I think it's pretty safe to say that this blog has created a new love of photography in my life. I've always been a little shutterbug, but until I had a 'reason' to step up my photography game, I simply viewed it as a hobby. In the last year, it has become much more than that. When I purchased my camera, I wanted something I could grow with. I wasn't about to drop a ton of dough on a heavy duty Canon or Nikon when I'd never actually shot anything in manual mode and knew very little about exposure, composition, or editing. So I bought my Samsung (after doing a lot of research), which comes with an 18-55mm zoom lens. The kit lens is great, and I've taken some of my favorite pictures with it, but... I outgrew it. I could have gone out and purchased a new, more advanced camera system, but I still love my Samsung. I think it's a great 'blogging camera'. I opted for a new lens instead ( Samsung 45mm f/ 1.8 prime lens ). I could get pret
Book Buying Freeze I've developed this habit. This book habit. I'll go to the store on a random Tuesday. From across the room, I'll spot a book that seems intriguing. Good-looking cover. Interesting blurb on the back. I pick it up and read the first couple of pages. It makes me laugh. We hit it off, me and this book. I invite it back to my place. We open a bottle of wine and snuggle up on the couch together. Things are going great. We're getting to know each other. Maybe I even tell my best friend about this book. How great it is and how much she'd love it. Then something happens. Usually about a quarter of the way through. You know what I'm talking about. The book I thought was going to be so great, The One even, suddenly isn't so interesting anymore. Maybe it's the way it takes forever to get to the point. Or maybe it's the way it uses too many overly descriptive words. Maybe it's just a character thing. Whatever the