Thai Adventure

April 19, 2010

Here is an example of me having an idea but not putting all the thought and courage into it to make it come out as I had envisioned. This pig was left at this Thai restaurant for two months and I thought it would be cool to take pictures of it at a few places throughout the restaurant and blog about it's grand adventure. But then I got nervous about doing this and upsetting the owners/other diners and settled for snapping a couple of shots of it infront of his poster - which didn't turn out all that great but like I said I was scared to do more. So I let this really fun opportunity pass me by. In retrospect I think that the owners would have been totally okay with me following through on my dream (even if they thought I was a little crazy...) I mean they'd held onto the dang pig for two months - they must be somewhat understanding right?

Point is as regards photography I have to decide if I'm ever going to be bold, stepping up and whipping out my camera without fear or embarrassment or not because I don't think I'm going to get better unless I'm willing to do that.

Abandoned

April 18, 2010

This was the first in a set of shots I was going to take for a project that I was really excited about. Unfortunately I never followed through. I still think about it a bit but haven't taken anymore shots for it and am not sure if I will. (More like when I will...I need more gumption and to get out a lot more to really make some headway on it.) But if I'm being really honest with myself I think I've shelved it (permenantly?) because I don't know how hard it will be and don't know if I have what it takes. We'll see where it goes...

Long Day of Play

April 17, 2010

Liberty crashed out on our hotel after day two of a recent family retreat. After playing so hard I didn't blame her. I got her into bed then crashed myself.

Dandilion

April 15, 2010

Since I spent a bit of time photographing those tulips I thought 'Hey it's not all that difficult to make tulips look good - everybody loves tulips. What about dandilions? Can I get good photos with a weed?' I'm going to go with yes. I love this shot. It did take me a while to strike on this particular idea as well as getting the other shots I took to look right but over all I think it was a little more fun to shoot the dandilions as well as being a bit more rewarding.

Purple Tulip

April 13, 2010

My neighbor had some beautiful tulips blooming and I couldn't resist wandering over to take a few shots (I will be posting more that I took along with this one on my other blog).  Flowers are the perfect subject. They are beautiful, infinately patient and always stay where you ask them to. In my opinion they are one of the best subjects to practice on.

Orange Feet

April 12, 2010

Really what else need I say?

More Missing Days...

April 10-11, 14, 16, 2010

I unfortunately missed all these days - I don't think I'd temporarily given up yet though...

Ready and Waiting

April 9, 2010

Once again I love my camera phone. Given the content of this picture I'm going to guess that I was making dinner at the counter when I turned around to this sight and had to capture it. Obviously I couldn't leave where I was standing to grab my camera as Samuel and Autumn would have followed me destroying the picture. And it's so much better to have this shot in lower resolution than not at all.

I love how they are looking at me in the same way - just waiting for my attention (or in Autumn's case the object of my attention before I turned around...) and how similiar their expressions of expectation and anticipation are.

Special Delivery

April 8, 2010

I love the content of this photograph - Liberty had been waiting for a package to come for a few days and was very excited when she checked the mailbox and it was there. I love the visual sentiment of her holding the package and closing the mail box (or rather trying as she couldn't reach high enough to actually close it...) My only wish for this shot is that I had turned the camera so it was landscape rather than portrait. I think that it would fit better and all over look nicer had I done that. Still I really like the shot.

Dogwood Blossom

April 7, 2010

As the dogwood tree in our backyard started to bloom I knew I'd have to take pictures. When I finally got out there with my camera I was blessed for the effort by this little lady bug on one of the blossoms. Spring days are so good to me.

Siesta

April 6, 2010

With a gentle breeze blowing through the screen door this was an ideal spot to lie down for a nap. I was almost jealous.

On a more artistic note I really like the depth created by the lines leading into the corner where the door and floor meet. It's one of those things I wasn't thinking about when I took the shot but now that I see it in action can see why I would want to use something like that in future shots. Once again I'm thankful that I'm doing this blog as it's helps me really look at my photos for their artistic ingredients rather than just their emotional content.

Trick Your Trike

April 5, 2010

Emmuska's tricycle used to have plastic streamer coming out of the handle bars but between the many moves and new dog they had long since disappeared. The time had come however that Emmuska felt they needed to be back on her bike so she found a roll of ribbon some tacky glue and for good measure a sheet of stickers. She the proceeded to cut off strips of ribbon and glue them onto the handle bars as well as decorate the trike with stickers. The girls has taste I'll giver her that much. ;)

Handle With Care

April 3, 2010

The battalion hosted an egg hunt and picnic the Saturday before Easter. Part of the festivities included a game where one person carries an egg in a spoon to their partner, transfers the egg to their partners spoon then the partner carries the egg back. As you can imagine there were a lot of broken eggs all over the place.  Many were picked up quite quickly but this one got missed and I'm glad because it is still one of my favorite shots from the day. To me this is me at a compositionally high point. I just think it's a well composed shot. It's interesting and aesthetically pleasing, frankly I find it a little captivating. I would love to know why that gift kicks in sometimes and how to keep it on hand so I can do it more often. (You know on subject matter that isn't broken eggs...) But then that's the point of this blog. I hoping that the more I challenge myself to take pictures the more I will focus and think about the ways/whys I put things together and more of my shots will have the compositional qualities I admire about this one. Or I could be crazy and this is just a slightly odd shot of broken eggs. 

Makin' a Break For It

April 2, 2010

This is another camera phone shot - once again the moment happened and all I had available was my camera phone. I love my phone for many reasons - the camera is one of them. When this was taken Samuel had only just gained mobility but had already decided two things. 1) He wanted to be outside. 2) He had to get out there as quickly as possible. Both statements are still true. If he hears or suspects that a door is open he will make a mad dash for the door and be on the otherside before I've realized what's happened. ('He moves fast for a little guy.') So far his only 'unreasonable' temper tantrum has been over the fact that I closed the door so he could only look out instead of going and playing with his sisters who were obviously having so much more fun. The second I opened the door he shut off the water works and zipped out. Glad I could make him happy.

Just Short of Euphoric

April 1, 2010

This was the day I discovered my days of having to go down a playground slide and consquently getting all tangled up (my shoes just don't slide right...neither do my legs really) and I was really excited. Emmuska wanted to take Samuel down and I was a little wary at first but she did an excellent job and Samuel absolutely loved it (of course). Naturally this was the day I didn't take my camera down town with me. (There was another day a couple of weeks later which I'm sure you'll find out about as I get caught up where I was in the same situation - you'd think I'd learn eh?) So out came my camera phone. I don't think any parent should be without a decent camera phone. It may not be the highest quality image I have but at least I have it.

Egg Hunt

April 4, 2010

Of the several Egg hunts shots I took in our backyard I thought this one was the most interesting. I think that the angle is interesting and at first thought that this shot should be cropped but and not positive now as I just was looking over it and love that her feet are in the shot and how they look in comparison to the rest of her. I think that this is one I should spend a little time in photoshop with. (Maybe do the edge burn to see if eliminating some of the background helps...)

Slacker

March 30-31, 2010

Yeah I missed these days too...

Georgian River

March 29, 2010

Here's Lucky Bear - post baptism. Apparently Emmuska's primary class talked about how Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan because she proceeded to create that river (calling it the Georgian River...yeah it took a bear being soaked for me to finally catch onto what was happening) in our back yard and then baptize this stuffed animal.  Needless to say we had a discussion that evening about baptism and the proper pronunciation of the River Jordan.

Practice Knife

March 28, 2010

Which really is better than knife practice right? Yes it is a knife but Samuel loved it while he was teething because it was cool against his gums and had good resistance. No it is not in the tiniest bit sharp. Now that I have that disclaimer out of the way ;) I spent quite a bit of time playing with this photo - you can check out all the variations I tried out over on my other blog this is the original photo. It was a good learning experience as well as fun to compare how different even the smallest changes could make. I usually do that sort of stuff on a set of pictures so that I have changes on a bunch of different pictures (me multitasking...) but then you can't really compare. Anyhow I'm trying to decide what my post production 'style' is so head on over and take a gander.

Six Months - Boy with Car and Dog

March 27, 2010

I had great plans for this day - being six months and all...unfortunately they didn't happen so by nine thirty when everybody else was in bed I thought I'd better grab a photo quickly. May not be all I dreamed of but I still really like it. I like having the photo of Autumn - as well as Samuel's interest in her. (He is very interested in the dogs.) Also Autumn's very laid back nature. It doesn't bother her in the slightest that a baby is pulling at the hair on her back she just takes it all in stride. Even though it wasn't what I planned I'm very glad to have it.

On another note I did play with this shot in photoshop - the original just wasn't quite right. What do you think? Good? Bad? I'm a little torn on the edge burn (darkened border and corners) I don't like that it goes over Autumn's face but I do like that it hides some of the very messy (and distracting) background. That wasn't the only thing I did with this photo so please look at it and tell me what you think.

With Cherries On Top

March 24, 2010

My birthday treat - they were fabulous! (And look so pretty too.)

Breaking In

March 26, 2010

These were the extreme measures I was forced to go to in order to regain access to my craft room. After being locked out a few days earlier we found every key we'd been given when we bought the house only to find that none of them went to this room. Next I called a locksmith to get a quote on what it would cost to get in (75$). Not being one to give up to easily I went outside and tried to take the window off only to discover it was double paned. Turns out my best options was to gently pry this molding strip back so Mycal could pop the door open. The door is only a little worse for the wear now though I can tell you that I'll be buying a new handle for it pretty soon.

Keys

March 25, 2010

One of the problems with my not getting pictures onto the blog in a timely fashion is that I don't remember all the reasons I took a shot. I've no idea why I decided to take this picture but I still think it looks pretty interesting.

Cheer Bear Arrives

March 23, 2010

It finally came! And Emmuska was very happy to see her.

Locked Out

March 22, 2010

This would be the view I had of my craft room door for a week in March when Emmuska locked us out. I  constantly found myself meandering back there to get something only to find myself unable to open the door...still. The happy ending was us finally being able to get it open on Friday but it was a pretty long week.

Missing Days...

March 20-21, 2010

Sadly I missed a few days here.  Even more sadly they aren't the only days I missed...

Solitary Picnicer

March 19, 2010

I'm not sure what about this I love so much but I really liked how it turned out. There is something about her sitting there with this whole spread. Kind of a modern take on those pictures of old Victorian picnics.

Sharing the Bed

March 18, 2010

Because who's going to say no to that face?

Milk Bubbles

March 17, 2010

Emmuska discovered that blowing through the straw can often be more fun than sucking in through the straw. Drinking the milk at our house hasn't been the same since. (Pink milk be extra aware...)

Curled Up

March 16, 2010

Because finding a place to lay down where she would fit just wouldn't be as much fun.

Another Day

March 15, 2010

...not another picture. Yet another day that passed before I captured some aspect of it. In this case I remembered at approximately 10:55 at night when I was lowering my aching sick body into bed and my exact thoughts were as follows: 'Shoot! I haven't taken a picture yet...what should I take a picture of...(maybe fifteen seconds tick by)...ummm...okay can't think of anything. I'm going to sleep now.'  And I did.

From Above

March 14, 2010

One of the reasons I missed a photo the day before this shot and a few days after were because I was sick. In an effort to remember those moments forever (? seriously I don't know why I'd do that...probably because I was desperate to stay on track with my goals but was operating with too few brain cells to come up with a good idea...) I decided to take a picture. Here's the thing - I got creative by standing on the couch and looking down to take said picture. It's really amazing how much different things look from a different view than the one I normally have. In this case it made the living room look even messier. Yep it's like magic. ;)

Broken Goals

March 13, 2010

This marks the first (but unfortunately not the last) day that I didn't take a picture. I'm still a little sad by it but am not letting it be my breaking point in pushing forward.

Princess!

March 12, 2010

...and happy with that fact.

Black and White

March 11, 2010

After reading (yet another) photography article I decided to practice what it talked about. This one was about black and white photography and things to look for and ways it can help your photography because it takes things like contrast and puts them on a different level. This reminded me of when I took my photography class in college. In that class it was generally the goal to have very little completely black areas and the same with white areas - what you were going for was every shade of grey you could in between. The lightest shade of grey you could get to before it was actually white and the same or the black (of course they generally look like black or white but generally shouldn't truly be so). Remembering that I thought I would practice some good old black and white photography and it's amazing how it does help one remember the basics and help practice skills by eliminating some of the distracting elements of color. I took a lot of pictures some that I really enjoyed but finally decided that I really like this one for it's texture and general greyness.

Warm Days

March 10, 2010

We get a hint of warm weather and the first thing the kids want to do is kick their feet up and eat outside. Who can blame them - nothing says 'Spring' like a picnic.

Camera Phone

March 9, 2010

So this is what I get for trying to use my camera phone in a poorly lit room...in any case now you know what Missouri's idea of helping me do laundry is.

Coming Up

...and catching up! Quick side note: ha ha! I'm now officially caught up with the date! I can't adequately express how much this excites me. Okay moving on. 

So I happened to notice when I bought milk that it has my birthday as the expiration date - which when one only buys milk once a week is a little harder to do than you would think. Cool eh? Now I'm really excited for my birthday.

Burned

March 7, 2010

I can't help but sit and stare in fascination at the amount of green that suddenly becomes visible when an area of dead grass is burned. It's so counter-intuitive to see something so vibrant not only in the midst of fire but because apparently because of the fire. The idea of the pheonix is incredible and because of a little spring burning very much on my mind.

Tasty Treat

March 6, 2010

Truth be known I was absolutely obsessed with the raspberry on the side. I spent much more time photographing that than the any other aspect of the dessert (whole slice included...) and was sorely tempted to post one of those shots but wanted to give you a shot of the whole thing and quite honestly this picture turned out beautifully. The colors are incredibly true - lighting, composition, colors...everything look incredible in this shot. I just love it. I could only wish for similar conditions (and results) every time I pull my camera out.

Party at the Hotel

March 5, 2010

This is Emmuska's newest pig Party (because it came with the book "If You Throw a Pig a Party" which her Grandma sent as well as a couple of Dr. Seuss books with accompaning stuffed characters). She got her as we were headed off to our couples retreat and it has barely left her side since then. Apparently Party had a pretty long first day with Emmuska though as Emmuska felt compelled to tuck her into her hotel bed a couple of hours before she turned in herself. I spied this little scene and had to take a photo. It was just too good to pass up.  I mean not only was it a really cute scene but this may be the cutest pig yet. It is so freakin' cute! (full disclosure: I totally felt this way when I was reading the other pig book "If You Give a Pig a Pancake" I was/still am ready to hop onto the internet and find a poster of this pig to put on her wall. Seriously check out the books and you will know what I mean.)

Shadow

March 4, 2010

'Nah I won't need it today...after all I never use it when I take it down with me.' That was the thought running through my head as I pulled my hand back from the camera.  Of course it ended up being a beautiful day so when the kids begged to play on the playground I agreed and off they giddily ran.  And quite naturally there was a moment where I thought 'shoot! I wish I had my camera'.  After going down the slide a few times Emmuska's hair had accumulated a static lift. The dark shadow on the yellow slide kept catching my eye. I loved how you could see each fine hair. It was captivating. Thankfully I had my phone with me which has a camera on it (this would be the source of quite a few out and about shots...it's just a lot easier to have on hand than my big camera) it may not take the best shots but at least it takes them. I think I'll try taking shots like these again later this week when we are back at the park. It will be interesting to see which shots I like best - the ones quickly snapped on my phone or what I take with my dSLR - when everything else is the same. (Approximately - it will be the same location and the weather will probably be pretty similar...subject may be a little different but it will be close enough for comparison.)

Depth of Field part 2

March 3, 2010

So this is a way better example of a shallow depth of field. If the challenge was still open this would have been the shot to submit. I was just trying to take a picture of Missouri weedling her way onto my lap despite the fact that I had already given my laptop that place. Ended up with an awesome shot of her nose behind which the rest of her face of her face is blurry and I love it! This shows you exactly what can be achieved with a shallow depth of field as well as some of the artistic reasons to use it.

Pig!

March 2, 2010

Yeah 'cause one of those on this site would be completely unheard of...anyhow this one in the middle of the kitchen floor cracked me up. (Reminds me of the pig on Farm Town when it falls asleep - which could be why I thought this was funny. That pig never fails to make me laugh.)

Meatballs

March 1, 2010

And so they are.

Mmmmh...Gooey

February 28, 2010

This picture makes me laugh for a few reasons - first: his two chins, second: his sweater vest pulling up over his stomach, third: his face/cloths are covered in food. Does anything scream "I love food!" more?

Baby Blues

February 27, 2010

Seriously those eyes could go right through most metals known to man. I love it when I'm able to snap a shot of him staring at the camera - his gazes really can be quite intense.

Food Shapes

February 26, 2010

Shredded Cheese Funnel Cake

Who isn't eating one of these now-a-days?

Smiles

February 25, 2010

There are well many things I love about this photo but two things that strike me right off. First would be the reason I took this picture in the first place and that is Emmuska's outfit especially when compared to Liberty's outfit. Guessed who picked out what to wear today. Yeah despite any 'fashion tips' I might have had to offer Emmuska was pretty set on her choice. Liberty on the other hand didn't really care so I picked out her clothes. Got to give Emmuska props for sticking by what she really likes. (added note this was on the one day of the week that we actually went somewhere...so it wasn't selected for it's loungewear quality)

Second I love the girls trying to smile. Whenever I say 'smile!' these are generally the faces I will get. I love how hard they try. Bless their hearts they love me so much to put all that work into a smile just for me and my camera.

Things to Curl Up With

February 24, 2010

A couple books I pulled off my bookshelf - not nearly a complete representation of authors I enjoy reading (gosh I couldn't even begin to fill in that list here it's just far too vast). At this moment I'm wishing I had more time to read. I am however extremely grateful for the opportunity to nurse as this gives me the 'excuse' to just sit and read something for fifteen to thirty minutes at a time. (More if baby falls asleep...you know because it's practically criminal to wake a baby by moving.)

Yet So Forgivable...

February 23, 2010

Two things about this dog never cease to amaze me. First - the positions she can get herself into...she's like a mini pretzel dog. Rather impressive really. Second - no matter what she does (cover me in hair, bark at stray cats at two in the morning, chew things up...) she can wiggle her way back into my good graces with a few choice looks.

Hairy

February 22, 2010

This is what I get for cuddling with a dog seriously in need of some grooming...

Depth of Field Challenge

February 21, 2010

This was supposed to be for a challenge I read about recently regarding depth of field. Which is to say the amount of the picture that is crisply in focus. I am going to have to look into getting a different lense as mine doesn't currently do this as well as I'd like. Still - a fun picture with good texture and color.

Hobby

February 20, 2010

This would have been a lot cooler if I had more time in my life (I had envisioned a cookout scene complete with little hands, sticks and (really) mini marshmallows). Until then I'll just enjoy the brief moments I have to pull together little things like this.

Converted

February 19, 2010

Well Liberty has done it...she has turned to the pink side with all her might. She is loving pink now, though I have to admit I have my doubts as to how devoted she is to the color...I think she'll still drop it for a few other colors. (And heaven forbid I ask her to eat out of a pink bowl...)