San Antonio

San Antonio is a city that's come into my life many times.  I have memories as a small girl of seven on holiday with my family, to tasting my first martini on my 22nd birthday with Zak.  Granted those are two very different memories, but they sum up the times there rather well.  Zak actually grew up only an hour away from San Antonio, so his connection to the place is quite similar.

It was a couple of months ago when we started talking about how much we missed San Antone.  We realised the last time we'd been there was in 2009 after graduating uni.  San Antonio has two of the main tourist attractions in Texas:  the Alamo and the Riverwalk.  The Alamo is a symbol of Texas, a beautiful old Spanish missionary that became a fortress in the Texans fight against the Mexicans.  The Riverwalk is a bustling ringed waterway that's lined with shops, restaurants, and bars and sits in the heart of San Antonio below street level. 

After a couple hours of reminiscing, I decided we should just go back to San Antonio.  So last Friday and Saturday, we were there celebrating Zak's birthday (I had to have a reason to part with the cash, so why not make it a celebration?).  For the 26 hours we were there, the weather was perfect.  It was a warm with an early-spring breeze, and not a cloud in the sky.  We spent our time wandering around, visiting little art galleries, stopping for margaritas whenever we were thirsty, and of course we stopped to "remember the Alamo."  Even though it was just a quick trip, it felt like a full holiday just to get away.  Its amazing how quickly you can disconnect yourself from the daily stresses when you're in a great place with someone you love.

the Alamo at night with the famous Crockett Hotel - my favourite shot from the trip

A small art shop in La Villata

Love cactus above the door

The Riverwalk

Little Bundle of Joy

In 27 hours I will be leaving work tomorrow to collect my newest "baby."  A little Canon called the S100 is nearly mine, only just big enough to fit in the palm of my hand.

I'm picky with my cameras.  I don't have unlimited resources to buy the biggest and best, and I don't buy often.  In fact that last camera I bought was over two years ago and it was a cheap and cheerful - yet surprisingly powerful - point and shoot.  Before that the last camera I got was Dennis, my Canon 20D DSLR.  I've known for a long time that Dennis is slightly out dated in terms of MP and filters and a bit low on ISO speed.  But he's mine.  I couldn't possibly replace him.

So that's why I'm going for the S100.  It will take the place of my point and shoot, but the difference is that it's not as cheap and a hell of a lot more cheerful.  It will be my "D-not an SLR but takes a damn good picture like an SLR" camera that I can easily take with me anywhere. 

The last time I felt so excited about a new arrival was the day before Zak and I picked up Pandora from the SPCA after her snip-snip op.  Okay, that day was much bigger and more exciting, but I can't wait to get my hands on this camera, see everything it can do, and share the pictures with you.

Dennis

Yesterday evening, while celebrating my big day with some prosecco, I reacquainted myself with an old friend.  Dennis.  That's what I've named my Canon 20D that I got nearly 6 years ago for my 21st birthday.  For the longest time I didn't go anywhere without my camera and I was constantly inspired.  Then life evolved and I had to put more focus on my future, and I ended up with less free time.  So for the last two years my relationship with Dennis has suffered, and we only saw each other for special occassions. 

So last night, feeling like I could do anything, I sat in the garden and took some pictures.  I like to shoot with natural light and I don't like to edit my photos after taking them.  I fell in love with the classic darkroom environment, the basics of photography, and never experimented past what nature gave me.  When I lived in England I wanted to take pictures of everything:  scenery, architecture, people....so much was so close to your doorstep.  In Texas I feel I lack creativity.  It's not that beautiful scenery, architecture, and people don't exist in Texas, it's just that it's all so much further away.  So yesterday I stuck close to home, cranked up some Calvin Harris/Avicii/Deadmau5 on the outdoor surround sound, and took some pictures of the dogs, the prosecco, and even managed to get a self-portrait done.  Here are the results:

Sheila, my baby girl

Pandora, my little one, and Sheila

Me

Heaven in a glass