Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Sunshine in Sacramento

February 2, 2010

I don’t know about you, but my kids were definitely enjoying the nice weather we’ve had recently. Gray skies just make me feel, well, gray. Usually, I get super excited during storms  because it means snow has arrived and its time for snowboarding, but it just hasn’t happened this season. So I might as well bask in the sunlight while its still here! We had a fruitful day at the Farmers market… I’m going to try these Japanese yams I scored this week, and Kaitlyn got to head behind the table( next to the register to pick her mandarines… she’s a little charmer!  She must’ve gotten like 20 mandarines for $3.00, which is way cheaper than normal.  I’m glad I’ve hassled her to say “please” and “thank you” for so long. After some much needed chores around the house, we headed to the park for some playtime.  I wanted to write this post so it helps me remember that sometimes there are tons of things to do, but even when you are slammed with to-do lists, you have to stop and enjoy the reasons you work so hard.  I hope you were able to get some sunshine with your family and friends this weekend!







Much <3,
Dave

2010 means better choices.

January 2, 2010

It isn’t every day that I watch something on television that directly impacts the way my day begins and ends.

I watched Food, Inc. after being recommended by Jasmine Star on her Wedding Photography Blog.  She mentioned how watching this documentary about where our food comes from shaped her food choices, and after watching it myself, I understood why.  I don’t want to list out every awesome point that the movie made, just watch it, but at the end of the day my family and I decided to make a stronger effort to know where our food comes from, support local growers who grow their food naturally, and find a more responsible choice for our meat purchases.  Today we headed to a local Farmers Market behind Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights to check out what local growers had to offer during the winter season,  and we came home with a bag full of goodies! Everything we ate was delicious and the cost was not prohibitive to doing this every week, so it has instantly become house law.  Jenny is headed to the Farmers Market downtown under the freeway to see if they will have any locally raised meats that weren’t corn fed and raised in their own excrement ( seriously, watch this documentary) and I look forward getting pictures on my phone of these delicious treats!  For you photo-nerds and the generally curious, here’s a setup shot for the delectable fruit display above:

NERD ALERT!!!!
Two SB-800’s both fired with CLS on manual at 1/80th power. The flash at camera left is snooted with a piece of tin foil, and the flash at camera right is diffused through an extended roll of paper towels help up by a flashlight. D300, 85mm@f8, ISO 200, 1/250th sec

P.S.  We all tried the Asian pear on the right for the first time this evening . It was so freakin delicious. We’ll be getting more next time!

Much <3,

Dave

New Years Day in Photos

January 1, 2010

A rare moment of child-free leisure led us to Midtown for Crepes and coffee, and I didn’t dare be without my camera!

Bellies comfortable but not stuffed, we strolled around midtown for a few and enjoyed the solace of the New Year. Jenny is super patient when I’m shooting random eye-catchers on the street, and she holds stuff for me, models, and points out cool stuff of her own.

Jenny commented on how quiet it was in Midtown today, and I concurred. It was peaceful, strangers seemed to stride optimistically towards their destinations, and birds were dancing around from tree to tree.


Maybe everyone is excited about the possibilities of 2010, and they are starting their year on a peaceful note, setting the tone for the rest of the year.



I picked up a fashion magazine from the UK that is as thick as my thumb, and it spurred photo-shoot ideas which I’m looking forward to embarking on. Anyone want to model? Comments are welcome!

Happy New Years to my friends and blog stalkers!

Much <3,

Dave

A while ago, I saw a video on Google’s YouTube channel about the new Google Wave application…. It was a long video, but very interesting!  In this marathon Youtube video, developers demonstrate how Google Wave revolutionizes the way that people communicate online. Imagine combining email, instant messaging, and Social networking ( Facebook, myspace, etc) all into one program. Thats what Google Wave is! I was pretty excited to see it go live and start using it, but at the time, only Google employees and people cooler than me were given access. Until now. Yesterday I was lucky enough to get an invite to the new Google Wave service that Google is providing, and so far, it looks pretty cool!  Right now, its in Beta testing, which is a nerdy way of saying it may have problems and Google wants to public to uncover them through using it frequently.

But we need more users to test out this bad boy! I have a couple of Google Wave invitations to give out, so if you are interested, leave me a comment with your email address and I’ll invite you. Then we can test out some of the cool features… one that I particularly like is the photo sharing abilities =)  But its also possible to integrate this into a blog, and comments can be seen live, and immediately replied to!  Man, technology is amazing.   That first video was way too long to watch, so for a much shorter intro video about google wave, click here!

Since blog posts are always more fun with photos, here are some photos of Fall Family Fun! We raked the yard, and ended up with a big pile of leaves… irresistible to my children and I.  If you haven’t jumped in a pile of leaves, or in my case jumped over a child who jumped in a pile of leaves, I encourage you to do so!


See you on a wave!

Much <3, Dave

All Photos Copyright Dave Shilling Photography | dave@dshillingphoto.com %20%20%20%20%20%20%20916.233.6493