Sunday, March 27, 2011

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I have always admired the scavenger hunts on my friend's blog, My Take on Photography.  In fact, when I created this blog, I had it in my mind that I wanted to start participating in such activities.  My friend Amanda and I decided to visit Ramblings and Photos and give her weekly hunts a whirl.  We agreed to only trying to do 1 or 2 a week.

I couldn't resist, though, and was determined to do all 5.  I had a blast and can't wait to get going on this week's assignments!

Groups of Three: I don't experiment too much with editing since most of my pics are for my food blog or family blog, so I really had some fun with this one.  I added some shadows and then blew out the window.  I ended up cropping out the walls, but they had turned this funky shade of blue.  Very Andy-Warhol-esque.

Things That Make You Go "Hmmm": We have a matching set of 4 of these little plaques in our powder room.  They've been perched on a ledge shelf for a few weeks.  Out of nowhere, this particular one starting kamikaze-ing off of the shelf.  This is baffling because a) it's only this one, and b) it's gotten up close and personal with the tile floor numerous times before finally biting the dust.

"Me" Time: Over the weekend, I spent a few hours holed up in our home office writing a final exam and grading papers.  I could hear my kids running amuck on the other side of the door and I caught myself chuckling; I need to have a ton of work to do in order to drink my coffee while it's still hot.

Decay (Old/Abandoned): This might be my favorite shot of the week, though my husband claims it's "embarrassing."  I took this shot of our Christmas tree.  Yes, I know it's March.  It's been in our backyard for months - it seems whenever they were going to do tree pick-ups, it would snow again and hold the tree hostage.  It's finally gone, but not before I headed outside for some fun with a stray ornament who hasn't yet returned to the basement.

Kitchen: I really wanted to follow Ashley's idea of a self-portrait, but using my timer isn't always a good idea with a 20-month-old running around.  Instead, I took advantage of my boiling egg noodles.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Two Cute

Thanks to Brooke again, I had the most amazing time taking pics for her friend Joy's twin boys.  Like most of us moms, we tend to be so focused on taking pictures of what our kids are doing that we miss out on being a PART of what our kids are doing.  Joy was looking for someone to do what she didn't want to do this time - run around with a camera and snap away at these gorgeous boys.

This party was also the first time I really played with my flash.  It was fun experimenting, but any good flash-work was purely unintentional. :)




Friday, March 25, 2011

Okay, now I want a macro lens

My friend Kim gave a really cool photography class a few weeks ago which included lots of practice time. This photo has a little too much noise and isn't really in focus and I think the composition is awkward, but there's something about it that really draws me in.


It was really exciting for me to learn new things, some of which I've been applying almost every time I shoot or edit.  And it was even better to be taught by someone with whom I feel so comfortable.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Movement

I spend most of my time behind the camera trying to AVOID blurred movement in my shots and have deleted countless pictures due to a fuzzy hand or foot.

The shots below, however, are the exceptions. I can't say I set out to achieve this look, but I kind of think they're cool.

Ryan, playing "human basketball net" with Pat:

Here's Pat, "demonstrating" how to fly the kite. What intrigues me about this one is that Pat is mostly in focus (except for his legs) but the background is blurry. How did I do that?!

Friday, March 18, 2011

The Nursing Home of Love

How excited was I when Brooke asked me if I'd be up for a fun camera adventure?! Turns out Joe's aunt and uncle were planning a quick, low-key wedding ceremony... in a nursing home.

It was important to the bride and groom that her parents be able to attend, and since this was a casual affair, why not?

They made me feel like one of the family and it was so sweet to witness the marriage of two people so in love. Here are just a few of my favs:



Tuesday, March 15, 2011

My First "Gallery"

One of the most exciting parts of buying a new house is decorating it. We have much more wall space in our new home and I've been spending way too much time obsessing over what exactly should go where.

I knew that I didn't want family shots in our dining room, so we decided to order black and white prints of some landmarks from past vacations. I was bummed that I no longer have digital copies of a church in Prague, but that just means we'll have to go back, right?

We decided on the Capitol, Statue of Liberty, and Cinderella's Castle because of their somewhat similar composition. Eventually, I think I want to replace the Disney one with something a little less... well... Disney.


I'm not completely sold on this idea, though - I think I might want to move these to the living room and put up some nature shots in the dining room.

But please don't tell my husband.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Welcome!

I know, I know... why am I starting a new blog when I can barely keep up with my food and family blogs?

I want a place to post shots that aren't really fitting in my other blogs. I'm also looking to start some photography challenges and scavenger hunts, so why not?

Enjoy - and feel free to leave some feedback!