Bloolights Special

The boys played out last night for the first time in almost a year. Lots of people turned out for it and a nice evening was had by all. It was at the St. Charles Coffee House which has a fun atmosphere. Hopefully we will be invited back in the future.

I got to hang out with some good friends and afterwards one of Mike's old friends took us out for drinks and reflections.
A group of Mike's recently graduated seniors came out with posters they had made celebrating him. There was also a table of his former students from over 7 years ago. I think that says a lot about him as a teacher. He really makes such an impact on his kids. They both adore and respect him which comes through in many ways. It's always weird for me to meet his students for the first time. They usually have some preconceived idea of me that he conveys in stories he tells or embellishes. It's kind of like being the wife of a rock star at times with the adoration that he receives.

Kai's girlfriend stood him up with a family emergency so I got to hang with him as well. It's nice to know that he isn't too cool to hang out with us on a Friday night yet. He starts high school next year and has a very sweet new girlfriend. She has even friended us on Facebook which I hope means they will last at least through the summer. He actually took one of my favorite shots from the night. The black and white one, although it's not in focus you can see Mike's eyes clearly and almost the sweat on his brow. Kai really has such a good eye for composition.

They sold a few CD's which Mike had slaved over all week. It's of their original songs which they have recorded in our basement. It's named after his grandmother who was not the most supportive of people to put it mildly. But in her death she left them the money which payed for all of his equipment and his brother's drum set. I'm sure she is rolling over in her grave knowing what her tightly guarded dollars went towards.

You can hear a few of their originals on the bloolights website, not updated in quite a while mind you.

My True Love Part 3

The great thing about my Mike is that even though he is a science nerd he is also incredibly creative too. He plays guitar and has a band with his twin brother on drums and his best friend since he was 4 on vocals and bass. They really are quite good and I'm not just saying that since I'm his wife. You can hear some of their originals on the website he's working on here. He has no aspirations to be a rock star but he just really loves playing music with his buddies and sharing it with people.

When I first met him he was a closet guitar player and was apprehensive to play in public. When Chris moved back into town two years ago they started playing together regularly and with Chris as his partner he started playing at a coffee shop and then a wine bar as a regular duo. Mike started writing songs and he and Chris were able to convince his brother who is a very good drummer to join the team. I'm so proud of what they've accomplished and how far they've come together. They have a local booking agent now that will hopefully be able to get them into some new venues. And Mike has put together a CD with some of the originals. He spent last Friday at his Mom's house cutting out the inserts and getting them all together to sell at the Big Top Tent Sale. Betty called it his little craft project which I thought was hilarious. They sold a few to strangers and more to friends and family.

The great thing about Mike's music passion is that he totally understands my passion for knitting. He has never given me trouble for buying yarn or the time I devote to my hobby. The fact that we both have outside passions and interests keeps our relationship fresh and interesting. Financially our hobbies now pay for themselves with our different ventures which is also a good thing.

He is also a very good writer and has dabbled in writing science fiction. He has a book that he has started about 3 times and every summer he devotes time to it. I tease him that he will never finish it but even if he never does I still respect him for trying. He has ADD and can rarely spend more than 15 minutes at a time focused on anything other than his computer games. The fact that he is able to write and be as accomplished as a musician really is quite remarkable.

Big Top Tent Sale!

If any of you are in the St. Louis/St. Charles area this weekend there is a fun event I'd love to invite you too. The Big Top Tent Sale is hosted each year by a good friend's Mom who owns the treasure shop Country Korner in O'Fallon, MO. There is a big rummage sale outside, sales in the shop, and my husband's band The Bloolights always play to keep the crowds coming in all day long.















I'm planning on bringing some junk out to sell and there's always lots of good stuff to bring home too. It's on Saturday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is a good family friendly way to see the guys play, since normally they are in smokey bars late at night.

Mike has been working on a CD that they will be selling as well. It will have their originals that have been recorded in my basement. If you would like to get a taste of their music he has some songs on the new website, thebloolights.com. I'd love to see you there!

Exploring Shutter Speeds

I recently discovered the most amazing website for new digital camera users called Digital Photography School. Since buying my new Canon PowerShot A650 IS digital camera over 6 months ago I have been hesitant with it and not sure of how to go about learning all of its capabilities. I've read other sites that talk about different setting and things like shutter speed and exposure but they were way over my head. This site comes at from a newbie perspective and gives you exactly what you need to know without overwhelming you with terms that will just confuse you. Then if you want to read further they give additional lessons on important topics.

One of the first things I read was 4 Reasons Not to Write off Shooting in Automatic which is the only thing I've ever read that reassured me that it was ok to use the auto setting on my camera. So many sites make you feel like an idiot if you just use auto mode but this article actually encourages new digital users to keep it on auto for the first 3-6 months while you get a feel for your camera and learn about framing and develop your eye.

This weekend I took my camera to my husband's bar band show, the Bloolights, at a great venue near our house called M.T. Rockers. It is kind of a dive bar but the lighting is good, the stage is large and has interesting backgrounds, and there is plenty of room to move around and get different angles. I think the other patrons started thinking I was the crazy girl with the camera but I'm all right with that. I explored shutter speed since the guys were in motion a lot of the time and some different settings. If you want to see more from the night they are in the Bloolights set on flickr. The top shot was done in good old auto mode with flash on and is a perfectly fine shot that we could use on their website. It shows Mike on guitar and his brother on drums pretty clearly.

This shot was done in black and white mode with a higher shutter speed which gives it a crisper image that I like. The higher the shutter speed the more it freezes the image is what I learned in this article called Moving towards Manual Settings: Understanding Shutter Speed.

This final image was done with a much lower shutter speed in a vibrant color mode that I like. The lower the shutter speed the longer the image is exposed so it has more time to pick up movement. It gives it a blurred effect which can be cool. Mike says it looks like he lost his arm but I think it's interesting since it shows the movement.

This weekend I plan on exploring Aperture and depth of field as discussed in this lesson. I'm hoping to learn how to do those artsy shots that are always on the front page of etsy with the interesting blurred focus. I'll share anything I learn next week.

The Bloolights

I thought I would post a few pictures today of my Valentine doing what he loves to do most. He and some friends have a blues band called the Bloolights and they play some local shows at bars and he and Chris the lead singer/guitar player do some acoustic shows at a wine bar in O'Fallon. Last night they played a low key gig down on main street at R.T. Weilers. It was a nice venue although the stage was pretty tight and there wasn't the best sound they've ever had. We're hoping they can do a few shows there a year in the future. Mike is the lead guitarist in the black shirt. His twin brother Mark is on the drums. Another friend Keith helps out on guitar so that Chris can play Bass when they need him too. I took a bunch of pictures but most of them are total crap.

Mike is a very patient and good huband and as he says we are exactly what the other deserves. You have to find someone whose quirks match up nicely with your own and I think we found our match in each other. We're very lucky that we both have passions in our lives that keep us inspired.