Finally! A blog update! Have some catching up to do, so here we go… For my birthday (almost 2 months ago), I bought myself… um, received as a present from the wifey, a Lumix DMC-TS1 waterproof/shockproof digital camera! Considering the amount of pool time we’ve been logging, it was the perfect gift. The camera is very unassuming; it looks like your typical, silver-bodied point-and-shoot. But according to the specs, it’s waterproof up to 10ft and shockproof up to 5. Still, I was very hesitant to take it in the water. Not many electronic devices are compatible with liquid. But we did, and the results were AMAZING. Here are a few shots:

I was also amazed at the clarity and sharpness of the underwater pics. Of course, conditions were perfect on that day so that helped: cloudless, sunny, day and a new, clean, pool. The onboard flash does fire, though, if needed. On top of the underwater capabilities, the camera also shoots in HD! Here are a couple videos. Sound pickup was pretty decent, too.

And because it’s shockproof, I don’t worry when Oren picks it up and starts snapping away. She’s actually taken some decent pics! Maybe I’ll round them up for a future blog post. Anyway, the camera is awesome, to say the least. I recommend it to anyone living in Hawaii. We’re all in the water so much, we might as well document it. And by the way, it’s available for purchase here on the blog in the Favorites page above!

I can now say with confidence that Kalia, our 5-month old kitty, is an official member of the family. Why? Because, like our daughter, this cat appears to be a natural in front of the camera! I was playing around with Katrina’s latest classroom acquisition-an old Olympus E-1 DSLR donated (!) by a parent, complete with a set of lenses and an external flash-and found Kalia cruising in my daughter’s bedroom. With macro-lens attached, I was able to get up close and personal, with nothing more than an ear-twitch from her! I later followed her downstairs, and snapped her lounging on our office chair.

By the way, if you want to book Kalia for any kitty calendar shoots, please contact me to discuss her sitting fee and location requirements.