Great magazine!

Filed Under (), () on Thursday, February 18, 2010

 

I love mail.  I love magazines.  I love photography.  So, for graduation, my hubby gave me a subscription to PhotoPlus Canon Edition.  Yea!  What's really nice about this is that all the photography magazines I've bought in the past were generic and came from England.  I have nothing against England.  In fact, it's my favorite country outside the U.S.  My fabulous grandmother comes to us from there.  The problem lies in the price of their magazines are awful and kept me from subscribing.  Big kuddos to hubby for doing something that I've been wanting to do, but haven't.
So, for the past several days I've been reading through the magazine - reading articles, looking at photos, drooling over equipment, checking out the reviews.  I'm so excited about it.  I have noticed that some things in the magazine do not apply to my four year old Rebel.  It's ok.  I can still keep it in reserve until I purchase my new D-SLR.  I'm ok with that.  

PhotoPlus Canon Edition should help me perfect my craft and give me lots of inside tips all for one low price!

Fun photos from a fun weekend

Filed Under (), (), () on Wednesday, February 17, 2010

This past weekend, my friend from WI, my friend from NY, and my friend from PA all came to visit.  WI friend came in on Thursday...barely!  Her flight was originally scheduled to land in Baltimore at 4:15, but it was canceled.  She rebooked for later than night and it was a go.  So, we missed a few hours of visiting time, but she was still able to get here.  Phew!  We hung out on Friday, then Sat. friends from NY and PA came out and we had a great weekend!  Here are some fun photos...though not master pieces.  Sometimes they can't all be winners, ya know?

Nissley Winery in Lancaster County.  Beautiful, no?

Sunset at Nissley Winery
Saturday, we all headed to Chocolate Town USA - Hershey! 
 
After riding the Hershey's Great American Chocolate Tour, we headed to The Hershey Story Museum.
 
Inside, we donned our aprons and hairnets to make truffles!
 
  
After wards, we went to dinner at a local sports bar.  It took forever to get the salad.  That'll teach you to try to eat healthy at a sports bar!  The rest of the evening was spent tasting wine and playing Wii.
Sunday, our friends from NY and PA headed home.  My friend from WI was headed home that day too, but not til later, so we hit Baltimore's Inner Harbor.  It was snowy!

 
 
I just LOVE this shot!  Guess there's no dragon boat sailing in the winter!
 
We dropped our friend from WI off at the airport, then headed back to a yummy Valentine's Dinner at the B&O Brassiere on N. Charles Street.  I would totally recommend the restaurant and the hotel it's attached to.  Awesome places, both of them!

Favorite Snow Photos

Filed Under () on Tuesday, February 16, 2010

We have been inundated with snow lately here in the Mid-Atlantic. We had a storm on the 6th that left us about 2 feet of snow and then another 2 feet of snow on the 9th. It's been K-raz-y around here! So, here are some shots from our snowmageddon.

Friday, Feb. 5th - you can still see the driveway!


 

Friday, Feb. 5th - those white dots aren't ghosts, that's snow!

Fri, Feb. 5th - say good bye to the Neons
 
Sat, Feb 6th -  the next morning...
Sat, Feb 6th - Crap...where did I leave that Neon?
 
Sat, Feb. 6th -  View from the dining room outside
Sat, Feb. 6th - all decked out to shovel
 
 Sat, Feb 6th - hubby didn't think shoveling the drive way was enough, so he headed out to the roof and shoveled that too!
Sun, Feb. 7th - Oh!  There is the Neon!
And just a pretty picture

Imagine all the above photos happening again...three days later!

New Toy

Filed Under (), () on Sunday, February 14, 2010

Sorry for the lack of posts!  We've been digging out of snow for a week.  A snow storm dumped 18"-20" on the 9th, then we got ANOTHER 18"-20" on the 10th.  Craziness I tell you!  I don't think we've EVER gotten that much snow so close together.

Sooooo...I have photos of the snow and I have photos from the weekend to upload, but today I'm excited.  I have been drooling over a Holga camera for a few months now.

I've had it on my Amazon wish list, but nothing.  I've been hemming and hawing about ordering it.  Really wanting to, but being a wuss about spending the money.  This afternoon, while in Baltimore, I found a Holga at Urban Outfitters for the same price as Amazon, but I wouldn't have had to deal with shipping.  Well, I hemmed and hawed, but when we walked out of Urban Outfitters, I was the proud owner of a Holga camera.  I cannot wait to try it out!!  That's a project for the week.  Get the camera set up and take some photos.  Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  Sooo excited!!!!

Playing with PhotoShop Elements 6

on Sunday, January 24, 2010

I recently became the examiner.com's history beat writer and had to submit a head shot for the site.  Well, I had nothing I liked or was willing to crop for it, so I had hubby take a photo of me for it.  The shot itself was fine, hubby did a fine job, but I noticed some things about it that I wanted to change.  So, I opened the photo up in PhotoShop Elements 6 and tried to fix them.  So, I am sharing the original and the touched up version.  What do you think?

Original


Touched Up


Photos around York Haven

on Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Today I decided to head out for a walk and take my camera.  I should have run yesterday, but I was a tad lazy and didn't, so I thought a walk today was better than nothing and why not take the camera?  I ended up walking 2.86 miles while out, so I was happy with the mileage and some of the photos!  Take a peek.  What do ya think?

Just the trees against the sky.  Loved how the color of the sky and clouds came out.



I tried framing the fun playground with the trees.  Not the greatest.  Maybe the trees are too far apart?  Maybe they are too far from the playground?  Not sure.  But, I tried.




I just love this view.  It reminds me of small town America.  And while York Haven is a small town, it's not quite what you would think of if you saw the whole town!



Did anyone else love this playground ride?  I just LOVED it as a kid!  
 


This probably isn't the greatest technical shot, but it was so darn cute!
 


This building is in the town of York Haven.  When we first moved to the area it was the library...which was  opened on Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.  LOL!  Now it's a town building.  Though I don't think the hours have improved.  I just love the window!

 

So, I wander down the street a bit and decide to walk towards the river - sorry,  no river photos.  I turn the corner and see the train lights are going.  So, here are a couple train photos I took...by pure luck!

 

Not technically great shots, but...

They sure mean a lot right now!






























I received my diploma from Penn State and have officially graduated!  I can now write my name as Christina M. Stetler, M.A.  Wooohoo!