Seriously....This Is JOY!

I am not certain that I am even half way "there" yet, or if I'll ever be, but if I could possibly make a living photographing Maternity and Newborns, I would be forever grateful. You might remember my GUSH about my Maternity session I did several weeks back. It was by far the most creatively fulfilling moment thus far in my life. I would be lucky to have an opportunity like that again soon.

Two days ago, I had the extreme pleasure to photograph the tiny product of that belly! I met with mama and Mr. Landon for a little newborn photo session. It didn't go at all like I had planned in my head. Does it ever???? I had hoped for a sleepy newborn, whom I could just plop anywhere and pose. Instead, I got a little grunty boy, who doesn't like to be nakey. He wasn't fond of being out of mama's arms at all. I can't say I blame him. The REAL world is a far cry from the warm, cozy womb.

He was alert, fidgety, and hard to settle. The whole session was difficult, but in the end, I am so pleased with what I got. I am hoping that mom is happy as well. Landon, is a beautiful baby. I felt so blessed to honor this moment in his life. Mom was worried about his flaky, and splotchy skin, but I assured her that I was there to capture the newborn...and let's face it, newborns peel, and have splotchy skin. I love them just the way they are.

I'd love to share with you a few of my faves. It will be hard to choose, but I'll try not to pick too many! I have noticed that Blogger tends to resize my pictures to a size that makes some of my pictures look pixely. :( I am sad for that. I will hopefully figure out a way to make that better soon!

Thanks for letting me share this bundle of BOY!

There is nothing sweeter than baby feet.





The few times he closed his eyes.







This could be my fave






Special time with mama!






Okay, I'll stop! I have so many more. Thank you Mama Tina for allowing me to share these. It is pure joy for me.

All About Why I Blog

Today I am participating in a Blogging Carnival hosted by Chili. Go HERE for all the details.


How did you start blogging?
Well, to be honest, I just sort of jumped on the band wagon. I was having so much fun reading my friend's blogs, which led to other people's blogs, and I just got caught up in the fun. I have always enjoyed writing, and I find it to be really therapeutic. Sometimes I just need to get it all out of my head. I have noticed in the 11 years I have been out of College, I have lost much of my writing skills. I worry that in the next 11 years I'll become virtually unable to write a coherent paragraph if I don't do something now to retain it.

Did you intend to be a blog w/a following? If so, how did you go about it?
Yes, but originally I just hoped to have a following of friends and family. I sent out an email letting everyone know I was blogging, and posted it on my Internet baby board. I have sent out a few reminders via email also. Lately, however, I have found myself wanting to reach a new set of people. I am not sure why, but I find it a challenge I suppose. I have been reading all sorts of blogs, and I leave feedback for them often. I have also participated in a group writing project, and now this carnival. Hopefully, baby steps will get my name out there, and if a few new people enjoy my blog along the way....AWESOME.

What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog?
It is simple really. I just want to get my creative juices flowing, have a few laughs, and share a piece of my life with others.

Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?
So far, YES! I am blessed with wonderful friends who are faithful readers. :) My goal is to not bore them to death as this blog proceeds. It isn't always easy coming up with interesting things to blog about, but I'll keep plugging along.

Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?
Nope, but I have only been blogging for almost 2 months now, so there really hasn't been much time to evolve.

What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?
Hmmmmmm.....I am not sure.....I have learned so much, but nothing really that I NEEDED to know when I started though.

Do you make money with your blog?
Ha Ha Ha.....ummm NO! Would be fun and interesting, but I doubt I'll ever get that popular.

Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why? What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?
Yes, they know, but most do not read it. There are a variety of reasons ranging from not being interested to having a super slow Internet connection. I am not bothered by it though. I prefer my friends to read it over my close family. I am more comfortable "letting it all hang out" for friends.

What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?
Think carefully about what you want regarding comments, and make sure your settings only allow what you are prepared for. If you allow "anyone" to comment, then be prepared for a negative comment. Decide if you are willing to open yourself up for that or not.
Here's one that I have a hard time following myself. Don't get all caught up in who is reading your blog, and how many hits your blog has had. Just blog for YOU, and try to not worry about the rest.

So there it is. A little bit about why I am here. Now I have a question for YOU! Why are you here? Leave me a comment and let me know what brought you to my Blog today. Ummm yeah, I know...I am totally still working on my last piece of advice. tee hee.....

More Than A Month of Anxiety...and Two Days of BLISS!!!

I am not sure if I have mentioned it before, but.....I have a fear of spending money. tee hee....Okay so I have. You can go here and read my most recent levels of anxiety, and my month long struggle.

Memorial Day weekend, I found myself at the computer, staring at my shopping cart on Amazon.com. I had lots of things in that cart, and it was FULL! My anxiety level was at critical levels, and my horribly upset stomach was the proof. I sat there with my cursor hovering over the "place order now" button for what seemed like 3 days. At one point I cancelled out. Moments later I was back, and that button was calling my name. I resisted the urge to tuck my head between my knees and gasp for air. I finally hit the button. OH WAIT....I didn't hit THAT button, I hit the "apply for an Amazon.com credit card and receive $30 off this purchase" button. Now don't tell me you are surprised? tee hee

After filling out an ungodly amount of info, and promising my first born that it was factual to the best of my knowledge, I was approved. :) Now between you and me, we both know that I will not be actually using this Amazon.com credit card EVER again, but how could I resist $30 off? Seriously, that is a lot of money. I don't care if it just took my like 30 minutes off my life to sign up, it was worth it.

Anyhow,back to my shopping cart I went. Isn't it a lovely feature that they keep it all there in your cart, even if you happen to leave for a month? When you come back, it will all be sitting there in your cart waiting for you to buy it. Might be a little dusty, but it is there. How considerate of them. Maybe they know me, and are aware that I need all the help I can get to just get this purchase under my belt. Who knows? All I do know is that they surely made every effort to get me to finally click that scary little button. PLACE ORDER!!!!

I am not ashamed to admit that the instant I clicked that button, I think I vomited in my mouth a little bit. No less than 2 seconds later, I was pacing the floor and NEEDED to tell someone the crazy thing I had just done. I RAN to my Internet Baby Board, and hollered out my news. I needed everyone to tell me I did the right thing. Of course I could count on my friends. I am blessed like that. I also left like 4 long, and hardly coherent voice mails for various people in my life. For some reason everyone and there dog were out on the Holiday weekend. I forget that not everyone is a Homebody like me. Oh well, all I really needed to do was SAY the words, so the voice mails worked nicely. Each time I said those words....I felt the tiniest bit better.

It would not be an exaggeration to tell you that I was physically ill for about 3 days. I consumed Tums like they were going out of style, and I developed a nervous twitch. Okay, so maybe the twitch is an exaggeration, but I did revert to my old habit of itching my foot on the carpet. ARGH!!! However, after day three, an interesting thing happened....I started to get excited! I began to track my packages like a mad woman, and grew impatient. It was odd that as the anxiety over the purchase drifted away, it was quickly replaced with an "it can't get here soon enough" attitude.

I am proud to announce that as of LATE Wednesday afternoon, I am a thoroughly blissful owner of the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. I also purchased a 50mm 1.8 lens, and I literally in love with it. In two and a half days I have taken over 300 pictures and I am FREAKIN THRILLED!!! The anxiety is gone, the worry is gone....it is all good baby. I would love to say, that I will remember this feeling the next time I want to make a big purchase, but I know that the process just has to be followed. I can't get here, without being there. It is just how I roll. Like it or not!

I'd love to take a moment to share with you a sample of the pictures I have taken so far. I am literally two and a half months behind on editing pictures, so I am not sure when I'll get around to editing these first photos in full, but I chose out a few on my favorites, and edited them. I am not disappointed. LIFE IS GOOD!

This is the 5th picture I took literally 10 minutes after the UPS trucks dust settled.

Here are a few flower pictures I took that evening at my Parent's house.

Pansy

This Lily picture could possibly be my favorite Non-person picture I have ever taken.

This was taken this morning. Please ignore the Ketchup (she insisted on a hot dog for breakfast) on her face. Check out how sharp her eyes are. sigh...LOVE!

Here's a fun one I took later this morning that shows how fun selective focusing and depth of field can be.

I couldn't resist our Century old Barn. I need to get back there someday when I don't have a toddler to keep out of trouble.

Lastly, here is Sugar Bear on her slide this evening. Sigh....I might be starting to annoy her though. Tonight when she called me out to her play structure and I showed up with my camera, she said, "Oh NO! Not again!" tee hee

Now you have to promise that if you see these pictures again in a few months you won't groan, and say, "Oh No....NOT AGAIN!"

Four For Friday

WOW! Here we are again. This week was a bad bloggin week for me. I just couldn't find the time. It was my first official week home for summer. I guess I needed to get in the swing of things around here. Here's hoping I schedule my time better next week.

Today I'd like to share with you four reasons I LOVE PhotoShop! I have been using my PhotoShop Elements for about 2 years now. I am scared to admit that I probably spend 5 hours a week editing pictures,creating collages, and much more. When I first got into it, I focused most of my time and energy on the "creating" part of it. I was a collage and special effects loving fool. After many months, I got more and more into the actual photography side of things, and found PS to be an invaluable tool in editing my photos. Even though I tend to send more time on the "editing and enhancing" part now, I still sell Birth Announcements, holiday cards, and birthday invites that I create.

Here in no particular order are the top 4 reasons I just LOVE LOVE LOVE PhotoShop:

1. I love PhotoShop because I can make really cool creations. Here is a Birth Announcement I made. The shells and the fish are actual pictures of things in my home. The fish are glass figurines.



Here is one of my Holiday cards this year.


2. I love PhotoShop because I can take a normal picture, and turn it into a pretty decent portrait. This is one of the 2 year portraits I took of Sugar Bear recently.

Before:


After:



3. I love PhotoShop because I can totally fix those pictures when I have a bad photography moment and underexpose. Sometimes It is an accident...well usually it is, but in this case, I knew it was gong to be underexposed, but I wanted the shot anyhow. I am so glad I didn't miss this one.

Before:


After:



4. I love PhotoShop because I can play the miracle worker, and heal my daughters wounds. What toddler doesn't always have bruises, scraps, food or snot? It is so wonderful to be able to fix these things if I so desire. I don't usually fix the bruises and scrapes unless it is for a portrait. I want to acurately portray my daughter at that moment in her life.

Before:


After:


PhotoShop is addicting....it is amazing....it is my favorite hobby. I am often asked if I can help others learn. I can surely give the hints, tips and ideas, but it is your job to dedicate many, many hours to practice. It is a process, and I think you have to just go through it to understand where you want to go with it. Good Luck!