Vanguard XCENIOR 62T Bag!

My Office On Wheels

I am so excited! I needed a large bag for traveling that would hold ALL of my gear. It is a home base of sorts for all the gear that has been tucked into every nook and cranny in my home. Where did I put that lens cap? Where are all my SD cards? Oh look! Here is my white balance card I tossed on the floor after I took a shot....it goes on and on! It was time to get a bag that could do it all.

So, now I am introducing my new XCENIOR 62T bag! This is a very large bag that can double as a normal suitcase. All of the thick padded dividers are removable. My goal is to use it as both a suitcase and camera bag for quick trips that require fewer lenses and bodies,  and then pack it out with all of my gear for longer trips. 

Vanguard is the boss when it comes to tripods, so it is no surprise that they integrated a nifty tripod holder that is neatly tucked away on the lower front of the case: 

 This case is super padded and waterproof.

 The bottom has a scuff resistant protector! I can't tell you how many camera bags I have trashed because the bottom was unprotected. Small details like this mean a lot to me.

 ID Pocket

 Here I added my Vanguard VEO tripod to the handy holder. Slick!

Even the toggles are cool. If you have ever fumbled with zippers in the dark, you will know the benefit of these handy things!

 Built-In Card Holders

 This bag is full of hidden storage pockets. Again, this bag is my office on wheels.

 The laptop compartment is HUGE and well padded.

Here is a view of the case before I stuffed it full of all my Sony goodness:

 The padded EHD bag is pretty amazing too!

 ...and here is ALL of my gear packed away neatly. Amazing! It is also a huge relief to have a place for everything. :)

Behind the Scenes of 'Roaring Prairie'

I wanted to share a few behind the scenes images from the creation of my image, Roaring Prairie. The late afternoon was frigid and the wind was intense. Gusts of up to 30 miles an hour whipped through our hair, and we reluctantly found the winter coats again. It was earlier in the day than I had hoped for, but the temperature was going to continue to drop and rain was threatening, so we headed out.

My son, Tristan (15) manned the Sony a6000 and Zeiss 35mm lens. It was too windy for video, so I told him just to take images as I worked. Once we got going, I asked him to throw a winter coat up to Anni (my daugher and model) so that she could warm up between shots. She was barefoot on the rocks and said that the misty rain was turning to ice under her feet. Poor girl. Tristan then threw her some flip flops between shots. We only stayed out there about 15 minutes as we were all chilly. I used my new Vanguard VEO tripod so that I could bracket exposures for the final image.

This image encapsulates all that I feel about the prairie most of the year...cold, windy, and unforgiving. We found a small nest of birds tucked into the boulders. The mother seemed unphased by our presence. Perhaps, she knew we were too cold to care that they were there!

This is the storyboard of how the image came togther. I had initially intended it to be color, but I was in love with the simplicity of the black and white, so I went with that. The image contains two exposures, one for the sky and one for my subject. The color version is straight out of Lightroom using the new HDR merge feature. I may continue to edit this one in color and see where it takes me. 

I wanted to send a big shout out of thanks to my kids! It was cold and you were troopers! I also want to thank Sony and Vanguard USA for making products that make my visions come to life. :) 

Lensbaby Love Blog Circle: March

We played with the Sweet 35 lens today and a crystal candle holder. We used the tripod and chose very slow shutter speeds. It was a lot of fun!

I processed in my usual warm tones and then I had fun making this cooler, bluer version. :) 

Please visit the next blog in our circle by visiting  gorgeous blog of Victoria Herder Bell!

Making Guacamole with my Girl {Pieces of Life Project}

...and because I am me, I had to do a digital painting. :D

Here is a pull back too! My daughter took the final shot above and I showed her how to use a simple curves adjustment to edit and sync all the files. :) 

Felicia Chang | Alice Che | Megan Cieloha | Kristin Dokoza | Stacey Haslem | Karen Jacot | Caroline Jensen | Kristin Ingalls | Kirsty Larmour | Lauren Mitchell | Meredith Novario | Kara Orwig | Kristen Ryan | Jessica Thomason | Julia Tulley |Ginger Unzueta | Sarah Vaughn | Elle Walker | Sarah Wilkerson | Emma Wood