Perhaps you’ve noticed that I like to take pictures of sleeping children. Yesterday my son was napping in my bed and he just looked so angelic that I couldn’t resist. I took many pictures from every angle I could think of. The light was so nice. This one is my favorite.
It was fun having the opportunity to play with aperture and ISO and such with a subject that was actually stationary! In hindsight while reviewing the pictures afterward, I wish I’d played a little more and tilted the camera some. I find that I’m very orderly so tilting is out of the box for me. I need to remember that as an option next time.
Happy Halloween everyone!
Recently a friend of mine was telling me about digital scrapbooking with her company, Topline Creations. I have been ignoring all the digital scrapbook material out there because I have SO much paper, stickers and general paper supplies. Finally, my friend convinced me to try it. I got the software, loaded it up and I love the fact that when I’m in a hurry, I can drop pictures in and go. I also love that when I’m feeling creative but am not able to go into my scrapbook room, I can still create a page at my computer. Here is my first attempt at a creation from scratch.
I used portions of a free kit I got at ShabbyPrincess.com called Shabby Mommy and 2 elements from the Lifetimez software. Here is a snapshot of my daughter’s fifth birthday party.
I think this has real possibilities for my future. It’s so easy but to me it’s also very pricey. To recreate this page with paper probably would have cost me about $1.50 or less to have the pictures professionally developed, all the paper and embellishments. Since I don’t go for particularly expensive designer scrapbook supplies, I believe that estimate to be on the higher side of what it would likely cost me. However, to do it digitally, it will cost me $3 to get that page printed in a 12×12 format if I go to Costco. I don’t know of a cheaper place that will print quality 12×12 prints. That $3 doesn’t include the cost of the software or any future kits I would buy to use with the software. I’m not sure that I’m willing to fork over that much money to have anything but a special page printed but it’s a nice option to have at my disposal. Perhaps as more people go digital the price will come down, but for now I’m just too cheap to do this all the time. I’d rather buy camera equipment!
I’m still on the fence about the whole digi scrapbook revolution but I see that it has real possibilities. Christmas cards, invitations, mini projects, etc. If I were to go completely digital and have all my pages printed in books by a company like TLC or Snapfish or Winkflash, I could see that it would probably equal the price I spend on a traditional scrapbook when it’s all said and done. However, I’m so far into the paper side of things I can’t justify abandoning it all together. I do love the end result of the digital scrapbooking so we’ll see where this road leads me.
You may remember that I applied for a scholarship with Davina. Her selection is supposed to be announced "at the end of October." We are in the last week of October now and I find myself checking daily to see if there is any news. It’s exciting to have something to wait for and look forward to. Naturally, I’m hoping that she selected me but even if it’s not my scholarship, I’m looking forward to finding a new blog to be inspired by. Another photographer starting out who I can follow and learn with.
Cross your fingers and say a prayer for me!
Hubby and I went to our first ever Parent/Teacher conference today. Since we’d left our kids with a sitter, we went out for a hot date at a local coffee house afterward. We felt ancient as all the teenagers with too much disposable income strolled in and out with their iced mocha lattes and overpriced slushies. After realizing this scene was not for us, we headed off to the grocery store. I know, I’m livin’ large folks. While we were there, Hubby decides he’s going to start taking vitamins. I wait patiently as he selects the one he thinks is best for him. I, in turn, select a wine I think will suit me. Here is what we picked…
My 37 year old husband (who earlier this year was disturbed to realize he was turning 37 because it’s closer to 40 than 36 which is still mid-thirties in his mind) had picked up Centrum Silver which clearly states on the box it’s meant for the over 50 crowd. I think the coffee shop got to him on a subliminal level. I picked up a bottle of Mad Housewife Merlot. He thought he was funny when he brought it home to me a few weeks ago. Ah, well. I think it tastes good so I bought another bottle. Cheers! From the Silver Fox and the Mad Housewife. I’m off to sip wine on this Friday night with my old goat.
We finally got rain here in Virginia. As with most places, we really need it. That also means there was finally an excuse to wear those new rain boots I mentioned a few weeks back. The boys were inside while my daughter and I went out to wait for the school bus. So, the project isn’t complete but this is the best I’ve come up with so far to photograph our cute rain boots.
1/60, F 5.6, ISO 400
The splatters in this next one amuse me for some reason. I wish the actual boots weren’t so blown out. Perhaps I’ll play with the picture a bit and see if I can make it more than it was right out of the camera.
1/40, F 5.6, ISO 400
I usually like things like this better in color but I think this is a case where black and white may be the way to print.
Somehow the blow-out-factor is diminished in black and white to my eye.
Over the last 6 months, I’ve been doing a lot of blog surfing trying to learn as much as I can about photography. One name comes up over and over at various blogs from photographers I admire. That name is Pictage. Top notch photographers use them including Davina and Me Ra Koh – among many others. I decided this morning to find out a little more about them to see if they might be a fit for my tiny little business that I’m hoping to grow. I filled out a on-line request to have some information sent to me. Within 20 minutes I had a phone call from Kurt Hilmerson to let me know he was putting my package in the mail, to see if I had any specific questions he could answer and to let me know about a special they are having now that he thought might be perfect for me. He was incredibly helpful without being high pressure in the least. I’m floored. After I hung up with Kurt, I found an email in my in-box following up on the phone call with his direct line and other information. Wow!
If you are in a position to consider a low cost professional presentation, I’d recommend contacting Kurt about the special they are running where you can participate in Pictage’s service for $19 a month for your first six months to try them out. The special runs through next Wednesday, October 31. To say I’m impressed about their reaction to a tiny little start up like mine is an understatement.
If you are interested, you can find out more at www.pictage.com or you can email Kurt at khilmerson@pictage.com . Wow.
I know some of you get me on bloglines and I know many of you are also aspiring photographers. I wanted to make sure you knew that there is a contest going on now called "An Emotional Appeal Photo Contest." The prize is a Tamron AF 18-250mm Di II zoom lens. You can enter as many times as you’d like but the deadline is October 30. Hurry! Enter something! You can find out more about it here.
Want to see what I entered? Here you go…
Remorse.
Impatience.
Sad Eye.
Jealousy.
Cupcake Glee.
Trepidation.
Quiet Contemplation.
Best of luck!
On Wednesday, my husband and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. One of our favorite things to do together is have fondue. Given that our anniversary fell on a weekday we elected to stay home and have our date in our kitchen. I made my swiss cheese fondue that we both enjoy so much and cracked open a bottle of wine.
YUM! 50mm lens, F1.8, 1/15, ISO 100 I probably should have changed the ISO but I forgot about it. I wanted to eat!
Naturally, the dog tried the puppy dog eyes to see if she could have some too.
Didn’t work on me, so she tried it on the hubby…
Didn’t work on him either. Finally, at the end of the meal, I did break down and give her some of the bread. Offered her an apple and she turned her nose up at it. Picky little pooch.
Last week my husband was sick and he had a major work load in the office to contend with. Like us mothers, he didn’t have the luxury to staying in bed. Needless to say, he was a bit of a grump. On Sunday morning when he was beginning to feel better, I was teasing him about how much *fun* he was to live with. Then I went off to church to volunteer in the nursery. My eldest and youngest went to church with me while the middle child went "adventuring" with Daddy. "Adventuring" = our code for him taking one child with him for Daddy time while he runs errands. When I came home from church I found a dozen pink roses waiting for me. While out, he and my son stopped off to buy me flowers and he let my son pick the flowers for me. He picked pink roses, "because you like pink, Mommy." Isn’t that cute? It made me happy.
F2, ISO 100, 1/60
Here is what I love about this image… I love that I got to use my 50mm lens. I love that the DOF has the flowers in focus and the boy who picked them for his Daddy blurred in the background. Yet… I think I’ll play with it just a touch.
Here is what I came up with.
A little more vibrant, eh? Too much? Too blue? What do you think?
My children have a habit of waking up at an ungodly hour each day – typically before dawn. Doesn’t matter when I put them to bed, they still get up at the same time. My children are old enough now to occupy themselves by playing quietly in their rooms or the playroom for a little while too. We even set the channel to a kids channel so all they have to do is turn on the TV and they can watch one of their shows. They don’t like to do that though. They usually come and wake us up for mundane, ridiculous reasons.
- "Mommy, my Leapster isn’t working."
- "Mommy, Sissy called me stupid."
- "Mommy, where is my Magna Doodle?"
You get the picture. My husband threatened them yesterday that they needed to be more considerate of Mommy or he was going to drive the point home and they’d have to eat mushrooms for breakfast the next time they forgot. This morning, they came in repeatedly with the same minor issues so my husband made good on his promise. They were served mushrooms and milk for breakfast.
Isn’t that disgusting?! My daughter actually ate it all! My son ate some too. This is what was left in his bowl by the time I entered the kitchen.
My husband was surprised that they ate any of it. I was shocked they didn’t throw it back up!
I wonder what tomorrow morning holds at my house… Hopefully, sleep until a decent hour.
