settings to adjust for the lighting that I didn't notice fast enough to help her along and she rolled back to her belly.  I do have a blurry pic of her on her side!  I'll share more of my pics once I have a chance to look through them.