My latest obsession

I love my little family. I love taking pictures of them. For years I have been dreaming of actually taking good pictures of them.

Our point and shoot has done an all right job of capturing our memories, but in the last year or so, I have grown really tired of getting the same old blurry/overexposed/crappy pictures. (Thankfully, my kids are cute enough to salvage even the worst photo!)

My super generous husband and I agreed that it was time to replace our plain ol' digital camera. We had been talking about getting a fancy d-slr for a while but we kept putting it off for some reason. (The main reason probably being the price tag. Those things are expensive, yo!)

I spent a good time researching cameras online and I fell in love with the Canon Rebel T2i. One weekend I suggested we just go buy the darned thing and I was pretty surprised when Aaron agreed. I practically ran to Target the minute he said yes. We dropped a pretty penny on the camera complete with lens kit and I rushed home, eager to learn everything. I figured it wouldn't be too hard... I mean, I did take an introductory photography class in college. Ha.

I was wrong.

I mean, I can take awesome pictures when I leave the camera in auto-mode but when I try to venture into the world of manual shots, I completely lose it. I get all anxious and scared and angry. I want to cry or punch things. I pretty much turn into The Hulk. There's a lot to learn about this photography business and it's especially hard to learn anything new when you have two adorable little girls clamoring for your attention all day.

I also didn't realize how expensive of a hobby this was going to be. Lenses, a case, books, filters... sheesh. Forget about paying for a photography class. I've been scouring any blog I can find, looking for tips that will help me get some even better pictures.

We already bought a new lens, the nifty fifty, as some call it. So far, so good. This thing makes it pretty easy to get awesome portraits with those super rad blurry backgrounds... bokeh. That's what that cool out-of-focus area of an image is called. See? I am learning!

Oh, and wouldn't you know it? The day we brought the camera home, Lilly decided posing for pictures was for squares. She will rarely hold still long enough for me to get a picture of her. And smiling for the camera? Forget about it.

But all that aside, I am in love with this thing! I carry it with me everywhere. I dream about it. I would probably make-out with it, if I was sure that wouldn't ruin it. This camera takes amaaaazing pictures and I really don't have to do anything!

I'm still trying to learn all I can about it, but, I'm taking it slow. A few lessons on aperture here, adjusting the ISO there... I figure it will all come together eventually. In the meantime, I guess I'll let the camera pick up my slack.

But! If any of you know of any good (read: free) photography classes, or you want to buy Photoshop for me, or if you just have words of advice or encouragement, let me know! I'll repay you in pictures!