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- We have been at the Lake since Tuesday & it has been wonderful.
We’re here specifically because I booked two photo sessions with families that are vacationing here this week (it’s something I don’t ever advertise that I do, but I do in fact shoot a handful of family sessions at Deep Creek Lake every summer!) It works as a convenient “excuse” to come down to the mountains of Maryland & spend some extra time at my family’s Lake house. Even though it can be so much work to take the time & come down here (especially in the middle of a busy wedding season!) it’s always worth it. I literally work long late nights in order to step away from my business for a few days (no sugar coating it: it’s really hard). Could I bring all of my work with me & edit/answer emails/write blog posts from my laptop? Sure, but it’s so much easier to do all of that at home, in my office, on my big computer. So, I stay up late & get up early & work my tail off at home, so that I can come to the Lake & take some time to rest (while still shooting a few sessions). Am I all caught up with my current workload? Nope. In fact, for the first time in a very long time, I’ve resorted to writing post-it notes & sticking them to my computer in order to keep organized & on track & reminded of what needs done next. (I guess that’s what I get for attempting to start a new business in the middle of my current business’s busy season.) But, as Derrick always teases me: there’s always something else to do.
So, anyways, we’ve been at the Lake most of this week! While the first few days were a little icky with storms rolling in & out, the last few days have been perfect. The kids (and the dog) have clocked hours of swimming – we all officially smell like lake-water. The Lake has finally warmed up enough not to bite like a shark when you step in, so that, paired with the golden sunshine & slight breeze has been simply delightful.
Abby still loves to swim & go jumping off of the dock. She simply refuses to stop swimming the entire time we’re down at the water. But the walk back up to the house is becoming increasingly difficult for our old pup. After swimming for a few hours yesterday, she just stopped halfway up the hill to get back up to the house, completely exhausted. Nothing will stop her from swimming though – if she realizes that we’re going down to the water, she desperately wants to come along. - While we’ve been here at the Lake – Leander has mastered a new trick: he can now climb out of the pack & play (while wearing a sleep sack). I had the feeling that he’d be figuring that little trick out sooner rather than later – he barely fits in the pack & play as it is! But I was really hoping to get thru the summer before having to figure this one out. Oh well. Needless to say: bedtime has presented a fun “game” of “in and out” this week. (I’m just really hoping he doesn’t attempt to climb out of his crib at home – it’s a much further fall to the ground!)
- I bought a new lens & it arrived this week! (Things are about to get a little technical for a few minutes, so if you’re not into camera stuff, feel free to skip this part.) I bought the Canon R6 last fall (upgrading my main camera body from the Canon 5D Mark III) & have absolutely loved it. I bought the adapter to go with it so I could adapt my current lineup of EF lenses to the new RF mount. I’ve never had a problem with adapting my lenses! However, as the 2021 wedding season began, I started to notice that my 35mm lens seemed to be struggling. I use my 35mm a lot on wedding days & it’s the oldest lens I own. It was one of the first lenses I bought when I got my Canon 40D way back in 2008 (in other words, my little 35mm 2.0 is about 13 years old – talk about an amazing investment!)
Anyways, with my 35mm struggling, I decided to look into upgrading it. I wanted to buy something that was in the new RF mount, so that I could take advantage of all the amazing features my new camera has to offer. After doing a bunch of research, I began to realize that maybe replacing my 35mm with another 35mm might not be the best choice.
Enter: the 28-70mm lens. I’ve heard a lot of people talk about this new lens for the RF mount & had simply written it off as being WAY too expensive. However, in my researching 35mm options, I came across so many people making the argument that this 28-70mm, while expensive, takes the place of several lenses & essentially upgrades 3 of my existing lenses to the RF mount at the same time. The argument was compelling & ultimately I decided to get it.
It was technically on backorder when I ordered the lens, but within just a few days, it was back in stock & was on it’s way to me. I was supposed to receive it on Tuesday – then on Sunday morning, I checked the tracking & it had updated to being delivered on Monday. About 10 minutes later, FedEx was knocking on my door & putting my brand new lens in my hands!
I’ve used it all week & I must say: it’s a really fantastic lens. It’s super fast, super sharp, and just all around really wonderful. The only downside to it is: it’s a beast. The lens is massive – easily twice the size of my old 24-70mm lens. I don’t mind the weight of it, but it is a little intimidating when I pull it out at a photo session!
