"You learn something new every day."

Yesterday, I was very busy hanging out with three of my girl cousins, and I realized that hanging out with one of them isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, considering how we’re not especially close. It wasn’t necessarily about giving her a chance so much as spending more time with her, and it felt good. :)

Today, right after midnight, most of the cousins gathered together for one of their birthdays, and we all came to [another] realization that we really don’t give each other enough credit, so we spent some time giving our appreciation to one another. I do agree that we should go on a trip together. Thinking back on it, our parents were very fortunate in that they went on all these crazy, road-trip adventures together, and we’ve done none of that. Aren’t we supposed to be the crazier generation, or have we become so mellow because of the internet?

Saturday was a very busy day. I just got home, just to give you an idea. I didn’t have any opportunity to be in front of a computer to learn anything on it, but with the way I spent my day, I definitely learned something by the end of it, now Sunday.

Whatever preconceived notions you have of someone, and whatever the circumstances of the past are, there is such a thing as new beginnings. Things will not be the same as they were before, for better or for worse, but it’s never too late to start fresh with people. :) Sometimes all it takes is to give them a chance; you might just be surprised.

Follow Ryan McGinnis’ tutorial here.

After yesterday’s sprinkle, today’s Texas heat combined with the humidity made it especially unbearable to shoot outside, but I wanted to see if I could create the HDR look with photos of the backyard. Mine isn’t spectacular but it must have been because I shot a poor photo in the bright sunshine. Also, I couldn’t find my tripod, and my shaky hand definitely shows in the sky.

Show me you can do better than this. Please.