5 joys of July

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July is my least favorite month of the year. It's too hot and... well... it's just plain too hot.

I'm not a fan of hot weather, which is pretty much why I'm not a fan of July.

Rather than stew over the scorching season, though, I'm looking on the bright side today, pondering the positive parts of a month I mostly despise. 

There are but five.

joys of july

ONE
My third and final child — Andrea, one of my favorite people in the world — was...

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Kids and cameras: 9 tips for beginner photogs, from National Geographic Kids

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Kids and cameras: 9 tips for beginner photogs, from National Geographic Kids

kids and cameras

As long as my grandsons have known me, I've had a camera in my hand more often than not. I may not be a pro, but taking photos is one of my favorite activities.

I like to think it's my penchant for taking pictures that encouraged my grandsons to enjoy using various cameras—from their kid camera to smartphones to my DSLR—for shooting shots around their place now and then. 

I'm pretty good about explaining to my grandsons the basics of using a camera, but as a true and untrained amateur photographer myself, I'm not the greatest at sharing with them sure-shot techniques for composition and more, in easy-to-understand snippets they'll understand and remember.

Enter National Geographic Kids book Guide To Photography by Nancy Honovich and National Geographic Photographer Annie Griffiths (which I...

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2 things I learned while up on my roof

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I have lived in my house nearly eight years but had never been up on my roof.

Until the Fourth of July.

On July Fourth, Jim and I decided to sit on our roof to watch the many Fourth of July fireworks displays that take place to the east of us and to the west of us. Here's what I learned while up there:

ONE: I need to learn how to photograph fireworks.

These are the best fireworks shots—of more than 70—that I got:

fireworks 

Not so great. I'll be...

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Saturday movie review: 'Finding Vivian Maier'

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I enjoy photography and consider myself a hobbyist photographer. Yet you needn't be a photographer of any degree to appreciate street photographer Vivian Maier's work or FINDING VIVIAN MAIER, the documentary on Maier's mysterious and fascinating story.

 Finding Vivian Maier poster

I hesitate to share many...

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Forgotten photos: Splash!

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I recently purchased an external hard drive on which I can house a big chunk of my photos. I take so many pictures — and have a horrendous time hitting the delete button, even if I have 26 of the same shot — that I came perilously close to crashing my laptop under the weight of the mega megabyte-sized pictures I've been hoarding.

 swimming pool jump

As I went through the pictures folder...

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Wherein I attempt to master the selfie

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I like to check my baggage when I travel. I know a lot of people prefer to carry on their items, but I prefer to check. Reason being that when I travel, I take my laptop (it's not an iPad or notebook by any means) as well as my DSLR camera. Once my camera is in a bigger bag with my purse, that bag and my laptop constitute my two carry-on items, while clothes and more are checked.

That said, I didn't check my baggage for my recent trip to Dallas for Bloggy Boot Camp, a fully paid trip I won from The SITS Girls. It was a quick trip with little chance I'd be leaving the hotel (which I didn't) so I left my camera at home, packed my laptop in my suitcase and lugged it all upon the plane.

Having no DSLR along for the trip meant I had to use my iPhone for any photos. An iPhone 4S, so it's not all that great, but it works in a pinch for most things.

I'm not so sure it worked all that well for selfies. Or maybe it's the camera operator. I tried, I really did. And the following provides proof.

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