On the Eve of 9 Months

My baby boy has hit so many baby milestones that it is making me a little sad and nostalgic for the baby boy he was the day before yesterday (okay, maybe it was 2 days ago.) He got his first tooth this week, had his first "real" haircut last week, can pull himself up on most anything, can walk along furniture to get things he wants and is starting to crawl. As mom to 3 others, I am pretty sure that I know where all this is headed--toddlerhood. Please do not misunderstand, I also know that there are lots of wonderful things to look forward to as well. There is just something really special and incredibly wonderful about being the center of a baby's existence and the cure to all his troubles. I am trying to enjoy it while it lasts. Here are a few from today.

Cracking Up (Me or the Concrete?)

You may think that I am utterly insane to post pictures of cracks in our concrete here on my blog. After all, it is JUST concrete and relatively unexciting at that. However, I am going to suggest that a crack is actually concrete's most beautiful feature. It is the flaw that is most fascinating. And just like all the other strange things I have posted here over the last few months, there is something inherently beautiful about this flaw.




And the above photographs of "flaws" (and a little help from Photoshop) make some otherwise unexciting pictures of my childrens' shadows a little more exciting.



And really, if you take this analogy a little deeper, it is really our flaws and our unique features that make us exciting and beautiful as individuals. And that is as deep as I go!!!

Jump

We have had a couple of beautiful days IN A ROW!!! Here's hoping for a few more.





These were all captured at these settings: ISO 200, f/7.1 and 1/1600 or 1/2000. If this is a foreign language to you and you'd like to capture action like this, try looking for a sports or action mode on your camera.

Abstract Monday and a Challenge

There are a few photos that I have taken over the past few weeks that have caused my husband to ask, "What on earth is THAT?" It isn't the best compliment he has ever given me on my photography, but it started me thinking. SO, what do you think these are? Is there any visual interest there for you whether you know what it is or not? I'd like your thoughts.

#1


#2


#3


#4


Challenge: Do you have a macro lens? Does your point and shoot have a macro setting (if you don't know--check your camera manual because many do)? Have you ever used it? If not--try it out today. Experiment with that setting. Try it outside or even on your kids. I'd love to see your results.

Sunday Inspiration

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about happiness. This quote really inspired me. Just wanted to pass it along.

48 degrees

Today, the weather here hit a high of 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Doesn't sound TOO warm unless you are a child anxious for spring. As soon as they could, the kids were outside (in some cases with no shoes or just flip flops) playing like it was May. I even ventured outside without a coat on and it wasn't terrible. The kids dug in the dirt and planned future summer activities. Three guesses what else they busted out of the garage?!?




Yep! You guessed it--BIKES! They haven't see much action for the last several months. I believe they've made one or two trips to neighborhood activities in the last 4 months.

And look at the buds on my trees! Spring just might come after all.

In the Mood for a Black and White

I posted some of these pictures yesterday, but I have one more to add. Sometimes a good black and white just hits the spot and this one hit the spot for me yesterday. The eye naturally tends to wander to the lightest tones in a photo. In a good black and white those light tones are usually (generalizing here) skin tones. This photo is very simple and the black and white naturally draws attention to the face. Thanks for looking!

A Few From Last Week

After a nice long relaxing weekend where I didn't hardly look at the computer, I sat down last night and edited these photos. These were taken at the same time as the Valentine pictures with the same light set up--my flash and softbox camera left and a window camera right. I was having some computer problems, so could only edit a few and chose the Valentine pictures since those were time sensitive. I haven't fixed the computer problem totally, but enough to edit these. I hope your weekend was long and relaxing, too.

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope that you all have a fun Valentiney weekend. Happy Valentines day from me and my kids!!

From the Depths of My Old Hard Drive Part II

Just one more photo to share from my search of the Old Hard Drive. This one was also taken April of 2007 with my D70. I thought this might cheer up some of you who are mourning the fresh snow we received. I'll try to drag myself back to the "modern day" by the end of the week. Enjoy!!

Two for Tuesday

I couldn't think of a title for this post, so I defaulted to alliteration. Just a couple of quick pictures.

My baby has been my most frequent subject, lately. I am working on that. However, I love this picture because he is showing off his laugh.


Did you know that snowflakes really do look like the ones we make out of paper?


Have a great Tuesday!

From the Depths of My Old Hard Drive

I have been looking through my old hard drive for some pictures to use in an upcoming project. I have found it very easy to get lost for hours in the depths of my hard drive. It isn't that my photos aren't organized, they are (at least the system makes sense to me), but more that each time I pass a folder I just can't help but open it and take a peek. I find it fun for 3 reasons. #1) I love to relive some of the memories captured in those photos. This is a reminder to me that I need to print more photos and have them around. If I love to look at them, I am sure my kids would love to see them more often, too. #2) I love to see how my children have grown. It is so easy how they've changed and grown up when looking at old photos. #3) I love to see how my photos (and my ability to achieve a good exposure and focus) have changed over time. The photos in this post were all taken between April and July of 2007 with my Nikon D70 (still think it is a GREAT camera!) Each of them had been overlooked and not developed or touched at all. I decided to change that last night. I am sharing 4 with you.

The earliest of the photos, this was taken in April 2007. It is of the Salt Lake LDS Temple.


These are the only 2 sunrise photos I have taken--EVER! I am generally not up early enough to see the sunrise. But, during the summer of 2007, for some reason, my body kept waking me up early and I decided to walk in the mornings since I was awake. I caught these 2 sunrises that summer.



This was taken right after a sudden storm while camping at Lake Powell. I'll just say it was an eventful camping trip but I caught some beautiful scenery.


So all you with digital cameras out there, this is just a reminder to print and display your photos. How do you store and display the ones you have?

6 Days Old

On Wednesday, I traveled up North to see my newest nephew Tyler. He was born to Steven and Tiffany on January 29 and weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces.





Here is my daughter holding her cousin.


Here is my sister holding her nephew.


And while everyone else just couldn't get enough of the baby, these two were up playing "House!"