Day 38 - August 13, 2010

Ahhh, some days. You wish you had your Canon right there in your hand, but instead, are stuck with your phone's camera. But hey, at least I had some type of camera!

Our daredevil. I heard thumping from his room. Go upstairs to find the door locked & our poor Lab stuck in the room with him. When I tell him it's time for a nap, he climbs on my old rocking chair and then up onto the top of his dresser. He looks mighty pleased with himself. Then he threatens to jump. Only it's not a threat for him, but a big fun game. When I tell him no, it dawns on me... the thumping. Oh boy. "Did you jump down from there before?" And his reply? "YES!", pleased as punch with himself.

Boyhood...

Day 37 - August 12, 2010

First, I am so annoyed. I missed yesterday. :( It was such a crazy busy day and passed in a blur. By the time the evening rolled around, my brain was mush. I didn't even think of my camera once! (Sooooo weird for me!)

So, today, we just had a fun and silly "photo shoot". Ava was Logan's pet and he was dragging her around... Then we did close ups... "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup."

Since I missed yesterday, two for today, SOOC!

Day 35 - August 10. 2010

Dirt & chalk lemonade...

Day 34 - August 9, 2010

Everyone that knows Logan knows that the boy lives to get dirty...

Day 33 - August 8, 2010

I did a photo shoot for friends of Lauren's today. Their daughter is just incredibly cute, so it was quite easy to have fun and take a ton of pictures. I just love this one - her expression is too adorable for words.

Day 32 - August 7, 2010

A trip to Great-Grandma's house is always an event. Our little ducks love the hill in her back yard. Yesterday it was even better, as Uncle T brought planes for them to fly.

Day 31 - August 6, 2010

It was a quiet morning with Logan setting up his train tracks and lining up cars. The sisters were still sleeping and I was curled up with my nook. Watching him, I just couldn't help thinking how sweet he was. What better moment to capture than one like that? So I quietly went to my desk, got my camera, and sat back down without him noticing.

Day 30 - August 5, 2010

Logan and I were taking a walk this afternoon and saw two critters. One was dead (and quite freaky looking - it was an Easter Cicada Killer wasp) and the other was an injured bumble bee. Only had my phone on me, so bare with the not so crisp imagery.

Here's our injured friend, whom we moved off the sidewalk. He graciously climbed onto a stick and we set him aside next to a tree.

And now the scary looking wasp... Apparently, despite looking pretty darn fearsome at nearly 2" long, they aren't aggressive to humans and will fly away when swatted at. Only the female (shown here) has a stinger. Oh, and yes, as their name implies, they like a nice cicada for dinner.

Day 29 - August 4, 2010

Nearly forgot to take a picture today, so did a quick snap of the baby watermelon growing in our garden...

Day 28 - August 3, 2010

Ava had just jumped off the wall and Logan wanted to follow...

Day 27 - August 2, 2010

Quiet moment of play...

Day 26 - August 1, 2010

Family day at a local playground. I took many shots, but this one just gives me a big smile.

Day 25 - July 31, 2010

Playing ball with his sisters, I caught this as he was looking up at them while reaching for the ball. Love the look on his face.

Day 24 - July 30, 2010

I realized, at 9:50 at night, that the only picture I had taken today was a blurry one of our Lab. She insisted on moving as soon as she saw me crouch down to take a picture. So, camera in hand, I started walking up the steps to our second floor, in search of the dog. Instead, I get to the top of the steps and nearly step on our son. He's laying, back to me, on the landing, sound asleep. Looks like someone got out of bed after I tucked him in... He can be sneaky like that.

Day 23 - July 29, 2010

Crazy day, so no camera on me but my phone. Not perfect, but love this image of Ava coming down on a teeter totter.

Day 22 - July 28, 2010

Naptime in our house consists of Mommy singing Logan to sleep. I typically have my phone on me and today, I couldn't help but snap a picture. He just looked so sweet.

From Project 365 - Tracking Our Lives in One Year

Day 21 - July 27, 2010

Daddy & Logan built a pretty cool track. Ok, so Daddy built it and Logan supervised.

Day 20 - July 26, 2010

A lost tooth - finally!

I Heart Faces Weekly Challenge - Purple

This is my first time entering a challenge for I Heart Faces. Exciting!! Had a lot of fun manipulating in Photoshop (learning so much and getting hooked into it more than ever, LOL).

I asked my oldest daughter to do a "photo shoot" for me. Her guitar is purple, it's her favorite color, so naturally, I had to use her! She wasn't feeling inclined to sitting in the grass under our dogwood tree, so instead climbed up and perched herself. This shot was the first I captured and I love her expression - she looks older than her 9 years.



Camera: Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
Actions: PW's Boost, Soft & Faded, Bring Out the Eyes, and Quick Edge Burn.

Day 19 - July 25, 2010

This photo was taken when I was doing a "photo shoot" of my daughter for a weekly challenge at a forum I frequent. Had some fun manipulating in Photoshop and testing out various actions. SOOC (straight out of the camera) on the left; Photoshop on the right.

Day 18 - July 24, 2010

We had a family beach day today at Island Beach State Park in NJ. This was quite the photo op for me, despite the harsh sun. I worked with it as best I could. A few favorites - too hard for me to pick one photo of the day.




































Yeah, that's our girl, the one who normally avoids the water. She had a blast today. I think we have a convert now.

Day 17 - July 23, 2010

My little ducks were outside in our alley riding their bikes. Perfect photo op, of course. My little man decided it would be fun to get right up in my lens. Love the outcome.

Day 16 - July 22, 2010

This pod is from a Magnolia Sprengeri tree (native to China) we saw at Tyler Arboretum... The red seeds look so lush against the dried brown pod. When we brought it home, the pod and seeds were both green.

Day 15 - July 21, 2010

Mommy's Sippy Cup

(fyi, in the bottle is a very tasty red...)

Day 14 - July 20, 2010

Almost forgot my daily photo, but Logan gave me a photo op just now while watching Daddy play video games...

"Daddy, we have a problem... You died."

Day 13 - July 19, 2010

Storm rolled in... The clouds were shifting so quickly, subtle variations of gray blending seamlessly together.















Logan was quick to point out that his "airmere" was getting wet & agreed that I should take a picture of it. Looks a bit "LOST", doesn't it?

Day 12 - July 18, 2010

A morning at Tyler Arboretum... Had just finished the 2 mile trail when we spotted this beautiful Tiger Swallowtail.

Day 11 - July 17, 2010

Molly loves to burrow under the sofa... and now she knows why I hate that she does it. She finally got stuck under there and was whining. Naturally, kind mother that I am, I had to get a picture first.

Day 10 - July 16, 2010

The bottles are ready and waiting for the APA...

Day 9 - July 15, 2010

Doesn't matter how big you are, Duplos are always fun...

Day 8 - July 14, 2010

The garden looks lush and has come back from the horrible hail storm a few weeks ago. My Romas are starting to look very delish - can't wait to make them into sauce & can them. Love the rain drops still resting on them...

ISO 200

f/4.5

1/25

Vivid Red

Day 7 - July 13, 2010

Rainy morning with thunderstorms leads to forts... Apparently, also leads to little brother sitting on big sister.

Day 6 - July 12, 2010

Day 5 - July 11, 2010

The afternoon was spent amid faeries, gnomes, faun, and dryads at Tyler Arboretum. Towards the end of the Nature's Enchantment loop, we happened upon the most amazing tree. An Osage Orange tree, typically found in the Ozarks. The tree here at Tyler was blown down by Hurricane Hazel in 1954. The hardwood has a naturally-occuring chemical that is toxic to fungi, and as such, has resisted decay. Amazing to view this beautiful tree in person and to think that it wasn't felled a year ago, but over 50!

Day 4 - July 10, 2010

Rainy day... After venturing to the farmer's markets, the little ducks & I played outside in the alley. Well, they played & I took a lot of pictures. Holding a huge golf umbrella makes it a little difficult to play with the controls, so most of these are on autopilot. Here are a few:

Day 3 - July 9, 2010

Manual
Vivid color
f/4.5
3/10
ISO 400
~8:35pm

Day 2 - July 8, 2010

Studying exposure, flash, etc... Not great, but it is what it is!

Michaela in Motion...

ISO 400
f/4.5
1 sec

Day 1 - July 7, 2010

Shooting with a simple megazoom point & shoot - my Canon PowerShot SX10 IS.

So many images today, it was hard to choose...

ISO 400
f/5.6
1/800















ISO 400
f/5.6
1/800



















ISO 400
f/4.5
1/320















ISO 200
f/5.7
1/400















ISO 200
f/5
1/100