This weekend was very unreal! Getting to go to the Big Apple, and then on top of that, going to the Superbowl! Amazing seats, and an amazing experience this weekend.

What are a few things I learned this weekend about photography? Don’t live life through pictures, live it through memories. This was mentioned by one of the friends that was with us. He said there were vacations where every few steps, he would take a picture. Afterward, that’s the only thing he had to look back on. Believe me, visiting Times Square…there’s soooo much to look at and you can easily take pictures continuously easily missing the moment. Definitely capture things that intrigue you, but don’t worry about getting the whole picture. You were there, remember?

Second thing I learned, buy a good portable camera! There were so many security rules for the Superbowl that I didn’t want to risk it and left the dslr in the room. I borrowed a simple nikon point and shoot(coolpix s70) to take to the stadium. Talk about frustration. After the first few pictures, I decided I was only going to snap a few and then pay attention to the biggest game on earth! There were screens all over, fans yelling, helicopters flying overhead. Just so much going on that I’m glad I didn’t get too involved in picture taking or I would’ve missed things for sure. At the end of the day, these pictures are for me to remember the moment. I don’t need crazy clear shots, or amazing colors. They would’ve been nice tho, not going to lie. But just something to remind me of the experience and the emotions I felt. Do make sure to be familiar with your camera before taking it places. I tried the different modes to see which one I liked the best. Tried to understand the timing of when it would actually take the picture after the button was pressed. And another important thing I learned, almost never take zoomed in shots with a point a shoot. They always come out blurry. I believe the aperture is small like all standard lens’ when zoomed in, so to compensate, it slows the shutter speed to allow more light. In the end, a zoomed in shot with a slow shutter catches your most gentle shake, especially when hand held. I compromised and settled for the wide shots and will be satisfied cropping in. Hopefully you enjoy some of the pictures and learn from my mistakes. I think you’ll be able to tell which pictures are from which camera

Inspiration:

Landing in supposedly the greatest city in the world, I walked out of the plane with much anticipation and skepticism. Wanting to find everything and anything wrong in order to convince myself that Chicago was better. I didn’t have to go far. Taking a cab to our hotel, we passed what seemed like colorless streets which were sprinkled with tags. We continued and passed a fenced in basketball court which looked like a prison yard. The closer and closer we got to our destination, I became more and more tired of being jolted by the potholes. But all that was nothing compared to when we arrived to Times Square. What seemed like random streets being closed, endless lines of pedestrians crossing the streets taking up the whole green light, police within feet of anywhere you go. Getting to the hotel seemed like an impossible feat…When people told me New York was Chicago on steroids, I finally understood what they were talking about. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Chicago is better, just that I like Chicago better, hahaha.

All in all, what an amazing experience! Feeling very blessed to have experienced the crowd and rubbing shoulders with so many of God’s most beloved creations. Many of my pictures this time were wide angle to show how much people and how big the places were. With that being said, in the midst of the crowd, I can understand how you can feel by yourself. Once in a while a Seattle fan would yell to another Seahawk fan, but other than that, everyone was to themselves. Looking at all the people, everyone dressed differently, different accents, different ages. At times, I was frustrated and wanted to push people out of my way because I couldn’t move without making contact with a stranger. But then I realized something, where did I have to be? Right where I was. Sometimes I actual get what I want, and then get scared and don’t want it anymore. It was a dream come true to visit New York, and get to go to the Superbowl…why was I preventing myself from enjoying it?

Ecclesiastes 2:24 – There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.