On the sunny side of the street...

Love the light in Robin's front yard at certain times of day!  And I love the softness and texture of the background in these pics.  And you KNOW I love the cutie pie with the sunflowers!

Say "cheesepuffs!"...

Really just a snapshot, but I love what Hannah is doing.  I gave her my little camera necklace to wear one day and she had a blast pretending to take photos of her toys.  She was walking around saying things like "Say cheesepuffs!" ,  "Good job sitting still"...then she'd move them to another spot "where the light is better"...and my fave...running off to "change her lens".  She does not miss a trick!  We better be careful what we do and say around her!!!

Say "Cheesepuffs"!

Berries and bubbles...

I saw this idea a while back and have been wanting to try it.  Wasn't exactly sure how...so I started first with a raspberry in water, but there were very few bubbles.  So....I tried 7 up.  Tons of bubbles.....but the carbonation made the berry go crazy...twirling as you can see below.  I needed a very small aperture to get most of the bubbles in focus, which meant the shutter speed was slower.  Made it tough to get a clear shot.  If I were to try it again, I would pour the 7 up and wait 20-30 minutes for it to go a little "flat" before shooting.  Live and learn!

You can see that I did some manipulating here too...to create what I hope is a cool illusion.  The top and bottom photo have been flipped vertically.  The berry was actually mostly submerged, but flipping made it appear to be floating on top.  I took the illusion one step further in the bottom pic by erasing the bubbles from the top part of the frame and adding them to the lower part.  I kinda think it works.

Do you have a favorite?  Mine is the top one...love the way the bubbles are bursting out from the berry.

Chef Hannah...

She would play with cookie cutters all day, I think.  :) 

PS:  Loving the lighter feel of our kitchen...less distracting background color.  And you HAVE to love that T-shirt!  lol

Going retro...

Chocolate Sundae cupcake....yummy.  Had to try a little retro processing for this one!

This sock doesn't fit...

I remember Hannah, at this age, laying socks on top of her feet in an effort to put them on.  Abigail is doing it now and, if a sock isn't handy, a leaf will do.  :)  This leaf and several others also made it to her mouth that afternoon.  :)

Modeling 101...

Every model needs to know how to do this pose, right?  lol

Toussled...

 

 LOVE!

Blessings abound...

Happy Thanksgiving!  What are you thankful for today?  I'm super thankful for these two cuties and the opportunity to see them often!

We've had such an unusually warm fall that we've been able to play outside on most of our Grammy Days!  LOVE this series...more to come.  Hannah is growing in her ability to follow direction (provided she's in the mood), tho' this shot was completely candid.  It was a very windy day and fun to watch the swirly leaves.  I love Hannah's daydreaming and that baby bokeh is fun too!  And yep...I am flat on my belly in the grass.  lol

Read to me...

So happy both girls love books!  Hannah is sweet to "read" to Abigail, but methinks Abigail wants to hold the book! 

Better late than never...

Well, I meant to post these a couple of weeks ago, but hadn't finished editing.  Abigail turned 10 months old on the 5th.  Each month it's becoming more challenging to get her monkey pic as she is a very determined little girl and doesn't particularly want to sit still.  :)

I think the middle is my fave...That little shy smile is very Abigail and reminds me so much of Jenny!

Nobody likes a braggart...

but I'm gonna anyway...

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by a man who is the social media director for Coca Cola in Columbia.  He has seen this shot on Flickr and asked for permission to post it to their Facebook page.  After asking if I would receive photo credit (no money...just my name on the photo), I said yes.  I also asked for a link to the page when it was posted.  He explained that it could only be viewed in Columbia, but he was kind enough to send me a screen shot a few days later.  Check it out....1,689 likes and 285 shares.  How about that?  They must really like Coke in Columbia!  lol

Confessions of a "shop-a-holic"...

A photoshop-a-holic, that is.  I just can't resist a little play around to see if I can artsy things up a little.  Above is the original.  And below is my added texture.

I really like the music overlay.  Now, is the "shopped" version better?  Not necessarily...just different.  But I like how both versions communicate something very different.  The "shopped" version speaks of things long ago ...at least to me.  There's a story in there, I think.  Might have to use that one for the cover to my recital program next spring.  I can never have enough piano cliche shots.  lol

Keep your eyes open...

Keep your eyes open, because you never know where you will see a thing of beauty.  Sometimes it sneaks up on me in the most simple ways...like the veins of the concrete mirroring the veins of this dying leaf.  Just love it when I see a shot that requires no set up. 

Any excuse for a bokeh shot...

Shot for the challenge of "Circles".  Of course, I chose bokeh highlights (also known as "circles of confusion".  Love that light....and I'm diggin' the pastel processing too.

Farewell old friend...

  

We're pretty sure our favorite tree is dying. Every year, we have to trim off more branches because they are dead.  SAD about that!  It has always been a show stopper, but this may be its last hurrah.  Experimenting with some different processing. I see photographs with such lovely pastels and I'm not exactly sure how to achieve them, but I'm working on it.  

Focus...Focus...Focus...

Two very different shots for the "words of wisdom" challenge.  Interesting choice of words for the woman with self diagnosed ADD.  lol

How much do you love those little cameras???  Courtesy of Party City.

2 cats, a ladybug and a pirate....

Cute....Abgail and Hannah are really looking like sisters here, aren't they?

One cat and an extreme cat lover...

Cutie pies!

Two ladybugs...

Loved that Kara was able to join us for part of the time...and when we realized she was dressed in red, we had to get a pic with her favorite little lady bug.  A very serious lady bug....but still so cute.  Love her little hand on Kara's button.  She was busy playing with the "bling" before.  :)  BTW...love the people bokeh in this shot too!

Look into my eyes...

  

The last weekend in October, we got to meet the kids at a church Pumpkin festival.  Fun!  Abigail was all decked out in her ladybug costume, sitting in her stroller....sleepy from waking up early from her nap.  She was all zoned out, so I thought I'd snap a pic.  She looked RIGHT into the lens....rare for her....so I converted to black and white....bumped up the contrast, blacked out a poorly framed arm....and voila.  I love the effect.  Doesn't she look she holds the secrets of the universe? 

Glue fun...

 

  

 

We also had fun with glue that day!  (and no....Hannah did not cut those things out herself)...lol

Not exactly gourmet...but fun!

One of the things I enjoy most in the new kitchen is cooking with Hannah!  A couple weeks ago, I asked her if she was coming to see me for our traditional "Grammy Day" the next day.  She said "Yep....and you're going to take pictures of...."  Yes....Hannah is in the habit of asking questions by just leaving the end of her sentences.  Like....'We're going to....." or if we say "no" to something, she says...."because....." and she waits for you to fill in the blank.  lol.

At any rate, I got to thinking about her question about pictures.  The week before had been monkey photo day for Abigail.  Those are really important to Jenny, so we spent a little time trying to get a good one.  I understand where Hannah's questions came from, but I felt pretty convicted too.  I don't want to be remembered as the Grammy who always had the camera in front of her face.  I want to be sure to participate in life with Hannah and Abigail.

That's why we made playdough and took a walk that Friday.  The following Friday, we made "corny dog muffins".  Now that Hannah is almost 3, I hope to do something special with her most weeks while Abigail is taking her morning nap.  Hannah enjoyed making these muffins ...and she really liked eating one!  I'm sure they're not the most healthy, but I thought it was a cute, kid friendly idea.  I love her little hand smashing the hot dog down!  :)

Recipe: 
 thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/?s=corn+dog+muffins&submit=

Sunny and warm...

T

The other day we had a challenge of "favorite place".  My absolutely favorite place will always be home....so I decided to try to get some natural light pics around the house following the remodel....with furniture and everything.  ha ha!  Last time I shot on auto with flash and the house was empty.  So for today...the kitchen.   I love how light and airy it feels...love that we have a large amount of open space in the middle for Abigail and Hannah to play on the floor while we make lunch.  It's so much more functional than it used to be....not to mention those fully extension glide drawers that make everything easier.  I don't know that I'll ever be a wonderful cook, but I sure do enjoy it a lot more now that I get to do it here!

I did take pics of other rooms too, but haven't edited...so it may be a while before I post.  

Berries and cream...

We had some especially good raspberries the other day!  Actually ate them in a salad (yum!)...but you know I had to put them in some cream for a pic....just love that color contrast and the cream flowing into the centers.

Two in the wagon!

It was fun to take BOTH girls in the wagon!  First time it was cool enough since Abigail was old enough to sit up by herself.  She LOVED it....bounced and "danced" in her seat the whole time.  Good thing it has seat belts!

And look how many ACORNS there were in front of this house!  Bumpy ride through there!

Roll it, and pat it, and mark it with an H...

A couple weeks ago, I wanted to do something special with Hannah...so we made playdough.  She enjoyed helping pour ingredients from the measuring cups into the bowl and she stood on a stool to watch as I cooked it until it turned into a spongy ball.  I had not made it since Jenny and Kara were preschoolers...so it was fun to share this with Hannah.  I wasn't sure if she would enjoy playing with it, because she still doesn't like to get dirty....but she loved it.  Especially the cookie cutter!

Yay!  It keeps for about 3 months, so we'll have to play with it again soon.  (I love that she's wearing 3 play necklaces in the middle shot.  She'd have her wings on too if they had not been in the closet that day.  lol

Coca Cola Girl...

Yesterday's shot with the Coca-Cola crate, made me want to play with a vintage style portrait.  Love Abigail's stick up hair!!!  (You can't see it, but she has a full bottle of coke inside the crate.  Lol....She LOVES playing with bottles, but we've never given her a full one before.  I think it was too heavy for her to lift...so she just rolled it around in there.  :)

RED!!!

A couple weeks ago my worship leader was kind enough to send me flowers...."just because"...What a thoughtful gesture!  It was so nice to have fresh flowers after the long, hot summer...you know I had to play.  So I pulled out my macro and my 50mm for two very different presentations of that lovely Gerbera.

Irony...

Shot for the challenge of "eyes".  Many thanks to my student Brendan for posing!   It was hard for him to be very still.  Beautiful eyes!!!  I love all the different colors in them.

Ironic quote from a woman born blind...