My First Attempt at Freelance Photography

Over the weekend, I volunteered at the Ottawa Districts Badminton tournament.  On the first day, I helped out at the draw desk.  On the second day, I brought my camera and took a crack at shooting the tournament.

My friend Clem was also shooting that morning but he was only able to stay a few hours.  He gave me some great advice on what settings I should use to capture my shots.  Clem prefers shooting action shots, while I prefer to shoot candids.  I made really good use of my 50 mm F1.8 lens.  :) 

The tournament lasted 12 hours and by the end of the day, I got about 260 shots.  I know, it doesn't sound like much but it was difficult to shoot without being a distraction to the players.  I had to limit my time around the courts because they have court rules (when action is taking place, you cannot walk around the courts).

I will post some of the candids that I took.

I was happy to have the opportunity to indulge in a hobby that I had put aside for a while.  I had almost forgotten how much I enjoyed taking pictures.  All throughout the day, I had a smile on my face because I was doing something I loved.

There is another tournament coming up in December that I may attend and try again.

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Is it flu season?

Okay, I just sneezed 6 times in a row .. and I'm not chilly.  I knew I wasn't feeling well late last Friday and it gradually got worse.  Today, I feel it .. sore throat, sinus congestion, muscle aches ... the flu?  But I have been so good at not getting sick.

I know I got it from my niece Chloe.  She was sick last week and I still held her - she's so darn cute.  Well, it's worth it.  At least, I can take a few days off to work from home. 

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Visiting Toronto

I'm driving to Toronto tomorrow night.  Ahhh .. can't wait to see my friends again.  I'm making a special trip back to collect my reward for being able to name all of the animals from Vicky and Steve's safari trip.  Hahaha ..

Anyway, it's late .. I played so much badminton tonight that I'm exhausted.  And I still have to pack for my trip.  Sigh ... I suck at time management.

Pudgy

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Halloween Hangover

Last Saturday, a friend from the badminton club threw a Halloween party at the Royal Suite of the Hilton Lac Leamy.  I didn't dress up but some of the attendees did .. my friend Carter dressed up as some character from the movie "Up".  I've never heard of that movie or the character but he won the "Best Costume" award.  :P

The organizer of the party was a great host.  The food was catered by the hotel and the bar was fully stocked.  I stayed away from the alcohol and stuck to regular OJ.  A couple of my friends drank on empty stomachs and got ridiculously drunk.  The sober ones spent most of the night feeding them water and trying to flush as much of it out of their system before driving them home.  It's always fun listening to drunks talk and serves as a reminder to me why I don't indulge in alcohol even if it's free.

The party was partially a fundraiser for the Ottawa Junior Badminton club. There was a 50/50 raffle and the winner graciously donated his winnings back to the fund.  For his generosity, the host ordered him a half bottle of Mumm's champagne.

It was a fun time but days later, I'm still suffering from the lack of sleep from that night.  That's my version of the Halloween Hangover.  :)  Can't wait for the next party ..

Pudgy

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Peer Pressure

A few weeks ago, I succumbed to peer pressure and opened a Facebook account.  I'm not big on FB but I opened one anyway.  I realize that my friends were posting photos and creating event invitations via FB that I had to open one.

I didn't use my real name for security reasons but I'm sure if you're creative enough, you can find me.

So far, I have less than 25 friends.  I prefer to keep my list small.

Maybe I should create groups to make things more manageable?  Can you create groups in FB?  I'm such a newbie at this.  :)

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Beauty Talk: Serum Testing Results

The hands down winner turned out to be the Biotherm Skin Vivo Serum.  It really was the only one out of the three I tried that made a real difference in my skin.  Serums are supposed to penetrate deep down into the skin.  Skin Vivo did the best job because my skin felt softer and more plump.  No greasy feeling.  It had the unfair advantage of being the first serum to be used on my skin but it did the best job.

I really did not like the greasy feel of the Clarins serum.  It felt like grease was sitting on top of my skin to keep it moist.  Didn't see any real improvements in my skin texture or appearance.

The Dior one was second best.  It felt good on my skin just like the Biotherm one.  Although I didn't see or feel a noticeable difference - it was also the last one I tried so the other two serums did some of the leg work already.  For $100, it's not worth it.

I'm partial to Biotherm but I've also seen it work on my skin.  I actually got compliments on my skin after two uses.  Just remember, after you apply the serum - wait 15 minutes before you put on your moisturizer and sunscreen.  Yes, I said "AND  sunscreen".  Ladies, we all know how damaging the sun is to our skin so always apply sunscreen to prevent sunspots and wrinkles.

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Should I?

It's a Viking GIC306-4B.  Should I?

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