I love the country I live in. Canada is a country with great people, breathtaking landscapes and good health care. The list of its attributes could run a mile long but there is one area that I feel where Canada lags behind its friend to the south.
Shopping.
As soon as you cross the border and head south your options for shopping increase exponentially. Not only that but your dollar goes a lot further. For some reason everything to the south of us seems to be a heck of a lot less expensive.
This is the reason that while I lived in Vancouver we would often jump in the car for a one-hour drive to Bellingham. Shoes, clothes, milk, cheese, gas…everything was cheaper. Speaking of cheaper, there was a TARGET. We don’t have Target in Canada.
*Sobs*
Since moving to the Okanagan we do not make the trip as frequently as we used to. Adding another four hours of driving each way makes a “quick day trip” impossible. Traveling that far with three kids as small as mine needs to be done in longer stints, lest we all perish from the screaming.
Two years ago this very weekend we headed down to hit the Seattle Premium Outlet Mall. Because it was one of the rare weekends that we share a holiday with the States there were sales galore, in addition to the already fantastic deals. I was eight months pregnant with Emily so my haul only consisted of two long-sleeved shirts from Target (Yay!) to get me through the final month. My three guys all stocked up on sweet clothes for the fall and winter.
Last October, we headed down to Vancouver to spend Thanksgiving with both my side of the family as well as Honey’s kin. His parents agreed to watch our three monkeys for the day so that we could do some power shopping. Canadian Thanksgiving coincides with Columbus Day in the States. Good deals were had by all.
This year we are planning to head down with the kids on the same weekend and spend a few nights. If we stay longer than forty-eight hours in the US of A we get a greater exemption from duty.
(That word always makes me giggle. I reek of maturity.)
Our plan is to cross the border at Oroville and drive east through Washington instead of heading to the Coast first and then crossing. Matthew has taken that route for business trips but I have never gone that way. It will be a new adventure.
While out on a Hot Date Night Saturday night (Woo!) Matthew and I were discussing our plans. We want to do a little shopping, yes, but also make it fun for the kids. I told him that I would spend some time Googling but he suggested I do a post instead. There he goes again showing his brilliance. Why use Google when I can ask you guys?
We would love some suggestions for where to stay (Cheaply!), or how to go about finding a good deal online. What cool things can we do with the kids besides dragging them from mall to mall? Is there anything neat that is a little-known-fact in the Seattle area or anywhere along our drive?
I will be eternally grateful for your help. The kids will appreciate your input as well.
(I thought I should take some photos of them in their Sunday Best. It did not go according to my (Highly Unreasonable) expectations.)
I had included the occasional photo composition tip in some of the original Foto Friday posts but they are buried among all of the technical explanations. I thought it might be a good idea to do a post that summarized some of the common “rules” of composition. They can be used by anyone who holds a camera, be it a point-and-shoot or an SLR.
These may be old news to many of you, but they are tried and true. I get asked about composition often enough that I thought it would help to have a post to summarize some composition tips.
The Rule of Thirds
Here is the technical spiel when it comes to the Rule of Thirds.
Imagine that there is a tic-tac-toe grid when you look through the viewfinder. The Rule of Thirds basically states that you should place the subject of your photo along one of the lines in your “grid” or at one of the points where the lines “intersect” (This grid is imaginary; you won’t see it in your viewfinder).
Basically, just place your subject in one of the “thirds” of that imaginary grid (top third, bottom third, left third, right third).
I came make it even simpler. Place the subject of your photo off-centre. Do not put the subject of your photo in dead centre. It’s not bad if you do, but the photo has better depth if your photo subject is in one of the thirds of your frame.
I usually focus on my subject and then shift the camera to the right or the left.
It’s All About The Background
That is actually the opposite of the truth. Unless you are taking a photo of a sweeping vista, you want to keep the background as uncluttered as possible. I am constantly stopping to toss toys off of the lawn when I am outside with the kids and taking photos. An ill-placed object in the background can detract from the photo subject.
See? Who needs a baseball and bat sticking out of their head?
Composition: Framing
This is a really simple aspect of composition. If your subject is framed by an object/surrounding, fill the frame of your viewfinder so that the environmental “frame”, well, frames your subject.
Like this one I took of Emily on our jungle gym last fall.
She was so little. Here’s another one of her looking out of the same opening.
Do you see how the frame of the opening provides a good frame for the photo?
Fill The Frame
If you are taking a photo of your kid playing sports or performing in something you will want to catch more of the scene. If you are taking portraits, you will want to fill the frame as much as possible.
Cropping the top of the head off of your subject is another dynamic composition tactic that goes hand-in-hand with filling the frame.
There are more basics than can be covered, but I think this is a good start…and a good place to stop.
Have a wonderful Friday, everyone.
I have a Lowepro Slingshot 300 that holds all of my camera gear. I’d like to get a smaller bag to carry around my camera and just two or three lenses. I want something more protective than a purse. I am torn between the Shootsac and a Crumpler bag. Thoughts?
I am the lead editor for the Arts & Design channel over at Blog Nosh, but today one of my very own posts is featured in the Personal channel.
Comments Off This week’s theme seems to be about the sappy. I posted about Nathan turning four. I then posted about Graham and his sweetheart Sarah, and how they are growing far too quickly. I thought that the only fair way to treat my children (I am ALWAYS trying to be fair. Futile, likely, but I’m trying) would be to do a post about Miss Emily.
While laying awake in the middle of the night as I am prone to do, I drafted a Post Of Epic Proportions in my head. It involved discussion of how much she looks like me, of how she has my nose and smile, of how I feel like I am watching myself thirty years ago. I would ponder as to whether she is as kooky as I was (according to my mom) and if we possibly had similar personalities.
I would likely weep while writing it, and my readers might get a little misty from all of the heart tugging.
I went downstairs to pull out the two tiny albums I have that chronicle the first five years of my life. Another album caught my eye and I soon realized that I had a third album with photos that were beyond awesome. While the kids watched TV performed complex mathematical equations, I scanned some photos.
Let me introduce you to me, thirty years ago.
Hmmm…that smile looks awfully familiar.
Here I am being classy:
The legal age for drinking is lower in Canada than it is in the States, but it is not that low. Don’t even ask about the cigarette. I sure haven’t.
Working the bikini like Miss Emily does.
Also rocking the tree-stump thighs like she does.
Dear Emily: I am sorry that you got my thighs. Love, Mommy.
Feeling blinded by the Mommarazzi, I am guessing.
I have seen this expression before…
I’d be throwing “The Look” if I had a zoom lens in my face too.
Let’s get back to me in the seventies.
WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THAT DRESS?
Speaking of dresses, what about this one?
The photo is blurry, but you get the idea. I feel like I should yodel while looking at that photo.
There is an outfit that appears in approximately eighty percent of my photos.
One more for good measure.
Dear Polyester: The Seventies would not have been the same without you.
There are pages and pages of photos that I forgot even existed. While browsing through them I can see a definite resemblance to my baby girl. I also think that she and I might possibly share a similarly unique and kooky personality.
Can you see it too?
