We went back to the zoo today.

We bought season passes, so we're able to just go for an hour here or there, and so it's been a lot of fun. I love not feeling like I need to get my money's worth in one day, you know?

Anyway, so, we went. Again, I didn't take any pictures of animals. I just stink at those...I need a longer zoom, but that's not on the top of my list right now. So, I just don't take them. The only one I got was of this nasty looking spider on his nasty looking web. I shot it through glass, so I had a difficult time getting focus. I think the web's sharper than the spider, but oh well. And, yeah...I didn't pay attention to what kind of spider it was, so don't ask! :-) Haha!
Also, let me just go ahead and get this out of the way. I've been challenged to be IN more pictures this coming month. So, be expecting that. I can't exactly say that I'm too thrilled about it, but I guess in a way I am. I mean, when you're always behind the camera, or when you think you're carrying a few extra pounds, you tend to not be in a lot of pictures. But, I know that it'll some day be just as important to my girls for ME to be in pictures as it is for me to have pictures of them, you know? So, though it's still March, I went ahead and let Curt get some practice shooting. Here's just one...that I don't love. (I mean, he did a good job, but...well, you know what I mean.)
On to the fun stuff! Some of these pictures are going to be fairly repetitive, but I just couldn't decide which one(s) to share so I'm sharing them all. What a treat! (<---------please note the sarcasm.) So, what's with Maya & old, chipping yellow painted buildings/windows? Haha! We found this spot at the zoo the first time we went. Remember the picture of Summer standing here? So, I plopped Maya up in the window, and, to keep her busy, I gave her a lollipop. That did the trick.
Does her big ol' out of focus foot right there in the front bother you in this one?
And, I know the lighting is kinda weird here, but I loved how the sunlight just caught the top of the lollipop. I wish she'd had the lollipop turned right towards me, but oh well. Which crop for this one?

And, I just ADORE this next set. I love that they have this little nook that you can crawl into & check out the water creatures. Seeing the girls in there reminded me of being a child. Man, the carefree days... Anyway, when I was little, I remember seeing things that would spark my imagination, and I would just daydream for what seemed like forever. I had this metal Disneyland lunch box, and on the bus I would just stare at it. My imagination would put me there, in the scene. Everything around me just faded away momentarily.

When I see my girls in this little nook snackin' on lollipops & checking out the sea creatures, I just hope that their little minds have taken them to another place. That's what childhood is made of...imagination & whimsy.



And, for fun...what do you think of this crop with all the dead space?
And, finally...here's a snapshot of Curt pushing SERIOUSLY lazy-bones-jones-Maya in the stroller & Emma walking. (Maya REFUSES to walk. Ugh.) Anyway, this is a BUSY shot, thus the heavy vignette to try to pull the focus to Curt & the girls. But, I thought it was kinda cute. Plus, Curt & Emma are walking just exactly the same way except Emma's got a little more hip action! Haha! :-)

Well, since I didn't skip yesterday, I really was gonna skip today.

I really, really was. I'm SO stinkin' tired today, plus it was a preschool day, plus it was SO stormy this afternoon. And, yet, here I am.

If you read my post from a couple days ago, you know that I'm trying to be more deliberate in my photography. Well, maybe that's a bad way to say it. I guess I already am deliberate. I mean, I don't know, aware of the moments that I overlook. I'm trying to be intentional about capturing their daily "stuff." So, when I saw Maya being the epitome of "preschool day Maya," I thought I should just grab the camera & snap.

Let me explain "preschool day Maya." Maya still needs a good, long daily nap. She falls right to sleep at home. But, at preschool, someone refuses to nap. I send her favorite blanket...nothing. I send "Muckey" (her favorite monkey)...nothing.

Now, if Maya doesn't get enough sleep, she's like me...overly emotional and sensitive. So, inevitably, every preschool day evening is...hmmm...somethin' else with this one. I mean, the crying kicks in almost immediately after she steps foot in the door. I'm serious. Heck, we're lucky if it doesn't start up on the car ride home. Haha!

Today's first crying fit started because Emma wouldn't let her watch Dora. Which, honestly...Emma doesn't control the TV, so why oh why does Maya let this get to her? But, Curt & I were in the kitchen talking, and we don't let our kids interrupt, so we were unavailable to save the day right away. (Eye roll here...) She just cried. This isn't so much a fit with screaming and all that...just that really hurt cry. You know...the one that is accompanied by the random and uncontrollable sniffle?

I looked over at her, and I just couldn't help it. I had to get the camera out. The sniffle thing is kinda cute. :-) Plus, we see this pretty much on schedule, so why not document it, right!?! Look at that little tear & pouty lip. What was it that grampa used to tell me about a bird landing on my lip? Hahaha!!! :-)
So, then, not 30 seconds later (in fact, I've still got the camera up to my face,) she looks up with this face (after she's wiped her tear with a LEAF that she's been carrying around! Ay yi yi!)

I thought to myself, "wow...what changed? She NEVER smiles for me!" And then I hear her proud little voice say, "mama, I bewpd in your camera." (Bewpd=burped.) Ah, and NOW I know. She's quite pleased with herself. (Another eyeroll.) Man, I've got a couple classy girls here.

But, whatever. I'll take the genuine smile however I can get it! :-)

I was actually going to take the day off today, but...

Heather's family stopped by unexpectedly! Before they came by, my only photography plan for the day was to take passport pictures for a student. Though he's a good looking kid, and he'll probably take offense to my next statement, I don't think you would find them interesting. Haha!!! (Sorry JRay.)

But, Cam my man (see the previous zoo post) had a doctor's appointment not far from here. So, on their way home, they swung by! Now, Heather's family has been living in the dark ages until a few days ago. Yeah...they JUST got internet at their house. Can you believe it!?! Anyway, so they've been having a hay day with this blog of mine. They love to read all the comments, and Summer (my niece) has even managed to figure out how to leave a comment of her own! She's a smart one, I tell ya! What's it been...a few days & she's already got this internet thing figured out!?! :-) Ha! Anyway, when they got here, she told me she REALLY wanted to get on my blog again so she could leave herself all kinds of fabulous comments! And...she's probably going to KILL me for saying so! Hahaha!!! Who's too cool for school now, Summer!?! :-) (Love ya!)

So, yeah, I couldn't resist. Here are a few quick snaps of Summer out in the front yard:

And, one of the crazy red-headed maniac child. <-----I call him that affectionately, just so we're clear. :-) And, though she's SURELY going to kill me for posting this, here is one of my beautiful sister. She & I are always pretty goofy with the camera trying to see just how unflattering of a picture we can get of ourselves. You know, if you kind of press your chin down & into your neck, you can give yourself about 42 double chins! Hahaha! We've got a few doozies. But, this one, I think is really lovely, and no where near goofy! So, please don't be mad at me, Heather! (Plus, you know mom will want to see it!) :-)

This is quite possible the world's longest blog entry. Seriously.

Well, I took some photos today that I just LOVE. But, before I get to that, I wanted to say thank you again to all of you that visit & leave such wonderful, really, really nice comments. Seriously...I'm a little embarrassed (in a good way) about how sweet you all are to me.

So, the least I can do is take a little time to answer the questions some of you asked in your comments. Please know that I want to answer you guys, but sometimes I don't know how to do it. Should I answer in my own comment section or in a new post or on your blog (if linked?) I just don't know the right way to do it! :-) But, today I'm just gonna answer right here in the beginning of this post!

**Technical stuff starting here:

Chantale (and Lulu)- I've always liked photography and wanted to learn, but I only really made that happen just about a year ago. I got my first DSLR on April 13, 2006. :-) Before that, I had started learning the photographic triangle, but I was limited with my Canon point & shoot. My first camera was a Canon Rebel XT with a 50mm f/1.8 lens. I had a kit lens for a short time, but I ended up getting rid of that and opting for a vertical battery grip instead. I think you can do FABULOUS things with the XT & the 50. In fact, that's all I had for a long time. :-)

I've since acquired a bit more equipment, but my list is never ending! Ha! Now, I shoot with the Canon 30D, any my hubby (Curt) uses the XT. I have the 50mm f/1.8 still, an 85 1.8, 30 1.4 and 28-75 2.8. My absolute favorite is the 85. I love, love, LOVE to shoot at wide open apertures, so that's always the leading factor in what kind of lenses I buy.

I'm self taught, sort of. I mean, I never did any formal education aside from one photography class in college for fun. I do, though, have to credit all the great photographers on ILP that are so willing to share their knowledge. I learned OODLES there. I read, and read, and read everything I could get my hands on and still do. I practice with whatever is around me. I've got at least a billion pictures on my computer of water bottles or tennis shoes or whatever was laying around when I felt the need to practice what I was reading. That's been THE single biggest learning tool for me. I think photography is never ending. There will NEVER be a time when there's nothing to learn. As it is now, I feel like I don't even know a quarter of what there is to know! It's INSANE! So, yeah, I still read, read, read.

I'm not in business at this point. I thought I might want to be, but I've since decided that I jumped into it way too soon. Photography is my passion, my "thing", my outlet, and I found that doing it in a business setting made it almost unenjoyable. So, I backed outta that REALLY quickly. Haha! :-)

Oh, and I don't know how I get full body shots in focus at wide aps. :-) I mean, I guess I just obsessively push the back button (I use back button focusing) about a billion times before I actually take the shot. I try to snap the shutter as quickly as possible after focusing. I know that's not as technical as you were probably looking for, Lulu, but I guess I've just never given it a lot of thought. At first, when I started learning to shoot wide open, I practiced ENDLESSLY on just headshots so that I could really gauge the sharpness by the eyelashes. Once I felt like I had that down, I started shooting wide open for full body shots. I like to take baby steps. :-)

And, Angela - YEP! I most DEFINITELY take a bad picture. In fact, I take LOTS of them! Ha! :-)

**And ending here. :-)

Okay...so, on to today's post. Tonight I set out to really capture my girls playing...just in the moment. I don't want to leave those fun, portrait type photos in the dust, but I started to feel like my photos are all really leaning that way. I started to realize that, yes, I have cool photos of my girls in cool locations, but I have less of them just in their day to day. Their day to day is what I need to remember as a mom. So, yeah, that's what I was gonna do tonight.

When I started to upload the pictures, my heart started to feel full. I could tell that I'd captured the essence of Emma. I'd captured a moment that, in the past, I would have consciously told myself, "DO NOT FORGET THIS. It's so special that I never, ever will forget." Ummm...yeah right. Who am I kidding!?! I told myself that I would ALWAYS remember what my babies smelled like right out of the bath. Nope...that's gone. I've done that at least a billion times, and, though the memory is vivid for a few days, it quickly fades no matter how hard I try to hold onto it. So, when I saw that I captured one of those moments on "film," it made me feel fulfilled & grateful. And this is why I love photography. :-) Now, I'll always remember what Emma's bare piggies look like dancing through the grass. I'll remember the adoration I felt for her as I sat three feet from her & watched her twirl in the sunset. I do wish I could stop time. It saddens me to think that one of these days will be the last day that she does that...she'll outgrow it at some point, just as she outgrew the baby smell. But, at least I have photos.





And a few of the girls together:




And, because I do so love them as well, here are a couple of those more portrait-y type photos. (I'm betting that's not really a word. Anyone wanna take me up on that!?!)


And, in typical Maya fashion, here is what I got from her. (Man, I love this kid & her SASSYness!) She was mad at me for asking to take her picture. :-)

And, FINALLY, just for fun, here is one that Curt wanted me to take for the yearbook that he's working on.

Playing in the rain...in a bikini.

Haha! :-)

Well, while the girls were supposed to be cleaning their room today, they noticed that it was raining. So, the most obvious thing to do in this situation? Put on bikinis & beg mom to go outside & play in it. Obviously.

They hadn't cleaned their room, but how could I refuse those two in their little bikinis?!?

These are all taken from the same safe spot under the porch. I wish I could have gotten into the middle of it all, but yeah...my camera would NOT have thanked me. I did the best I could. :-)

It's been a while since we've seen a headshot, right!?! :-)

I know the crop is kinda funny on this one, but there is a bike immediately behind Emma. I wasn't about to run out & move it!


And, just for fun. I know this one could be lots better, but I thought it was fun given my limited experience with water drop pictures! :-) (I do have one other water drop picture, but that's the extent of it...haha!)

Trying out some new locations today...

So, we decided to scope out some new places for photos today. We loaded up the girls, loaded up the cameras & hopped in the car. I think this is the first time we've set out to do something like this.

It was pretty overcast, so I wasn't too concerned about harsh sunlight, but I still had some trouble getting light into the eyes. I need to figure out the best time of day for these locations. I plan on going back now that I know what's there & what to expect.

Anyway, here's the first location:


Curt took some shots, too. In this next set, you'll see the shot Curt took of me taking a shot of Emma, then you'll see the shot that I was taking at the same time. Fun, huh? :-)

And, the next two are both shots that Curt took! He's coming right along!!! :-)

On to the second location... This little building was SO crooked. The windows were crooked, the roof was crooked, the foundation was crooked. I love it!

And, this is the third location...just a little alley of greenery between a couple buildings. Just one shot...
And, here's the last shot just for fun. This is one Curt took of me while at the first location. I gotta say that I'm happy to have a picture of me doing what I love! :-)

What a way to follow up! Haha!

Well, first just let me say thanks so much for all your kind words on my blog. You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself! :-) I appreciate all of your comments & visits.

**Warning: the next paragraph is SUPER boring unless you're interested in post processing! Feel free to skip it! Haha!**

For those that asked about post processing on the photos in my last post...this little paragraph is for you. I've been slowly developing my own workflow lately in PSCS2. These are my steps: defog, use sponge tool to saturate background at about 10-15% opacity, duplicate layer & set mode to soft light & lower opacity to taste. Flatten image. Burn edges. Now, in the second photo, I added a step between the flatten image & burn edges steps. In this one, I created a copy of the same image, changed mode to grayscale, then changed mode to duotone. When the duotone window pulled up, I set the first color to a navy & the second color to a bluish-grey color & click okay. Then, I dragged the duotone image directly on top of my other post processed color image. I then changed the duotone layer mode to hardlight. It's this last step that gave it the really stormy, gray look. Flatten image. I think that's pretty much it...probably a little tweaking here & there.

So, anyway, I did take pictures today. However, I don't really have permission to share the photos. I took a few shots of the board of directors for the place Curt works (for those of you wondering.) Anyway, while I was waiting in the lobby where I was to be taking the photos, I sat down on a little couch. Directly across from me was a glass door. I saw my reflection and thought, "hmmm...self portrait?" :-) So, yeah...that's what we've got here. Though it's definitely no masterpiece or work of art, I kinda like it. Please just ignore the push bar on the door which happens to run directly through my head. Let's pretend it's not there, okay? :-)

My somewhat accidental self portrait:

Just two...

Well, we went out for a walk tonight after dinner. The weather has seriously been PERFECT here lately. It's been overcast, and before photography, I wouldn't have called that perfect. But, now...yeah. :-)

Anyway, the sky has been really interesting. Tonight on our walk, the sky was white & the clouds were a dark blue. It makes for a really great backdrop. I really, really like the shot of Maya from tonight. I need to say, though, that I'm not sure I would have "seen" this shot without the inspiration from Anna Jones over at Indie Art Photography. This set up is pretty much a straight rip off of one that she did and I always loved.

The one of Emma...I like the idea of it, although I would have liked for it to be more interesting. I'm not sure that a 4 year old in a sundress is the right subject for this particular shot, but I'm working with what I've got! :-) I've been looking at oodles & oodles of wedding photographer websites lately looking for someone to learn from, and so I think that's what inspired me to take this shot. I really see it with a bride, but, alas...no brides on my walk. Ha! Oh well... (Oh...and I did some stuff in Photoshop to give it that stormy look, although the clouds really were storm clouds.)

So, yeah...that's that.

Happy Birthday to CRAIG!!!

Well, I want to start off by wishing Craig a big ol' Happy Birthday! I wish we could be there with you so that we could harass you about your old age in person, but I guess we've always got next year, right!?!

Anyway, the girls have a couple little "somethings" for you. And, just so you know, I didn't wipe their faces before sending these smoochies your way, so they are nice and slobbery/snotty smoochies! Haha! I knew you'd love that!!!


The girls had THE BEST time doing this for you! They were giggly the whole time! Although, they didn't quite "get" how we were going to give this to you. Emma kept asking me, "but, Mommy, how are we gonna put it IN his hand?" Anyway, we love you & miss you much! Oh, and also, the girls told me to tell you that Simon says to have a crazy fun happy birthday! (That and to act like a monkey...ha!)

Okay, so, on to the rest of the afternoon. It's really amazing what a difference a little green can make. We spent the evening in the front yard, and as the leaves start to grow in & the grass starts to turn green again, it's just CRAZY how different I'm seeing my own yard! As the girls were running around the yard tonight, Emma just happened to stop in just the right place to have the greenery framing her perfectly. And, I happened to be in just the right spot to notice! I've never noticed this before. So, I snapped a quick picture, but she was just as quickly on her way. This photo isn't the greatest, but I wanted to share my excitement about my new little spot in the front yard. I'm planning on setting up some shots there soon...

Here are a couple more of Emma. The girls just LOVE to walk along that curb. (Watch for a picture of Maya doing the same thing later in the post.) And, the second one...well, I don't just love it, though I like the idea of it. This is another split second Emma decided to stop somewhere. I had to move quick to get the picture, and I had been shooting at 1.8, so I didn't have time to change my aperture. I think there is a tad too shallow depth of field there in the foreground. (Wait. Did I just say that!?! Am I complaining of too much depth of field!?! Ha!) But, yeah, this time I think it's too much.


And, on to crazy-busy, never-sits-still Maya... She's just nearly impossible to catch when we're outside. So, yes, I cut her foot off, but I'm thinking I'm pretty darn lucky to have gotten the picture at all! :-) I just loved her silly expression when she looked up, and I just happened to catch it!

Feeling a little "iffy" about posting these...

They are so out of my norm. I've been doing that a lot lately, but these are just really, really different. Well, the first one is, anyway.

I was taking pictures of Emma in her room today & wanted to incorporate the bright green. I REALLY wanted to use the green wall, but the light just doesn't fall right for that, so I decided to use their little Mammut table from Ikea. After getting a few from the obvious perspective, I realized that I might be able to get something crazy different if I climbed up onto the top bunk & shot down. So...that's what I did. Which of these two do you like better? I think I'm leaning towards the first one...

I just LOVED this one in B&W. The color was nice, too, but I think black & white wins this time!

From a couple days ago...

Here is a quick set of Maya from a couple days ago. She had just gotten up from her nap, and I just can't get enough of those pink cheeks. She is so slow to wake up, just like her mama! :-) (Right now it's sweet...when she's a teenager, not so much. I know, I know, mom...)

Anyway, these were taken in an attempt to capture more of their everyday lives...no poses, no perfect outfits. Just real.

More of Heather's family...

Heather, Jimmy, Camden, Kyden & the newest member of the family, Angel, came over tonight. Angel would be their recently adopted 6-year-old mastiff. She's a sweetie, but man is she huge!!! She's a nice addition to their family.

Anyway, so here are a few pictures from this evening in the backyard. (Ignore all the clutter in the background.)

This first one is for you, mom, since you just asked about Kyden standing. He got himself here all on his own! :-)


And, finally...here's Lola...err, I mean Angel. (I think we should really work on that Angelola thing! Haha!) And, yeah, she's definitely NOT very cooperative with the camera.

Back to my girls...

Well, it's back to the same ol' scenery around here! :-) Although, I guess I must be getting tired of the same thing, as well, because I've been experimenting in post processing quite a bit lately. These pictures are not my typical bright & colorful mainstay...they're more colorful yet subdued, I guess. That's what I was going for anyway. I'll find my style one of these days! :-)

So, here are the girls outside tonight at sunset.



Be expecting something wild & crazy some day soon! I got a new, fun prop today that I can't wait to try out! :-)

Can you believe it?

I'm posting pictures of people OTHER than my girls!

We went to the zoo with Heather's family today. (Heather is my sister, for those that don't know.) I've been wanting to get pictures of all her kiddos (and, yes, she has a billion of them! :P hahaha!) Anyway, I rarely get to see them much anymore, so I took this opportunity to turn my camera on them. Some of these are "snapshotty," but all of them are fun!

First is Summer. She's 12 & in 6th grade. She's grown up SOOO much this past year. She's great with the kiddos...so much help to us & her mom. You can see how much help she was in that last picture. I never had to worry about where my girls were because they were always with her. Also - I really wanted to get some nice shots of Summer, but as you can imagine, the crowd at the zoo doesn't really stand still or stay out of my way in the ideal locations. So...we made due. The lighting isn't just fabulous, but what can you do? I'll have to have a little photo shoot with her another time. :-)




Next up is Ryan. He's 9, I think, and in 3rd grade. Gotta love Ryan & all that energy! :-) He's such a fun, kind, smart, playful kid. This first picture is a little blown in a couple spots, but I was just overwhelmed with lighting changes, quick moving subjects, blah, blah, blah... I also wish I hadn't cut off his foot. I love it anyway, though! And, the second one...Ryan & Emma checkin' out the gorillas. I just loved this. You can see the gorilla being lazy in the background.



Next up is Camden, or as I affectionately call him, Cam my man! :-) This kid is a big ol' ball of red headed mischief! And, yes, his hair IS that red! NOTHING done to it in post processing. It's CRAZY red, but it suits him. He is a stand out kinda kid. So full of energy & just a little maniac. When he started crawling, pulling up, walking early, I told Heather he was gonna be a little maniac. He is. He cracks me up, and he's such a joy to watch. So much fun. Anyway, in the first two pictures, he's running around, having a good time, one shoe on, one shoe off. That's probably pretty typical for him. And, in the background...Summer...his second mom. They're close, those two. Second photo - Heather & Cam checking out something...I don't know what. I just thought the interaction was sweet.


Last up...Kyden. Kyden is approaching 10 months, I think. I know, I know, I should be able to keep up with their ages with certainty. But, you gotta hand it to me...she's got a billion kids! (I'm just giving you a hard time, Heather...don't get huffy. I wouldn't have it any other way. They each fill our hearts in their own little way.) Anyway, Kyden is just a sweetie. He's a little mischievious, too, but nothing like Camden. Kyden likes to cuddle & bury his face in your shoulder. So sweet. Oh, and he's got the CRAZY blue eyes! These eyes are just amazing. I didn't do ANYTHING to his eyes in these pictures, and yet his eyes almost look fake in the second picture. Last picture...Jimmy & the boys. He's got his hands FULL!

Just one today...

Well, I only took a few shots today. Nothing fancy. I certainly didn't pick out a cute coordinating outfit & set up the shoot, let alone brush her hair. And, yet, this is one of my new favorite pictures of my Maya. Maybe it's not obvious to everyone else, but if she were your daughter, I feel certain you'd love it, too.

This IS Maya. She's just a funny little thing with dirty feet & crazy hair. This tattered Cinderella dress is her most favorite dress up dress of all time. I love how it falls right off her shoulders. I love how it's snug around her belly. I love how the torn fabric just hangs from the dress proving just how well loved it is. She looks so beautiful when she wears it.

Anyway, she had it on, as usual. I passed her from this angle and saw it. I love the way she's holding her little foot. I love that her dimpled little elbow is bandaged, and I LOVE that she's wearing her dress. This is Maya's carefree childhood right here, and I captured it. I adore this photograph.

I've got lots to share today...

It felt like summer today. I'm a summer girl, so I LOVED it! We spent the late morning/early afternoon out in the backyard. The girls rode their bikes, played basketball, posed for pictures, ran around like maniacs...you know, normal summertime stuff! (Oh, wait, I think the "posed for pictures" part isn't necessarily normal...only in a photographer's family! haha!)

Anyway, I also got a new lens in the mail today. This is the one I've been wanting for a while now. It's the Sigma 30mm 1.4. I had to try it out, of course, so all of today's pictures were taken with it. I have to say...I love it! :-) It's nice & sharp...SHARP!

I wished someone had been around to take pictures of Curt, Dave Brown & I. Curt was feeling a little nostalgic today, so he started up a game of "roof ball." I'd never heard of it, but apparently it's a normal kid game. I'm not totally buying it, though. I think it's just a Curt thing! :-) Anyway, you get a bouncy ball and kick it up on the roof. Then, as it's coming down, you try to kick it or "head" it back up on the roof. It's kinda like soccer & racquetball rolled into one but also with a roof thrown in. I have to say, it WAS fun! :-) Unfortunately, though, there are no pictures to prove it. Oh well...

All in all it was a fun, carefree day. I'm posting a variety of pictures. Some are a little on the artsy side, but I'm likin' it. You'll also catch a glimpse of me in there! That one was taken by Curt. I'm excited that he's getting into photography, too, because now maybe I'll actually be IN a photograph for once!

Alright...I'll stop rambling and start sharing. :-)

Maya scraped up her elbow. Gotta have the bandaid - blood or not.

I'm getting a little artsy here! :-) Check out the stuffed animal in the first picture, though. LOVE that!


This is literally the FIRST shot taken with my new lens. Kinda blah, but thought I'd share.

Me & Mei Mei. :-) (Taken by Curt)

Some outside time...

The girls & I spent the evening out in the front yard enjoying the 80+ degree weather. It felt like summertime, and I just loved it! But, we're expecting yucky weather again this weekend. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be cold or not, but I do know that we're supposed to have some crazy storms. Great.

Anyway, I took some photos of the girls out running around in their little sundresses. Too cute. I also did something a little different in my post processing. I thought it kinda punched them up a bit. Let me know what you think. (Oh...and you have GOT to check out Maya in the background in the second pic. That kid cracks me up! What's she doing, you ask. Umm...that would be hanging on the doorknob! :P Haha!)

The effects of the smoothie...

So, most mornings, I make the girls & myself fruit smoothies for breakfast. Emma LOVES them, whereas Maya will default to waffles or something if I'm taking too long to make the smoothie. :-) Emma, though...she holds out!

But, every morning, about half way through the smoothie, Emma starts to freeze. She balls up in her chair to try to stay warm while she finishes up. You'd think she'd start to figure out that it would help if she'd leave her PJs on, but no...

The light was nice this morning, and I've been wanting to play with the 50 1.8 lately. (I'm convinced it's losing sharpness, but after today, I don't think that's true.) So, here's Emma...pushing through the smoothie freeze. :-)

Playing with full sun & backlighting...

Shooting in full sun is TOUGH, especially when you've been out of practice for the winter. With the weather being so nice, the girls spent some time outside today which provided me the the opportunity to practice a tad. This was taken today about 1pm in the Texas sun. I keep thinking my color is wacky...I don't know.

Just a couple last minute shots from me today...

The weather was nice today. It's about time. This has been a cold winter in Texas. I'm not a real fan of the cold. The first couple days that it was really cold & it snowed...that was fun. The billionth day of cold weather...not so fun. And, yes, I realize many of you deal with MUCH colder weather than this for a MUCH longer period of time, but I still feel the need to whine about it a bit.

Anyway, like I said, nice day today. I think it was in the mid seventies, although I'm definitely no good at guessing the temperature. I gauge the weather on whether or not I can wear flip flops. Today was flip flop weather, and that makes me happy. :-)

So, as we're getting ready to head out the door this afternoon, I looked out my back door and saw that the light looked pretty nice. I conned Emma into going out with me just for a couple minutes & snapped these two shots in a hurry. I thought they came out okay. I can't WAIT for the grass to turn green! This will be my first spring/summer that I've REALLY understood photography & natural light enough to have lots of fun!

This one's just blah...

Well, I took some shots this morning of the girls sitting on the new dining room table. I've always really liked shots like this, but I don't just love mine. I think it's because every shot I see has a FABULOUS color on the walls, and I've got white. I want to paint in a BAD way, but we have one of those open concept houses...where oh where do I stop the color? The walls for the kitchen, living room and dining room all just run together.

Oh well...here's what I got.

I'm a bad mom.

Well, the family went to a track meet yesterday. It was super cold, so everyone was bundled up pretty well with long sleeves, jackets, hats... It never occurred to me that we'd all wind up getting a little sun on our only exposed skin...our cheeks! Oh well. You can add it to the list of reasons why I won't be receiving the mother of the year award this year. :-) Ha.

Anyway, so I took a few shots this morning. I just thought they looked kinda cute with their pink cheeks. With Maya, you can hardly tell a difference...she's always pink-cheeked! Also, I thought maybe Emma got some sun on her lips, too, because they're so pink. But, I'm afraid that's not the truth. While helping the girls clean their room today, Curt stumbled across a hidden stash of lip gloss buried deep in their closet. Stolen lip gloss. Stolen from my purse. That girl...she's a sneaky one. And, honestly, I've wondered why I can't find any of my lip glosses over the past couple days. But, she's a smart cookie, that Emma. She left my favorite one in my purse. I guess she knew I'd come looking for sure if that one went missing.

Oh, and check out the SASS on that Maya! Man, I've got my hands full with these two! :-)

And, another self portrait from me...

Well, what can I say? I achieved a genuine smile in a self portrait! That would be thanks to Maya strutting back & forth posing for the camera even though the camera wasn't pointed at her. Man, she was hammin' it up! If I hadn't just spent time getting myself decent & setting up the tripod, I would have been thrilled to see her strutting about. (Why won't she do that for me when I DO want to take photos of her?)

Anyway, here's my newest self portrait. I kinda like this one... :-)