Re: shooting a toddler...

Not exactly my favorite photo of Hannah.  She looks a little worried.  But I really do love the brick background.  Need to remember to shoot up against that wall more often, but maybe from a different angle...and probably with Hannah in clothing that would give more contrast.

I usually get down on Hannah's level for pics, but lately have been experimenting more with shooting from above.  I love the light from that perspective, especially since Hannah is a little too young to be super cooperative about where I want her to stand/sit for a photo.  It's a sure fire way to get catchlights in the eyes.  I usually hold up a toy to capture her attention. It works for 1 or 2 shots, then it's "Hannah hold it pweez".  And how can I say no to that face?....especially when she says "pweez".  :)

Auntie and Ice Cream...

LOVE this pic of Kara and Abigail!  I cut off part of Abigail's onesie, but it says "Auntie and ice cream, my favorite combo".  Love how Abigail is nuzzling up against Kara and I like the side light too.  It's nice that Jenny and Nathan finally have a place in their home with a little more light for photos....their new playroom.  I tried to get some Kara and Hannah pics, but Hannah was not feelin' the Auntie Kara love that day!  lol.  Yep, she's 2!

Days gone by...

This is one of my favorite people watching shots from the arboretum. LOVED this little girl with her naked dolly, looking like someone from the past.  I don't know if you can see it, but she was covered in wet grass and dirt.  I noticed that many of the children who were dressed in Easter dresses were allowed to run and play.  I admired their moms for letting them do it. I would have been cautioning my girls to stay clean.  lol

Dallas Blooms, pt. 4

There is beauty everywhere you look!  LOVE these hydrangeas and also the softness of the stony background.  Wish I could grow these in my yard!

This was another of those discoveries on downloading to the the computer.  I didn't even see the heart center when I was shooting.  Cool!

Dallas Blooms, pt. 3

I really admire people who do street photography, but I am usually too timid to try it.  The arboretum was a great opportunity to try tho'.  There were so many people there, all with cameras, so I didn't feel so conspicuous.   Of course, there were a few times when people saw me taking pics in the direction of their kids and they offered to get out of the way.  I was too embarrassed to admit that I was actually trying to sneak a pic of their kids.  lol.  At any rate, here are a few of my attempts at "street photography".

 

The artists are kind of an easy "target", since they're focused on their work.  

Sort of focused, that is.  This one was multi-tasking.  :)

LOTS of families around trying to get Easter shots of their kids.  Plenty of cheesy smiles like these!  lol.  But I love this background!!!  This was taken at the Monet house...and there was a pond beneath with lily pads, of course!

Always brides and young girls getting shots for their quinceanera (definitely had to google that spelling...lol)!  I had my macro lens on, which worked pretty well for shooting at a distance.  Wish it had been more wide angle for this shot tho'.  I had to crop her photographer out of the shot because he was standing right on the edge of the frame, throwing off the composition. But I wish you could have seen him. He was definitely giving me the stink eye...something I didn't notice until I downloaded to the computer!  lol

Dallas Blooms, pt. 2

The tulips, as always, are glorious!

 Love these colors!

And I love the crisp focus and softness you can get with a macro lens. 

Dallas Blooms, pt. 1

 I spent a couple of hours at the Arboretum with my sweet student Caroline.  It was SUPER crowded and muggy...but the cloud cover was great for flower pics.  Love these peach blossoms.  Wish it had been a blue sky, but I'm trying not to be greedy!  :)

 And the dew was a bonus!

This one's a little unusual, but I was playing around and I actually like the effect.  There were several small houses there paying homage to various artists...Monet, Picasso, van Gogh.  This was of course, the van Gogh house.  LOVED the bright colors.  If it had been less crowded, I would have taken some wide angle shots, but there were no opportunities without people in the way.  And it was so muddy, I didn't go in any of the houses.  But these will be here for a couple of months. Another time...

Serious....

 Abigail is not such a big fan of tummy time.  She'll lay passively for a while, until she gets mad.  Then, she lift up her head!  On this day, she was so tired, she couldn't even work up a good "mad".  She just gave us this sad little expression.  :)

She looks worried, doesn't she?  lol

Cool kid!

Shot for the "Cool" challenge.  When Hannah is in the mood, she is becoming quite the cooperative model.  She had not worn these sunglasses since she was a baby. I wasn't even sure they would fit anymore, but I guess babies heads are so disproportionately large that her head's not that much bigger now.  lol.  At any rate, she LOVED playing with these sunglasses.  At first, she didn't want to put them on, until I showed her I could put them on top of her head (in the main shot).  Then they went on and off, on and off....repeat indefinitely!  The crossed arm pose cracks me up.  I crossed my arms and asked her if she could copy me.  And she did!  What do you know?!  :)

What a model!

I'm totally lovin' these portraits taken from a high point of view.  Love how the light falls on her face.  Seems like I read somewhere that this pov is flattering for almost anyone.  Hmmm...

Grammy, Bee says "BZZZZZZZ"

LOVE her!

The button jar...

Just love old buttons. 

Self-defense...

Shot for the challenge of "spiky".  I think this is the 3rd time I've used this sweetgum seed pod for a challenge, but all three shots are completely different.  Here are links to the previous shots:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/53354298@N05/5510224260/in/set-72157626894563327  and http://www.flickr.com/photos/53354298@N05/5940571480/in/set-72157626507286954
   
At any rate, have you ever noticed how crusty we sometimes act on the outside when we're feeling soft and squishy on the inside?   Do these barriers really protect us or do they imprison us?  I think letting people see our fears and struggles opens the door for genuine, deep friendship.  It's scary, but worth it!  Even this sweet gum pod needs to break down its tough exterior and crack open to release seeds to propagate.  There's a lesson there, I think.

ROYGBIV...

Shot for the challenge of vivid.  If you're wondering about the title, it is the rainbow order of colors.  Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.  lol

False advertising...

Squirrel proof feeder?  I think not!

Dream...

Shot for the dream challenge.  This one was titled..."I dream in black and white".  So many possibilities with just 10 fingers and 88 keys!

And this one is "You may say that I'm a dreamer".  I'm not crazy about looking at photos of myself.  I never like them, but I really do want to do self portraits more often as a means of practicing different lighting and composition, etc.  Wish I always had a model handy, but I don't....so!  I shot myself for this challenge because I am such a daydreamer.  Wish I could tell you where I go, but I don't always remember myself!  lol

Spring comes softly...

  Wish I knew what kind of tree this was, but I don't.  Love love the blossoms tho'.  And I love shooting wide open for a super dreamy image.

This is the same tree...just a different point of view.  And for once, I didn't blow out the sky.  Yay!

  

Memories...

I just love this image!  It was inspired by something I saw in a sanctity of life video at church.  I've been thinking about it for weeks...how I might capture something similar.  Wish I could say who the photographer was who inspired it, but I have no idea who it was.

Heavenly hyacinths...

More from the neighbor's garden.  Love how dreamy they look with the macro lens.

It's all His...

Shot for the challenge of "Earth, wind, fire".  I took this in Jenny's neighbor's garden.  Not much was in bloom yet but, here and there, I found little pretties like these grape hyacinths.  Love them!  And I'm so ready for spring!

...and the outtake...

This one cracks me up....Pitiful Pearl who was asking to get down...and Little Bit with her tongue out.  Funny how their expressions change so quickly. This was actually taken before yesterday's happy pic...and both shots were not more than a few seconds apart.

2 months old...

I'm a few days late on this.  Abigail turned 2 months on the 5th.  Her little face is filling out and she's growing quickly.  Love that Hannah joined her for the monkey pic.  I'm super excited about Blogger's new format.  I can finally make my pics bigger!  Yay!

Way back when...

Loved this game! Spent hours playing it on the back porch! I stepped on a few of these too....ouch!

Forever...

In case you can't read the text: "A mother holds her daughter's hand for a short time. Her heart she holds forever." So true!

Pat the kitty...

When Jenny told Hannah it was Grammy day, Hannah said "Hannah pat KC to close her eyes and go to sleep". Sounds like a little girl who's been watching her mommy pat Abigail to sleep every day. lol. At any rate, KC looks pretty happy about it!

Ornamental kale...

It will be blooming soon! I keep my camera on the vivid setting but, other than that, no adjustment to color in processing. The color really IS that vivid...at least in certain light.

Little sis...

Looking SO much like her big sis!

My name is Hannah, but you can call me Curly...

Two curly pigtails and a silly curly tongue!

Finally found my marbles...

The literal ones, that is. The figurative marbles are permanently lost, I'm afraid. lol

Snugglebug...

This one LOVES to snuggle!! 7 weeks old in this shot....and squinting a little from the bright light outdoors. Makes her look serious. lol

Walk like a dinosaur...

And there was a cute little song to go along with the silly walk! ♥