CT Science Center

Yesterday I tagged along to the CT Science Center with my family and decided to do a post on the experience and share the photographs I took there. What initially made me want to go was the Butterfly Encounter I saw they had on the website. I have to say though that I was heavily disappointed with this experience. It was not at all like I thought it was going to be. It was in a pretty small room and the butterflies were not flying around very much. I really wanted one to land on me but it didn't happen, and we weren't allowed to touch them (which is understandable as they are very fragile!) However, it was not worth the extra money to get in there. If you didn't buy the combo ticket (which we did), it would have been an extra $6. We also saw the turtle odyssey movie in the theater, which would have been an extra $7 had we not done combo tickets and it was okay, but it was a pretty long movie - about an hour or so.

A few tips for if you plan to visit the CT Science Center -

1) Be fully prepared to spend at least half if not all day here. The place is big and if you do the movie that'll be an hour gone right there. I would recommend doing the movie first if you want to see it so that you can get that out of the way. 

2) You have to pay for parking. 

3) It can get kind of crowded in here so just be cautious of that. 

4) The only food places they have is Subway and a Froyo station so if you plan to eat there be aware of that. 

Here is a link to their website where you can see what exhibits they have and the pricing - https://ctsciencecenter.org

Cozy Cardigan Shoot

For this week's black and white shoot, I decided to go with this cozy cardigan look. Perfect for the cold, snowy weather we've had! The stool was used as a prop in this shoot as well. I had Emily dress in a cream colored oversized cardigan and had her do her hair in a soft wave. We were really going for a cozy look with this shoot, and I think we accomplished that pretty well!

B+W Indoor Stool Portraits

I decided to shoot a series of black and white photographs of Emily in different outfits/with different themes, so the next few weeks will be showing all of the photographs that we took. The stool was a big prop in all of these shoots. The theme of this one was solely based around being natural and using the stool for her to sit and pose on. Emily dressed in a pair of shorts and a striped button up blouse. She left her hair natural, as we were going for a more casual look in these shots. 

The only thing that really bugs me about this shoot is the outlet being in frame. We were working with limited space so it was hard to avoid, but I tried to have her pose in front of it in the shots we didn't use the stool. 

Tripod Review - Vanguard Alta Pro 263AT

Welcome to my first blog post for the year of 2019! I've been meaning to do a review of my (relatively) new tripod, so I figured why not ring in the new year of blogs with it? My sister - and frequent model Emily got this very nice tripod for me for my birthday in November. This model runs around $150 - I know, it's very expensive (but that's because it is pretty good quality). I do obviously have a few cons about it though, but I will touch on those below. Also note that I am still getting used to this tripod, so my opinion on it can change as I use it more.

This is what the tripod looks like when you first take it out and open its legs. 

This is the part where you attach your camera. What I've noticed about this part, is that it takes a while until your camera gets tightened onto it. You have to swivel your camera on it quite a few times to get it to where it won't move around on there. Same obviously goes for taking the camera off. 

These two pictures show what the bottom of the tripod looks like. I like this part because if you twist the rubber part, the sharp part pokes out for more hold on different terrains. 

These are the legs, and the switches you use to extend them. Fairly self explanatory and easy to use. 

The top knob is used for swiveling the head (where you attach the camera) in order to get different angles. The bottom one swivels the top part as a whole 360 degrees. I haven't really used these two parts yet, so I don't have a opinion on them either way. 

This part has to be my least favorite so far. You're supposed to be able to press the button in and it's supposed to allow you to extend your leg up to an 80 degree angle. However, the button only worked for me one time and I since can't get it to press in. I have no idea what happened to it or why it stopped working, but it won't budge! 

The tripod also came with a good quality bag, so that was nice! Other comments that I have on it from what I have experienced so far is that it is a pretty heavy tripod. However, I believe that makes it a sturdier one, so I'm willing to overlook it. Would I recommend this tripod? Overall, yes. It is expensive, so to some it would be an item to save up for - but if you're looking for a pretty good quality and sturdy tripod, this is the one!