Growing up {RP Post}

I can't believe how big they are getting. Sometimes a photograph can really catch you off guard and show you how fast time is flying by.

POTD - Week 5: Vertical vs. Horizontal

Sometimes you get an image in your head that you really want to capture. Well, I have that image in my head for this week's theme and it has been totally bugging me that I can't capture it! It has been too cold for me to go on a photo excursion trying to find said image. Oh well. Fortunately, the cold has allowed the lake that we live on to form a nice ice and the kids got to go skating for the first time this winter. Here are a couple that I got that apply to this theme. But I'm still going to keep searching for that image in my head! :-)





Both taken with the Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens at 10mm, ISO 100, f/6.3. Top at 1/500, bottom at 1/800. I think I was using AV mode.

POTD - Week 4: Words

Sometimes one little word can render you speechless.



(But in a good way!)

Technical info (camera details, that is): Canon 100mm macro, f/5.0, 1/100, ISO 400.
Technical info (baby details): I'm 7 weeks along, feeling so much more ill & cruddy with this one than with the other 3, EDD 9-7-08, still very early to officially announce it, but it fit so well with this weeks theme that I couldn't resist!

If you give a child a camera... {RP Post}

He'll want to take your picture.



And as he wanders around the house, he'll find interesting things to photograph.









After 100 shots or so, he'll get hungry.



After he eats, he'll want to feed his stuffed animal.



When he sees his stuffed animal, he'll remember he needs to check on his Pokemon.



After taking a ton of photos of his Pokemon, he'll want to watch tv.



And more tv (and more and more and more...basically he'll take a photo of every single frame of the cartoon).



Then he'll leave the camera unattended and his brother will find it.



After fighting over who gets to play with the camera, he'll want to take your picture AGAIN. But you aren't agreeable to this idea so he'll give you the finger.



So, you may not want to give a child a camera. Especially after you upload the 200+ photos of "stuff" taken with the child's camera. :-)

(My deepest apolopies to author Laura Numeroff for butchering her beloved story books.)

Where's the snow??? {RP Post}

Meteorologists have the most stress-free job, I do believe. They never have to be right and get to keep their job. I can't remember the last time we actually got the weather they predicted! We were supposed to get smacked on Monday with 9-16" of snow. We got MAYBE 4-5" on the railings and it melted pretty much everywhere else as soon as it landed. yipee. Nonetheless, the kids still had a snow day. Why? I'm not sure. I guess it was so they can enjoy going one more makeup day in June. The kids still tried to enjoy the white stuff...sledding was unsuccessful, as was building a snowman and snow angels. So they just pushed it around for a while and tried to catch it with their tongues. Wonder how much we'll get this weekend...according to the meteorologists we need to "watch closely". Righty-o.

POTD - Week 3: Before & After

I've been having fun playing with this week's theme. I don't do much Photoshopping and I really want to learn how to use it better, especially with digital scrapbooking. Most of my photos I simply process in Lightroom (I shoot in RAW) and then move on unless there is something I really want to correct or enhance. Here are 3 things I played with this weekend:

Before - SOOC, f/4, 1/100, ISO 1600, External flash fired. 24-70 2.8L lens. This isn't a great shot but I LOVE how excited she is so I wanted to try and improve it.


After - Cropped, defog, Noiseware, slightly adjusted levels and curves and sharpened for the web. The skin tone is correct, but the snow is still a little too blue. However, it is in the evening so that is probably close to what it looked like (or wishful thinking on my part?).


Before - SOOC, f/7.1, 1/125, ISO 100. Tamron 18-200 lens. I took this shot this past fall and I like it well enough as is, but wanted something more dramatic & painterly to frame.


So, After - I ran a defog and used the Orton Technique with a little burning.


Before - I used these 2 photos used to make a photo montage to try and learn digital scrapbooking. Both are SOOC, so had to run Noiseware on the first one and then used Brenda's B&W action on both of them. Top photo with 24-70 2.8L lens, bottom with 100mm macro lens.




After - a lot of foul language was involved in trying to create this! I really want to do some hybrid scrapping as I love the idea of combining digital elements with my love of the traditional scrapping, but I think digital scrapping has a much bigger learning curve than I'm prepared for! Any good digital scrapbooking for CS2/3 books out there??? (I have the Scott Kelby & Martin Evening Books but want something specifically for scrapbooking.)

How Many People Does It Take to Blow Out 40 Candles? {RP Post}

Well from the looks of it, it takes about 5 kids and 2 adults (one not shown)!



Things have been a whirlwind around here pretty much since Thanksgiving. It all culminated on Saturday when we managed to pull off a surprise 40th birthday party for Ken's sister. Phew! Lots of scheming, trickery, and downright lying were required to get the 50-some people to our home for the celebration. But we did it! So, happy birthday April and happy 2008 to everyone!

POTD - Week 2: Focus

My focus in 2008 is to stop and smell the flowers. Well, more precisely to pay attention to details. Pause long enough to take it all in - be in the moment - appreciate the little thing - live mindfully.

I can only take SO MANY photos of my kids and the landscape these days is pretty dang bland. I love macro photography and winter is as good a time as any to get back into it. Also, macro photography makes you stop and look at the details, discover things otherwise overlooked, and pause for composure. To be ultimately successful, a tripod is usually required. But hey, I'm lazy. So adding a tripod next time will be another focus for me in 2008.

So, here is week 2 of POTD and my focus into 2008.







And I can't resist the temptation to include the shot of the dd. Even if I do have SO MANY shots of her!



The small print on the photos that is illegible:
flower shots - top at f/3.2, 1/100, ISO 400, shot indoors with Canon 100mm macro lens; next 2 at f/2.8, 1/100, ISO 400, shot indoors with Canon 100mm macro
DD shot - f/2.8, 1/125, ISO 400, Canon 24-70 2.8L lens at 66mm

POTD - Week 1: Happy New Year!

POTD Week 1

Well, I certainly didn't participate in this as much as I hoped last year. My wish is to do much better in 2008 - I hope to post once a week...52 photos posted would be a vast improvement for me! Here are a few shots of New Year's Eve in our household...with 3 little ones a "party" has a bit of a different meaning than in my earlier days. It is more of a celebration with games, movies, and laughs...quite a wonderful way to ring in year.









The first photo was with the Sigma 30mm 1.4 lens, the rest were with the Canon 24-70 2.8L lens. I ran Indie's Brown BnW action on the top 3 and Aly's BW on the last one.