new best friend

If you love taking pictures, you want to take your camera everywhere with you. This is the case with me. I literally take my camera everywhere...well, everywhere that I could. In some cases, the size of my camera prevented me from taking my camera everywhere for whatever reason. For instance, the last time I climbed Pinnacle, I brought a backpack with water for my dog and my camera. That particular climb I had a nasty fell and luckily I fell forward and not backwards on my very expensive camera. But I thought after that climb that I would never bring my big camera back on future hikes for fear of me falling and crushing my camera. This is just one example of why I bought what is quickly becoming my new best friend, the Canon Powershot SD 790 IS Digital Elph. It's so wonderful to be able to stick my camera in my pocket and go. Also, I love how easy it is for OTHERS to take pictures. With my Canon 30D, it was hard for non-camera users to use my camera if I wanted to be IN the pictures. This smaller Canon is great for that! I will still use my 30D for photoshoots and nature shots, etc...but the Powershot is a wonderful camera for snapshots at the game, dinner with friends, or even a climb on Mt. Pinnacle.

Here are a few recent shots I've taken with my new camera:

New Orleans

In light of the recent hurricane, Gustav, headed toward New Orleans, I have been thinking and praying hard about the city. I not sure where my interest in New Orleans came from but ever since I visited this city for the first time in 8th grade, I have loved it. Everything from the architecture, the art, the people, the history, the food, the music...all of this makes New Orleans what it is today.

I have been thinking about doing a line of stationery based around New Orleans. Most of my prints are flowers because that is what is attractive to my eye but I'll admit, flower pictures are easy and comfortable. Flowers are already beautiful in itself. While capturing the bloom in a unique setting or angle can pose an interesting picture, most of the time flower pics are like I said, comfortable.

My last visit to New Orleans I really concentrated on the buildings. I re-fell in love with the architecture. The aged doors. The antique shutters. The rusted door hinges. The strong iron gates and balconies. All of these structure have withstood the test of time...and even more impressive, they withstood Katrina in '05. I just pray they withstand Gustav in '08. To see beautiful structures such as the ones in Jackson Square and in and around Canal Street and Bourbon Street would be devastating not only to people who love to visit the city but especially to those who call New Orleans home.

So whether these shots make it to print or not doesn't really matter, but what matter is that our prayers are heard.

Please pray for the people of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. They have been through so much these last few years....