He’s almost figured out crawling – so determined. I sure won’t be posting tomorrow…even as I write I can almost taste the turkey and dressing. I can eat my weight’s worth in Thanksgiving dinner. LOVE IT. I hope you all have a great time with family and friends….life is good. My cup overflows.
Awwww… Everett is getting so big! You probably should commit to eating the weights worth of Chris instead. You might not get a full plate with only your weight! He….he.. Happy Thanksgiving!
I love the tongue out determined look on Everett’s face to move! My family is very thankful to have the Campbell five in our life, we are blessed by your dear friendship! Happy Thanksgiving
Besides orders being placed the most common email I am getting right now is “I want to get a camera for Christmas. What do you suggest?” So here goes…
I recommend a dslr over a point & shoot…even if you don’t know how to use a camera on anything but the automatic mode. The basics of photography are fairly easy to learn and a dslr opens the door for so much more than a point & shoot. They are bulky, but well worth it in my opinion. As far as specific dslr cameras go, I shoot with Canon so naturally I lean to Canon. Nikon is also a great brand. I personally would stick with one of those. I buy most of my equipment at BeachCamera.com, but there are tons of great credible online stores. Locally, I would recommend Camera Gallery at 71st & Memorial. They can really walk with you through what camera will fit your specific needs.
I recommend:
any of the Canon Rebel versions ($450-$800) – This would be my #1 recommendation for most people
Canon 20D, Canon 30D, Canon 40D, Canon 50D
Nikon D40, Nikon D60, Nikon D80, Nikon D90
You will also notice there are several different lens options. To explain it in the least technical way, here you go:
18-135mm: This is a zoom and a wide angle. Numbers below 50 allow for a wide angle.
f/4.0: In simplistic terms this is how blurry you can make your background. The smaller the number the blurrier the background. I only buy lenses that are f/2.8 or smaller.
You can always invest in the camera with the lens it comes with, learn photography beyond the Automatic mode and then invest in lenses that fit your personal needs. Hope that helps….just a little note to say I’ll be doing more teaching related things next year, but a dslr will be required 
Canon is offering a rebate on certain models, you find that rebate HERE
by AshleyAnn
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I couldn’t wait until Christmas so I took the plunge and ordered the camera above from Beach Camera as Ashley suggested. At least my birthday is in November!! I even compared the prices and it was $40 cheaper than Best Buy – and no shipping or tax. I know I need to learn how to use in manual mode and am going to wait patiently for the lessons, but even in auto mode, the pictures are great. Thank you, Ashley, for taking the time to give us your idea and suggestions – we love them!!
Girl, you know I have my eye on one! Thanks for the suggestions!
Okay, that has been my one biggest question, how do you get your backgrounds so blurry. I have a rebel xt and I can’t find where you see the f/? information. any suggestions?
I can’t figure out the f/ thing on the XSi! Hey, I just got home from Target and noticed the camera above was $150 more at Target than beachcamera – plus you would have to pay tax. I would take the beachcamera.com route for sure.
The “f/thing” is called an “f-stop” You won’t see it on the camera because it is a lens component. Typically you can see it on the lens. For instance on the camera above it is 1:3.5-5.6. That means at the widest (smallest number – most blurry) it is 3.5. Since that is a zoom lens it can change from the smallest being 3.5 to 5.6 depending on how far you are zooming. You can buy a Canon 50mm f/1.8 for under $100.00. It isn’t a zoom, but is an AWESOME lens for getting that blurry background. I have one similar and do 95% of my stuff with it.
okay, the next thing that the great ashley ann should do is teach a crash course for us dummies (no offense, Jeanette ) that bought expensive cameras and don’t know how to get our monies worth out of them.
All in due time Bopha…keep checking the blog…hint, hint, hint
oh my gracious…if you are going to teach us I will be BEYOND thrilled. I’m ordering a new camera today! Oh I can’t wait to check new posts! So excited!
Happy Friday! I thought I’d share a little photo tip/challenge for the weekend. To me photography is about telling a story – especially when it comes to my kids. In 20 years I will look at this picture and remember who Hudson was at 2 years. You pretty much never see him without cars in his hand and most recently he always has is Lightning McQueen rainboots on. So this weekend challenge yourself to tell the story of your kids in the details….I’d love to see what you come up with, so email me some or leave a link in the comments.
by AshleyAnn
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Oh, the boots, I love them! You realize you still have not missed a day yet (good for us).
I did miss the 18th Bopha! The posts are much shorter
Thank you so much for the tips! I always love getting such practical tips that I can apply to my everyday photos of my kids…although I won’t be taking any this weekend as my slr ended up in the bathtub full of water (in the case and all!)! Yes I cried and my heart is so sad but just another day in the life of my crazy house:)
good idea.
i can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with.
that picture is great…so crisp.
Didn’t know if you’ve seen this so I had to share just in case: http://www.spoonflower.com/welcome
I LOVE this picture as it is SO Hudson right now!
I missed the challenge – I am just catching up on the blog. I will try this though.
Poor you….with less pictures now some posts will have more words! I always love to hear ideas from other parents on things they do with their kids, so I thought I’d post a few of mine. First let me say I used to be a reader. Back in the days before kids I had favorite authors, favorite books, I would pour over one sentence dissecting the meaning. I have three boys. Chris had some ‘get to know you’ questions he was using for a meeting and one was “Who is your favorite author?” I asked him if Grace from the Design*Sponge counts. I no longer pour over books, instead I am pumped when Cottage Living arrives in the mailbox and I can find 5 minutes to fly through it. All that to say, my very favorite magazine arrives in November each year. It is the Samaritan’s Purse Christmas Catalog. This marks the beginning of Christmas for me. We are pretty active in social issues year round, but the Christmas Catalog is a highlight with the boys. I sat down with Corbett and Hudson to pick out what they wanted to “buy”. Hudson was a fan of milk, Corbett liked that he could help buy a house, stock a fish pond, buy chickens – he basically liked it all. What really stood out to him was a picture of a child with a dirty glass of water and a clean glass of water. Corbett’s FAVORITE drink is a warn glass of water. We talked about how some kids don’t have clean water and how we can help buy water filters and pumps to allow them to have clean water. The next Sunday my church played the following video – it is well worth your time to watch:
To bring it all home we now have a glass of dirty water sitting on our kitchen table. It reminds Corbett and Hudson to pray for those that don’t have clean water and it reminds us to give to enable them to enjoy a clean glass of water like we enjoy everyday…..
Every 21 seconds a child dies from a water related illness
If you are interested in giving to help provide clean water globally here are two organizations to consider (many more can be found online):
Gift Ideas:
1. Combine a contribution certificate with a cool water bottle as a stocking stuffer
2. Combine a contribution certificate with a new set of kitchen glasses. You can find cool old vintage ones at flea markets.
by AshleyAnn
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Sweet video. Did someone at TCABC do this!? Great message Ash, thanks for posting the link to the catalog. I have to say Hudson’s face cracks me up!
That is the best video I have seen! Thanks for posting it! Hope you don’t mind if I share it!
This is what we do with our kids. Instead of giving gifts to our families who have too much already we give gifts in honor of them. My dad works alot with Habitat for Humanity so we give there in honor of him. My sister-in-law does a lot with Uganda so we give to Invisible Children for her. Then we mostly choose things from World Vision Christmas Catalog. It is a way to show the love of God and teach the lesson that others are important to God. AND our families appreciate too because they see the value of it.
So I was wondering…the glass in front of Hudson that is empty….dirty or clean water?? =)
Samaritan’s purse does a great job. I love how you involve your boys in giving! You guys are great!
I saw this video a while back…so powerful!!! Our family loves Heifer International. This is where our gifts are going this year. Thank you for sharing all these wonderful ideas with us!
Just a reminder if you want your order in time for Christmas the deadline is tomorrow – Nov. 20th.
by AshleyAnn
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Just a note to all my faithful blog readers, this is the BUSY time for order fulfillment for me. Sessions have wrapped up for the year and I will be spending time filling orders for my clients. I’ll still be posting…Christmas ideas, information for next year, some exciting ideas for other things…much to come. So stay tuned, but sorry to say that there won’t be daily posts for a while.
Just because I like posting pictures and Hudson has been ignored on the blog…here’s Hudson
by AshleyAnn
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he’s a cutie. the middle child always gets the shaft! i’m a middle child…i know the pains!!! hahaha. i’m sure he’s not at a lack for anything…you seem like a pretty cool mom! love your blog!
He is so sweet, Ashley!
He is too cute, love the dimples! I’m glad you’re taking a break, but now what am I going to look forward to in the mornings.
Love the hands in the pockets. He is growing up way too fast. Just love him!!
I love my cheesy nephew! Glad you’re taking a break but I agree with Bopha, what to do without it?
such a precious grin! will miss your daily posts but so glad you take time for what is most important. enjoy your break and holidays!
i will miss you.
It was fun hanging out with you tonight. I am excited to see what the future holds for both of us.
I took a break from the beautiful chaos that is my house and got too see peaceful little Elliot at home with his doting parents. He was such an easy baby to photograph….I love my “nephew”! We took the boys to meet him last week at the hospital. When I told Corbett we were going to go his response was, “Can’t you just take a picture of him and show me?” I guess newborns aren’t a high priority for a 4 year old boy….
by AshleyAnn
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Love them….what a handsome little guy.
Wow! Blake and Courtney, congratulations on a healthy, beautiful boy. I love his hair!
Ash,
You never cease to amaze me. Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us, we will treasure these pictures forever! Love ya!
I have another beautiful “grandson”. Congratulations!!
Ashley, I am crying! Those pictures are beautiful. Thank you so much!!
He is so handsome! He looks like a sweet little man. Court and Blake – congratulations!!
Look at all that hair!! He looks angelic! Congrats again! Great pictures Ashley! They’re priceless!
Ashley,
Thank you so much for these wonderful pictures of Elliot. We cannot begin to express how much it means to us for you to capture these unique moments.
Ashley, these are so wonderful, I miss him very much… these pictures make my day. I am so excited to be back home in a few days!!!
by AshleyAnn
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Me either. Cute stash — that reminds me of a story from high school.
Oh my word Rachel…your comment cracked me…some stories are better forgotten!
I decided to take a break from Holiday Market/Anatomy and ended up on your page. It was well worth the break…that is one cute boy!!
Ever since we bought the point and shoot, Corbett has been wanting to take pictures all the time. He recently told me that we don’t have to be apart anymore because he can just come help me with every session. He did come with me to do the Fullingims (yesterday’s post) – and was such a GREAT helper. For a little Friday fun I thought I’d share a few from the other day…here he is in action
The outcome of that picture:
One I took….Rett chillin’ in my radtastic Eames rocker
Just because I like it. He is on the verge of crawling: non-stop rocking action going on at our house.
by AshleyAnn
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Too cute! Corbett’s quite the little photographer and look how big Everett is with his bear! My nephews are so cute!!!
This is a cute post. You might actually get to start appearing in pictures now that you have a little apprentice!
Love it!! Kids do like to take pictures (and look at themselves after you have taken a picture).
so sweet…i love how you marked out ‘ashley ann’ and then added ‘corbett christopher’. He’s pretty good!
What a lil’ talent you have on your hands And I am so jealous over the chair….I wanted one so bad! Everett is getting SO big and adorable as ever!
If you know me well, you know that if something is happening on Main St. Broken Arrow – I am there…with a bunch of boys close behind. Tonight is the annual Broken Arrow Tea-Off, 6-9pm. It is a night where stores stay open late, serve a little hot chocolate or cider and celebrate the coming of Christmas. We go every year…this time we are stopping by Starbucks first for a bigger cup (the free drinks are in those tiny cups).
The picture above is from Martha Stewart. If you know someone girly that is into candles, she has a DIY project using old teacups (which you can find at Southern Hospitality & the Hitching Post on Main St. – my 2 favorite stores). Totally random…but Martha has some great new stuff at Walmart and Micheals. I have a love/hate relationship with Martha.
by AshleyAnn
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by AshleyAnn
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