So Long Summer

Summer is just too hot here in Florida and vacation plans are usually on hold until it's winter unless we're going to the mountains out of state. David and Missy's usual summer activities are going to the mall, swimming, watching a movie, going to Chuck E. Cheese and just playing video games. A few days before the school started, Aug. 14 to be exact, we brought them to Wannado City in Sawgrass Mall. They've been there a few times and the place even had become a regular school field trip venue but we as a family hadn't been there for quite a long time. It's a nice place for kids their age as they explore grown-up jobs but in a perspective suitable for their young minds. They have become doctors, firefighters, police, pilots, etc. in the past and now they tried to be dentists, archaeologists, paleontologists, candy makers, jewelry makers, ramp model (for Missy anyway) among others. They didn't want to be actors and just opted to watch a show but Missy was chosen to be a part of a circus act. It was a long day but we did enjoy the time as a family in Wannado City.

Missy on the ramp video.

New Nikon D90 DSLR with 720p HD Movie Mode

I don't really want to do product announcements but I just can't help not doing it with this first and revolutionary new DSLR from Nikon. It was just announced today so it's not really available yet but stores like B&H and Calumet Photographic are accepting pre-orders. I'm sure Adorama will have it on their website pretty soon. These three stores anyway are to me the only credible photographic stores where you can buy online. I don't bother to order from any other stores as most of them are scammers anyway and not worth the hassle.

If I haven't received my new Nikon D300 which I just got 2 weeks ago, this new D90 camera is pretty tempting to buy. Anyway, it would be a nice back-up, as well as a very suitable travel camera. Even though it's a prosumer camera, most of it's advanced features were derived from the Nikon D300, D700 and even the D3. What is very exciting is not just this new option of being able to capture HD movies but the versatility of using different lenses to make the videos, from fast f2.8 wide angle lenses to telephoto lenses. Even a 50mm f1.8 or f1.4 or 85mm f1.8 would make some very interesting videos.

Click HERE for the news:

Click HERE for the sample videos made from the camera.

It's very likely that newer DSLRs will soon have this new option available. I'm sure Canon is quite interested but sorry to say this is going to be Nikon's gem for now and sales will skyrocket leaving Canon biting the dust, for now any way until they come up with a new innovation. Canon was first to introduce a full frame DSLR and the war continues to go on.

Missy and Her New Appliance

I know, I know it's not pretty but for posterity, I just had to do it...take a photo of Missy's "brace". It's actually called a rapid palate expander. Missy needed some correction to her overbite and since a month ago we've been going to her dentist to have it fitted, some of her teeth 'banded' to give way to this device. Today, it was put into place and she needs to wear it for a month. There will be daily adjustments done by us to the device with the use of a special wrench until it gets replaced with just a retainer which we still don't know how long she will be wearing. She was fine with it but obviously, she's still adjusting to it. Hopefully in a few more days, she won't even think about it.

She has a lot of "events" happening in her mouth right now, she just lost two baby teeth in the lower jaw recently and her two big front teeth are moving in the same direction. I don't think it will even last two weeks and soon she'll be missing them. I told her I can even pull it out right now but she's not ready yet. Frankly she's not too keen about it but such are the travails of kids her age. At least she knows she's getting something from the tooth fairy ;)

A Day at the Swimming Pool

Once again, our friends from the Cayman Islands, the Parchments were visiting and their daughter 11 yr. old Hannah stayed with us over the weekend. She just attended a swimming competition in Orlando a few days ago. Richard and Ellen said that although she never won first place in any of the heats, she placed from 2nd to 4th in most of them. She was competing with 14 yrs. old kids, we've learned. We took the time to go swimming with her so she can help the two kids refine their swimming skills. We first went to the clubhouse but the pool was newly treated with chlorine so we went to the local park where they had a bigger pool. Swimming had become a regular summer time activity for us and the kids and this time I just brought my camera to make some pictures. I had to do it before taking a plunge and then promptly hiding it away and thus be able to enjoy the fun time with everybody else.

After the swim, we took the time to take more photos and even Missy was in the rotation of being the photographer. Hannah took our family picture. I just had to do some minor adjustments with the cropping to make it more pleasant. One of the advantages of shooting digital. Sweet!