Birthday Party in San Antonio

I've been planning a couple of different road trips to test my new camera but we needed a family birthday party in San Antonio first. . . priorities, don'cha know. Allison's birthday was Friday (20) and Paul's was Sunday (22) so we split the difference and Ellen and Stan hosted the party on Saturday. Of course, I took the opportunity to work with that new Canon I was telling you about. I'm a bit surprised that I'm struggling with it. I can only assume I'll be happier with it as I get more experience using it.

This is Andrew, with Bella on his lap. His birthday (22) will be on us in June so maybe I'll have figured all this out by then. I've been concentrating on focus and depth of field problems for a couple weeks and, though I like this image, I just realized that on Saturday I had put my focus/DoF problems on hold and was just shooting. This image was in natural light with no flash and Bella was jumping around enough that she's a bit blurred.

This is Allison - Happy Birthday, kiddo! She walked in with a big floppy straw hat and some new Foster Grants and I thought I'm just that far from loosing another fine model. My sisters, my daughter, my nieces... they keep growing up and getting on with their own lives. Maybe I ought to just worry about my road trips and stick to landscapes.

Well, Paul could have been a part of all this, but he's graduating from TCU in a couple of weeks and I guess he's got his priorities too. No Paul, so this is Stephen on arrival in the kitchen. The Margaritas are in the freezer behind you. Take off your "sunnies" (as David would say), and stay awhile.

Allison talking to Karen with Daniel in the background talking to an unidentified... wait! Hold the presses! I checked the large  number of shots that didn't make the grade (my fault, not the subjects) and deduced that Daniel's talking to his cousin Joey... or his uncle David. Both wore black tee shirts, a problem I hadn't foreseen.

Here's Daniel again, looking deep in thought... probably trying to work out a question for me about aerospace engineering. He's spent a lot of time over the years with these questions, ever since he started talking, I think. I don't know if he's trying to stump me or just asks about things that interest him that he figures I ought to be able to answer. Today's question was about gyrocopters and, heavens to Murgatroyd, I was actually able to come up with a satisfactory answer.

I like these last two images as well as any I took Saturday... or as well as any I took that turned out like I expected. I like the afternoon sun in this part of the house... warm light, even if it is a bit tricky to shoot here. These two are Michael and Ellen, my San Antonio siblings. I wonder what they're plotting...

This is Stan, with Andrew in the background watching Golden State take care of the New Orleans - handily. Note the plate of barbeque Stan's protecting there. It really was excellent and I couldn't help going back for more, sneaking a mouthful on each trip through the kitchen and, in the end, taking some home with me as well. Stan picked up the barbeque from a restaurant just up the road that they just recently tried for the first time. He says the owner's from New York... reminding me of the disdain the Pace Picante Sauce ad used to heap on Salza made in New York. Well, this guy may be from New York, but he got it right.