Plunged

The temperature has plunged. It's freezing.

Well, I guess the first really cold day always feels freezing. I really wish Grace didn't have an aversion to blankets. So much as drape one over her and she goes nuts. She'll be wearing multi-layer pajamas to bed this winter, Korean style.

It feels like fall just got here and it's already on the way out!

Finished project

A very short and sweet project. I love Grace's fall jacket, but it has a wide open neckline (something I didn't consider when I purchased it at Mesa in Dongdaemun). The temperature is supposed to take a plunge next week, so I thought I'd better hurry up and make her a scarf. If it drops that much, I may have to dig out her old winter jacket to see if it still fits (I bought it big last year).We've really been enjoying the lovely, comfortable fall weather these days... cool enough for a jacket, but no need for hats, mitts, etc. It's easy to take my camera out in this weather too, because I'm not lugging around extra weight in clothing. I took lots of photos of Grace today. I think I've said this before, but child photography is really tough. Over a few hours of outside play today, I can count the times on one hand she looked at the camera. Of course, "looking at camera" shots are not always necessary or the best, but it seems as if most of my shots are of her back, or a motion blur. Oh, and I lost my lens hood somewhere down by the river. *sigh*

Aaaah

That's a sigh of relief that Grace is recovering from a very intense illness. I still cannot believe she had a high fever for over 5 days. I didn't even think that was possible. Her fever came down on Saturday and she developed a bad runny nose and her lungs were clogged, but she is looking a lot better today. The doctor was pleased with her recovery when we saw him this morning. Grace even went to bed happily tonight. She can breathe! We can both breathe!

Dealing with a sick child of Grace's age is very difficult. She cannot express herself effectively and does not understand why she is so uncomfortable. She does not understand why I torture her with by going to the doctor and taking medicine. She does not understand when I say, don't sleep like that because it's harder to breathe that way (she sleeps with her bum up in the air with her head on her pillow).

So, life is almost back to normal. Now I just have to write a book in a week!

Write-off week

Grace has tonsillitis. She's had a fever for exactly three days now. Surprisingly, she's not in such a bad mood. A little clingy and sleepy, but when she's up she's not that grumpy. I've been letting her lay on my pillow on the floor and watch her favourite show, "Boong boong ee." I just can't refuse when she looks at me and says in a hoarse little voice "poong poong." I've been taking her out for walks in the stroller because she enjoys looking around even though she does not have much energy to play. I really hope she starts coming around tomorrow. Not only do I want her back on her feet, but I have the publisher breathing down my neck right now, needing more material. There's not much I can do, though. I have this time after Grace goes to bed, but she's waking up so often coughing and feverish, every time I start writing I get interrupted and it just seems pointless. Plus, I'm so tired, because she's up countless times during the night. My brain is foggy. I'm just going to have to work extra hard once she's better to get back on track.

I finished a knitting project last night. I worked on it mostly on the bus and train, and just finished up the decreases and stem and leaf last night. I think it's really cute. I was worried Grace wouldn't like it because she refused to put it on at first, but she actually let me put it on her when we went out today. It's really not cold enough for it, but I just wanted a few pictures. Now that I got that little project out of my system, I really should finish up some works in progress.Remember Flora Dress? It took me a couple months to knit it, so I thought I'd better not leave it sitting in the dresser. I layered it over a long sleeve T-shirt with some tights and it still looks cute. After those works in progress are done, I'd really like to knit Grace a little sweater vest or something quick. And another hat I have in mind.Some people have asked about our plans to move to Canada. It's still on, but I've had to focus on priorities for the time being. Grace is sick, book to write, teaching 'til the end of the month. Application work is slow going for now, but will hopefully pick up again next week when Grace is well again. I have a feeling this is going to be a week-long kind of sickness.

Balancing the Hobbies

I seem to have added photography to my list of hobbies. I'm having a lot of fun with it. But I have not knitted or crocheted since I started reading about photography in August. Even Sejin commented to me the other night, "I haven't seen you knitting lately." So last night I decided I'd better get back on track with my stitching. I'm about 99% done my cardigan and bag, and there are countless things I want to knit. This is the time to do it, too, since the cold weather will be here soon. So last night I cast on a Halloween knit for Grace.

I went to a lighting seminar in Seoul today put on by the Seoul Photo Club. It was really informative, although I was disappointed to have to leave early. The meeting was 2pm, but some people came late, and then the initial introduction to off-camera flash took a long time to get through. By the time we started the practical part, it was just about time for me to go. The sun was setting and I had an hour trip back to Uijeongbu. But it was worth going to, and it was nice to meet other hobbyists of varying experience.

What I'm finding is the only downside to photography as a hobby is that it can get fairly expensive. I think my best bet is to keep working with what I have until I find I actually have the opportunity or need to work with a lighting set up. I get the feeling that some people get all kinds of equipment but don't necessarily need it. Seriously, how often do you have the time to set up a flash on a stand with umbrella? If you're doing someone's portrait, sure, but day-to-day, no.

One thing I am feeling the need for is a zoom lens. The 35mm prime is fantastic, but there have been times when I've had to back up pretty far to get in a scene, or I really wanted to zoom in to catch something. Yesterday, I went to Children's Grand Park with Grace's daycare (I'm still recovering). I was taking a photo of her whole group and I had to back up pretty far to get them all in. Then, we went to the seal show in an auditorium. I couldn't zoom in to get any action. Not a tragedy, but it felt so weird after having a point and shoot for so long to not be able to zoom.

New confidence

I've been very self-absorbed these days, not hanging out with anyone. If I do have free time, I just feel like being by myself so I can be with my thoughts. I feel weird, like my life is on the brink of a major change. Change is definitely coming, but it may be bigger than I had anticipated. I'm also feeling very confident. In the spring and early summer, I was really beating myself up about time and opportunities wasted. It's just recently that I realized that I'm only 30 and I have many talents and abilities that can be used to secure me a comfortable and enjoyable future. Also, Grace is getting older and therefore it's a bit easier for me to think about things like working, starting a business, taking classes, etc. I actually feel like learning again. It's great.

Sejin and I have a date tomorrow morning to see how his end of the application work is coming. Of course, the damned applications are taking longer than I thought they would. No surprise there. But at least they're getting done.

I'm still obsessed with my camera. Can't wait for the flash seminar on Saturday. Here is a little crocheted thing-a-ma-bob I made about a month ago. I stiffened it with glue. I might stick in on a cell phone charm clasp.

Oops

This is what happens when you set your laptop on the floor before you go to sleep and don't pick it up in the morning. Trust me, I warned Sejin about this. I think he learned his lesson.

It arrived

Fittingly, this is the last photo taken with my point-and-shoot:I forgot to post about this, but the much awaited DSLR camera has arrived. It came on Friday, while I was taking a hike with friend G, who came all the way from Suwon. She had an excuse to come to the area because she was buying an item from another expat. We had a lovely time. We ate outside at a restaurant with rickety tables and chairs, and climbed as far as we could before G decided she'd better head back to make the two hour train ride back to Suwon. I haven't had much time to play with the camera yet since we've been busy. I took it out on Saturday morning to a kids cafe, but I was still using it on "auto" mode. Grace was sick last night and today, so we've been stuck indoors. I've been dying to take it outside to give it a whirl in good light. But I am fairly impressed with myself, as I have made the jump to understanding how to set aperature and shutter speeds on "manual" mode, and just tonight figured out how to do the metering (have to test that though). I've been using it inside with an external flash and the photos are beyond acceptable. The same photos in low light indoors on my point and shoot are either barely visible with flash off, or washed out with flash on. Problem no longer!

CedarBough's photography and more of my thoughts

In August, my friend CedarBough Saeji was kind enough to come all the way to Uijeongbu to do a photo shoot of Grace. Well, I ended up in more shots that I thought I would due to Grace wanting to jump in the river and climb massive and incredibly dangerous stairs. The pictures turned out fantastic. I couldn't be happier. The only thing I regret is that I look so bad. My hair gets ridiculously frizzy in humid weather and I was suffering from insomnia at the time. I look horrible. Anyway, the focus is on Grace and the she looks so cute. Here are few of my faves. By the way, she's wearing Flora Dress, which I knitted. I think it was perfect for the photos.






She can be reached at cedarbough AT gmail DOT com. I'm not sure if she's into doing more family photos or not, but she can let you know.

I think I mentioned this before, but seeing her do this shoot also inspired me to learn more about photography. She's given me so much valuable advice which I'm thankful for. Also, I've been on flickr nearly every night, poking around in groups and photostreams, finding photos I like and don't like. I'm addicted to looking at the exif info on good photos to see what settings the photographer used. The Seoul Photo Club group has been extremely helpful to me. I've posted questions and received great detailed answers from experienced photographers.

One thing I've seen on flickr that I'm very surprised about is that there are an awful lot of "professional" photographers, like wedding photographers and child portrait photographers that are not very good at all. I've been amazed to see all the poor wedding photos that some photographers post...photos full of shadows, distracting backgrounds, underexposed photos, overexposed photos, etc. I'm definitely not the best critic, but I have to say that if some of those photographers shot my wedding, I'd be pretty upset. It seems to me that some people jump into professional photography too soon, or they get a big head because someone asks them to take photos.

Another thing of great interest to me these days is flash photography. I never thought I would say that. The built-in flash on point-and-shoot cameras is awful, but the on-board flash on DSLRs is much better, and better still are speedlights that can be used on or off camera. I have a cheapie Yongnuo flash right now. I'm looking forward to playing with it and I would eventually like to try to use it off camera. I've been reading strobist.com here and there, and I'm going to try to go to a lighting seminar by the Seoul Photo Club next week. Since I'm such a newbie, I'll probably just watch and take notes. It should be interesting.

It's so exciting to start a new hobby, especially one that will give you long lasting memories like great photos. My camera is still not here. It will arrive tomorrow. As of now I have a lens, a flash, a bag, and other random things, but no body!

Soon enough

Soon enough I will have my new DSLR. I think Sejin got sick of me asking when we could order it (only he can do all the online stuff in Korean, especially when dealing with large amounts of money). This is what I bought:

Nikon D90 body
Nikkor 35mm f1.8 lens
8GB class 10 memory card
Lowepro sling DSLR bag

I think I made smart decisions. I'm glad Sejin made me wait so long to make the purchase, because over the last month and a half, I changed my mind many times about what to get. I was going to go with a D5000 body. I changed my mind several times about lenses. I settled on the 35mm after thinking hard about my needs and shooting conditions. Most likely, I will be taking lot of pictures of Grace, possibly indoors. This lens is supposed to be fast and performs great in low light. I am not too worried about feeling limited by the lack of zoom right now. First I'm going to focus on getting to know the camera. I will probably purchase another lens next year. I still have my heart set on that Tamron 17-50 with VC, but that's nearly double the price of the 35mm.

Another good thing about waiting is that I've had a chance to fool around with some photoediting. I've learned a lot just by using Adobe Photoshop Elements 8. Someday I will learn Photoshop proper, but I'm afraid my time is too limited right now. Photoshop Elements is very new-photographer friendly and still has great results.

One thing I've been doing is practicing using some old photos. It's amazing what some bump in saturation, contrast, sharpness, and a bit of retouching can do!