MIA

I know, I know - I've been slacking on the blog. I know I haven't been good about posting, especially family stuff. It's just been so crazy around here! Mark finished up at Northrup Grumman last Friday, and has had this week off before he starts at Harris on Monday. It's been nice to have him home! However, we have a million projects that we are trying to work on, so I can't say it's been the most relaxing break. It's a really hard balance: when we are working we feel like we should be relaxing, and vice versa. But, the biggest project was the garage - we've been working on it for 5 months now- and I am happy to report that it is FINALLY almost finished.
I've also been really busy on the business end. I have several shoots lined up in the near future, and that combined with getting the website up and running is a full-time job!
...and then there's Chris. It definitely seems that we are entering the "terrible twos" a bit early. We are realizing just how STUBBORN he is! When he wants to do something, it usually takes us telling him "no" and spanking him 4-5 times before he gives up. He gets bored very easily, and is always looking to us for entertainment. However, we still love him more every day, and can't help but laugh at some of his antics. He is finally starting to communicate, which helps. He can say "no", "uh-oh", "si" (outside), and "sh" (shoe). Also, he can sign "more", "all done", and "bath." And he can say AND sign "eat", and "help". It's really cute to watch him, and makes me laugh. Here's some pictures...

"More"

"Eat"

"Thank you"

Just so cute!

Jason and Kristin

The other day I had the opportunity to shoot an engagement session for Jason and Kristin. They were a fun couple, and seemed so comfortable together. And Kristin's 5 year old twin daughters, Kaitlyn and Melanie, were absolutely adorable! It was neat to see the way this sweet family interacted. I am excited about shooting their wedding in July!

Exciting news!

I'm so excited to announce that www.carolinenicolephotography.com is now live! Please check it out and let me know what you think.

My website was created by Bludomain. I was really impressed with how quickly they were able to get my site up and running.

I've been most impressed, though, with Bluehost, which is the site I am using for my hosting. They have awesome customer service! I've already used their "live chat" several times, and they've been very helpful and patient.

And last but not least, I am in love with my shopping cart, which was built by Skookskart. I'm still working on getting the finishing touches on that, though, so it isn't quite ready.

My new lineup

This post is definitely more for anyone who cares about the technical side of photography..


For some time now, I've needed a new camera. Not that I don't love my old D50, but it just doesn't cut it in the world of professional photography! But I had been tossing around the idea of switching from Nikon to Canon, and I knew that if I decided to make the switch, now was the time. However, no matter how much research I did or how many photographers I talked to, I could not make a decision because I could find die-hard fans on either side of the fence. So I decided that the only way to make the best decision was to try out potential cameras from both brands at the same time under the same conditions. So here are two pictures from my test (thanks to my small group for putting up with me!) Can you guess which is Canon and which is Nikon?

Image 1:

Image 2:

Image 1: Canon 5d Image 2: Nikon D300

Both pictures were taken under exactly the same conditions and with exactly the same settings. I used a high ISO (1600) because my primary objective was to compare the grain, as I had been having problems with that with my Nikon. When I looked at the images on my computer, I was shocked at the difference between the two. I knew instantly that I was going to make the switch to Canon.

So, one week later I am the proud and excited new owner of a Canon 5d. I've used it a little already, and I am in love!

Not only did I purchase the 5d, but of course I had to buy some lenses to go with it. My new lineup includes:

Lenses: 135mm f/2

50 mm f/1.2

24 mm f/1.4

70-200 mm f/2.8

100 mm f/2.8 macro

Flash: 2 - 580 ex II

Shalane and Malia

The other day I got to take a few quick shots of my friend Shalane and her sister Malia. They wanted to give the pictures as a gift to their mom for Mother's Day, so we headed out to a park and downtown Melbourne. It was fun trying to think of things to do that would embarass their mother were she with us!

Trucks and macaroni

Ok, this is going to seem a bit random. But welcome to my world!
For those of you who know Chris, you know about his obsession with trucks. (and that includes anything with wheels). He has adored them ever since he learned to crawl, and they are definitely his favorite toys. He loves to push them over the furniture, us, the floors, walls, sidewalks... So the other day I had put him down for a nap, and I started picking up. I soon realized that I was finding trucks EVERYWHERE! On the couch, under the couch, in the kitchen, in my room, under the dining room table - you name it, and there was a truck there. I had to laugh, and then take a picture of the morning's collection of trucks.


Knowing that we all need to eat more veggies, I recently purchased a cookbook called "Deceptively Delicious". Every recipe in the cookbook has pureed vegetables hidden in it! So the other night I decided to try a little deception myself: I added pureed squash to the macaroni and cheese that I made. It worked like a charm for Chris; he can't eat it fast enough! It's really funny to watch him. He tries to use his fork, so he'll be concentrating really hard on getting the noodles onto the fork. However, when he can't get it he'll give up and use his fingers instead. :) Mark, on the other hand, is not quite so easy to fool. He noticed the slightly gritty texture, and declared "this isn't shells and cheese!" Ah, well, maybe he won't notice when I add the rest of the squash to the pizza sauce tonight...

In other news, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new Canon 5D! I decided it was time to make the switch from Nikon to Canon... so stay tuned for more on that. And even more exciting, CarolineNicolephotography.com will be live very soon!! I am just waiting for a few changes from the programmers, and then we'll be all set. I'll post on here the moment it goes live, so keep checking back!