Some photo play

I spent this morning editing some photos that I've been meaning to for a while.

This is frannie and Katie, my friend Stacy's daughters. This was an on the fly session for Frannie so it was what she was wearing, with the backdrop I had up.

Here I'm experimenting with a bokah (blurry bits) pattern I'm messing with. It looks better in the larger image. Looking at it now, I think I'll go back and put a lighter layer in the background. I think it looks like spots of light, or fairy dust.... one or the other. This was the pic that I opened first when I wanted to play with the concept.

This is the second picture I opened... and in a smaller image like this, it works better than the first one, but until this second, I liked the first one better.

This is a before and after of this process.

A couple Frannie shots.


Here is the finished edited shot. The girls had just had the chicken pox, and although Stacy isn't much into editing photos and covering up reality, (which I'm ok with), I on the other hand, hate to look at a photo and have my eyes drawn directly to a chicken pox scar.... but that's just me. I wasn't a fan of having pimples in my school pictures either. :) I woulda loved to have the resources back then that I have now.

Here is the before and after of this shot. I have learned, not to shoot black hair with a black backdrop, or I need to at least put a reflector on the other side. She would have been so much cuter on a white backdrop, but since I don't *have* one, or the room to keep a rolled up backdrop in the house, we will improvise :)

BTW, thanks Stacy for letting me experiment on your kids and share the photos here. It really means the world to me, to have such a good friend like you.

Photo catching up

I've been going through photos tonight and realizing that I have a lot of photos that I've never shared, and a few I missed (I clean out my blog photo file every month).

We love this bread. We rarely buy regular bread anymore. $1.50 a loaf at walmart and we slice it ourselves. Yes it's lots more points, but it's so worth it. It's the "everything" bread in the bakery section in a paper bag (cellophane baggie inside). The light was pretty one day after I cut it, so I decided it needed it's own special photo.

Some of my favorites in this photo. Sunflare (some fake sunflare I couldn't resist), a country road, corn and some mysterious fog. It was not there only 5 min before when I came down that road. The sky was already yellow, but I pushed it more. I'm happy with it.

When the girls were here and we were having our goodbye swim, each one did a goodbye kiss. Well, Tanner gave me a kiss too, even tho he's going nowhere :) Somehow it didn't get uploaded and It's such a sweet picture I had to share.

I love how little in stature he looks, yet you can see how he's starting to look more mature. And I love my shut eyes and letting him give me a kiss on the cheek cuz it's *so not cool* to give your kid a peck on the lips anytime after 11 yo.

He is a really good kid. *He is good to me* He loves me. I love him. I'll keep him (at least 4 more years).

This is Pepper. aka mary mcpoopins. she's cute as a button and goes constantly (it's hard to take mouse photos). She posed for us during tutu day so I could check the light.

I'll let her stay because tanner likes her. I'll hold her less because she poops too much.

Carol told me that she loves the pictures, especially the flower ones, so I found these that I took at Amber's wedding last summer. You'll appreciate them more if you look at them in full size.

Can you find the hidden fly in this pic??? I didn't until I was editing the photo.





I love the pollen.

Some "flying flowers". Tanner spotted about 30-40 butterflies in one spot in the driveway a few weeks back. most of them flew away as I tried to sneak up, but a few stuck around.

I've been working on another project, so I know I've not posted as much, but I've been having some fulfilling moments as a photographer there, so it's been good.

I've got some other photos that I'm going to work on to upload to flickr - maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow. I'll post them here later if I'm not too tired, if I am, then I will tomorrow.

super quicky as I have other crap to do.

This is what happens to you when you leave your car in front of the bay, locked, with no keys. You piss off the boss.

Oops.

Had a near catastrophe. My camera wigged out and stopped working. I thought the shutter button was for sure going to have to be replaced. I was trying different stuff, took out the battery for a recharge and I think that caused the camera to reset. *oh thank god* because I booked a Senior job yesterday. GO ME. I'm really excited. It's not for a couple months. Now if I could just get that stupid site to stop kicking my arse.

Windows unwillingly (as usual) updated and now all my fonts in IE are weird. I don't like it. In fact, you could say I hate it a lot. I guess I'll get used to it.

Fajitas for supper. Don't tell anyone, but I've never made fajitas before.. how hard could it be?

Oh, and lastly,

heard a great quote a couple days ago. Something to really mull over.

"everything has a crack in it, that's where the light gets through."
Awesome.

I'm the glass half full gal, I've always tried to reassure ppl that even when the clouds are darkest, there's still sunlight on the other side. I think it's actually helped Gene - he's much more optimistic now in his life than he ever has been.

Nothing else exciting.
Back to the grindstone!

Catching up

What's wrong with this picture?

Seriously.

I think it pretty much sums it all up. The ring on the pool is kinda deflating, the floatie has seen better days, the clothesline is empty, the corn is turning and the sky looks like something coming to eat me straight out of a horror movie.

Sigh.

The worst part is, I had to take this photo with a JACKET ON. I'm cold.

Gene called yesterday and said if I wanted to swim, I better do it because the weather was turning cold and that might be it. Well, I was busy so I didn't, then I started to hear the wind pick up, so I ran out and got in a 10 min float. Not exactly how I invisioned waving goodbye to summer, but it was better than a sharp stick in the eye.

I have started to think about pumpkin patches, apple festivals and what people might be wanting for christmas, so I guess that's my way of giving in. No amount of digging in your heels will stop winter from coming. The good news is, it's just turning summer in .au LOL. Let's get a couple tickets.

Here's the vanity all installed. Not the greatest photo, but you can see it start to come together. I had to anchor down the top yesterday, it didn't come with any, so it was a bit sloppy, so I made a brace and put the doors back on. I also did the holes for the pipes. Dead on the first time! *huffs on nails, polish on shirt* Gene did all the plumbing and everything works great. we have the tiniest leak in our drain which we need some plumbers tape for, then we're all good there. That used to drive my ex insane. He hates plumbing and those tiny leaks will send you to a mad house. Thank god for pvc.

You can see that tanner's already been putting it to good use!

Here's this necklace pic I keep promising. I call it my wilma flintstone necklace. (oh she'd be so jealous). My intentions were to put it on for a pic, but that involves me finding the right shirt, fixing my hair, setting up a tripod, doing 14 shots for *the one*. Seriously, not worth it. It's cute, I like it.. that's all you need to know.

Mom and amber both got necklaces at the same booth, then we all wore them to amber's party. LOL. I knew we would.

And lastly, here's the album I worked on for all the things we did in July. Inspired by Ali Edwards. I had to leave out a couple days to make it fit, and some days were doubled up, but I like it. It only needs a title page, and then it's done. No idea what I'm going to do for that. Probably a mosaic of everything that month.

Goals for the day are running errands, paying bills, doing some grocery shopping, mailing some price sheets to customers (huge priority) and cleaning house. Hopefully all those things will happen, have to move away from the computer and it will happen much faster!

Oh September my old friend.

This morning when I got up, there was a note (on a paper plate, which is annoying because it's a wasted plate, but anywayyyyyy...), it said "Captian stupid knocked over a pitcher of water (jingles)". and "There's an huge praying mantis on the front window, great photo op"

She stayed there until around 1 p.m. Here's some of the pics I got.


Not the greatest, but I was kinda nervous to get much closer LOL

Sunday night we went to a garage party at Amber and Cole's house

We didn't stay too late, they were getting ready to play poker, and I knew nothing good was going to come of that as poker tourney would take FOREVER. We got home around 10:30. We had fun, the food was good.

One what? ;)

Keep promising I'll share pics of this or that, so I need to get that done. Just a quick update as I have a bunch of stuff I have to get done today. Mostly photography stuff!

Storm coming through, I might go swimming real quick!

More later - probably.