My 2011 To-Do list & Self Critique...

I started a 2011 To-Do list that gets viewed almost daily. I want to get better as a photographer with each session, so on my list, I included doing some out loud (so to speak) self critique on older posts but I feel the need to "do some splainin" (as Ricky would say to Lucy) & set the scene for you first. Remember, I never said I did photography right, only not wrong. So, here's the splainin... The Event: Blanch's 85th Birthday, July 2010 The Locations: Local Restaurant & local home The Surprises: #1 -A few unexpected children of Blanchs arrive at the restaurant, #2 -Unexpected group gathering at the home, full of friends & more family members. My Situation: Low lighting at both locations & I did NOT want to use my flash. I had my 50mm 1.8 , the best low lighting lens I owned and having it at 1.8 made everything that moved blurry, I didn't have the shutter speed high enough to stop action cause it would have unexposed the image, which would have been leveled out more by the higher ISO, blah, blah, blah. I know the critique part isn't fun for most people. But honestly, flash (to me) ruins the moods of these events, making everybody turn to see who took the photo & people stop being natural, especially if it's a stranger taking them, and I was. I just don't see it as an option...nope, nope, nope. I just needed to get better & more confident in my settings & go with it. The Gift: A slide show of the day for the family (my favorite part of taking these images). I searched for a song that married the images from that day, expressing the joy she had experienced & would never forget (it almost didn't happen due to her not feeling well). I found the song "Dream" by Priscilla Ahn & it came together nicely. Sadly, as Janet (Blanchs daughter) mentioned in the post comment, Blanch was diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer soon after these images were taken. She didn't last much longer. I had learned about her diagnosis when I delivered the disc with the surprise slide show...I secretly wanted to apologize for the song after hearing the news but for some reason, I didn't burst out with "WAIT, don't watch that", instead I expressed how sorry I was & left with a heavy heart. They played this slide show at her funeral. I cried when Janet told me that a few months later. "There wasn't a dry eye when it was over" she said. I hoped they understood, I didn't create it to be sad (and it wasn't taken that way), I just wanted to show all the love others had for this woman. I can give myself 100 excuses how I could have done better technically but I still cry everytime I view it, somethings gotta be said for photo content. I came home that day & viewed the slide show with different eyes, without all the technical jargan...And I cried (still do everytime)......The splainin may not have worked for me (or Lucy) but at least you get a peek in my bee hive of a brain & maybe understand a little more on what makes me tick as a photographer. I'll explain on another post about the bee hive :)