Finnegan Family Pics

This weekend I had the pleasure of taking some pics for my long-time friend, Amy Jo, and her adorable family.  We went to the Botanical Center and got some great shots in just under an hour.  I had so much fun.  Her youngest daughter, Ellie, was having a blast picking up all the rocks from around the trees and throw them on the pathway.  Her other daughter, Cecelia, just hammed it up for the camera.  And her son, John, was so patient and helpful in keeping the girls' attention.  Below are some of my favorites . . . you can see the whole album here: click here



I also went to my cousin, Jessie, and his new wife, Sabrina's wedding reception on Saturday.  I'm working on getting those pics edited.  Had a BLAST.  Did a little karaoke, danced a little bit, and got some great shots.  Congratulations you two!!

Fun-filled weekend

Had a great weekend . . . Friday, Katie and I went to Jester Park and I got some great pics.  It's been years since I've made the trip out there.  I also got out and practiced shooting my bow and got Katie set up with my old one.  And we played Frisbee with Sam . . . he LOVES Frisbee. 

New lens!

On Friday, I purchased a new Nikkor lens . . . a 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 super telephoto lens.  I took it out to the Saylorville spillway with Katie, Nicole, and Sam to get some pictures yesterday and wasn't disappointed.  My only complaint is that it is a little slow to focus but I think that's more my camera than the lens itself.  The only other complaint I have is that the max aperture is only f/4.5.  I'm so used to shooting with my 35mm that can go up to f/1.8 that it may take a little while to get used to.  This lens also has the Vibration Reduction feature that I like so much on Nikkor lenses. 

I need to purchase a new tripod as mine was accidentally broken.  :)  I think that will help make the pictures more sharp.  Even with VR on, some of the ones I took were still too blurry as most of the shots were showing a correct exposure at 1/125, ISO at 800, and f/20.

We did see a couple bald eagles while we were there and some really pretty hawks.  Not sure what type they were but they were huge.

Little Ben's 6 month pics

On Saturday, I got to work with my good friend, Nicole, and her two wee ones, Ben and Jill.  We had such a great time . . . these kids are too cute.  Ben is such a smiley baby and Jill is such a little diva.  Below are some of my favorite pics from the shoot.  For the entre album, click here.