Project 365 - July

Project 365 - June

There are a few missing from this collection as I haven't finished editing them to get them in here - but they were taken!   I think this month I actually captured some of my favorite black and whites and perfected the style that I like in post processing them with a little bit of a matte to them.    The one of Ace sleeping with his tiger is one of my favorite. 

Project 365 - May

What a great month!  Travel the world taking photos for over a week!   Yes please!   Loved all the blue waters and the fun that the kids had.  I also got to test out my underwater camera on our cruise so at least a couple of those shots made it into the 365 collection. 

Project 365 - April

10 on 10 - April

Better late than never, right?  ;)   I did actively participate via Instagram in 10 on 10 this month.    Did you hear?  I recently joined the already-well-in-progress party that is known as Instagram. 

Project 365 - March

I think the photo of Mae in the B&W is my absolute favorite for March.  

Project 365 - February

This month I seemed to have some challenges picking up my DSLR more than the previous months - there were at least five days that I used my cell phone to grab a picture and only one of them was intentionally chosen to use it.  There is one day that I took a picture of near blackness - simply because I was protesting taking a picture at all.   I suppose it's 'poetic' when I piece together my book for this project to have a near black page.  It was the day Loving Husband returned home from a deployment - I wasn't really thinking about the camera, just having him home.  I snapped the shot just before bed with my cell phone.    There were other creative days though, plenty of them really!   There was the frozen lake day where we went out to see the lake JUST to take the picture - the kids enjoyed throwing rocks onto the frozen surface and the noise that it made.   In February we also hit the 100 Day milestone!   It was overall a great month!  I also finally started compiling all of my shots (in their full sized form) into a folder so that come November 1st of this year I can order my 365 book! 

My goal for March also includes some backlogged blogging (Mae's birthday party being top of that list!)  So hopefully you'll hear a bit more from me between now and the end of March!  :)

Project 365 - January

The third month of picture taking and there was much fun to be had.  Many events surrounding Mae's special day turning three including taking pictures again in mommy's wedding dress.   Mommy herself got to venture out and away from the kids this month for a girl's get away!  So exciting and I was able to capture this night shot!   All in all a great month and a good month for photo taking!

Project 365 - December

Another great month of photography.  I try my best to post daily each of my 365 photos (although I just a two-week catch up today!)  I had a few extra days of 'camera fatigue' and relied on only my cell phone for a few shots - but I suppose that is to be expected with December being a high picture time.  :)     Some notable events and particular photo favorites:  our snow  and Olivia's arrival.

Looking forward to the photos of 2014!  I hope your 2014 is off to a great beginning!

2013 in Photos

Project 365 - November

There is much to blog about!  Thanksgiving, Black Friday, the start of the new Christmas Season!  Much to come!  However, I thought I'd give you an update on my first month complete on my Project 365.    So far so good! 

There were a couple of days I didn't pick up my big camera and didn't  intentionally take a shot with the project in mind, leading me to use a cell phone shot that was the best option at the time.  There were days that I used my cell phone for the macro features and love those shots! Here and here those can be found.  I am really enjoying looking at things differently!   My favorite picture if I am forced to choose was probably this one as this project was what caused me to push to do the mini-shoot and to have fun with a surprisingly willing participant!

If you haven't hopped over to that page you can do that here.    If you'd prefer to wait I'll attempt to keep these collages coming each month - although 30(ish) pictures gets a little tight, so to see them in all their full sized glory go to the other page and you can always do that by clicking the button at the top labeled '365'!

Happy December, everyone!

Pumpkins of 2013

 

365

I have always wanted to participate in a '365 Day Photo Challenge' and as of the first of November, I am happy to say I have finally decided to do it!   If you're unfamiliar with what that means -  the general idea is to take one photo every day for a year.    In reality I probably *do* take a picture every day either via my phone or my 'big' camera anyway - it's just a matter of posting them and being mindful to do it every day.     Since this year has been a very very light year in the blogging I've decided that this would be a good challenge for me to better my skills with my camera, enhance my photography, push myself to be better in composition, and generally have a good historical look back at the 365 days of living and by extension reenergize my desire to blog. 

I went back and forth on whether to do that 365 adventure directly on this blog or to start a separate blog for it and in the end I landed on a separate space found here.   You can find a link for it up at the button bar - it's conveniently labeled "365" and you can locate all the pictures there.   

If you'd like to join the journey with me and do the 365 day challenge then start today, tomorrow, whenever!  There are no rules!  To find others embarking on this adventure - you can find several via Click it Up a Notch!

And just because they are so cute, here's a shot of my littles!

Fall is here!

It's my favorite time of year!   I love the colors, I love the fallen leaves, I love the chill in the air!    It's also my favorite time of year for photography!     Enjoy!

Ten on Ten - October

It's been a long time since I have participated in 10 on 10 and so with my cell phone camera in hand (with the exception of two shots that I was trying my macro lens filters that ultimately were the wrong size... fooey!!)   I wanted to play with angles, texture, and lighting so some of these photos aren't super awesome - but they were fun to explore exposure and focusing abilities with the cell phone camera.  :)    So for a very wacky look at my day yesterday here it is!

 

Homework before school

Experiments with milk, food dye, and dish soap for Mae while Ace was in school

A braid for my girl after her shower

Picking up brother from school

Playing with lens filters

Not much in focus, but I love the colors :)

Wacky perspective of watching a movie with the kids :)

Screenshot from the video I filmed of Ace running 100 laps around the house.
(No siblings were injured in the making of this film!)

Date night!   Seeing Gravity with Loving Husband!



Late night happy hour after the movie!

For more Ten on Ten stop by A Bit of Sunshine!

September in Photos

September was the beginning of a new season for us and so far it's off to a great start!  I also snuck in a few photography sessions as well, including my first Senior Session!  This month I chose to work on backlit photography - mostly concentrating on sunlight - it was fun to tweak the camera and to get the settings correct so that my subject wasn't totally shadowed.  Looking forward to all the fall colors that are headed our way in October!!

August in Photos

August was a pretty light month in photography for me.   Ace's birthday was really the first time I took pictures because most of August was spent with crafting for said party.   Lots of sewing, drawing, painting and designing for the epic Superhero party!    Look for a separate post on that to come soon!  

July in Photos

4th of July, Bec's baby shower, Cali visiting, trip to the beach, church BBQ, VBS, Swim lessons and a boozy beautiful bridal shower for B!   July was busy and Loving Husband and I celebrated nine years of marriage too!    Can't wait to see what August holds for us!

The Second Quarter of 2013 in Photos

It's been a busy second quarter for us.  Lots of life has happened and time spent with friends!  The beginning of the month was marked by saying goodbye to my dear friend Katie whose brave battle against stage four colon cancer met it's conclusion here on this earth on April 4th.   Sadness for sure but the celebration of her life was such a beautiful sea of purple and with a packed out church a wonderful testament to the lives Katie touched in her brief time we had with her.    Perhaps as a bright hello from Katie in heaven, the sun has been shining brightly - early and often for here in the NW - where normally our April and May would be quite gloomy.

The weather has been gorgeous!  So much so even on April 24th it was warm enough to break out the sprinkler (people in Cali would most certainly disagree, but eh us NWers tend to melt quicker up here so 68' is more than adequate weather for sprinklers.)   I also ventured to see the tulips for the first time after having lived here for seven years.   We went on the last day with the Playground Pack and had a blast with 9 kiddos and 4 mamas!  

May breezed past us with Mother's Day programs, birthday parties and fun!  More water fun was had and weekend wrestling with dad!

June - to say June was busy would be an understatement!    We were quite busy with the Playground Pack: a trip to the splash pad, many park visit, an outing to a flower garden, petting zoo,  last day of school, graduation (stay tuned more on this!) and the ultimate excitement the color run (a separate post on this to come too!)   Splice in time with family to celebrate Father's Day, a visit with my Uncle, more birthday parties, BBQs, bathroom remodel, and planning a baby shower  we've been busy!   

Summer is in full swing and with two busy kiddos (a kindergartner and a 2.5 year old!) life is fun and chaotic!   Many posts to come... eventually!  :)