"Well we can't all come and go by bubble!" is my favorite line from my favorite play,
and it's now Rory's FAVORITE play, too!

Elphaba, the "Wicked" witch, says that to Glinda the "Good"
during their catfight scene in the play.
It is HILARIOUS!
If you haven't seen this play, and you love musicals,
do whatever you can to go see it!

I've seen the play on Broadway a few times, and I took Jason to see it in LA,
but Rory has only listened to the music on her iPod and watched a few YouTube videos.
That all changed on Sunday!
My mom, her mom, Rory, and I all drove up to LA's Pantages Theatre on Sunday
to see WICKED before it leaves LA in a few weeks.
Rory has been SO SO SO SO very excited to see the show,
and it was absolutely magical to watch Rory watch the play.
And, Grandma spoiled us with FIFTH ROW SEATS, so Rory had a GREAT view!
Glinda is still Rory's favorite. "She has the prettiest dresses in the world!"


Last week I used the video feature on my new camera (which is now at Canon for repairs.. ugh)
to record Rory singing her favorite song, "No Good Deed"
It's Elphaba's "turning point" song where she decides "So be it! I'm Wicked!"

I've been meaning to share it here, and I finally got around to uploading it to YouTube:

(at the very end, the video stalls for a bit because I tried taking a still shot
while shooting video...now we know what that does!)

Here's a video someone got on Broadway of the "catfight" scene and "No Good Deed"
(with my favorite line delivered by the incomparable Idina Menzel)


Email readers, go to The Blog to see the videos.

Enjoy!
~Carey

The past week has been a little crazy with website problems,
school festivities, family arriving into town, and worst of all:
my new pretty 5DMkII is back to Canon for repair!
(there was weeping & gnashing of teeth)

But, ON TO MORE EXCITING AND FUN THINGS!
I've got all of the Christmas cards for the drawing here on my desk.
Normally, I let Mat & Rory choose a random number for the winner.
This year, I thought it would be more fun to let YOU decide the winner!


Be the first to post a comment here on the blog
with any number you choose between 1 & 55.

I've got all the cards numbered, and you'll choose the winner!

Let's get this iPod to its new home!!!

~Carey

The first myFUNCamera workshop of 2009 will be Saturday January 24th!
If it's raining that day, we'll have the workshop of January 25th,
so keep the whole weekend free if you can.

THIS IS A FIRST-TIMERS myFUNcamera workshop.

If you've got a nice camera and don't know how to use it,
if you want to know more about what all those settings do,
if you want to have more confidence dialing in settings on that camera,
if you're getting a new SLR for Christmas & want to use it well,
THIS WORKSHOP IS FOR YOU!

If you've already been to one of my workshops, you'll be bored.

Open to moms, dads, women, men.

If you want to bring your kids, it's required that you bring along a "helper" to watch the kids
during learning time, then we'll bring the kids over for the "real world shooting" time.

There are only SIX students per class.

USE THIS BUTTON TO SIGN UP:

If you've already been to a myFUNcamera workshop or if you want something
a little more advanced, stay tuned! I've got some other unique ideas rattling in my brain!

~Carey

We're in between some icky winter storms here.
Today is pretty, but it's CHILLY! (where'd my space heater go, anyway???)

It's been off-again-on-again rain since Saturday,
and on "off again" Sunday, I met two FUN FUN FUN families in Balboa Park.
No beach sessions when the temperature starts with a FIVE!
You non-San Diegans: stop rolling your eyes at me!
A temp in the fifties is CHILLY!

The park was beautiful this weekend, and not too crowded! bonus!

I've got two antique black & white shots to show you.
The historic park and Prado always tempt me into creating lots of black & white conversions.

First,dancing in the garden:


Second, splashing in the fountain:


I created both of these with the Nik Silver Effects Pro plugin.
I used the "control point" feature so that I could add contrast, darkness, and brightness
selectively on certain spots in the pictures -- VERY handy!!

Enjoy!
I'm off to find that little heater!

~Carey

Last night was the HUGE Calvary Christian Academy Christmas show!
Pastor Rick talked me into being the official photographer for the event
since they were trying very hard to make this a formal concert.
"Formal Concert" means the audience was to behave
as if they were at the symphony or theatre -- no rushing the stage with cameras, etc.
Their efforts *mostly* paid off; there were a few parents who just couldn't comply... no surprise.

It was a fabulous show, and I had two WONDERFUL assistants to help me,
Anna & Sarah:

(that shot was taken testing lights on "the set" -- more about that later)

Here's a shot that Anna got before the show as folks arrived:

and another that I grabbed of Anna in action, loving the 5D:


Then the show started!
The Praise Band was up first, rockin' the crowd:


Then there was a very moving dramatic performance
showing a young girl's struggle with the temptations of the world,
with Jesus there for her, protecting her with all his might:

(Anna got that shot with the 70-200mm lens)

The orchestra was next -- yes ORCHESTRA -- with violins, flutes, cellos, xylophones, and more.


The conductor/teacher was fabulous!


Every grade had a song in the show.
The Preschoolers and Kinders sang their song while angels blessed them:


The first graders (Rory's grade) did an adorable rendition of
"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth."
Rory's friend, William, opened with a solo speech:

Then everyone came out to sing and dance their way through the song:


The fourth and fifth grades combined for "All I want for Christmas is YOU."
Boy oh boy, there were a LOT of kids, I mean elves, dancing on that stage!
And have I ever told you that Mat's class of 30 kids has 26 boys!?
It was organized chaos, and it was great:
(Anna got this shot with the wide angle lens -- great composition & movement!!!)


The grand finale had everyone on stage singing "Shout to the Lord"
(Sarah got this shot -- wonderful job!)


After the show, we went out to our PHOTO SET to provide family photos
for anyone who wanted one.
The Calvary High Art Club painted the backdrop for us.
We had a long line of families waiting for photos, and I used my Alien Bee lights
to create portraits for everyone.


I have no idea who this kid is or how he got in front of my camera


We didn't charge the families to take the pictures, but they can view & buy the photos
online from my website -- even digital versions so families can make their own prints/cards.
We're using it as a fundraiser for the Calvary Music Department.

I hope you're all having a great weekend!
Here in San Diego it's a chilly chilly day, so I'm off to get cozy under a fuzzy blanket on the couch!

~Carey