Single Lens Reflexions

43/366

2012-02-12T17:28:00.002-06:00

Oldest Son cutting styrofoam wings (with supervision) for his science fair project

42/366

2012-02-11T17:26:00.000-06:00

Younger Daughter and the Youngest working together

41/366

2012-02-10T20:24:00.000-06:00

Middle Child changing batteries

40/366

2012-02-09T19:14:00.002-06:00

Every day one of the students in the Youngest's class gets to take home a bag about a fictional character. Their choices are Dr. Seuss, Arthur, Winnie the Pooh, or Curious George. Each of the bags contains a stuffed version of the character of choice, a book about the character, a game or puzzle about the character or topic, and a shaped blank paper booklet in which the students get to write their own story about the character. The teacher changes the books and games so that if a student chooses the same character bag more than onces, the items inside are different.

Today was the Youngest's turn to bring home the character bag. He chose Curious George.

Here he is with Curious George and the book he wrote.

39/366

2012-02-08T14:49:00.002-06:00

"D" is the letter for this week's photo challenge over at ABC Wednesday.

Dishes in the dishwasher
To see more "D" photos or to play along, go to ...

38/366

2012-02-07T21:29:00.001-06:00

Tonight's sunset

37/366

2012-02-06T20:16:00.001-06:00

Younger Daughter creating an art project

36/366

2012-02-05T20:14:00.000-06:00

Hubby and our boys playing basketball outdoors at the beginning of February

35/366

2012-02-04T20:11:00.001-06:00

Hubby working hard writing a paper for one of his masters classes

34/366

2012-02-03T19:43:00.004-06:00

Middle Child and the Youngest playing Chinese checkers

33/366

2012-02-02T20:20:00.002-06:00

Middle Child and I played Bananagrams tonight.

32/366

2012-02-01T16:45:00.003-06:00

"C" is the letter for this week's photo challenge over at ABC Wednesday.

Cake

It may not look very special, but with the lemon frosting on it, it's yummy!

To see more "C" photos or to play along, go to ...

31/366

2012-01-31T18:43:00.000-06:00

Making frosting

30/366

2012-01-30T21:12:00.001-06:00

View of a toy basketball hoop looking up from below

29/366

2012-01-29T19:11:00.001-06:00

Chugga chugga, choo choo!

28/366

2012-01-28T14:07:00.000-06:00

New vinyl words I put up above the mirror in our master bedroom

27/366

2012-01-27T21:05:00.002-06:00

Oldest Son at his basketball game

26/366

2012-01-26T22:03:00.001-06:00

Popcorn
(Taken with my ipod)

25/366

2012-01-25T19:31:00.002-06:00

"B" is the letter for this week's photo challenge over at ABC Wednesday.

Brothers
To see more "B" photos or to play along, go to ...

24/366

2012-01-24T19:30:00.000-06:00

Bookshelf full of books

23/366

2012-01-23T18:27:00.002-06:00

Oldest Son reading for homework

22/366

2012-01-22T20:15:00.002-06:00

The kids spent a few hours outside this afternoon sledding and building snowforts.

Middle Child

Unfortunately the light was bad and I bumped my ISO up to compensate, but it made the picture pretty grainy.

21/366

2012-01-21T15:11:00.001-06:00

16 years ago today, I went for a walk with my tall, dark, and handsome boyfriend. On that walk, he asked me to marry him. This summer we will be married 15 years.

My engagement and wedding rings (They're soldered together.)

20/366

2012-01-20T22:02:00.002-06:00

The Oldest fighting for possession of the ball during her basketball game

19/366

2012-01-19T21:08:00.002-06:00

Younger Daughter all tucked in bed

18/366

2012-01-18T14:52:00.005-06:00

Through The Tapestry of Life, I discovered a fun photo challenge/game called ABC Wednesday. This game is obviously not new since it is in its 10th round, but it is new to me, and I thought it would be fun to play along. I may not always participate, but I think this will also give me some ideas on what to take pictures of for my Project 365(6).

This week's letter is "A".

Arctic arch

Actually it's just some windblown snow over an icicle in my yard (which one of the kids probably put there), but I don't think it's too hard to imagine this as an arctic landscape.

To see more "A" photos or to play along, go to ...

17/366

2012-01-17T22:50:00.000-06:00

Snowy sled

16/366

2012-01-16T19:39:00.000-06:00

Is it ever done?

15/366

2012-01-15T15:02:00.002-06:00

The Oldest hard at work on her homework

The T Family

2012-01-15T14:18:00.003-06:00

You'd think that it would be safe to schedule a photo session with a snowy backdrop at the beginning of January in Wisconsin. Unfortunately that was not the case with this one which took place last Saturday. If it had only been a week later ... oh, well! We had fun despite the lack of snow that the family desired and made good use of the warmer temps, ending up with some very nice photos.

14/366

2012-01-14T20:15:00.000-06:00

Such intricate fragility in those tiny flakes

13/366

2012-01-13T07:46:00.003-06:00

What a difference a day makes!

These are shots of my backyard as seen through my bedroom window. I took the first picture around 7:30 am yesterday and the second around 7:30 am today.

We ended up getting about 4", and it looks like winter finally showed up!

12/366

2012-01-12T19:49:00.001-06:00

Hot buttered rum - Yum!

11/366

2012-01-11T15:24:00.006-06:00

It's January 11th and 52 degrees with no snow on the ground here in Wisconsin. According to the weatherman, we've only gotten 1.7" of snow so far this winter ... definitely odd. However, we are supposedly in for a big change with anywhere from 3-9" predicted for tomorrow into Friday.

In the meantime, here's a "winter" photo I took this afternoon.

Dormant tree bud - Doesn't it look like a rose?

10/366

2012-01-10T14:48:00.008-06:00

I've mentioned our huge remodeling project before. What we (read that "we" as "Hubby") did was finish our basement by adding a bedroom for the boys down there and redo the upper level which had 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom into a level with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We started this project in the summer of 2010, and Hubby has done most of the work himself. Now we're on the homestretch!

This weekend Hubby finished the flooring in the upstairs hallway, with the exception of the trimboards.

The upstairs hallway floor as it looks today

Bathroom is to the left
Master bedroom straight ahead
Girls' bedroom to the right

9/366

2012-01-09T14:50:00.003-06:00

Middle Child had a famous person biography book report and project due today. His was on Thomas Edison.

The project he and his classmates had to do was use a 2 liter soda bottle or a dish soap bottle and make the person whose biography they'd read. Middle child used a dish soap bottle for the body. Since Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he used a light bulb that he painted for the head. Thomas is also holding a Christmas tree light bulb. The most unique part of the project however, is that Middle Child glued some of Younger Daughter's cut hair to Thomas Edison's head!

Middle Child with his Thomas Edison project, taken this morning before he left for school

8/366

2012-01-08T16:35:00.002-06:00

Younger Daughter has been asking for a few weeks to have her hair cut. It looks so pretty long, but it has a big tendency to tangle and snarl. We told her to wait til after Christmas and then I'd cut it.

Well, it's after Christmas, and she's still been asking for it to be cut up to her chin. I kept asking her if she's sure, and she continued to say yes. She's had her hair cut this short before and it looks cute on her, but once it's cut, it's cut, so I want to make double, triple, centuple? (100x's) sure.

After church this morning I got out the scissors (and my camera) and cut her pretty brown locks.

Before

Another before shot
Isn't it pretty?

Drumroll, please ...

After

After

It looks a bit choppy in the after pics, but Younger Daughter took a bath after I finished cutting it to wash her hair and wash all the hair snippets off. Now that her hair is dry again, she's got just enough natural wave in her hair that the wave combined with the bit of layering I did on the bottom makes it curve under nicely and not look choppy. Pretty cute, I think!

7/366

2012-01-07T15:31:00.001-06:00

Tree stump

6/366

2012-01-06T07:55:00.001-06:00

Just look at all these colors from which we have to choose ... and then think about the infinite color choices God has.

5/366

2012-01-05T21:05:00.001-06:00

Candle burning in a punched metal candle holder

Project 365(6)

2012-01-04T19:53:00.006-06:00

Back in 2009 I participated in Project 365, a challenge to take a picture a day for a year. While I didn't always end up taking a picture a day, I did take one (or more) the next day to make up for it.

I've been thinking of doing Project 365 off and on the past few months. With the start of the new year, a friend of mine decided to take part in this challenge. That spurred me on to do the same. Thankfully I had already taken a picture every day of the new year.* However, with this year being a leap year, that makes this Project 366.

Here are my first four pictures for 2012 ...

1/366
We're nearing the end of a 1 1/2 year remodeling project. This is our working master bathroom. As you can see, it still needs some work, but we can use it!

2/366
Another part of our remodeling project - This is showing that the girls' closet is now painted. (It was blue; now it's white.)

3/366
The Youngest playing with his Christmas present from us

4/366
Feather on the floor

*These pictures will not follow a specific theme other than being a picture for each day of the year. Some may be artsy, some of my family, some poor photo quality, etc. However, I do hope to grow in my photographic ability over the course of this project. Stay tuned ...

L & L Engagement Session

2011-11-30T21:20:00.002-06:00

I got to know the groom-to-be in these pictures when he was only in high school. It's been really neat to see him grow over these past years, and now he's engaged to such a sweet and beautiful girl. When he asked me to take their engagement pictures, I was so happy to do so!

The M Family

2011-11-21T19:25:00.004-06:00

What fun this family was to photograph! Lots of energy and laughs.

Lovely Large Family

2011-11-12T07:29:00.000-06:00

A beautiful sunny day, warm November weather, and lots of hands willing to help while their siblings' pictures were taken made for another great photo shoot with a family whose pictures I took last year. You'll notice they've added another member to their family since then!

A Photo Session in Two Parts: Part 2

2011-11-11T08:24:00.007-06:00

And now for part two of a family photo session, this one highlighting the baby daughter. (View part one with the rest of the family.)

A Photo Session in Two Parts: Part 1

2011-11-11T07:56:00.007-06:00

This was my first time taking pictures for a family that I didn't know beforehand. They were referred to me by a friend and one of my past customers.

What a sweet family they are!

We had to do this photo session in two parts because we did it pretty early in the morning, and it was still very chilly out. The boys were real troopers, but the cold was too much for the baby girl, so we rescheduled her pictures for a couple days later. (View photos from the rescheduled session.)

Here are some shots from the first day.

Mid-Week Photo Session

2011-10-29T21:03:00.002-05:00

This summer I took had my first high school senior photo shoot with the daughter in this family. Now that it's fall, they wanted some pictures of all the kids together. I was happy to oblige!

As you can see, we had some fun together!

Family of Four

2011-10-20T15:02:00.005-05:00

Last year when I first started taking pictures of people not related to me, this family was my very first photo shoot. They even requested 2 photo sessions last year, one of just the kids, and another with the whole family. Thankfully they were so happy with their pictures that they asked me to take some for them again this year!

Sunny Sunday Photo Shoot

2011-10-16T12:58:00.004-05:00

Warm autumn weather and bright fall colors were a perfect setting for this photo shoot last Sunday.

Siblings Photo Shoot

2011-10-10T21:02:00.004-05:00

The weather was beautiful, and the pictures of these redheaded siblings turned out beautifully, too!

Sweetness

2011-10-10T20:09:00.004-05:00

This past weekend I had a photo shoot for a family whose pictures I'd taken last year. Since then they've been blessed with another little boy.

Rather than pictures of the whole family again, they wanted me to capture their younger daughter at 3 and their baby at 6 months. Such sweet cuties!

God's Mirror

2011-10-02T20:02:00.001-05:00

Beautiful fall foliage from today

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully. 1 Corinthians 13:12, NIV

My Kids' Yearly Photo Shoot

2011-09-25T19:39:00.003-05:00

A couple days ago I took my kids out and took their yearly pictures. Here are some of my favorites.

Oldest Child

Oldest Son

Middle Child

Younger Daughter

Youngest

All 5 together

Tulips

2011-06-06T20:58:00.002-05:00

I think it's so pretty how the overexposure in this image makes the petals look translucent.

An Afternoon at the Park

2011-06-02T13:11:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned before, the kids and I went to the park yesterday. Here are some fun photos from our excursion ...

Well Aged

2011-06-01T22:01:00.003-05:00

I took this picture at the park today. I think the weathered wood of the whiskey barrel planter fits in well with this week's Thematic Photographic "Well Aged" challenge.

Together

2011-05-31T19:05:00.002-05:00

A pic of my two girls for Simplicity's "Together" photo challenge.

1/30, f/5/0, ISO 200

I'm Back With New Pics!

2011-05-31T16:48:00.008-05:00

I know it's been a L.O.N.G. time since I've posted any new photos on this blog. Life just happened and was busy. I know, I know, everyone is busy.

Well, I'm back, and I hope to post here more frequently.

I've been working on shooting in full manual mode with some successes and numerous images that I'll call "learning experiences." :)

Here are some pics I took on Monday.

1/40, f/4.5, ISO 100

1/30, f/4.5, ISO 100

Chilly Photo Shoot

2010-11-21T20:41:00.004-06:00

Yesterday afternoon I had a family photo shoot in the chilly low 40 degree weather. It was sunny though, so that was nice, and the family even braved the cool temps for a few pics without coats on. The 1 YO twin girls gave me a run for my money, but the older kids cooperated so easily!

We went to the family farm which belonged to the husband's grandparents. Although both of them have passed away, some of his family still lives there, and they were nice enough to let us take pictures on the property. It was a photographer's dream! Lots of neat textures and scenery for backgrounds!

Woodsy Autumn Photo Shoot

2010-10-30T16:46:00.003-05:00

On Thursday I had another scheduled photo shoot for some friends. We went to some nearby woods, and I was able to get some nice shots of their four children. Despite the chilly weather, I have not heard so many giggles in a long time, and they made for a fun photo shoot.

I think it's so cute how the word "LOVE" is on the sole of her shoe. I didn't even notice that til I got home and was processing the pics!

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

2010-10-25T15:46:00.001-05:00

A fellow amateur photographer friend of mine has taken some absolutely awesome pictures of the moon. Inspired by him, I went out the other night when the moon was almost full and attempted to take some moon pictures myself. It's definitely a LOT harder than it looks!

I ended up shooting in full manual mode because I had to keep adjusting different things so that the pictures weren't way too dark or entirely blown out.

... And then one of the legs of my tripod broke off right where it joins the base where the camera sits! To be honest, the tripod wasn't doing me much good because I couldn't get it to tighten and hold my camera at the correct angle anyway!

At any rate, I managed to get a couple of semi decent pictures. I suppose they're not too bad for my first attempt. They give a baseline for future reference, right?

The moon was behind the clouds on this one, but I thought the lighting was pretty cool.

Irresistibly Adorable

2010-10-24T22:26:00.004-05:00

Another Sunday, another photo shoot. :)

Some friends asked me to take their daughter's 1 year old pictures as well as a couple of family shots. I wasn't at all sure this one was going to happen though. It rained during the night and then poured while we were in church this morning. However, I wasn't scheduled to meet the family til 3:30. By then the weather had cleared. It wasn't sunny, but the lighting worked very well, and I was able to get some of the most adorable 1 year old shots!

What do you think?

Don't you just want to kiss those adorable cheeks and eat her up?

Sunday's Second Photo Shoot

2010-10-22T15:20:00.000-05:00

The second photo shoot I had on Sunday was a family whose young children I used to babysit before I started working outside the home a little over a year ago. The husband is actually the brother of the husband in the first photo shoot I did on Sunday!

Sunday's First Photo Shoot

2010-10-21T14:11:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday I had two photo shoots scheduled in the afternoon in two different places. The parents in the first family were college classmates of Hubby and me who now live in a nearby town. Their family and children reminded me quite a bit of ours ... they have five, just like we do, even the same number of boys and girls, and pretty close to the same ages, too!

Autumn Wedding

2010-10-20T15:46:00.004-05:00

One of my oldest and best friends was married this past weekend. I suppose I should clarify when I say she's one of my oldest friends ... it's because I've known her for a long time, not because she's old! She and I met in 8th grade, we went to high school for 4 years together and roomed together for 4 years of college.

In the past 5 years, my dear friend has battled and defeated a 3 very serious health issues. Last year she met the love of her life, and she is now living her happily ever after.

I was not her wedding photographer, but I took my camera along, of course, and took all kinds of pictures. I really struggled with the lighting on some of these pictures, but they turned out okay.

Also, with all of the orange in these pictures, I'm entering them for this week's "Orange" photo challenge over at You Capture.

Table centerpiece

The Sweetheart Table (for the bride and groom)

All those leaves on the cake were fondant!

Every groom should look at his bride like this!

College friends (Hubby took this one.) - That's me, second from the left.

One of my friends took a picture of our family for us with my camera before the reception started.

It was such a beautiful day! The weather was perfect and we were able to celebrate such a happy occasion with many dear friends.

The Colors of Fall

2010-10-14T16:25:00.002-05:00

One thing I really like about where I live is the change of seasons. Although I'm usually tired of winter by February, I do appreciate the unique beauty in all 4 seasons ... and the beauty of fall is some of the most vibrant!

I recently took this photo of just some of the colorful leaves around here. I love how the green moss they are lying on seems to make the leaves' color pop even more.

This photo is my submission for the "Vivid Color" photo challenge over at Perceptive Perspective.

Side of Shed

2010-10-11T20:51:00.000-05:00

Our neighbors have a shed with these old fashioned metal objects hanging on it. I couldn't resist taking this pic a couple of months ago and then converting it to sepia to give it an even more old fashioned look.

I'm submitting it for Unique Exposure's "Sepia" photo challenge.

My First Family & Couple Photo Shoot

2010-10-10T22:54:00.004-05:00

The family for whom I was scheduled to do a photo shoot this afternoon had to cancel, but I was able to sneak in a photo shoot for some family friends at the last minute.

These are the same family friends whose children's pictures I took about two weeks ago. The husband wasn't able to be there when I took the kids' pictures, but the wife wanted to see if we could get in a photo shoot with the whole family and even some of just the husband and wife before the weather got too cold. With today's late cancellation, I was able to fit them in!

Some of my favorite shots from today ...

Black Eyed Susans

2010-10-08T07:58:00.002-05:00

Another picture from my photo walk the other day

I'm linking this post up with Simplicity's "Flowers" photo challenge.

Autumn Landscapes

2010-10-06T21:12:00.004-05:00

When I was on my photo walk the other day, I took these photos of the autumn colors near our house, and I'm submitting them for the "Landscape" theme for this week's challenge at Perceptive Perspective.

Week 4 Photography Class Assignments

2010-10-03T19:38:00.004-05:00

This week was the final week of the photography class I'm taking, and we focused on white balance.

We had to take a photo in unnatural light with a bad white balance and then with a good white balance.

Bad white balance - SOOC

Good white balance - SOOC

Then we were assigned to take pictures in natural light with two different types of white balances.

First white balance - SOOC

Second white balance - SOOC

For our final assignment, we were to go on a photo walk and make a mosaic of some of the pictures we took while on our walk.

The leaves are really starting to change, and the colors are beautiful!

F is for ...

2010-10-02T19:10:00.002-05:00

... frost on a window.

No, it's not cold enough here yet for frost on the windows. I took this picture last winter. The frost patterns were so pretty!

After taking the picture, I darkened the picture and bumped up the contrast so the patterns stood out even more.

Head on over to Unique Exposure to find other things that start with F.

My First Non-Family Photo Shoot

2010-09-29T07:25:00.005-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I did my first photo shoot for people who aren't my family. A friend had seen the portraits I'd taken of my kids this year, and she asked if I'd take some pictures of her children, too. I jumped at the chance to photograph others and practice my skills, but I have to admit I was nervous as to how today would go.

Even though it took the 2YO son a bit to warm up and smile for me, I was able to get some pretty nice shots. The 4YO daughter did wonderfully right off the bat!

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day.

I had to put this one in here. It cracks me up!

Love those L.O.N.G. lashes!

I'm pretty happy with the way the pictures turned out, and I'm linking up the appropriate ones with Black and White Wednesday.

Living Room Redecorating

2010-09-28T13:39:00.005-05:00

As I've mentioned before, we are in the midst of finishing the basement and remodeling the upstairs level of our house. Redecorating the living room was not on the radar. However, after taking the kids' yearly portraits, I decided I wanted to hang them in the living room on the large wall. I also wanted to get rid of a shelf, but that threw the balance of things off, so almost all the furniture got rearranged!

Anyway ... here are some BEFORE pictures of the wall.

And now for the AFTER pictures ...

What's different?

Black and white portraits of the kids and one from our wedding in new floating frames on the wall

New clock

New stand lamp in the corner (The old one is next to the large couch which is now under the window opposite the loveseat.)

Finally, after 13 years of marriage, figured out what to do with the "rain" window that was given to us as a wedding present and hung it on the wall next to the black and white pictures (Sometimes I still wonder why we kept the window when we never knew how to display it, but it has meaning behind it.)

Rearranged piano, big couch, loveseat, rockers, and most lamps

Packed away the Precious Moments figurines and moved the large wooden cabinet out of the corner (Hope to use it in the girls' room once it's finished)

I really like how it turned out. I think getting rid of the wooden cabinet and redecorating the large wall makes the living room look and feel more open. I really like the black and white pics in the frames, and I think the redecorated wall makes the room look a little more classy.

Your thoughts?

Dandelion Details

2010-09-27T20:41:00.002-05:00

I took this dandelion picture last year. I really like the detail of the lines of dandelion fluff.

I'm submitting this picture for both Shoot-n-Tell's bokeh challenge and Paper Heart Camera's "Up Close and Personal" challenge. Be sure to visit each site to see more awesome submissions.

Week 3 Photography Class Assignment

2010-09-23T13:48:00.000-05:00

This week we're experimenting with ISO (film speed) in my photography class. We had to take a picture of a flower, one at a low ISO and one at a high ISO. There aren't many flowers that are still blooming around here. Most have gone to seed, so I shot some clover "flowers" instead.

I adjusted my shutter speed when taking my pics so that the lighting wouldn't be too dark or too light, but I kept the aperture the same to keep some continuity in the photos. Both of these images were shot manually.

f5.6, 1/125, ISO 200

f5.6, 1/500, ISO 800

Lots of Feet

2010-09-22T21:37:00.002-05:00

Today the kids and I watched Oldest Son run in his cross country meet. While we were there, I snapped some pictures for this week's "Feet" photo challenge over at Perceptive Perspective.

Running in tandem

Cute 4 YO feet

Dirty kid feet(This is what happens when the kids love to run around barefoot ... and these are pretty clean compared to some summer days!)

By the way, Oldest Son placed 2nd out of 20 5-6th grade boys!

Red Tulips in a Row

2010-09-22T15:19:00.004-05:00

Yes, fall has just begun, but Unique Exposure's photo challenge for the week is "Red," and this picture fits perfectly.

I took this shot this past spring when my tulips were blooming. I loved how these three blooms were lined up stairstep in a row.

Week 2 Photography Class Assignments

2010-09-19T20:20:00.007-05:00

I'm so sorry for the extended absence. This past week has just been extremely busy, and I just haven't had time to blog. In fact, I finally submitted my photos for my photography class assignments tonight, too.

This week our photography class focused on shutter speed. I'm actually pretty proud of myself because I shot 2 of the 5 photos for the class using completely manual settings. They may not be spectacular, but I'm especially proud that I was able to adjust the shutter speed and ISO so that the lighting wasn't too bad.

Here are all my shots SOOC (with the exception of the "watermark").

Moving Water
f5, 1/320, ISO 3200 (Shot completely manually)

f5, 1/10, ISO 100 (Shot completely manually)

Daylight action taken at slow shutter speed to show motion
1/30

Low light action taken at slow shutter speed to show motion
I actually shot this at night on a tripod with a 15 second exposure for the shutter speed.

"Shoot Where You Are"
f4.5, 1/200, ISO 3200 (Shot completely manually)

I spent more time this week taking pictures in my bathrooms than ever before, trying to catch drops of water on "film" (How do you change that saying for digital cameras? "On memory card???" Doesn't have the same ring to it.) and adjusting my camera settings so that the lighting wasn't too dark. All in the name of photography!

Reflecting the Old in the New

2010-09-13T21:30:00.003-05:00

Last summer (that's 2009, not 2010), Hubby surprised me on our anniversary by taking me out to eat downtown in the big city. I'd stuffed my point-and-shoot camera in my purse before we left, and I'm glad I did. I was able to capture this shot as we were walking down the sidewalk between our vehicle and the restaurant.

I just love how you can see the older buildings from across the street reflected in the more modern ediface of this one.

This photo is my submission for Thematic Photographic's "Reflective" theme for the week.

Sunset with Geese

2010-09-13T21:06:00.004-05:00

The other week, after getting back home after the Middle Child's photo shoot, I heard geese honking. I could tell they they were in the sky behind some tall trees in our yard. Even though I couldn't see them, I could tell which direction they were heading, so I aimed at the sky, pointing my camera at a gap between the trees. As the geese flew by, I snapped a couple of pics.

The setting sun was turning the sky a gorgeous color and provided a beautiful backdrop for the silhouette of the geese.

I'm submitting this photo for the "Looking Up" photo challenge over at Shoot-N-Tell. Be sure to head over there and "look up" the other entries to see more interpretations of the theme.

***UPDATE***
My photo won an honorable mention in this photo challenge!

The Oldest's and Oldest Son's Photo Shoots

2010-09-12T21:26:00.005-05:00

My photo shoots with the Oldest and Oldest Son were definitely more work than those of the younger three.

I took Oldest Son out one evening last week for his turn. After a couple of pictures at one place, we walked to a different location for some more pics, but he forgot he was wearing sandals that didn't have much traction, and he slipped and hurt his knee when he hit it on a picnic table when trying to jump over it. (No, that was not something I asked him to do for an action shot!) No more pictures of him that night, so we walked back home, and I thought we could quickly get the Oldest's pics done.

She and I did shoot a bunch of pics, and went home happy, but when I loaded the photos onto my computer and compared them to the ones I'd taken of the younger three kids, I was not happy with the lighting in her photos. They looked washed out and faded. I think we'd just stayed outside too late, and there wasn't enough light. I tried to fix them with my photo editor, but I couldn't get them to look right. So the next night she, Oldest Son, and I all went out together to try and get some good shots.

I did the Oldest first this time, and I'm really happy with how her portraits turned out.

I can't believe how grown up she looks in this picture!

And then it was Oldest Son's turn. Let's just say it would probably be easier pulling teeth than it is to try and take his portraits when having his picture taken isn't his idea! I'm not sure if it was more torturous for him or for me! It was hard, but thankfully I did manage to get a few of him cracking a smile.

The way Oldest Son would prefer I take his picture

Okay, time to weigh in. What do you think? Your favs?

Week 1 Final Class Assignment

2010-09-12T21:24:00.003-05:00

f/5.6

"Contemplate Your Shot" - I knew I wanted to take a pic of one of my kids outside for this shot, and the Youngest is one of the most cooperative. I didn't want a "Stand over there and I'll take your picture" shot though, so I had him bring his hat outside and had him pretend he was putting it on. However, he didn't just pretend, he kept putting it on and taking it off, teasing me and laughing. I think this keeper was the third shot I took. I did tweak the color, brightness, and contrast just a little bit in editing because the original looked a bit faded.

Photography Class Assignments

2010-09-09T17:13:00.003-05:00

Remember when I mentioned that I'd signed up to take an online photography class this fall? Well the class has started! Hooray!

This week we are studying and experimenting with aperture and f-stops.

Below are this week's assignments that I've completed so far.

f/4

Same shot at f/11

See the difference in the backgrounds?

f/5.6 (optional assignment)

f/5

Same shot at f/16

I still have one more required assignment to complete before Monday and two more optional ones.

Younger Daughter's Photo Shoot

2010-09-08T07:45:00.000-05:00

On Monday I was able to get outside with Younger Daughter to take her yearly portraits. She is very photogenic, and I'm really happy with how her pictures turned out. She loves to pick flowers and wanted to put them in her purse to take home; I was able to incorporate that into the photo shoot, too.

What do you think? Which shot is your favorite? Critiques/suggestions?

Chugga Chugga Whoo Whoo!

2010-09-07T20:10:00.001-05:00

When we went to Glacier this summer, we stayed at the Izaak Walton Inn, a hotel which also has a working train yard on site. The locomotives at this station help get the trains over the mountain pass. I took this picture from the walking bridge spanning the tracks on our first evening there.

This photo is my submission for Thematic Photographic's "Transportation" theme, Unique Exposure's "Travel" photo challenge, and the Thursday Challenge's "Technology" theme. Be sure to check out each site to see more interpretations of these themes!

Weekend of Water Fun

2010-09-07T19:03:00.005-05:00

Some friends of ours have a lake cottage that has been in their family for 3 or 4 generations. (It was either our friend's grandfather or great-grandfather who built it.) They invited us to spend Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend there with them. We've been there with them before, and we jumped at the chance to go again!

Saturday was pretty cool, but some of the older kids were brave enough to do some tubing.

Meanwhile, some of the younger kids were just thrilled to ride along in the speedboat.

(Oldest Son was trying to warm up after tubing.)

When not tubing the kids spent much of the time in and out of the paddleboat, canoe, and docked pontoon boat. The cottage's lake frontage is wonderful for kids because you can walk out 100 ft, and the water is still only about 5 ft deep ... very shallow. However, we did have the kids wear life preservers when playing around by the shore, on the pier, and in the boats.

The Oldest and Oldest Son taking some of the younger kids for a canoe ride

Attack of the water gun soldiers!

The weather was warmer on Sunday, and all of the kids except for the Youngest took turns riding on the "hot dog." We adults and the kids who weren't riding the hot dog enjoyed cruising on the pontoon boat as it pulled the hot dog behind.

(This one is my entry into Paper Mama's "Excitement" photo challenge.)

Some of the kids even got to spend some time fishing off the pier and some of the docked boats.

What an awesome, fun weekend!

Baby Hands

2010-09-03T00:18:00.000-05:00

Soft, pudgy, dimpled. Baby hands are so adorable!

Before I went back to work outside the home 1 1/2 yrs ago, I did some childcare in our house for a while. When caring for this sweet baby girl, I couldn't resist taking a picture of her kissable little hands while she was sucking her thumb. Would you have been able to?

Natalie has started a new photo challenge called "Shoot-n-Tell". The premiere week's theme is up to 3 of your favorite photos of anything. The above pic is one of my very favs that I've ever taken!

Turning the Camera Around

2010-09-02T21:38:00.004-05:00

As the photographer, I'm usually behind the camera rather than in front of it. However, this week, Paper Mama challenged photographers to turn the camera on themselves and take a self portrait.

Here I am!

Be sure to visit Paper Mama to catch a glimpse of the other participating photographers. You might not see them again for a while!

Middle Child's Photo Shoot

2010-09-01T22:34:00.005-05:00

Well, I did actually make it outside again for another photo shoot yet today, this time with the Middle Child.

Once again, I used my fixed 50mm f/1.4 lens.

What do you think of these? Middle Child is a real character, and I think his personality really came out in the pics.

Since I read the rules over at Perceptive Perspective and it looks like there is no limit to the number of photos you can submit for each weekly challenge, I'm going to enter this series of pics into her "Kids" theme for this week, too.

Photo Shoot with the Youngest

2010-09-01T17:03:00.006-05:00

In recent years I've stopped going to the portrait studios in Penney's and Wal-mart and have begun taking my own pics of our children for their yearly portraits. I don't buy their school pictures either ... way too expensive (especially with five kids) and not always the greatest quality either.

This afternoon I took the Youngest outside to take his portrait pics. It was very overcast (in fact, we had to wait a little bit for the sprinkles to stop) which I thought would help avoid shadows. Since I didn't take any pictures with the sky in them, it didn't matter that the sky was white and gray with clouds instead of blue.

I used my fixed 50mm f/1.4 lens for the whole photo shoot.

What do you think? Which do you like the best? I'm debating between a couple of them.

These pictures are also my submission to Perceptive Perspective's "Kids" theme.

Now I have to find the time take the other kids out one by one for their own photo shoots!

First Day of Preschool

2010-09-01T15:56:00.002-05:00

Today was the Youngest's first day of preschool. He was so excited to go!

39 Years and Counting

2010-08-31T17:34:00.004-05:00

Hubby's parents celebrated their 39th anniversary this summer. I took this photo of them after we finished a photo shoot with the whole family when we were all together in June.

For more pictures exemplifying the "Love" theme, visit Simplicity.

Feathery Flower

2010-08-30T15:08:00.005-05:00

I took the pic of this flower when we were in Glacier this summer. The colors were so bright and the flower petals so unique I couldn't pass it up. I'd never seen a flower like it before. I was just growing on the side of the path, so it's probably a weed, but I still thought it was really neat looking.

Head on over to Thematic Photographic where this week's theme is "Flowers."

Obstacle Course

2010-08-26T16:00:00.004-05:00

A couple days ago the kids set up an obstacle course in the driveway.

Here's Middle Child navigating his way through it.

Why, yes, that's his sister's purple bike helmet he's wearing. Why do you ask?

This pic is my submission for this week's "Outside" theme over at You Capture.

Happy to Be Four

2010-08-26T14:56:00.004-05:00

The Youngest celebrated his fourth birthday at the beginning of this month. He was SO happy and excited to be turning four!

When asked before his birthday what kind of cake he wanted, he said, "Lellow." Frosting? "Lellow." Anything else on the cake? "No, just lellow." So a yellow cake with yellow frosting it was!

Notice he is wearing a yellow shirt. We even put yellow candles on the cake even though they're not in this picture. Bet you can't guess his favorite color! ;)

Today is Faith at Simplicity's birthday, and her photo challenge theme for the week is "Birthday." Be sure to head on over and wish her a happy birthday as well as check out all the other birthday pics.

Tricycle Handlebars

2010-08-25T22:38:00.002-05:00

This week's theme at Perceptive Perspective is "Metal." Here's my submission:

Be sure to visit Perceptive Perspective to view more photographs showcasing "metal."

Answering Your Questions

2010-08-25T21:51:00.005-05:00

Faith asked, "Who are your favorite bloggers at the moment?"

I really like (in no particular order):

Jenni at One Thing (although she's on a bit of a hiatus for now)

Faith at Simplicity - my life in (mostly) photographs (And I honestly am not just saying that because she asked the question! I really do like her blog!)

brittanyclaire at 4 little men and girly twins

Cassity at Remodelaholic

Sarah at Clover Lane

First Day of School

2010-08-25T21:38:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the first day of the new school year for the 4 older kiddos. Just like my mom always did, I take a pic of the kids on their first day every year. Here's this year's edition:

Left to right: Younger Daughter - 1st gr; Oldest - 6th gr; Middle Child - 3rd gr; Oldest Son - 5th gr

The Youngest was not happy that it wasn't his first day of school, too, but his first day of preschool doesn't start til next week Wednesday.

Puzzling

2010-08-22T22:37:00.003-05:00

I took this photo of the Youngest about 1 1/2 yrs ago. Because of the numbers on the puzzle, it fits perfectly with the PhotoHunt "Numerical" theme for the week.