Silent Sunday.
A lovely gift arrived from my friend Joanne. All wrapped carefully inside a cardboard box. I hung it on the tree as soon as I released it from the bubble wrap.
A camera!
I held the little fox to pose in front of it before we put him on the top of the tree. 
Happy Ninth Birthday Maura Clare.
October weekend in North Carolina, went to pick up pizza….uh-oh Found an unauthorized selfie on my goid camera, shot in the hotel mirror.
And how did someone get my cell phone on the same trip? Who needs grandma to take your picture? Not Maura!
Selfie in the car!
And on the beach Maura looked up into my Lens and pushed the shutter for this next shot
So three selfies by Maura on her birthday
and a little memory collage with love from your Grandma
Red Still Life in the Kitchen Photographed with Mirrorless Camera
Portable, lightweignt. Able to fit in a small bag instead of a huge one. Not so bulky.
Interchangeable lenses. A postive review all around.
You don’t always want to lug heavy DSLRs and weighty (but wonderful) glass around your neck.
A phone camera isn’t sufficient as an alternative.
AND there was the bonus of a hefty instant rebate at time of purchase.
I’d been looking and thinking about mirrorless cameras for awhile.
Reading reviews, I thought it would be a Fuji but the SONY a5000 had an affordable 20.1 Megapixel price that seemed fortuitous.
I’m satisfied with the results so far. Will keep experimenting.
I observed other families and their photographers. Hurry cause the light is going fast
See how the light changed in just a few moments
Here is another family following directions from a family member ( I think cause of the matching shirt)
The light changes so quickly
I could see this large group from afar. The photographer seemed far away, too. Used a monopod.
I did find an article on 10 Beach Photography Tips (from Australia) I did try to take care to not get the fine sand and saltwater on my camera but could see where it could happen anyway.
Here is an anonymous group at the beach at night.
Because I didn’t get permission to blog the families I photographed at the beach recently, I am posting Berkeley, enthusiastic for the waves.
(First of all I just reread the Psychology Today article on 8 Tips to Know if You’re Being Boring by Gretchen Rubin of Happiness Project Blog ) but maybe someone has an old purse they can repurpose to hold a camera………………
What are they called in your part of the world? purse, handbag, pocketbook, tote, shoulder bag, carry-all ?
My DIL sent me a ton of links from ETSY and other places before Christmas as she knew I was looking for a cross body strap camera bag that didn’t look like a camera bag.
And there were some nice ones she found. (thanks Erika)
Her mother sent me an article with a link to camera bags created with women in mind and they were nice, too. (thanks Marlene)
But nothing seemed just right and at an affordable price. The one I liked the best was about $325 so think again.
I have a big black padded and compartmentalized wheely backpack but it is just enormous and conspicuous. Barely fits into the overhead on a plane, too.
This old slouchy gray leather purse had the lining split around the top. I wasn’t using it as a purse anymore but the leather still seemed good. I thought about relining it. I thought about it so much and it seemed so tedious, I never did it!
I should have taken a before shot. Didn’t think about photographing it until it was all stitched up!
At the local craft/fabric store I found the answer and I came right home and slipped this extra thick batting into the purse between the ripped lining and bag and then I stitched up the lining around the top with strong black thread.
And now I have a padded camera bag. There is a zipper pocket inside which will hold camera cards or batteries nicely and there is room for a flash or an extra lens. And a top zipper is always a plus, which this bag has already. A friend suggested treating the bag with mink oil to help moisturize the leather. It is not slouchy anymore, that’s for sure.
Now it stands up instead of slouches. Grandson Michael tested it as a makeshift pillow as we sat in the bleachers, too.
I don’t know what brand the purse is originally, it has elephants all over the lining and says it was
Made in Italy.
Before last night I’d never even heard of a Shutterpal, nor did I know I needed one! I think it is going to be great! I have four grandchildren 2-7 years old and getting their attention simultaneously is tricky. I think this monkey dangling from my camera lens is going to be key in getting some fun photos. Using a Beanie Babies® Socks the Monkey ($4.99), I created a Shutterpal. (click to see the B is for Boy Blog Tutorial with more detailed directions and photos by a cool mom) Won’t need to jingle keys or squeak a squeaky toy to get the baby to look at me when I want to photograph. Laura sent me the link on how to do it but I did it the easy way, without a sewing machine. I did use the suggested seam ripper and a pair of really sharp sewing scissors to open the back seam and empty the stuffing and beans from the torso section of the little guy. I cut out the entire circle of the lens cap right up to his seams all around the torso section. Then I stitched all around the circular hole. Added a red potholder loop as stretchy binding to finish off the raw edge and stitched it on with buttonhole thread. Now I need to go and visit the grandchildren and try it out!! True you don’t always want them to look directly at the camera but with the four grandchildren I am thinking this will be a good solution. Maybe I can do a fun monkey voice. It is always great when the other grandmother is there to get their attention when we are doing the more formal posed ready-for-church-dressed-in-our-best shots.
This is not for Everyone
Won’t work with a point-and-shoot
but Laura sent me this DIY link.
Saw it and thought of me.
She knows how frustrating it can be.
For the times when you want to capture
a baby and/or toddler’s attention.
She inspired me to be creative.
