Well, I did it....

This morning I got out of bed, took a deep breath, and re-opened the box with my new Sony Alpha 300 DSLR camera inside. This time I actually used my recently acquired knowledge (!!) and put the battery pack into the camera! ;) Then I switched it on. It did a little busy sound, and I panicked and switched it back off again, haha! I had a read of the manual and identified all the dials and buttons and so on, and then I switched the camera on again. I had no memory card in it yet (hadn't read the 3 pages devoted to putting that in, hehe!) but I put it on auto with no flash (I know, I know, I'm supposed to get into manual mode and not waste time with automatic!), and pointed it at the unmade bed, just as something to point at. And then I pressed the "shoot" button. The camera made this LUSCIOUS sound that was somewhere between a crisp crack and a softer "chunk" sound, and I instantaneously fell in love. I nearly tore open the memory card packaging with my teeth, haha! I ran (okay, lumbered) downstairs in my nightie with "B is for Bump" and a picture of Mr. Bump on it, and scoured the house for the children. I had a lie-in because it is Saturday and my husband is wonderful. :)

So, they were out in the garden, and I couldn't exactly run out there in said nightie, so I threw open the kitchen window and sat there taking photos of the boys and learning how to focus and fiddle with various settings while I did it. I also got a book from Amazon a few days ago which I finally picked up and read (skim-read) most of this morning, called "Photographing Children" (a Photo Workshop book). It took me HOURS to research which book on that subject to buy, reading review after review on different books, and so on. I'm glad I got this one! It looks great, it will teach me sooooo much about photography in general and I love the major focus on photographing little ones (which is what I'm most interested in, obviously!), and it's so inspiring. I think if I really get the hang of using this camera and keep as much passion for using it as I have started out with today, I will likely be seriously interested in taking photos of other people's babies and children semi-professionally. IF I get good enough, that is! I already feel excited about it enough for that to be a possibility, if I work at it.

So, today was my first day using my new camera!!! I had so much fun, and honestly could have shot photos all day long. I had a rare haircut today (and thus an afternoon being pampered (somebody else washing my hair with gorgeous-smelling shampoo while I closed my eyes! Scalp massage! Drinks with ice and lemon brought to my side! Neck rub! Haircut and blow-dry! Blissssss!!) and shopping and eating a mint choc chip ice cream cone all by myself! Neil said I should do this kind of thing more often, but honestly I don't desire to. I make a hair appointment once every 4 months, and that's when I have my one afternoon to shop without little ones, use stairs and escalators instead of lifts with huge queues of pushchairs and tired children, and eat a treat in a completely leisurely manner, lol! ALL the rest of the time, I want to be with my children. Even when they drive me crazy sometimes! ;)

So I ran late getting ready for my hair appointment because I was STILL standing there in my nightie taking photos of the boys (Nathan now up from the nap he had been taking) and completely unable to stop myself! Neil kept saying to stop and get dressed, haha! I wanted to pick the camera up again the moment I got home. I think I took 200 photos today, but I tossed a lot of them straight away (which I read is a good idea!). I have a LOT to learn about light and exposure and so on. I tried to switch to manual after a while but couldn't figure out how to use it or why everything was too dark, so for the time being I switched back to auto. I'm really not doing too much more than pointing and shooting so far, but I'm getting used to things like rotating the lens to focus the shot, and also starting to fiddle with the white balance and so on. I have sooooo much to learn yet! :)

So far, I am hooked! The moment that gorgeous sound came from the camera. That was it. I love my camera!! I can't wait to learn how to use it properly! Here are some of the million billion photos (or so it felt when I was uploading them to edit!) that I took today - they look kind of small here to me, but if you click on them they show up BIG and in much more detail.

The boys were playing in the garden together. Matthew noticed me at the window with the new camera, and struck several poses without me asking, telling me to do "a angwy one!" or "a BIG one!" hehe! Meanwhile, Arthur was lying on the grass calling Matthew over and over and OVER to come back and finish the game. He got so grumpy about it, and ended up face down on the grass in despair while Matthew posed for me, haha! Even worse, Matthew then stopped the posing, and lay down in the sand-and-water table (as you do) instead of going back to poor Arthur! Arthur did come and join him in the end though.















Arthur, realising I was pointing the camera at him. It works sooo much better if he doesn't know I'm there! *sigh* See Matthew ready to stone him for his uncooperative behaviour? Haha! ;)



Back in the house, after the boys came inside and Nathan woke up from his nap. Nathan has a new lovey! He has SUDDENLY become inexplicably attached to Monkey, a stuffed toy that Arthur received as a tiny baby and who we thought Arthur might get attached to (he didn't!). Nathan started picking Monkey up and joyfully hugging him a week or so ago, and that led to him seeking Monkey out to hug or hold. Once he seemed to be obviously attached to Monkey over any of the other stuffed toys or dolls, I let him take Monkey up to his cot for naps. He was so delighted! The first thing he does when he groggily wakes up from sleep, even if he's crying, is to pick up Monkey before he's lifted out of his cot. These last two days, we're having trauma at mealtimes because Monkey must be prised out of Nathan's grasp in the highchair in order to serve him his food! He cries and leans out and reeeeaches for Monkey (who goes to the living room for a little rest!). He sleeps with Monkey at night and his "going to sleep" mannerisms now include lying on his tummy and stuffing Monkey underneath his tummy as his little eyes roll shut. It's so sweet! During the day, he seems to be walking around with Monkey dangling from one hand a lot, and if he puts him down to play with something, he will retrieve him as soon as he finishes. He often gives Monkey squeeeezy cheek-to-cheek cuddles with a wiiiide-open-mouthed joyful smile and squeezed shut eyes. He's just the cutest pie!!

Here are some photos I got of him today, just up from his nap. I LOVE how much more clear and crisp this camera gets the photos! And how eyes seem to stand out beautifully without me actually having a clue about what I'm doing (so it can't be my photography skills, lol!). I love the softer blurred backgrounds as well. I am going to learn more about those to make use of them more often (hides the detail of the clutter and mess around the house for one thing!).







Here's Matthew collapsed on the laundry pile (clean, I might add! At least there's that!) as Nathan climbed over him. I love this one of Matthew, even though it's upside down!



Arthur and his daddy! They rub noses sometimes, just to be sweet :)





Nathan, "hiding" behind the ball blast game. He loves playing hide-and-seek at the moment, especially with his brothers (mucho squeally excitement):





Another one of Mathie:



Nathey and Daddy! I just took photos of everything that usually goes on at any given moment, which is all of the above. Neil was originally trying to just have a bit of a rest in the armchair, but little boys kept climbing on him :) I have purposely NOT included the many photos of Arthur and Matthew sitting on poor Neil and each one of them picking one of Neil's nostrils as they cracked up hysterically! ;) I love the one of Nathan and Neil where Nathan is making his "Ooooh" sound that he does, and Neil was doing the same back. Nathan is always soooo intense in his facial expressions with his vocal sounds, especially the "Ooooh" and the "Doh" or "Dah" ones! He really doesn't have many words at all yet (maybe 3 in total, even). He just started to say "Uh-oh" for when he drops something from his highchair, or a train falls off the track on their wooden railway set, but he says it, "Ooo-ooh!" with a very serious expression, and he places the two syllables soooo carefully with his lips all pursed out - it's soooooooooo cute! :) He says deh-deh for Daddy, and he says "Ah-sah" for Arthur, and he roars like a lion for ALL animals, haha! He shakes his head when he doesn't want something, and he says a VERY clear, "Yessss!" (this is sometimes pronounced "Yeshhh!") or "Yeaaahhh!" when he's urging us for something and we ask him if he wants such-and-such and get it right! ;)

Oh yes! Photos! ;)








These photos must be larger files than even my previous camera (which I thought had HUGE files since they seemed to take so long to upload everywhere!), because they are taking forever to upload to blogger. Hmmm. I'm just typing all the stuff while they load, but it could be a bit of a nuisance sometimes. Also, I hope this doesn't mean the page takes AGES to load for anyone reading! :S

Well it's getting late and I'm so tired from all the walking round town and shopping! :) I bought some of Matthew's birthday presents, and also enough birthday cards and wrapping paper to see us through the May, June and July birthdays in the family! I will be glad of that when I'm even more pregnant and newly postpartum! It was a bit crazy buying the birthday cards, because my niece Emily turns one in June, my niece Thea turns two this week, Matthew will be THREE (yikes!) in June, and my niece Ella will turn four the same day! And then we'll have a new baby in July! :) Lots of little ones at this stage, in my family, which is lovely! I can't believe Matthew is going to be three. He seems SUCH a little one still, even though he's starting to really change physically, getting longer limbs and slimming down even more (he was always a lean boy, but he's losing his toddler shape, boohoo!). His talking is still so chipmunky and cute, and his pronounciations soooo adorably toddlerish! He's ever so cuddly and affectionate, and little for his age. He still nurses at bedtime and I love that lingering bond with him still. He loves his stuffed toy Puffin so much and that just turns my heart to mush for some reason. I nurse Puffin before bed as well ;) Matthew ALWAYS lets Puffin breastfeed first, such is his love for the sweet little bird! I have to take some photos of Matthew with Puffin. He sleeps clutching him in one hand under his chin all night. *sigh* My children are so adorably precious!

Okay, I will be back soon, probably with a crazy ton more photos! :)