Canon EOS 6D Camera with 24-105 L-Series Lens - Sample Photos

A couple of days ago I shared with you that Santa left a Canon 6D Camera under the Christmas tree with my name on the pretty package.....Can you imagine what fun that was!  Santa is so extremely thoughtful.   I mentioned also, that as soon as time permitted, I would go around and take some sample-photos to show you. I did take some pictures, but without taking the time to read any instructions. I put the camera setting on "automatic" and started snapping. 

Our daughter Debi arrived from South Florida shortly after Christmas with our twin grandchildren,  eight year old Ethan and Elly.  And, as you can imagine, with three of the "joys of my life" visiting, I have not taken any time to read camera instructions.   But, I am looking forward to doing just that and learning more.

My sister Betti painted the snowman below and gave him to us as a gift many, many years ago.  I LOVE him and enjoy looking at him each year and remembering my sister's thoughtful gift to us.
 

As these photos will demonstrate, I really need to work on, and understand the focus points.  As you can see in the below photo, the Caroler in the white hat and red dress in the middle, is the only one in  focus.

My daughter Sharon was helping with the Christmas party for second grade and decided to decorate the water bottles she was bringing for the children.  Can you tell you are looking at three Rudolphs?  How cute!

This Santa Christmas tree ornament has been around for many years.  He was made from felt when the children were very little.  He is not in real sharp focus.

This little felt snowman has been around just as long as the above Santa.  In the below photo the snowman's head is in fairly good focus, but the rest of the body begins to blur......It will be fun learning how to do better.

Below are just some snapshots of items found around the house while testing for sharpness.

           Old patchwork door wreath made many years ago when the children were very little.

My daughter Stephanie in the below photo asked me if I would take a family photo for her husband's family.  I told her about my lack of knowledge about the camera and she said not to worry because it was all in fun and we would hope for the best.

I thought this photo of her turned out fairly sharp....sharper than my old camera.  She said the camera was sharper than she would wish for,  because it shows up all her flaws.....I could not help but wonder, what flaws!

Our daughter Stephanie's in-laws gave permission for me to show their pictures.  That is Dillon and Chase, two of our grandson's on the left.  They spent these last 3 days after Christmas up in Livingston, Alabama hunting with their other grandfather.  They absolutely love to hunt.

This is Stephanie's husband's brother and family.  I love the dad's pose....he reminds me of the dads in the old-time photos.  What a sweet family.

The family was pleased with the photos and the camera was somehow easier to focus with a large group.

Stephanie and Family.

 This is a shot of the dining room table on Christmas day.....Dinner was almost ready.

Again the Christmas Cactus flower in the middle is the only one in focus which is OK here, but I need to find out how to focus everything in the photo just in case I did want everything to be focused.

Again, in the below photo,  just the cookie in the middle is in focus.

Again, in the bottom photo,  only the middle HO HO is in focus.

A vase sitting in the dining room window.

Christmas cross-stitch pillow.

This little guy is so furry I can't tell if he is in focus or not!

Front porch wall wreath.

Available-light Nutcrackers on the hutch in the dining room.

Mr. and Mrs. Snowman waiting patiently for dinner to begin.

 

  Christmas tea pitcher.

I used flash with this one.  I know everyone says flash is a no-no, but it sure does make the colors pop out.  This Christmas tree ornament was a gift from our daughter Sharon and family a few years ago....I love it!  Guess you can see why!!

Well!  That will give you an idea of what the automatic setting for this Canon 6D will do.  I am not a real photographer, just a hobby photographer and overall I am fairly pleased with the results of this camera.  It will be fun learning more and more as I go along, and hopefully getting better pictures as well.

One additional point about this camera......Of all things, it does not have a built-in flash, so I added a Speedlite 270 EX II flash, which seems to work fairly well.

Well!  Just two more days left in this year 2012......I hope to use them well visiting with the children and grandchildren.  I hope all is well with you and that you too are enjoying the last little bit of 2012 wherever you may be.  

Crochet Hat and Scarf Set

Have you ever tried to crochet?  If you do crochet then you know what a pleasure it is to find a crochet pattern,  pretty colored yarn,  the right size crochet hook, and then off you go to get started on your new fun project.

If you do not crochet and always wanted to learn,  it is much easier today to learn how to crochet than in the past.  There are online tutorials that are very easy to understand, such as in the link below: 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqca00LdmAc 

        

If you have a Wal-mart in your area they have a very nice "Learn to Crochet" how-to book. 

The above photo is a picture of my sweet daughter Sharon who came over for a quick visit between Christmas shopping.  She and her family, including 4 of our grandsons, only live about three miles away from our home.

I asked her if she would model the scarf and hat which I had just finished for my sister who lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  Needless to say my sister loves this very bright apple-green color.  

The pattern is extremely quick and easy and is called:  Two Stitch Hat and Scarf Set.  I was going to share the pattern from my crochet pattern book with you, but read the Copyright information and that would be a no-no!  I checked with Amazon.com,  and they do have this pattern book available.

The pattern book is called: Noggins & Necks by Bonnie Barker and is available
at the below site,  at an amazingly low price.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1574863975/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

I did change the pattern a little by adding the tassels at each end of the scarf.

There are so many beautiful yarns available these days.  Michaels, JoAnn Fabric, Wal-mart and my favorite, Hobby Lobby,  all have a nice yarn department.  For me it is a treat to go into the yarn department and see all the amazing colors and styles of yarn.

 Below are photos of the next scarf I am working on.

For me it is nice to have something to do while sitting watching TV or a movie.   I have found  crocheting to be a very relaxing activity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well!  I hope all is well with you as we approach these closing days of 2012.

I love the feeling of a new year coming.......  I feel like it is a clean slate with no mistakes, which is an inspiration to try to keep it that way and really try to do better.

Wishing you many blessings in these last few days of 2012.

Canon 6 D SLR Camera with EF 24-105 Lens Kit

One of my hobbies is taking pictures and trying to capture the beauty all around us.   I have always wanted to try to take extremely super-sharp pictures.

My husband and I love to go to Market Days held here in Tallahassee each year.  Market Days is an amazing craft market always held the first week in December.  Often times unusual Christmas gifts can  be found at the Market.  While we were meandering from craft booth to the next craft booth, an amazing photography booth caught my eye.  The photos were beautifully sharp, close-up photos of birds.   Needless to say I really wanted to speak with the photographer at that booth.

Of course, the first question I asked him was, "What kind of camera do you use to get such sharp pictures?"  He was happy to share his information and told me he uses a Canon camera and lens.  He said he paid over $15,000 for the telephoto lens alone, and the camera itself was a very high end SLR.  Of course that kind of equipment was totally out of the question for my hobby photography.  But, during the conversation he said Canon was coming out with an amazing camera that would take super-sharp photos, and would be perfect for someone like me. He said if you get that camera, plus one of the L-Series Canon lenses, that would be all I would need for super-sharp photos.

There is a camera superstore which I had heard about in beautiful New York City. 

 B & H Photography

420  9th Ave. at 34th St.
New York, NY 10001
800.606.6969 / 212.444.6615

The website is:    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

B & H Photo staff are extremely good at answering photography questions and giving advice about equipment.  I called B & H and spoke with a consultant in the camera department. He verified the information the Market Days photographer had shared with me.  According to what the consultant told me, there was a Canon 6D with 24-105mm f/4.0 L-Series lens available, and yes, it got astoundingly sharp photos.  The camera and lens were being sold together as a kit, but were also available separately.

 The above photo is from the internet.

The above photo shows the Canon 6D with the L-Series lens.  Notice the narrow red ring around the lens;  that is the trademark of the Canon L-Series lenses.

Well!  To make a long story longer.......the B & H consultant told me they had a "used camera department" and that they did take trade-ins on used camera equipment.  He gave me an estimate for my old camera and lens, and told me the instructions for sending the equipment safely to B & H.

Well! With Christmas being right around the corner, Santa got hold of this information and guess what I found under the Christmas tree?  It is going to be so much fun getting out and getting some pictures with this camera.  Yes, I will share these photos with you and let you know how they turn out.......

I hope you are having a  happy day after Christmas wherever you may be.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas 

Luke 2:11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,

who is Christ the Lord.

Gifts I’d Give You

The gifts I’d leave beneath your tree

are not those you can touch or see.

not wrapped in Christmas tissue gay,

but gifts to bless you every day.

The gift of friendship, warm and true,

is one that I would leave for you.

Good health and happiness and cheer

to keep you smiling through the year.

The gift of peace that comes from God

with prayer to guide each path you trod.

And when your heart has lost it's song,

the gift of hope to cheer you on.

These gifts I would leave for you

to bring you joy your whole life through.

Wishing you the gift of a very Merry Christmas
wherever you may be.


Clink on the link below if you would like to listen to the beautiful Christmas Carol  O Holy Night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQWXfHzOKUU 


 

Christmas Tour of Homes in Macon, Georgia - Part 2

We are continuing on with Part 2 of the Christmas Tour of Homes in Macon, Georgia.  

The tour lasted two days, but we only attended one day.   These homes are located in the historic section of Macon.  They all were so interesting to see and so charming with the feel of the past all around them.

This home was completed in 1912.  The house was reconfigured in recent years to create four large residential units; each with access to front and rear porches.

We toured one upstairs section of the four units.

These beautiful dark green Magnolia leaves make a beautiful backdrop for this Christmas arrangement.

The home below was built in 1859 for a Macon attorney.  This home is an example of an Italian villa style home.  The original owner of this home went on to become one of the first law professors at Mercer University in Macon.  He also served as Georgia's Attorney General from 1880-1890.

The flowering bush seen to the left in the below photo is a camellia bush.  This is the time of year when camellias are blooming in the South, and they are all so beautiful.  They say the hardiness zones for camellias are zones 7 through 9.

Come inside for a look around this beautiful home.  Notice the elevator on the right.

A lovely bouquet of camellias for the coffee table.

A beautiful camellia Christmas tree.

Below are some snapshots of pretty homes that caught my eye, but they were not on the Christmas Tour of Homes.

The Sydney Lanier House.

This next home on the Tour was built in 1906 and is called a Classical Revival house.  The original owner was a lumber merchant.

Interior features of this home include dark wood paneling, pocket doors, and a curved and carved staircase.

Beautiful stained glass in the dining room.

That concludes our Macon Christmas Tour of Homes.  

In the below photo,  as we were leaving this last home,  this beautiful candle located in the foyer of this home caught my eye...... 

I was reminded of the bible verse John 8:12   When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said,  "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." 

We enjoyed visiting Macon again and touring these beautiful old historic homes, especially during this beautiful time of year,  with all the lovely Christmas decorations.

Thank you for stopping by and taking this tour along with us.  Wishing you special Christmas blessing wherever you may be.