Schmap

This past October, Hubs and I flew to New York City on vacation. It was the first time for both of us and it was amazing.

We spent the first few days in the city, then rented a car and spent nearly two weeks traveling all over the north-east. Our stops included Boston, Vermont, Niagara Falls, D.C., and Hershey.

Needless to say, I took hundreds of pictures. I had just recently bought my Nikon (one of the new loves of my life) and snapped pictures like crazy.

Unfortunately, there was still a lot I didn't know about my camera so most of the photos were a crap shoot. However, thanks to some "auto" settings and what I like to think of as a little bit of natural talent, I was pleasantly surprised by how well some of the pictures came out.

For example, this one of Niagara Falls is now one of my favorites:

I'm sure the day will come, after I'm a professional (that's the idea anyway), when I'll look back at this photo and see all the errors I made, but right now I just love it.

This one of the Lincoln Memorial has also become one of my favorites:

The memorial was packed with visitors. I was so frustrated that I couldn't get a clear shot without a bunch of bodies in the way. I finally stopped, looked around, and thought about what I was trying to capture. The pillars, the ceiling, and, of course, President Lincoln. When I saw this photo later on the computer, I knew I had managed to do it and I was very pleased with myself.

Now I have another reason to be pleased. It turns out I'm not the only one who thinks some of my pictures turned out well.

This photo of Boston is being considered by Schmap.com for their next Boston visitor's guide, being published in February.

Okay, granted it's a visitor's guide. Granted again, I've never even heard of Schmap.com. And granted a third time, they're still just considering the picure...

But to have an actual company interested in using one of my photos to illustrate a city (the city of Boston, no less) is pretty damn cool.

I promise I'll try not to forget you little people when I'm famous.