My New Baby Rebel

My husband came through the holidays with flying colors in the gift department.  Since he's still not back, we skyped and emailed about how we'd celebrate--and made plans for how we'll celebrate together next year.  It's going to be so cool when he gets home in less than 60 days, even if he will still be living three hours away.  Anyway, I digress...

Taking pictures of jewelry has been a complete pain from the beginning of my crafting ventures.  I think I've improved significantly by reading books and taking the advice of my fellow bloggers on how to get the best results from a point-and-shoot camera.  But, I have been more and more enamored, lately, with getting good shots, not just for documenting my craftiness, but for capturing a bit of everything around me.  After spending hours and hours playing with photo editing software and loving (almost) every minute of it, I'm realizing that I need to follow this passion path.  My sweetie understands my need and agreed that we'd add a new Rebel to our family.  After doing lots of comparison shopping, I picked one up on the way home from work the other night, got the battery charged and then started shooting away.  My first random shots around the apartment left me with 113 takes (about 10 worth keeping) and lots of excitement.  I headed over to B&N for some books.  My photographer (and Army aviator) friend, Brad, recommended some books by Scott Kelby, so I've fallen asleep reading the first volume every night.  I'm all about working the macro shot...I still don't know exactly what that means, but I'm excited!  haaaaaaaaa

This is a piece I made up a couple of years ago when I was practicing my wrapped loops (the little things that each of the beads is hanging on) and I've always loved it.  My sister actually wore it a couple of times, but it still hangs around here most of the time as a piece of wall art.  Now, it's blog header art!  It was an overcast day yesterday, so I used that lighting and my black desk to set up a little baby studio for an hour.  I apparently need to dust off the desk!  Brando, my white cat, has his touch of fuzz in most of the pics, too.

I have tons of good post ideas and a resolution to write more, so I guess tomorrow will be a great place to start!  I have tons of bead porn that I can't wait to shoot...and since I'm realizing that my stash has grown a bit too unwieldy, it's also time to share some with destashing in my Etsy shop and some giveaways.  In the meantime, I have to go get a massage to finish off 2010!

Love to all my blog friends and family...and especially to my Rebel daddy, Curtis!  haaaaaaaaa