Photography Lessons

I've been wanting to take a photography class for quite a while.  I love looking at pictures on other blogs and websites.  The pictures are in focus and the colors are great.  On the flip side, most of my pictures end up looking like this:

Brad's Homecoming.
Unfortunately, I was the only one with a camera.

Well, most of my pictures aren't as bad as the one above but they could definitely be better.

A few weeks ago I registered to take an introduction to photography class through our school district's community learning program.  The class description states, "This class will cover basic techniques that will help take your photography to the next level.  Learn composition, lighting, exposure, camera controls, image editing, and more."

Lighting and exposure?  Sounds just like what I need.


Nate has a nice SLR camera he bought when we were in high school and so it uses film.  Last night he walked me through the basics on the camera so I would  at least look like I knew what I was doing when I got to class tonight.

"To focus on an object, you turn this," he said, turning a ring on the lense.

"If you want to make the flash pop up, you click this button," again demonstrating.

Nate also explained the mechanics of how the camera works.  "You see," he said as he removed the lens so I could look into the inner workings of the camera, "there is a mirror behind the lens.  The mirror reflects the image through a prism and then up into the view finder for you to see.

"Now, when you take a picture, the mirror lifts up and if there were film in the camera, it would be exposed, thus capturing the image."  He demonstrated by clicking the release.

I looked at him in shock.

"You mean there's no film in the camera?" I said, worry evident in my voice.

He laughed nervously.  "No."

"But I've been taking pictures with it!"

That's right, folks.  I've been taking pictures of decorated cakes, art projects, and delicious meals all with a camera that did not have film.  Nate bought me film a few months ago so I could start tinkering with the camera.  I assumed he loaded the film in for me.  Oops.

I need one more basic technique to be covered in this class: how to recognize when a camera does or does not have film.

Differences

Today the difference between men and women was reaffirmed to me.  To be honest, this difference is reaffirmed to me on a daily basis, but this situation takes the prize for the week.  (But Dad's mammogram story takes the cake...however, that is a different story for a different time.)

Last week I worked offsite reviewing year-end calculations for my company.  I spent three days, January  12 - 14, at one location with the same group of people.  I've been to this site several times and I know the people fairly well.

One of the individuals who works at this office is in his 50s and single.  If you don't know, to be a 50 year-old-man and single in the LDS culture is a little unheard of, especially if you've always been a bachelor.

Well, the bachelor got engaged on January 7.

DIFFERENCE #1:  He decided it would be cool to see how long it would take the rumor mill to spread the word...so he didn't tell anyone at work.

Hello.  I got engaged at work.  Literally.  But you can sure as heck bet that would have been the first thing I said to anyone the next day had I not gotten engaged there the night before!  I have yet to meet any girl who isn't bursting at the seams to shout from the rooftops that she is engaged.

So, said bachelor goes to work all week and doesn't tell anyone.  Well, let me amend that statement.  On Wednesday he told our boss.  But when you swear someone to secrecy, it doesn't count.  (It also doesn't help the rumor mill get going...)

On Thursday, some of his friends or relations talked with a fellow co-worker, as they all happen to be in the MoTab and were at rehearsal.  And thus the beans were spilled.

On Friday I finished up my last day at the site.  Apparently word had gotten around about the engagement.

DIFFERENCE #2:  I didn't find out.

Now, if a woman had gotten engaged, you can bet her girlfriends would have taken it upon themselves to make sure everyone was aware.

At noon a group of us went to Subway to grab lunch.  I was the only woman in the group. (When you are an accountant in Utah, you start to get used to this lopsided ratio.)  The bachelor had a lunch appointment and did not join us.

DIFFERENCE #3:  No one mentioned the engagement.

I don't know about you, but whenever a friend of mine gets engaged, that is going to come up at some point during the lunch conversation whether or not the friend is present!  It's not gossip, it is sharing information.

I did not find out until today, January 17, when my boss, (who is a woman) asked me what everyone's response was at the other site to news of the engagement.

"What?  He's engaged?" I said.  I guess that was answer enough about the response to his engagement!

Party Animals

New Year's Eve, Rohbock style:

6:00 PM Eat Pizza.

Playing Apples to Apples

7:00 PM Play games, take pictures.   

8:30 PM Watch a movie.

10:30 PM Send the pregnant sister and her husband home.

10:35 PM Send the exhausted husband to bed since he is sleeping on the couch but insisting "I'm awake."

10:40 PM Watch an episode of the Cosby show with 12-year-old sister.

11:05 PM Watch another episode of the Cosby show with same sister.

11:35 PM Wake up to the music of the Cosby show DVD menu.  Set alarm on cell phone for 10 minutes.  Take a nap.

11:45 PM Turn off the alarm.  Get sister ready for bed.

11:59 PM Find countdown online.  Count down the seconds - 10, 9, 8...

12:00 AM Shout "Happy New Year."  Blow kazoos.  Take pictures.  

12:01 AM Put same sister to bed.

12:05 AM Go to sleep.

Happy New Year!

Sarah looks a little frightened of 2011

Growing Up is Hard to Do

We started taking our nursery kids to Primary singing time two weeks ago.  The primary leaders are hoping to acclimate our little kids to primary before next week when the leave nursery and venture into Sunbeams.  It reminds me of Wendy when she explained to Peter Pan, “I have to grow up tomorrow.”  But our little babies don’t understand what is going on.

The first week we took them to primary they were overwhelmed.  One little boy sat in my lap the entire time and whenever the pianist began playing, he covered his ears to block out the noise.  Another little boy sat in Nate’s lap and after five minutes turned to Nate and said, “I want to go back to my class.”  After 10 minutes of primary the kids had about as much as they could handle so we told them it was time to leave. They literally ran down the hall back to the comfort and safety of nursery.

Last Sunday we tried again.  We had eleven - yes, ELEVEN - kids and only 3 adults.  We miraculously got them in a line in the nursery room and started walking them down the hall.  Obviously, the line did not last long.  When we got to primary they sat down in the back two rows of the room and behaved remarkably well.  I think their senses were overloaded and so they sat in stunned silence.

After about 2 minutes they began wiggling and some of the kids became weepy.  At one point I had three 3-year-olds in my lap at once.  That is something I’ve never accomplished before and quite honestly didn’t think was possible.  All I can say is 3-year-olds are persistent.

We lasted maybe ten minutes before none of the 11 bodies were sitting in their chairs any more.  The singing was completely lost on them- if they’re not singing “Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam,” “Once there was a Snowman,” “I love to see the Temple,” or “The Wise Man and the Foolish Man” they don’t respond at all.  So we whispered to them that it was time to go back to nursery.  Those were the magic words.  The kids were so excited to leave.  One of the little girls left us when we got into primary to sit with her mom, so I went to get her.  When I turned around, the other 10 kids were gone.  I stepped out into the hall and they’d already made it back to nursery after a mad dash down the hall, same as last week.

Poor kids.  They don’t know what’s in for them next month.  And we’ll miss them once they “grow up” and graduate from nursery.  Sometimes I wish there was a never-never land.

Twins

Rachel and Katie, 1988

My sister and I go to the same doctor.  I had an appointment a few days ago, and the nurses started talking about us behind the check-in desk.  I guess they must think it is sound-proof back there but since the desk is not an entirely separate room with a door and Plexiglas divider, I heard every word.  And this is what they were saying:

"That is Katherine.  Her sister Rachel comes here too.  They look exactly alike."

This is not the first time Rachel and I have heard we look exactly alike.

First time:  2003 YW basketball.  I was 18 and Rachel was 14 almost 15.  I had four fouls and so I was beginning to play a little more cautiously so I wouldn't foul out.  She and I were both on the court and the other team took possession of the ball and ran it down the court to their basket.  Just as the girl was making a lay-up, Rachel jumped in and blocked the ball by hitting the girl's arm.  A clear foul.  She ran out of the way just as I ran up to grab the rebound.  The ref's whistle blew.  "FOUL on 24!"  I looked down.  I was 24!  But I'd been no where near the shooter at the time of the foul.  My entire ward was shouting to the ref that she had the wrong sister, but she refused to relent.  I was fouled out of the game on my sister's foul.  Not a happy day.

Not 2003.  2008 at BYU.  Matching Socks!

Second time:  2003 YW basketball (again). The week after above-said basketball game.  Rachel and I intentionally wore our hair differently and wore different colored shorts so the refs would not make the same mistake again.  During one of the time-outs a girl from the other team came up to me and said, "Are you two twins?"  Later in the game Rachel was fouled and so she lined up to take foul shot.  The ref stopped her before she could - "Wasn't it her?" she said, pointing to me.  Irritated, Rachel said, "NO!" and gestured to her shorts to show that we were not even dressed the same.

Third time:  2008 EY.  Shortly after Rachel was married, I brought in this picture to put on my desk at work:

A coworker (who, I will admit, did not know me well) saw the picture and asked me how long I'd been married.  

Please look at the picture again, and note that Rachel and I have our faces right next to each other and she is most definitely the one in the white dress.

Fourth time:  2010 Dr.'s Office.  I had an appointment and the nurse came out to call me back from the waiting room so she could check my vitals.

Nurse:"You look so much better!"  Whoa.  I'm not usually greeted this way.
Me: "Um, what do you mean?"
Nurse:  "Well, you were so sick last week, you looked pretty bad."
Me:  "I wasn't sick last week."
Nurse:  "Yes you were.  Didn't you come in?"

Stirling Family Reunion, 2010

Then it dawned on me.  Rachel had been very sick the week before with the flu or something miserable like that.

Me:  "Oh, that was my sister!"
Nurse:  "Whoa.  You two look so much alike!"

I always thought a twin sister would be cool and I can't think of anyone I'd rather be twins with than Rachel.  The thing is, our family cannot see the "remarkable" resemblance at all.  Sure, we're both tall and have dark hair but other than that, we don't think we look too much alike.  It does provide us with a lot of amusement, though, when we're mistaken for each other.  I'm sure we'll both continue to collect stories!

Driving in the Snow

I do not like driving in the snow.  I blame it on several scary experiences that happened one Thanksgiving about 14 years ago in Vermont and New Hampshire.  (Read: spinning off the road into a mountain, driving through a white out, and sliding down my grandparent's steep driveway while begging dad to let us walk up the hill to the house - "You can't!  I need your weight in the back of the car!")

View from our Apartment

Yesterday we had our first big snowfall of the season.  I typically enjoy the first snow, especially when I'm in the house with a fire going, a good book to read, and a view of the accumulating snow in the yard.  I had all of these when the snow started yesterday; the only problem was the house was not mine.  It was my parents'.

Mom offered to let me spend the night.  But I thought to myself, "The snow isn't too terrible.  It would be silly to stay here when my husband is at home."

So I loaded up the car (I always seem to bring a week's worth of "just-in-case" things to my parents' such as slippers, books, crocheting, computer, mail, etc.) and headed home.

The first few miles were clear enough.  But once I reached downtown, I couldn't see the freeway underneath the snow.  At one point the car in front of me switched lanes, completely covering my windshield with slush, making it impossible to see out the window.  Every time I switched lanes (which was not frequent), I lost traction with the road.

Luckily, most everyone was driving cautiously at about 40 miles per hour.  I say most everyone because there were a few complete idiots who decided to zoom past the rest of us while driving at freeway speeds.

I made it home safely but shaken.  Nate's first response was "She lives!" and a hug as I walked through the front door.  He was then shocked when I started bawling. He tried to calm me down and listened to my tirade against all things cold and wet.  When I told him about the "complete idiots" who were speeding down the road he said, "Oh.  I was one of those."

Apparently our driving styles differ.

Halloween

How do you celebrate Halloween?

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.  I guess because it is the launching of the holiday season.  The colors are fun, the decorations are cute, and of course the candy and desserts are yummy.

In Utah, Halloween is celebrated on October 31.  Except for years when the 31st falls on a Sunday.  Then we celebrate Halloween on the 30th.  Or we celebrate it both days, to make the joy last longer.  Last year I was excited to hand out candy to all the little trick-or-treaters in my new neighborhood.  I went to the store and bought candy, decorated the front door, and sat back waiting for the treaters to come.  Not a single knock at the door.  Well, it wasn't too surprising since there weren't very many kids in our apartment complex.

This year we are in a new complex and there are a lot of children.  I know.  I've seen them.  So I went to the store and dutifully bought candy to hand out.  But I was perplexed; what day would the trick-or-treaters come?  I knew that in my parents' neighborhood, where the Mormon population is something like 99.99%, trick-or-treating was occurring Saturday night.  But the LDS numbers aren't nearly that high where I live.  I figured we'd probably have trick-or-treaters on Saturday and Sunday night.  So I sat with my bowl full of candy and waited.

While I was waiting, I decided to watch a movie.  Since it was Halloween, the thought entered my mind that I should watch a scary movie.  I quickly nixed that idea.  I hate being scared.  Absolutely hate it.  One year when I was still in school, my roommates and I decided we should watch a scary movie on Halloween.  So we gathered around the TV and watched Signs, a movie I'd seen once before and, although everyone says it is a tame movie, it still scared me.  That Halloween, I intentionally fell asleep during the movie so I wouldn't have to watch those creepy alien fingers reach under the door.

But I digress.  Saturday night, while waiting for trick-or-treaters, I watched a fluffy chick flick.  While it wasn't my favorite movie ever, I didn't have bad dreams.

On the actual Halloween night, Nate was home.  Like me, he wanted to watch a movie while we waited for trick-or-treaters.  Unlike me, he didn't want to stream the movie Babies from NetFlix.  No.  He wanted to watch a scary movie.  He wanted to watch The Sixth Sense.

Apparently, I'm one of the few human beings whose never seen this "classic" as he calls it.  "Katie, it's not that bad!  It's on the same line as Signs and The Others."  Both movies freaked me out when I watched them.  (He made me watch The Others last Halloween.)  I hemmed and hawed for a while, trying to distract him.  Couldn't we just read books instead?  Or write letters?  Or paint our toenails?

Alas, he gave me the most wounded look ever.  "It has never given me nightmares, Katie."  Puppy dog eyes.  I gave in.

I will admit, the movie didn't scare me too badly.  Probably because Nate warned me every time we were about to see a creepy ghost.  And the twist was pretty cool.

But it gave me nightmares.

I dreamed we were putting dead people in walls behind pictures.  Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" anyone?  Ick.  I woke up very relieved this morning just to be awake.  I've reached my scary movie quota for the year.  Actually, for my entire life, but I think next Halloween I'll have to watch another scary movie with Nate.  I'm already bracing myself for it.

And perhaps next year we'll have trick-or-treaters.  Two days of Halloween this year and not a single knock at the door.  I'll have to send the candy to school with Nate so it will get eaten.  After all, I just found some of last year's candy while I was making dinner tonight.