Sisters...

We tried once more for a newborn session with Abigail. I've decided I'm not cut out for "studio" work. We got a few cute shots tho', which I'll post soon. We have to work with Abigail while Hannah's napping, so I was glad to catch a moment with both of them awake. I didn't have enough light for this one, so it's a little noisy...but I still love it. We were surprised how Hannah instinctively put her hand around Abigail's head. She was saying "holding Abigail's head still", meanwhile giving plenty of love pats. Sweet big sister! I hope they'll always be good friends!

P is for peppermints on my piano...

Shot for the the challenge of "begins with P". Another quick, easy shot. I love the lines in this one.

Just once...

I've decided to drop in on the challenges from time to time, so I don't lose my membership in the group. This was shot for the challenge of "repetition"...a quick, easy shot. Yay!

Mini-pansy...

A spot of color on a drab winter day. Thank you God!

Sleep of the innocent...

This may be my favorite Abigail pic so far. No props...no gimmicks...just some beautiful light and our precious girl! My only regret is that we couldn't get her to relax her hands more. When I tried to open them, she just clenched them right back up into fists. lol... I love her stick up hair...precious girl. She's a real "snuggle bug"....loves to sleep in someone's arms, but not too much on her own yet. ;) ...18 days old here....

I try to nap, but my Grammy keeps posing me...

Still having so much fun with our little dress up "doll". You might recognize the hat as one that I used for pics of Hannah. Yep, I bought the newborn size when I bought Hannah's 12 mo. hat, hoping we might get to use it some day. And, what do you know? We did!

My heart near yours

"I have looked into your eyes with my eyes. I have put my heart near your heart." (Pope Jon XIII)

Love those moments when she's still and the light is right...usually during a diaper change. lol. Sweet baby girl!

Macro droplets...

I just liked all the lines and the color...

The end...

"Fine"...that's music speak for "the end". Yep...finally finished the 365. What a year it's been! I'm so grateful this project is over! It has dominated my life and I need to focus on other things. It was a great experience tho' and I learned a lot. Top 1o lessons learned:

10. I still have a lot to learn! ...but I do know my way around my camera better.
9. Processing is an interesting extension of the art. I'm grateful to have been introduced to texture, vintage, special effects, layers, etc. There's a lot I still want to learn!
8. I am more competitive and compulsive than I realized. I went to great lengths for many challenges. I've locked myself in a dark bathroom to shoot little green men, made myself sick trying to capture incense smoke (FAIL), gotten muddy and wet laying on the ground, embarrassed myself in front of the neighbors, spent more money than I care to admit on photography gear and props, and gained a few pounds from eating said props.
7. I have a great family and they deserve a medal for putting up with me and this project. The shout of rejoicing for completion may be heard around the world! I also owe thanks to my students for frequently modeling for me.
6. Common interests create bonds, even when the distance is great. It's amazing to see others answer the same challenges from as far away as Russia, Pakistan, France, England, Australia, etc.! I'm humbled and thankful for all who took time to view, comment and fave my work. I've learned from you and been inspired and I'm grateful for new friends.
5. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. When you're posting every day, every pic cannot be a "winner". It's about the process, not the product and I learned from the "failures" as well as the "successes".
4. It's good to try new things, even if it doesn't "float my boat". I would have never attempted some things, had it not been for the challenges. Sometimes, I actually wound up liking it! :)
3. Perfectionism stifles creativity. I don't think I realized how much this tendency is alive in me. I'm still learning that imperfection is part of the process and valuable in its own right.
2. I'm still discovering "who I am" as an artist. I think my photos changed significantly over the course of the year. It gives me joy when others comment that they recognize my work from the thumbnail. I hope that means I'm finding my voice and not that I'm becoming boring.
1. Life is worth a closer look! Looking through a lens has opened my eyes to the wonder all around me. God created so much splender for us to enjoy!

What's next??? I'm not sure. I know I need a break from the self imposed pressure of a daily post. I also know I'll miss it...so I hope to find a balance. I'll definitely be picking up my camera, but need to give attention to other areas of my life that have been neglected during this project. I also need to catch up on editing Hannah and Abigail's photos for their memory books. I'm not sure what this means for the blog. I may not post daily anymore, but I do plan to keep it going. Time will tell. Stay tuned. :)

Masculine...sort of...

Actually my feet and clunky boots. No men available on the day of the "masculine" challenge, so I just improvised. I post my challenge pics to Facebook every day and thought it was funny that 2 people had to point out to me that the spading fork is backwards. lol. I wasn't trying to work with it....only leaning on it. This shot was super boring till I jazzed it up with some processing and texture. I really kinda like how it turned out. Oh yeah...and funny story. The boots are just a cheap pair I bought back when the girls were in college....when we all wore overalls. (What were we thinking????) Anyway, key word there was cheap. As I was walking outside to take this shot, the leather upper from BOTH boots split completely away from the sole...apparently it was just glued and not sewn. I'm pinching my toes down really hard here so you can't see the huge gaps and my white socks. lol...Yep...went right out and filed those babies in the trash bin after this shot. :)

Russian caps....

Actually, they are burr acorns...an unusual variety. My friend's dad calls them Russian caps tho'....and it works for me!

Vintage baby...

Our friend Carolyn gave us a bunch of headbands that her little girl outgrew. Prepare for all the dress up shots we'll be taking. lol

Lemon tarts...

Courtesy of La Madeleine. Love the light in this shot....and these props were delicious!

She dreamed she was a butterfly...

You may remember that a friend took some professional portraits of Hannah when she was about 6 weeks old. We nearly missed our window of opportunity with those, because Hannah was almost too old to stay sleepy for the shoot. Since then, I've read that the optimum time for newborn sessions is between 5-10 days old. So...at 8 days old, we tried things out with Abigail. Apparently, there's no magic in the specific age because it was not any easier this time around. We tried several times to get "THE POSE"...baby facing camera with head propped up on elbows (with mom or dad spotting for safety). Let's just say that I have a new respect for the photographers who achieve this pose and many others with newborns! :) We did get a few sweet shots tho' and I'll be sharing them over time.

FYI...as we gave Abigail a chance to rest undisturbed, we hit youtube for some tutorials on posing newborns. There were some pretty good tips there! For instance, use a space heater or blow drier to get the space nice and warm. Wear cloth gloves for positioning the baby so your cold hands don't startle them. Run a noise machine with sounds from the womb. We don't have one, but that's a GREAT idea! Warm any props (like these wings) with the blow drier or heater before placing on the baby. Just thought I'd share all that in case you have a burning desire to leave your current job and break into newborn photography. :) I don't think I have the patience for it...but I will gladly do it for my grandchildren!

Finally...don't you love that one little bit of hair sticking up? She's so precious!

Handsome boy....

I thought I'd give you a break from baby photos to see my neighbor's new puppy! Callahan is 11 mo. old and one of 3 setters she owns. He's amazingly calm and stood still enough for me to get a a very clear shot of him. On this day, our challenge was "grey" so I converted to grayscale...but I'm posting the color version so you can see how gorgeous he is. I actually like both versions, but for very different reasons. I love his sleek coat in the color version, but the detail of his fur in the b/w. Which do you prefer?

I wonder where these little feet will go...

Shot for the challenge of "making tracks". My intent was to shoot Hannah and Abigail's feet side by side and say that Abigail would someday make tracks to follow in Hannah's footsteps. But, as you can see, that did not happen. Let's just say that sitting still for a footie picture is not realistic for a 2 year old. : ) She tried....seriously...she let me wrap her legs with the black cloth and the whole time I had my camera, she was saying "smile...smile"....Meanwhile, her feet were all over the place. :) So here you have it....Abigail's precious feet. 1 week old on this day.

Learning with G-Pa...

Jenny asked me today if we taught Hannah the letter A. G-Pa did that and here is the proof. The Magnadoodle was a big hit at the hospital and, if you look closely, you can see that Bob is writing Hannah and Abigail. Hannah is such a "sponge"...she remembers whatever you tell her. A story to illustrate:

G-Pa gave her his cell phone to play with at the hospital and here was their conversation:

Hannah: Turn it on
G-Pa: It is on (He didn't mention it was in lock mode)
Hannah: It need new battery :)

Bob was amazed at that, until Hannah pointed to the red box on the wall and said..."That say 'biohazard'".

I kid you not....

And no...I'm not implying she read that. :) She thinks all writing says "Hannah". She points to letters and says "That say Hannah"....Then, Jenny and Nathan tell her what it really says. And, typical Hannah, she remembers.

(I'm posting all out of order. Very behind on processing).

My daddy makes me laugh...

Can you hear the giggle fest??? I love the tongue...and you HAVE to love golden hour!

Here we go again!

Hard to believe it's been 2 years since Hannah's first monkey pic and now it's time to start Abigail's. Everyone came home from the hospital this day...3 days old. Broke down and used my hot shoe flash for this one....just couldn't get enough light.

And now they are four...

Day two was a little rough for Jenny, but today (day 3) was much better. She was happy to finally bring Hannah up on the bed for a snuggle. They are most likely going home tomorrow. And Abigail is a good little eater!

Eyes finally open...

About 26 hr. old here. Hard to tell if she's going to have blue eyes like Hannah yet. They are definitely the same shape tho'!

Already a great big sister...

Hannah has done really well these past few days, but it's been a lot of sitting around at the hospital for a 2 year old. Bob did 2 things to entertain her that really tickled her. One was to let her wear his watch and the other was the use of his cell phone (in off mode). Here she was saying, "Take baby Abigail's picture...Smile for Grammy!" Cute!

I loved this moment...Hannah lovingly pat her baby sister. And on this day, when she ate her snack, here is how our conversation went.
Hannah: Hannah is so excited!
Me: Really? What are you excited about?
Hannah: Baby Abigail!
Then she pretended to hold a baby in her arms, rocking side to side and said "Hannah HUG Baby Abigail!"

Precious!

Blessing...

I love this image. Is there anything sweeter than a man tenderly holding a baby? Hannah and Abigail are blessed to have a very patient, loving daddy.

Sweet feet...

She was wrapped up all day, but I caught a glimpse and quick capture while the lactation consultant was working on relaxing her tongue. She's doing GREAT on nursing for a newbie. Quicker than Hannah, so I hope it will be an easier start for Jenny.

Introducing....

Abigail Lee...8 lb. 9.1 oz. and 21" long. She looks remarkably like her big sister.

She's not entirely sure she's glad to be here (yet). She cried a lot this morning, but was very happy in the afternoon and evening IF someone held her. :) We're going to cut her some slack for now, since we know it's a big adjustment coming out of the womb and into the world. lol


Hannah is doing well staying with us. She was happy to see Mommy and Daddy and Abigail. She is already very capable of tuning out Abigail's crying while she plays. :) It's going to be fun to watch her learn to be a big sister. She's going to be a great one! We are so thankful for God's mercy in giving us these two precious gifts!

BTW...these pics are far from perfect, but I was pretty happy with how they turned out considering they were hospital pics. Looking back at Hannah's baby pics, it definitely made a difference finally knowing how to control dof and shoot with natural light. VERY happy to have my 50mm as I did not need flash at all. Also, I shot everything in RAW today, which was a first for me. I'm not sure yet if it's something I'll continue. I'm going to try it for a while. Kim had mentioned it being more work, but I'm not sure I agree.

I tried shooting a couple pics in RAW about a year ago and was unable to open them in PSE. I needed a plug in that I just never bothered to download. I couldn't even see the pics in the organizer because PSE couldn't read them. WEIRD. Just for grins, I tried again last night...and voila....no problems. This is a little newer version of PSE and it worked easily. If I have any hesitation about continuing with RAW, it is only because the files are twice as large as jpg. They take a little longer to open and download and they'll take up more space on the hard drive. Decisions, decisions! I'm going to stick with it for a few weeks and evaluate later.

Shrek the Halls...

Hard to take photos in such a crowded space...it was a lot of waiting for people to get out of the way. lol...and even with my 35 mm it was hard to get far enough away....still it was fun to see what those Chinese artists created! And this one is in honor of Jenny and Nathan who by today should be juggling 2 babies. Hoping to post a pic of new baby girl tomorrow!

Ice nativity...

We enjoyed the ICE exhibit at the Gaylord...just wish it hadn't been so crowded. Most of the ice sculptures were of Shrek and his buddies, but I really liked the life size nativity.

Cokeh Bokeh...

Absolutely the last of the Christmas tree light pics, for this year anyway. The tree is down now. :( Captured for "out with the old" challenge. I'm not sure what my fascination is with Coke bottles either. I don't even like Coke. But I do think these vintage looking bottles are fun.

You know you're a redneck when...

...your Christmas decorations are shotgun shells. lol (Seen at the Gaylord Texan when we went to see the ICE exhibit")

Tickled pink...

Aunt Kara was standing behind me, jumping up and down like a Jack-in-the-box. :) Hannah got so tickled, she was nearly crying. I love that our serious, observant Hannah is developing her sense of humor.