My mom has recently come into the modern age and has begun text messaging me, emailing me and apparently…. reading this blog.  So, I’d like to say officially, HI MOM!  Glad to have you stopping by now and again!  Hope everything is going well up there in the great state of Michigan!  =)  *hugs*

For one of my upcoming assignments, we have to submit a self-portrait for critique. I thought it would be best to get started early as this cannot be an easy task. We need to set up, light, diffuse/reflect, pose and fire the shutter on our own.

I don’t have ten hands so I thought a low-key image would be best, using a single light source. I used a clip on lamp with a regular 60-watt bulb, diffused by a 36″ Lite Disc about 10″ from my face. I draped up a black backdrop behind me and wore a black shirt. ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/4s at 55mm.

This is the best one I could manage on my first attempt. It’s neat although maybe next time I will wear my contacts so I can see myself in the lens. I had no idea where my borders were or how the light shining was on the right side of my face.

School is back in session, and this time, it isn’t just for me! My little brother started Kindergarten on Tuesday morning. I can’t believe how fast he is growing up! My DaD sends me pictures all the time and I am so thankful for that. I feel like I am there with him although he barely knows me. It’s amazing to see how fast kids grow up, especially when the kid is your little brother. He’s 4 1/2, and I’ll be 30-something tomorrow, so there’s quite an age gap between us.

As for me, I started a Portrait photography course at one of the local colleges. It’s nice to get back into the creative process again, and have a good reason to use all of my camera gear. Hopefully I’ll have some work to show soon.

Andrew and I took a very spontaneous trip to Las Vegas for Labor Day weekend.  We decided Thursday night to leave on Friday after work.  We wanted to see some of the stuff off the beaten path that we never bothered to see before.  We stayed at The Orleans (you can’t beat $40/night) and kept the whole trip rather cheap.

We visited outlying casinos like Tuscany, Sam’s Town, South Point, Green Valley Ranch, and the brand new Eastside Cannery.  We found this hilarious slot machine called Super Happy Fortune Cat. What made it amazing was the inset: Now with Lucky Hampster! We HAD to play it. HAD to.

We went through the Atomic Testing Museum, found our way through lots of neighborhoods and checked out several new freeways in the area.  We briefly considered going to the Erotic Heritage Museum but it looked too creepy even for me (so you know it must have been awfully creepy).

We saw Stomp Out Loud (incredible show!) at Planet Hollywood, and visited the Stratosphere late at night.  We also went to one of our favorite new places in Las Vegas: The Pinball Hall of Fame (www.pinballmuseum.org).

I posted lots of pictures up on Flick for you to see.