Super Moon

Last night, my roommate Chev and I went outside to see the super moon. It was supposed to appear something like 14% larger and 30% brighter. I couldn't see a size difference, but it was definitely brighter! Of course, I took my camera along on the trip, and got some really neat pictures. Night photography is very difficult, but I somehow managed to maintain focus in some of them. The picture below is not featured on my photography blog post, but I loved how the aperture rings created a "sun-like" effect on the moon.

My First Sale!

On Wednesday night, I checked my email and noticed I had an email through the "Contact" page on my site. It was from one of my followers, and he was requesting to buy three of my photo prints. The email started with "I've been a fan of your site for a while..." and I immediately recognized the email address—he was also the very first follower of my blog.

After reading the email and digesting everything he said and was requesting, my first instinct was to panic. Having just made an announcement my gift shop's opening the day before, I had absolutely no supplies for making and matting photo prints whatsoever. What had I gotten myself into? Then I started to get really excited, because of the realization that this person, who I have never met before in my life, discovered my site, likes my photography and wants to buy prints. It's truly amazing to know that I have fans out there!

The next day, I woke up early and started phoning around to see what stores close to me had the supplies that I was looking for. I also had to find out where I should my photos printed, and how to put them together. Then, I had to go out and actually get the things, print the pictures, put them all together, and send them on their way. It has been a long and tiring process. I'm so happy to have had the time to complete everything and grateful to have had this experience. I can't wait for the next order!

Here is a picture of the final product:

Blue Jays Game

On May 1st, Emma, Paul and I went to see the Blue Jays vs. Rangers baseball game at the Rogers Center.  We had been debating whether or not we should go, but finally decided to go for it. We bought less expensive tickets the night before, but ended up having a great view of the field. After having gone, I can say that I'm definitely glad we went!

It was a really intense game, which was tied 7-7 at the top of the ninth inning. When the Jays were back at bat at the bottom, they managed a saving home run which sealed their victory. There was a total of three home runs for the Blue Jays that game!

Baseball is one of the few sports I enjoy following and watching. A major plus for me is that it is a no-contact/fighting sport. I'm looking forward to following the Jays this season!

Check out my photography blog for some of my favourite shots from the game!

More Exciting News!

Some hours after I posted my excitement that I had seen one of my images on that website on Facebook, I got an inbox message from a friend telling me she had seen a picture of my dad and his sailboat in the Canadian Tire Outdoor magazine.

I quickly called my dad to tell him and we looked up the magazine online, and sure enough, on page 26, there he was! It's so exciting to know that one of my images is so readily available and being distributed all over Canada.

Here is a screenshot of pages 26 and 27:

Exciting

Excited is the word I would use to describe my current state.

I just completed my very last exam of third year. Now, I'm packing and getting ready to move in to my new house for the summer. I also get to start my internship, which is a photographer position for Bell Canada. I'm really excited to learn more about commercial photography and gain so many incredible experiences through that.

Last night, Paul sent me a message containing a link to a website. That website included one of my iStock pictures of us! I can't tell you how exciting it is knowing how one of my images has been used. It's on a site for eating disorder treatment, and we're on the left-hand column. Right underneath our picture, it says "McCallum Place uses expert clinicians & evidence-based care to treat Eating Disorders and other co-occurring issues..." so that must mean we're supposed to represent the expert clinicians. This is really neat because it's the last place I expected to find this picture!

http://www.eatingdisordertreatmentinformation.com/

Now, I'm off to get my room packed and ready for my mom to show up. We're going to do some city shopping and have a mother-daughter sleepover before I go home for a bit!

Easter Puppies

Even the dogs are ready for easter! Thanks to my mom who helped me capture these too-cute pictures!

Easter Preparations

I can not believe it's April already! This school year has flown by and I have completed all of my classes for third year, and all I have left is two exams. I have been extremely busy up until now with my classes coming to a close. I've also been interviewing for some positions this summer and my friends and I finally picked a house to live in next year.

I am home (at my parent's house) for an early Easter, and will be here until Sunday or Monday. Now that I finally have time to sit back and relax, I realize there's even more to do!

I've been doing a lot of Easter preparation for iStock over the past few weeks, and when I got home, I helped my mom get some Easter cupcakes ready for her website. It has been so much fun! We are also making a lot of do-it-yourself things for the home. I'm so excited because I love making things! I also plan to get the "gift shop" segment of my professional photography blog up and running soon.

Here are some Easter-themed iStock pictures I created: