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Archive for December, 2008

A Real Christmas Vacation…

Wednesday, December 24th, 2008

The family and I were at Disney World for a week. And if that wasn’t enough, we spent an additional 4 days and 3 nights on a Disney Cruise in the Bahamas. At this moment, I don’t want to see anything that remotely resembles a Mickey silhouette for about 6 years.

We traveled with two other families which wasn’t all that bad considering we had three 3-year olds, one 9-year old, and one 1-year. We quickly discovered the key to a successful vacation with kids is to make sure the adults outnumber them, especially in Orlando.

A Disney World vacation is not as relaxing as one might think. We woke up at 7am every morning (daughter woke us up at her regular time) ate a quick breakfast, and headed over to a theme park around 9 or so. Stayed until closing 10-11pm. Crawled into bed. Child wakes at 7am. Repeat for 6 days.

But then something truly amazing came into play. We arrived at the cruise ship and that's when the real vacation kicked in…

"Where dreams really come true..."

Whoever invented that Disney Cruise concept geared specifically for families with kid’s ages 3-12 should be promoted, and then named king of the world. That kids program is definitely worth the price alone. The kids did not want to leave. At one point we had to literally drag them out. I’m not sure what they’re giving them (Candy? Unlimited Apple Juice? Crack?) Whatever it was, I don’t want to know because the wife and I got to dress up and have fancy dinners together. Sleep. Go to bars. Sleep. Go dancing. Sleep.

That kids program is open from 7am to 1am. What does that mean? Well, they feed the kids, entertain them, and even put them to sleep. Genius!

"This apple isn't so bad.."

Don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter and treasure the time we have together. But after a week of Disney World, and not a whole lot of time of alone time with the wife for virtually years, a program like that is just what a parent needs.

Even though I’m extremely tired, a bit nervous that Christmas is nearly tomorrow, and wondering where to buy those last remaining Christmas gifts, I’m feeling pretty good. Why? Because my daughter had a great time, and the wife and I spent more time alone together in 3 days than we have the past 3 and ½ years. And that quiet time on an “adults-only” beach on a private island in the Bahamas while my daughter was so entertained by a kids program that she didn’t want to leave was pretty nice too.
Finally - a real vacation.

Posted in Disney Cruise Line, Disney Wonder, Family Vacation, Walt Disney World | Comments Off

Put Down The Camera And Enjoy The Holidays

Friday, December 19th, 2008

Are you a crazy picture-taker when it comes to the holidays? Do you try to get a shot of every moment taking place during the big day?

Hello, my name is Eric and I am a Christmas Photo Abuser (CPA). Hiiiii Eric.

My tendency every Christmas was to break out the camera and snap as many shots as I could of the ensuing chaos. Presents opening. Children happy. Children playing. Presents breaking. Children sad. Glares from wife. However, recently I have backed down on that requirement and focused on particular shots for the day. This helps me keep my mind where it needs to be – centered on family and friends during this special occasion.

Think ahead of time of the most important shots, and make sure you get them. But don’t sit the whole morning with a camera in your lap. Get down and play. Do funny dances with a Santa hat on. Heck, go 1980’s vcr-camera-retro and set one up in the corner of the room, hit record, and leave it. Those tapes are always good for a laugh in 20 years.

Eric Doggett is an Austin, Texas photographer. He just relaunched his new site which includes tons of images and several behind-the-scenes videos. He also runs BoxOfficeBaby.com, a site where you can order custom birth/party announcement cards and posters – including some unique tech birth announcements. You can reach him at doggett (-at-) doggettstudios.com.

Posted in Photography | Comments Off

Movember Contest :: Win Canadian Club Prize Package

Wednesday, December 10th, 2008

As you might remember, I participated in a charity event known as Movember that was intended to raise awareness for men’s health issues, with a focus on prostate cancer and the Prostate Cancer Foundation for participants in the United States.

To see how much money I raised for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, as well as a few pictures of how my participation progressed, be sure to check out the Movember recap over on my personal blog.

While you are over there, be sure to stop by and enter the Movember contest to win some really cool schwag courtesy of Canadian Club Whisky.

When I started my involvement with Movember, I did not personally know anyone that had been impacted by prostate cancer but still felt it was an extremely worthwhile cause and wanted to do my part to help raise awareness.

In case you do not know, prostate cancer is one of the top 5 health concerns for every man and it is important to catch as early as possible with regular exams, which unfortunately many men don’t do.

Since that time, I have learned that the father of a longtime friend is a survivor of prostate cancer and my friend was quite appreciative of my participation with this good cause.

For all my fellow Mo Bros and Mo Sistas that participated in Movember this year, I would like to also my thanks to you for your support and participation.

Posted in Contests and Giveaways, charity, health, mens issues | Comments Off

A Mom’s Day In Less Than 3 Minutes

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Sometimes we lose sight of all the things the mother of our children, or our own mother when we were youngsters, does on a daily basis. When you stop and think of the things that a mom does every single day (now, that doesn’t mean there aren’t dads doing the same thing) it really boggles the mind.

To put things in a little perspective, I thought that I would share the following with all of you to remind each of you to give a little extra appreciation to your wife for all of her hard work. For those that have seen this already, I apologize but I felt it was worthwhile enough to see again.

Anita Renfroe wrote a light-hearted song describing everything that a mom says in a 24-hour period, set to the “William Tell Overture”. While the original version (or what I believe to be the original version) is quite entertaining, I think the version below is phenomenal.

Patti Harshey, from Northland Church in Florida, recently sang her version of “The Mom Song” and was accompanied by Tim Tracey and Susan Eissele.

The Mom Song from Northland Video on Vimeo.

When you get home tonight, be sure to let your wife know that you appreciate everything that she does on a daily basis. It might not be a bad idea to pick up the phone and just say thanks to your mom as well.

Posted in Marriage, Parenting, Relationships, appreciation | Comments Off

Kids Get Their Parents Sick – No Matter What They Do To Protect Themselves!

Friday, December 5th, 2008

I should have been more suspicious when my daughter ran up to me with open arms and a big smile, yelling “daddy”, and hugged me while I was eating my breakfast. As it was all a preconceived facade to wipe her runny nose all over my new black shirt and run away.

Minutes later she came back handing me her partially eaten waffle saying sweetly “here daddy, you can have this now” and then sneezed on me - and the waffle - and then ran away once again leaving behind a slimy rope trail.
That was a week ago, and I’m just now starting to recover from that vicious cold virus she gave me. She, on the other hand, had recovered the next day.

When I finally came into work sharing my brave battle story of what I now refer to as “The Great Cold of ‘08” a co-worker with a new 5-week old first child confidently told me “Wow - that’s gross. That’s never going to happen to me.”

Amateur.

Then I thought to myself, “That was me 3 1/2 years ago...”
It’s not really his fault; he’s just getting started. There were plenty of things I didn’t know before having a kid. A few examples:

Sometimes the child secretes strange unknown liquids from the most unlikely places that you temporarily think they’re really an alien. But a simple search on Google reassures you that they're normal.
Having an early walker IS NOT a good thing. Because then they want to walk all the time and eat things on the floor like bugs, cigarette butts, lint, rocks, Jolly Ranchers in need of a haircut, etc.
Never say the word “Poop” – EVER. Because if you do, it becomes a preschooler’s choice word for everything: “Poop Car”, “Poop Building”, “Poop Baby”, “Poop Shirt”, “Poop Bacon” (blasphemy!)…
The Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) is the best invention - EVER. Well, second best – KFC is the first best invention. Don’t argue with me because you’ll be wrong. And “no” that number isn’t for calling after eating their new non-trans fat fried chicken.
You get sick just by being in the same room as your kid. In fact, you could be outside looking through a 6-inch aquarium thick, space shuttle "approved” glass and still get sick. Just being related is adequate enough.

That guy has a lot to learn…

Posted in Colds, Sick Child, Sick Kids | Comments Off

5 Tips For Great Holiday Shots

Friday, December 5th, 2008

Christmas is almost here, and with it comes some excellent opportunities for taking pictures. If you are like me and spend a fair amount of time setting up a tree, lights, and decorations, take some time to capture that before Christmas morning. Here are some tips to get the most out of your decoration pictures:

1. Turn Off All The Room Lights: This will allow the whole room to be lit only by your decorations. If the lighting is still dark, you can always add lights back in one by one (starting with a table lamp or two, vs. ceiling lights).

2. Use Long Shutter Speeds: To get the really great shots of your lights, use long exposures. Start by turning your camera mode to Shutter Priority (usually marked by Tv). Set your ISO to 100. Then try setting the shutter to 4 or 5 seconds or longer. This will allow the image to ’soak in’ your tree/decoration lights. The pictures in this series were exposed for 15 seconds at f/6.3, with an ISO of 100.

3. Use a Tripod: This will be critical for those long exposure shots, because you can’t hand-hold a camera during a several-second exposure. If you don’t have a tripod, try placing the camera on a table or several books. If you have a remote release (a device which attaches to the camera and allows you to take the picture without touching the actual camera), use that. If your camera supports a ‘mirror lockup’ feature, you can also try that. All of these techniques will help ensure the sharpest image possible.

4. Experiment With White Balance: If your camera allows you to change the white balance, try different settings like Tungsten, Shade, Cloudy, etc. These will help enhance the warm colors in your image, or give your image a cool blue tint which works great for certain situations.

5. Make Adjustments: If your images are coming out too dark, lower the shutter speed even more (over 10 seconds). If the images are too bright, raise the shutter speed. Some cameras will have blinking dots on the display when parts of the image are ‘blown out’ (i.e. too bright). Try to keep those areas to a minimum.

We haven’t actually set up a tree yet, so you’ll have to settle for these Christmas Village pieces. I hope you take advantage of the season to take some great shots! To close this out, here’s an image of our Christmas card for 2008. You can catch a larger version on the blog.

Eric Doggett is a Austin, Texas photographer. He just relaunched his new site which includes tons of images and several behind-the-scenes videos. He also runs BoxOfficeBaby.com, a site where you can order custom birth/party announcement cards and posters – including some unique tech birth announcements. You can reach him at doggett (-at-) doggettstudios.com.