Back in Washington and shooting like crazy!

I've been back in Washington for almost a week now and I've had many new photo opportunities! Unfortunately, I have zero portraits. Serious bummer. It's not for a total lack of trying; last Monday night I was too sleepy to take pictures of Andrew, and when I saw my friends I ended up photographing the dog instead. OK, so maybe I didn't try that hard. I'll do better this week!

 Hiro is a shiba inu and he just turned a year old this month! He's a saucy 
little thing who loves attention and thinks he's a cat.

He also likes to be sassy toward Jacki, his owner. Hehe.

In positive news, I have successfully (and fairly quickly!) learned to use the new Canon flash that I bought. Right from the start there were so many things that I missed about my sb-800. Canon may have superior body technology, but Nikon does it right with the external flash units. Gah. It took me about forty five minutes or so, but I was able to get the 430exII to act as a slave to the pop-up flash on the 60D. There were a few frustrating and tense moments where I thought the 60D couldn't act as a master to the 430exII (because many Canon models can't do that!) but I read some tutorials and figured it out. If I had remembered to bring the instruction booklet for the camera and not just the flash it would have gone smoother, but oh well!

From an outing to Walmart with James. Would you buy this stuffed
 animal for your child?! It's supposed to be "sleepy" but... wow.

My first subject with the 430exII was Hiro, Jacki's dog. I took some photos of him last fall after my return from Ireland and I certainly had a good time! He's a friendly, cute dog with a very expressive face. A good backup to my lack of human subjects!

 Adorable pups at the farmer's market! The one on the left was three months 
old and was an absolute fluffy puff ball. The one on the right about had 
a heart attack when it saw me. Such a friendly little guy! I want a dog >.>

So far I have very few complaints or issues with the way the Canon functions. Other than button layouts confusing me because of how long I used my Nikon, it's a breeze to use. However I really hate the multiple pre-flashes that come off of the popup flash. I've explored the camera menu fairly in-depth, and off the top of my head I don't recall seeing any sort of... red eye reduction, or other feature that would call for the flash going off multiple tiny times before triggering for real. It is extremely obnoxious! It seems as though it's a focusing aid, but I can't tell. Makes for difficult animal photography though, I can tell you that! More experimenting is necessary.

The cuticle ointment that my sister makes. It was selling like hot cakes at 
the market! People were asking specifically for a cuticle cream and 
after testing it out they were sold. I helped myself to it a few times. It's so fabulous!

In other interesting and fun news, on Saturday I went to the Poulsbo farmer's market with my sister! (her computer is broken right now so she's MIA on her blog, but she'll be back soon!) This was her first time attending a farmer's market, and it was a lot of fun. She's been to a few craft fairs, but the farmer's market is more her style. She was selling her Earthtastic! wares, really fantastic natural, handmade (by her!) lip and body care products. Check out her etsy shop. I love her stuff :D

A wagon wheel outside one of the many restaurants downtown Poulsbo.

Also, a silly sign on the door of what used to be an antique shop.

But anywho, I took some photos of her sellin' it up at her booth; those are for her facebook page though. We were the only people there without a tent over our heads! We received a few comments about it, ha! It looked like rain for the first part of the morning, but the sun broke out as we went into afternoon and it was a successful day overall. I wanted to take some more photos of the wares at other people's booths, but I didn't want to hover too much without buying anything. I was surprised by the extensive variety from little ol' Poulsbo. Keep it going, people! Also, keep bringing your dogs because they are ADORABLE.

A clock that stands downtown Poulsbo, and a model  airplane that's
 in the front window display of a nautical shop called Cargo Hold.

On Wednesday I spent a few hours in downtown Poulsbo, a most beloved place to me. I've only been gone for four months, but for some reason it feels as though it has been years. I frolicked and explored and marveled at the things that have changed and what has stayed the same. I drove up and around the high school, junior high AND elementary schools. I passed through neighborhoods of old friends and sat and stared blankly at the water, then I went and had an obligatory Sluy's donut. I really wish they had a website so I could link to it. So delicious. So amazing.

 I've never noticed how many great brick buildings there are downtown! 
The doors on the right lead to a building that has been abandoned for 
as long as I can remember. How curious.

It was wonderful to wander downtown at my leisure. I spent about two hours just walking back and forth and taking photos. I've spent a lot of time photographing downtown before, so this time I really tried to focus on things that I hadn't personally shot before. It was fun and challenging and made me feel that much closer to the town. I love Poulsbo!

Moar brick!!

This week has been incredibly busy and full of wonderful friends and family. Everyday I have spent in the company of one of my best and most beloved friends or my sister, and each morning and night I have been with my mom. I have also had the fabulous pleasure of finally seeing Unjuy again, the softest kitty in the world! I've seen my niece and nephew, which has been great, and it would appear that Emily is getting used to me again. Hopefully I can make a good impact while I'm here that way she doesn't forget me again D: As soon as Cass gets a working computer again we'll be able to webcam it up and I can keep in touch with the kids more :]

Poulsbo was a lovely place to grow up.

Today sees the start of my storage unit adventures. I expect my next few entries will contain cellphone pictures of the memory-ridden things I'll be finding. Hold onto your pants people, it's going to get nostalgic up in here!

-MJ

P.S. Don't forget that my etsy shop is back up! I've added more prints since last week's entry. They're all from Ireland last year so there's nothing new yet, but I'll be adding new prints soon! :D