Hi Grandpa

Haven't had the opportunity to post lately as the past couple of weeks have been really busy. My dad came for a visit and we all had a wonderful time. The kids love spending time with him. I'm currently up to my eyeballs in preparations for a conference that I am going to this weekend in Philly. Hope to have much more free time once it is over!

So you won't miss me mommy

My ds started kindergarten a couple of weeks ago. While waiting for the bus to arrive on his first day of school, he picked this "flower" for me. He thought it would be a good way for me to remember him and said "this is so you won't miss me while I'm gone".

My settings were TV mode, SS 200, f/3.5, ISO 100. 24-70L lens at 70mm. The first is shot in RAW, SOOC. The second is PS'd - processed the RAW file, then defoged at 20/60/0. I adjusted curves, +contrast, then lasso'd the eyes to adjust curves to lighten them a bit. I then burned in the edges. CC please!

I know for a fact that my exposure reading in my camera said this was the correct exposure. I'm thinking my XT is underexposing a bit...maybe time to get a new camera? :-) I've only been shooting in RAW for a short while now, for the past 3+ years I've always shot in jpeg...so since the camera was making adjustments I never noticed the underexposure. It is really bothering me now as I don't like doing much pp'ing. Plus, many of my images that I post online now are looking pixelated...even though they don't look that way in adobe or when I print. Don't know what that is about. Getting a little annoyed!

Remembering

Photo from 1994. Taken on the ferry to visit Ellis Island. Such an innocence then.

Heavy Heart

I forgot what day it was until I turned on the tv this morning and saw the memorials taking place in NYC. It get so choked up and I'm sure I always will. Six years ago today the world changed forever...an innocence was lost...a new reality set in...a heavy heart.

I'm scanning in my old photographs from film days, a multi-decade project, and came across this one. Taken in 1994 on the ferry to Ellis Island.

The first is the scanned in image; the second is the PS one. PS - cropped, straightened, healing tool, curves adjustment, +contrast, defog, noiseware. LOVE that you can PS scanned images!

Remembering this somber day, those that lost their life, the family and friends who were forever changed, those who fight for our freedom. Hoping the world sees many positive, kind changes soon. In Remembrance.

The Busy Season is Here!

Fall is back to school time. But it is also back to soccer, swimming, cub scouts, gymnastics, homework, tight schedules, and exhaustion! The school year is in full swing and all the activities have picked back up. This weekend was a sign of things to come...Ken at one soccer game, me at another, a quick lunch that we picked up from somewhere and then off again to another activity. The good thing is that the kids really seem to enjoy their activities (and I limit how much they do...I can't imagine how others do it when they have even more going on, which is most of the people around us).

Ken got home safely from a trip to California Friday where he was able to squeeze in a quick visit with his cousin, Cynthia, in San Francisco. That night we had soccer practice and a cub scout activity. Saturday was 2 soccer games and then we had a nice end of the summer beach party/camp out at the local beach we belong to. This is indeed a great way to kiss the summer good-bye. More of the same on Sunday. Football? Don't think Ken is going to see much of it!

I love the laziness of summer but I think this upcoming Fall is going to be pretty good too.

Here are some photos from my camera. Ken's photos (N's soccer game & Cali) will be posted as soon as I can find his now missing camera...probably courtesy of little miss M!

Go J!



I think this means he was having a good time.



Little Wolf Scout now! Making sandwiches BEFORE (!) school for a local homeless shelter with his den.

Should I stay or should I go?

In my past life (pre-SAHM days) I was a dietitian. I'm still maintaining my registration status even though I'm not currently working in the clinical field. I've been getting the itch to do more "professional" stuff lately but I really don't have the time to go back to my private counseling practice. I've been selling my educational materials and forms and have been contemplating whether I want to try and sell my food and nature photography.

There is a conference coming up in 3 weeks that allows it's members to display their products for sale. This would give me excellent exposure to a lot of other nutritionists. So I've bit the bullet, am taking a risk and going for it! I've rented a booth and will display my educational materials...and my photography! My friends/colleagues say they love my images and would love to hang them in their offices when I start selling them but I need some real honest opinions (I mean, they may just be nice to me because they know me and don't want to hurt my feelings).

So I need your cc! Do these images suck? Should I forget the whole thing? Am I rockin' it? I want to get a postcard made to hand out...an image on one side with my info on the back...a big "business card" so to speak. I've come up with these 5 ideas...what do you think?

The collage is going to be a poster (and also gives a glimpse of some of my images). Thoughts? I'll still working on assembling the rest of the images for the portfolio and will put some of them up here later.

So...should I stay home and keep working on it or should I go to Philly????

I LOVE MAINE!

Love, love, LOVE it! Not sure exactly what it is about Maine, but it is my most favorite place in the world. I love the scenery, the quaint towns, the slower pace of life, the ocean, the lobster, the friendly people, everything. We went there this past weekend for Labor Day and had a great time. It is our 3rd year going there and I love exploring the shore line. Found some great sea glass, the kids loved hanging out and climbing on the rocky shoreline, of coarse we enjoyed some fantastic lobster rolls, and saw some magnificent light houses. The only bummer was that we didn't find my dream house, yet. For some reason no one who lives on the ocean is giving away their home! Guess I need to start buying some lotto tickets.

We spent some time in the fabulous Biddeford Pool then traveled up to Boothbay Harbor and Pemaquid Point. We did get some lobster rolls from the famous "Red's Eats" so I got to check off another place from my "1000 Places to See Before You Die, USA & Canada version" book. We're just trying to live a good, full life.