Not using a flash has become especially important to me ever since baby Hannah arrived. “Look! Her eyes are open!” *FLASH*

I wrote an article over on GeekInspired.com that tries to explain how shooting without a flash is possible and lists a few benefits of going sans-flash. Check it out if you’ve got a few extra minutes: No Flash Photography.

The BBQ was great and seeing all the little babies in one place was quite a sight. Thankfully, Bo had his camera gear with him and was able to snap a several good pictures of Hannah.

I’ve included all the Hannah pics here, but if you’d like to check out the rest of the pictures Bo took, head on over to his photography site.

Hannah Claire Holt - 3 weeks

Luckily, there are some things we can do to make sure our photos and files are safe. It’s just a matter of sitting down for an hour and getting it set up.

Get Set Up for Backups

One of the simplest things you can do is spend $100 on an external hard drive to be used as storage for backups. The external hard drive just plugs into your computer and adds itself as “removable storage.” From there, all you have to do is place copies of your important stuff on the external drive periodically (once a week is usually good enough). As easy as that is, however, people (myself included) usually forget to do it or put it off until “tomorrow.” To enable automatic backups, you can use freeware like Syncback to automate the process. Just set a schedule and let it run.

This will get you by in most cases, but there is one more step that we should take to protect ourselves from the big disasters, like tornadoes, lightning strikes, floods, and fires. For these situations, a remote backup should be used.

Remote Backups

A remote backup is a copy of your files that is kept in a remote location (a place other than your home). The remote location is accessed via the Internet, so you need to have a decent Internet connection in most cases (if you only want to backup a few files or if they aren’t very large, this isn’t much of an issue). With a remote backup scheme in place, your house can be leveled by a tornado and you will still be able to restore your files and family photos.

There are lots of different companies who offer this service, but I’ve found that a service called Mozy is among the most respected. Mozy Remote Backup is free up to 2GB (gigabytes), which is quite a bit of storage. Included with this service is a utility to install on your computer that automates the backup process. So once you have it set up, you don’t have to worry about losing anything that is important to you.

If you need to backup more than 2GB, which is easy to do with digital photos, you should probably use Mozy’s paid service. The Mozy Home Unlimited package offers an unlimited amount of storage for the ridiculous price of $4.95/mo. For less than one fast food combo per month, you can rest assured that all of your important files and photos are backed up.

If you happen to be a Mac user, bless your heart, a Mozy for Macs version is also available.

Which Backup Method Should I Use?

I presented a couple of options here, so you may be wondering which backup method you should use. I recommend doing both! You can depend on your local backup (the backup that’s on your external hard drive) when you accidentally delete the wrong file or when your hard drive dies. It’s fast and simple. The remote backup is like insurance. You’re protecting yourself against sudden disasters that no one expects to happen.

Hopefully you guys will find this useful. If you have any questions about backing up your computer, leave a comment and I’ll try to get back with you.

I’ve taken tons of pics but haven’t had much time to get them ready for the site. However, I do have a few that I can share. Enjoy!

Hannah Claire Holt: Birth - 1 week

So instead of buying us guys another flashlight (unless they use LED’s), check out the list of cheap gifts and gadgets. Guys, feel free to pass this along to your girlfriends and wives. There’s no shame in it.

Everyone showed up at the house at around 6:00pm. Jan and Bobby, who were probably putting the final touches on the turkey, were just a little late. Once everyone showed up, we dug in. Actually, I think the kids started a bit before the grownups… not sure how that happened.

The little table we have next to the kitchen was designated as the kid’s table. Allyson, Brayden, Madelyn, and Izzy all seemed happy to sit together and enjoy all the great food. The dining and living rooms were occupied by the adults. Although, it’s hard to say who sat where due to the carousel effect that Thanksgiving food tends to have.

Of course, I had my camera through all of this so I took several pictures. I tried not to let the “little ones” steal the show as they have an unfair advantage of being way too cute. So, I’ve managed to work in a picture or two of the grownups. I’ll be honest, the “grownups” didn’t make this whole process as easy as they could. It seems that, in reckless abandon, they decided to lift their shirts towards the end of the night. My apologies.

I’ve uploaded these (and a few more) to our ShutterFly account. You can view and order prints here: Coker Thanksgiving 2008.

I gotta say, I had no idea Bo had some much photography gear. We’re talking seamless paper drops, various high-end flashes, softboxes, remote triggers… the works. He even brought a remotely triggered flash and umbrella out to the park. It’s pretty obvious Bo is working towards being a full time professional photographer and man, does he have a good start!

If you’d like to check out the pictures or even order some prints, I’ve got a couple of links for you:

First, you can go to Bo Boswell Photography to check out the some of the photos Bo has taken (including ours).

If you’d like to order some prints, Bo has an account setup at Collages.net. You can pick out the photos you like, choose a print size, and place an order all in one place.

If you’re interested in having some photos made, you should definitely contact Bo Boswell.

After the doctor saw what he was looking for, the ultrasound tech showed us around again. We got another nice profile shot of her face and one where she looks like she is sucking her thumb. Also, right before we were done, the tech showed her face again just in time for us to see her yawn. Amazing.





Here are a couple of the images from the ultrasound:

Here are some of the pictures I took during the festivities. I took lots of pictures, but these are by far my favorites! If any of you guys want an image for print, just send me an email.

• Time of birth: 3:28pm
• Weight: 7 pounds 14 ounces
• Length: 19.5 inches
• Totally looks like (in my opinion): Traci

Update!
Bo has started a photo album page with more pics of Turner: Turner Photo Album. I have no doubt that Bo will have that album full of pics in the coming weeks.