Images Speak for Themselves

Valdes Baptism

2011-04-18T19:05:00.001-07:00

I was honored when the proud Momma of her first girl after 4 boys called to see if I could photograph her little princess in her baptism gown…and also thrilled that I got to photograph the baptism as well! Since photographing this little doll back in December, she has grown so much!

The Sunday after visiting the family at their home, I joined them at the beautiful church in the Gables fro the baptism! It was more of a challenge because of where I was told I could “legally” shoot from…but I still think I got some great shots…and shhhhh! I cheated a little and moved from my designated spot!

Thank you Valdes Family for asking me to be a part of such a special and blessed event!

Look Who’s 15 – Martinez Sneak Peek

2011-01-28T21:16:00.001-08:00

Babies are unpredictable, but teenagers can be even more of a challenge! But this beautiful young lady was a complete delight! It didn’t take her long at all to warm up to me, and she gave me the most natural and gorgeous smiles. And to top it off, she was up for my kooky ideas and we had a BLAST!

I am telling you…the time I spent with this amazing girl flew by! There were so many great shots…this is truly just a few…I had such a hard time choosing! Thanks for a great afternoon!

Baby “N” Sneak Peek – 9 Days New

2011-01-28T20:54:00.001-08:00

Babies are unpredictable…you never know if they will sleep the entire time or if they will fidget, be cranky…and generally uncooperative. For babies, you always leave the time frame wide open. Baby “N” tested me…but only for the first hour…after that, he was a little prince. And poor Mom, she was so worried that first hour. But, I never leave until I get the shot. And the last 2 hours, Baby “N” gave me lots of shots! What a pleasure!!!

Wide awake the entire first hour…and this was the best shot I got in 45 minutes! So we went outside and did some family photos before Dad had to run out to work.

And then back inside…and that’s when the magic started to happen!!!

Congratulations…He is BEAUTIFUL!!!! I had a great time meeting you and your new miracle!! Can’t wait to see how he grows!!

Fix It Friday - #82

2011-01-14T12:24:00.001-08:00

It’s been a while since I have participated in anything over at iheartfaces…and I can’t promise I will keep up with it regularly this year…but I will try from time to time to be active.This week’s photo fix is brought to us by Rachel Durik captured during the recent Dream Big Photography Workshop in Dallas.

Here is the before:

My first fix: Just basic things….I like things a little lighter so I adjusted the levels and adjusted color for white balance. Then, a few little “pop” details using the Perfect Portrait Action from CoffeeShop.

Fix 2: Simple crop of Fix #1

Fix 3: Using a CoffeeShop action [Vivid], I took Fix #1 and applied 75% Urban and 25% soft.

I could go on and on playing with this photo…to see more fixes, visit iheartfaces!

Baby “E” Sneak Peek

2011-01-09T12:05:00.001-08:00

I just love getting the phone call to photograph babies…[ok…well, I love photographing anything…but babies are such a blessing]. Baby E was delightful and alert…and since she wasn’t quite a newborn anymore, she gave me a bit of challenge…seems she had an opinion on which positions she was willing to do! But…oh how sweet! And she gave the camera lots of opportunities to capture her eyes and personality!

Wildlife Encounters

2010-12-30T11:52:00.001-08:00

A Total Lunar Eclipse

2010-12-21T10:19:00.001-08:00

I wasn’t sure I would make it…but I certainly was going to try. For crying out loud…how many people get to see this kind of thing!! And due to the weather in most of the country last night, we were quite fortunate to have a pretty clear view!!

So a little about this rare event and then I’ll share my photos!

This was a total lunar eclipse…rare in itself. What made this one even more amazing was that it fell on the same day as the winter solstice…and event that has not happened in over 300 years [372 years to be exact].

What is a lunar eclipse: It is when the earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, casting a shadow on the moon.

So here are my photos attempting to capture this rare cosmic event:

This was around 1:30 am EST…a beautiful full moon…but no signs of the eclipse yet!At 2:21 am EST, you can see the partial eclipse as the earth begins to pass between the sun and the moon.By 3:02 am EST, the eclipse is just about complete. the gorgeous reddish-brown color is now visible. Also, if you look closely, there are now visible stars in the image since the moon is no longer bright. This is just minutes later…3:04 am EST…just playing with the manual settings and changing the exposure. The final shot…3:05 am EST! I didn’t stay up to shoot the back half of the eclipse…this was way past bed time! Hope you enjoy!!

Garcia-Pons Family – Christmas Session

2010-12-05T18:42:00.001-08:00

Can you tell I love this family…I get the privilege to photograph them a lot and I love it!! This mom is so much like me…love photographs and truly understands the importance of capturing life’s little moments!!! These are the tangible memories we have to look back at when our little ones grow up!! Priceless! Plus, as an added bonus, she lets me experiment with all of my crazy ideas!! Sometimes, they works…sometimes not! But this time…I got exactly what I was going for…wait until you see the follow-up photos when the kids are a bit older!!

I absolutely love how these photos turned out!! It was a great session…we all had fun! And I love the shots…some of them were posed…and others were natural and stunning! Raw!

Newborn and Infant Safety

2010-10-26T12:41:00.001-07:00

I can’t stress this enough!! NO PHOTOGRAPH is worth endangering a baby. Newborn photography is so popular and we see so many awesome and creative shots these days of newborns [with incredible neck strength] amazingly holding their own heads up….and the fabulous hanging shots. PEOPLE LISTEN!!!! These shots should not ever be attempted without lots of extra hands on deck! And, if you don’t know what a composite shot is…you probably should not be attempting these shots yet. And sometimes, baby just isn’t quite still enough or asleep enough to try them anyway!!!! Lots of cute shots, amazing shots, can be captured without pushing the envelope. SAFETY always comes first.
I had a recent session with a newborn. We really wanted certain shots…some were awesome…some didn’t work. I certainly could have tried repositioning and tried the shots again, but safety comes first [and Mom’s heart rate should always be considered as well].
Here’s an example:I have gotten lots of comments on this photo! And so many people have said in their comments, “Oooooh! I have to try that pose next time.” That the gist…so I caution…yes, it’s a pose, but there is a lot you don’t see.
Here is the original: This is the SOOC shot. I would never attempt this shot without the finger for support. It’s what happened in Photoshop that took the original image seen here to the image above.
This is not a joke!!! This is exactly what I started with. Yes….it means work in photoshop. But SAFETY is the top priority!!!!
For more info on newborn photo shoot safety, see these articles:
Newborn Safety with Guest teacher Michelle Haley
Words Are Not Enough Photography

Beautiful Baby E

2010-10-24T15:49:00.001-07:00

I was so thrilled to meet this tiny bundle of joy…I got to capture Mom’s belly a few weeks earlier, and getting to see her on the outside was amazing. She is perfect and gorgeous! She was quite alert at the beginning of the session and really didn’t appreciate me messing with her. But she finally drifted off to sleep and let me get some amazing shots.

Long-Nguyen Session

2010-10-18T21:00:00.001-07:00

These are some of the cutest and goofiest kids around! I just love them! Bring out the camera, and they turn it on! So much personality! [and it shows!] I was honored that Mom [a childhood friend] asked me to take portraits of her kiddos! We met in Orlando when I was home late last month and she picked an amazing location!!!

Thank you so much for letting me play with you guys! I had so much fun…hot, sticky Florida humidity and all! Maybe next time, we can get Dad to play too!

Lustgarten-Miller Session

2010-10-17T13:18:00.001-07:00

This is a LONG TIME COMING…but I hope the wait has been worth it!! I had such a great time working with this family…and long time friends. We started at the park and then drove the very short distance to the beach! What could be more fun…a little grass and a little sand!!

How yummy is this!!! I love this one…it’s all about Mom! Just look at the way Daddy is looking at her!!! Such LOVE!!!!

This session was so much fun!! Thank you for letting me capture these moments! Looking forward to the next time…even if it is just as insanely HOT as it was on this day!

Mommy R Sneak Peek

2010-09-09T14:27:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon with the “R” family two weeks ago. Mommy is pregnant with baby 2…and has the most fabulous belly! Daddy came home for lunch and was able to be in a few photos…and litlle “M” was just precious. I could snap shots of her eyes all day long. Even the dog made it into a family pic…that’s a story in itself [“K” was the most amazingly disciplined English Bulldog ever! I have never seen anything like it!].

Baby “E” is due in just under two weeks…and I can’t wait to meet her!

Coconut Grove Peacock Walk

2010-08-11T20:08:00.001-07:00

Different cities over the years have had various animal sculptures painted/decorated and scattered around the heart of the city. In the Greater Miami area we have had several over the years…this year it is the Peacocks in the Grove. Today, I walked around the Grove taking photos of the ones that are already out [two more should be place sometime in September]. Here’s a look at some of the peacocks and the beautiful artwork they were turned into;

“Madeline” at the Carrollton Campus -

Madeline was sponsored by the Port of Miami & Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart and the artist was Silvia Modica.

“Valentina” in front of the EWM Office -

Valentina was sponsored by Valentina and the artist was Ed King.

“Esmerelda” at 3250 Grand Avenue -

Esmerelda was sponsored by Boys and Girls Club of Miami & Caity Martin and the artist was Sauma.

“Munroe” in front of the entrance to The Cloisters on the Bay -

Captain Ralph Middleton Munroe was one of the earliest settlers of Coconut Grove which was accessible only by water at that time.

Munroe was sponsored by Cloisters on the Bay and the artist was Deborah Starbuck.

“The Queen of Coconut Grove” at the corner of Commodore Plaza and Main -

The Queen of the Grove was sponsored by The Pat Sessions Family and the artist was Eileen Seitz.

“Princess Peaclock” at Commodore Plaza -

Princess Peaclock was sponsored by Valerie Davis-Bailey Insurance Agency and the artist was Pablo Cano.

“The Magic City” at Commodore Plaza -

Magic City was sponsored by the Miami Heat and the artist was Lebo.

“Ave Supreme” at the corner of Main and Grand Avenue -

Monty was sponsored by Zoo Miami and the artist was Romero Britto.

Side note: At this corner was supposed to be “Monty”…not sure what happened to Monty but Ave Supreme was moved here from it’s original location at Peacock Park to Monty’s spot.

“Penelopeacock” at the Bookstore in the Grove -

Penelopeacock was sponsored by Rodez Gallery & Prince Media and the artist was George Rodez.

“Night and Day, You Are the One” at the Mayfair Shoppes -

Night and Day, You Are the One was sponsored by the Mayfair Center and the artist was Fred Hunt.

“The Golden Ring” at the corner of Mary Street and Grand Avenue -

The Golden Ring was sponsored by Gary Clark and Jeffrey Sibley and the artist was the Miami Mosaic Academy.

“Stephen” at St. Stephens Episcopal Church and School -

Stephen was sponsored by the St. Stephens Episcopal Day School and the artist was Ileana Nardo and Students of St. Stephens.

“Polka Dot Poetry” in front of the Grove NET Office -

Polka Dot Poetry was sponsored by Prince Media and the artist was Cara Nusinov.

Side note: The peacock is covered with 72 original poems by the artist, who by the way is a member of the The National Association for Poetry Therapy! This lovely bird was also covered with a rotting flower wreath around her neck and mustard. I cleaned her up the best I could…and used photo shop to remove the wreath and mustard stains. Poor peacock!

“Tropica” at the corner of McFarlane and Bayshore -

Tropica was sponsored by H W Korth Shop 4 Bonds and Prince Media and the artist was Meme Ferre.

“Coco Fresca” at the Fresh Market -

Coco Fresca was sponsored by the Fresh Market and the artist was Nancy Martini.

“Promus” outside the Hampton Inn -

Promus was sponsored by the Hampton Inn Miami and the artist was Andrea Ruggeri.

“No Name Peacock” outside Shell Lumber -

The No Name Peacock was sponsored by Shell Lumber and the artist was Dan Bondroff.

“The Majestic Peacock” outside Milam’s Market -

The Majestic Peacock was sponsored by Milam’s Market and the artist was Eileen Seitz.

Gorgeous! It was an insanely hot day…I was dripping by the time we finished capturing all of these. Pretty good stats…the only we missed was Monty [I sure hope Monty wasn’t hurt…they must have moved him for a reason]. There is at least one more planned for release that I know of…can’t wait to see it! If you’d like more info on the Peacocks of the Grove visit Peacock Tour 2010.

What animal sculptures are in your town…what tours have you seen?

Smash the Cake

2010-08-01T09:34:00.001-07:00

Look who’s 1! Boy time really flies! I met this adorable little man when he was about 6 weeks old…it’s hard to believe that he turned 1 yesterday, and I was the lucky photographer that was asked to capture the moment! I am so honored!

Here’s the quote from mom’s fb page which I thought was great:

There are 3 very important men in my life. 1) The first man who ever loved me, 2) The man who promised to love me forever and 3) The one who stole my heart at first sight. HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY to my little man!!!! Mami loves you very much.

Garcia-Pons Family Portrait Session

2010-07-31T11:27:00.001-07:00

This morning I had the opportunity to photograph this adorable family at the Biltmore in Coral Gables! Beautiful morning, beautiful setting, beautiful parents…and adorable kids! And to top it off, the little guy turned 1 today…so we followed up the family shoot with some great smash the cake photos! Keep watching, those are coming next!

Love early morning shoots…especially in the summer…beat the heat! But they are even better when the shots turn out like this! Hope you love them too!

Fix It Friday

2010-07-30T11:17:00.000-07:00

Yep…Friday again…and time to work on editing skills. This week’s photo comes from Michelle Johnson’s beautiful little girl dressed in purple.

It’s a gorgeous shot already, but I did find a few things to “fix.”

Here’s the original:

My basic fix [using PSE 5.0] was to lighten the photo up just a bit. I also wanted to make the eyes pop. So here’s Fix 1:

And a few more “creative” fixes [not all that creative actually]…

I cropped in a bit tighter and applied CoffeeShop Action Little Perk! I like the tighter crop!

And for this final one, I took the basic fix, applied 2 actions from CoffeeShop [Hot Cocoa and Creamy Toffee]. Gives it a warm, soft appearance.

Make sure to head over to iheartfaces to see more edits of this photo!

Fix-It Friday

2010-07-23T13:48:00.001-07:00

It’s Fix-It Friday over at iheartfaces. This week’s photo comes to use from none other than Angie, one of the iheartfaces owners: It is of Angie’s daughter and her little friend that was taken while Angie was doing a commercial photo session for Sucre Lulu. These two little girls love hanging out together and we enjoyed the interaction that you can see between them in this photo. A little in a rush this week as I prepare for the princess’s birthday party tomorrow, but I wanted to play…so here are my fixes.

Original: Already gorgeous!

First fix: Basic fix, WB adjustment and enhancement of color. I also cropped it a little.

Nothing super creative this week…just a few quick changes. Here are the rest of my fixes to this one photo.

Make sure you check out some of the other fixes over at iheartfaces…there are some fabulously talented photo editors who do amazing things with already great photos!

Over My Head

2010-07-19T11:28:00.001-07:00

This week’s theme over at iheartfaces [and by the way, they have updated their site so make sure to check it out!] is “Over My Head.” Not a lot of extra time on my hands to set up the super awesome professional grade shot this week…so I had a silly idea last night as I laid in bed. And, my almost 3 yr. old subject cooperated…sort of…as well as a 3 yr. old cooperates.

Here are this week’s rules:

Think of anything that can be over a person’s head and incorporate it into your photo of a person! This could include a hat, balloons, umbrella, scarf…the sky is (literally!) the limit. We can’t wait to see how creative you are with this theme.

Just remember that you must have at least one human face clearly showing in your entry.

The face clearly showing was the challenging part this week. Needed her to be looking at the board a little more…but this was about as much as the almost 3 yr. old understands “tilt you face toward me but keep your eyes on the E.” But, she did let me tease her hair and use hairspray to give her the Einstein-esque hairdo! That’s something!

Goofy! Yep…but it’s what I’ve got this week! Make sure to check out some of the more artistic and less goofy and rushed photos over at iheartfaces.

Look Who’s Going to Be 3!

2010-07-12T06:58:00.001-07:00

Where does the time go?

OK…besides wiping away the tears [tears of joy and sadness]…I was really looking forward to taking the Little Princess’s 3 yr. old portraits! It was going to be hard to outdo last year’s favorite:

But I was sure going to give it a try…and this year’s backdrop was conveniently planned for a family outing to Villa Viscaya. And to top it off, I had an adorable dress from Sweetie Bees Clothing [you can check out her Etsy store here – I am totally in love with the Coral Rose Twirly Sundress…sure hoping she doesn’t run out of them before I have extra money to snatch one up!]

Anyway, new dress in hands, and off we went for a morning [sweltering hot morning] at Villa Viscaya.

And the selective color version of the above shot:Here are a few more untouched ones…ones I really liked, but they didn’t make the mass processing order so I didn’t bother “fixing” things:

I just absolutely LOVE the back of this dress…

All in all a good day…sweating was kept to a minimum…and I got some great shots of the Princess!

A Girl and Her Lizard

2010-06-29T16:56:00.001-07:00

This week’s theme is “Pets Only” but anyone is welcome to enter a photo of any animal (it does not necessarily have to be a pet.)

Well, for a family of three cramped in a small 2-bedroom condo, we have a virtual zoo. Plenty of animals to choose from. But I have to go with the Bearded Dragon. She loves him…has never been afraid of him! She loves to hold him, reminds us to feed him, begs to give him a bath. But most of all, she loves to give him “nose kisses” [because she knows she’s not aloud to kiss him with her lips].

He may not be furry…he may not be soft…he may not be cuddly! But she tells me everyday how much she loves Flash!

Make sure to check out some of the other pet entries for this week over at iheartfaces! There are some funny ones, some tender ones, and some absolutely amazing shots!

Waterfront Challenge

2010-06-27T19:39:00.001-07:00

This is Week 6…and a week with a challenge that I can actually join over at Linkie Lueville. The theme is “Waterfront,” and these are the rules:

Beach, river, lake, pond, heck maybe even a puddle! Doesn't matter, the photo just has to be at the waterfront of some kind of naturally occurring body of water. NO POOLS!

I really was going to choose one of the hundreds of adorable beach shots I have of my daughter digging in the sand…but I kept coming back to this one! I just love it! It is SO Florida…natural, unspoiled Florida. The Florida you can only get to by boat or kayak…virtually untouched! Beautiful! And I happen to like the colors and the way the photo is framed!

Fix It Friday

2010-06-25T08:38:00.001-07:00

This week’s photo comes from Susan Keller's and happens to be her own teenage son….fitting since this week’s them for the challenge was teens!

Here is the original:And here are my fixes. The first fix was just a general fix, but it let me practice my cloning skills. I wanted to remove the box and the pole from the photo. This was certainly a challenge due to the rainbow effect from the sun. I could have just cropped it, but I didn’t want to lose the awesome flare and it me a chance to practice cloning a difficult area.

I also added a CoffeeShop Sun Kissed Action and warmed it up a bit! The cloning is a little off, but it was the best I got.

Fixes 2 and 3 are just additions…the first one is “Urban” from the CoffeeShop Action Vivid No Wait Action and the second one is the Creamy Chocolate Action [I wanted to try a black and white edit, but didn’t like it as a straight B&W…but the chocolate was nicer].

Make sure you check out some of the other edits over at iheartfaces.

Fix-It Friday

2010-06-18T20:26:00.001-07:00

This week’s photo comes from Julie Rivera [one of my favorite photogs – I happen to love her work]! The original photo is a pretty darn near perfect snapshot-like photo. There really wasn’t much to fix. All of my fixes were done using PSE 5.0.

Original:

See what I mean…super cute and just about spot on! I did some minor adjustments. I lightened the photo, bit and adjusted the white balance, and cropped for a more portrait feel. Then I tweaked the eyes using a CoffeeShop Action. And in literally under a minute I had this:

Then I added a texture…very subtle:

And finally, going back to the first fix, I used the CoffeeShop Sweet Bakery Action and added a glaze [blueberry 35% and Vanilla 20% – I just happen to like that combo and use it a lot!].

So there you have it…3 edits to an already amazing shot in less than the time it took me to write this blog post. Make sure you check some of the other '”fixes” over at iheartfaces!

Garcia-Pons Sneak Peek

2010-06-16T13:23:00.001-07:00

Early Monday morning I shot this adorable mom and her cutie-patootie kiddos as a surprise for Father’s Day. Even as hot as the South Florida sun is [even early in the morning] it was a pleasant morning and a great shoot…and this little patch of green space was two doors down from their house! The kids were happy…got to love that! Easy smiles and happy moments!

“All About Babies”

2010-06-13T20:08:00.001-07:00

This week’s theme over at iheartfaces is “All About Babies”…and according to iheartfaces, that can mean:

“anywhere from babies still in mom's belly... to newborns... to little babies who still aren't taking their first steps… to include baby animals or baby accessories”

I actually have access to a teeny tiny newborn, but not in time to get a photo in for this challenge on Monday morning. But stay tuned later in the week for some precious newborn photos! And this precious newborn belongs to an awesome mommy [and one of my good friends] that I had the privilege to shoot a few weeks ago.

I had a message on my cell phone very early on a Thursday morning. It went something like this:

“Hi, it’s ______. I had a long night of contractions and I’m not sure I am going to make to our scheduled shoot on Saturday. Is it possible to come over today and shoot some just in case??”

OF COURSE! I was over at her house in no time…and got some great shots. Here is one of my favorites!

Leave some comment love if you like this photo! And make sure you head over to iheartfaces to check out the other ‘baby” photos. There will be lots and lots of yummy newborn shots for sure!

Fix-It Friday

2010-06-11T07:18:00.001-07:00

It’s Friday…and this week’s photo comes from IHF Contributor, Susan Keller from Short on Words. It’s an adorable self-portrait of mother and son.

Here’s the original:

And here is my fix this week. I used PSE 5.0…I increased the sun flair, added some color pop with a soft light layer. I also played around with the blur in the background. Finally, I added a warming filter overlay.

Very subtle…but I like it! Make sure you check out some of the other fixes over at iheartfaces!

Fix-It Friday

2010-06-04T12:31:00.001-07:00

The concept has changed slightly due to someone “stealing” a photo that didn’t belong to them…now all the photos will be coming from the owners of iheartfaces and the contributors. While even the professional take some “bad” photos from time to time, fixing community photos was a little more thrilling [because we take some doosies and I learn a lot from trying to fix them]. So shame on you…to whoever you are…for taking something that didn’t belong to you…because essentially your dishonestly has cost us all! Venting over…here are my fixes for an already adorable shot taken by Andrea Riley [a contributor over at iheartfaces].

Original:

Pretty darn good! But I had to find something to fix or it wouldn’t be called Fix-It Friday. So, for my own personal baby taste, I lightened the photo a little, did a tiny crop, and rotated the picture. And because wrinkly baby feet are the best, I sharpened them a little! Here’s my basic fix using PSE 5.0.

Fix 1: Basic

The next few fixes, not many changes, some some creative fixes. For the first one I did a B&W conversion [half tone] while leaving full color on the feet.

Last two fixes used CoffeeShop Actions Hot Cocoa and Creamy Toffee [in that order].

My favorites are the last two…can’t decide which one I like better. Make sure you check out some of the other fixes over at iheartfaces. Until next week….

Water Wednesday

2010-06-02T17:44:00.001-07:00

As the season of lessons wind down, this will be my last post full of little kiddos taking lessons. Time to get these photos wrapped up, edited, and sent out to the families. Thanks to each and every one of you for allowing me to photograph your children during such an important milestone in their lives.

I will try to keep up the weekly theme…but will focus on other water activities.

This week, I am posting photos from the last underwater session. Enjoy!

Hadden Sneak Peek

2010-05-31T07:54:00.001-07:00

I had the privilege of photographing my beautiful sister and absolutely adorable niece while I was home a few weeks ago! Mom was a little disappointed that we weren’t shooting in the part of the yard with all the new flowers…but the sun was not cooperating near the flowers! Anyway, these shots of her and her daughter are for a “Father’s Day” surprise. Sure hope my BIL likes them….so shhhhhh! It’s a surprise [and no he does not come here, so don’t give him any ideas!]

The Perfect Time

2010-05-30T19:43:00.001-07:00

Thanks to iheartfaces and many others for circulating this article! Interestingly enough, I think about this topic all the time! It comes up so many times in conversation with friends too! I hear “maybe next time” and “maybe next year” so often. And for reason like “I don’t like my hair cut” and “I don’t like my new hair color” and “ I want to lose 20 more pounds” and “I can’t afford it right now.” In fact, I come up with the same excuses all the time. If only I could lose more weight…If only I was having a good hair day…If only I wasn’t breaking out right now! Our last family portrait was taken when our daughter turned 1! She will be three in two months. I regret not having a family photo from when she turned to two! And because I am always the one behind the camera, we don’t even have a snapshot of all of us from last year!

Anyway, check this out…and remember, the right time is NOW! You never know what tomorrow holds!

And for those of you that will not click on the link above….I will summarize in photos from the article.

Disclaimer: ***These are not my photos…they can be found on DebSchwedhelm Photoblog.

Yes…same family. I bet those boys won’t care one bit what their mom looked like in each photo 20 years from now. But they sure will be HAPPY to have the photos…because they don’t have her anymore!

Just food for thought!

Pfefferkorn Belly Sneak Peek

2010-05-29T18:37:00.001-07:00

Do you know what it’s like to have have shot 1000ish awesomely exciting photos and not be able to do anything with them?? My computer [we’ll call her Lily]…well, Lily wouldn’t turn on Thursday morning. Seriously would not turn on!!! Nothing! And, I got a phone call from my mommy friend whose shoot was scheduled for Saturday that she had a rough night of contractions…and could I come over NOW to take some shots just in case we didn’t make it to Saturday! OMG – absolutely I could…but I couldn’t believe I would get to see them on on super awesome and super large screen after shooting!

OK – so we’ve all been there at one point in time or another…and if you haven’t, it sucks!

Anyway, I got some great shots…and she made it to Saturday [more great shots]. And the indoor emergency shoot allowed us to get some of “those” shots that we couldn’t have pulled off at the park. And they are seriously HOT!!! Just a few…because I have to catch up on being without my computer for three days…lots of deadline projects to finish! But here’s a sneak peek at a few “emergency” shots from Thursday.

Water Wednesday

2010-05-26T15:57:00.001-07:00

I have loads of photos to share…especially since I took last week off b/c I didn’t shoot the previous Friday. In fact, I have been shooting all over the place due to the kiddos starting to test out. I did shoot some underwater shots last Friday and I promise those are coming…but this week, I am sharing photos of the little ones swimming in their clothes.

All done Mommy! I just couldn’t resist this one! All that hard work and in a pretty and frilly pink and brown dress! Way to go superstar!

Yellow

2010-05-23T19:41:00.001-07:00

This week’s theme over at iheartfaces is “Yellow!”…bright and cheerful yellow! I actually tried to take new photos for this challenge…I decided it was time to get new shots and not dig through recent and archived photos. I tried a few things…the “classic” portrait-type shots…but I ended up going with “FUN!” What is more “Yellow” than summertime…SUN…a yellow sand bucket and a yellow shovel?? Let the sand fly! And a little playing around with photo shop…and this is what I have come up with for this week’s theme! I really wanted it to be blown out [over-exposed] to emphasize the bright summer sun...without losing the yellow!
Make sure you check out all the other entries over at iheartfaces…I can’t wait see what others came up with! I am sure I will be amazed!

Fix-It Friday

2010-05-21T21:20:00.001-07:00

It’s that time again….and since I am actually in town, I am participating again! I love these. I love fixing pictures. This week's photo was submitted by Shelle from Mommy Can't Sing.

She wrote: "This is a photo of my 16 months old baby girl. I am currently doing a 365 challenge where I take at least one photo per day. This was one of the photos. Unfortunately, before Daylight Savings a lot of time I was scrambling to take a photo before the light was gone. Well, in this photo it was beyond gone! But my baby was sitting there so sweetly that I couldn't resist taking her photo. The color is bad and the background is messy, but just love her face!"

I totally agree about the color…the white balance is way off. But, the background didn’t bother me so much. The shallow depth of field already helped make the background less distracting!

Here is the original:

Yep…she is way too yellow! Must fix that!

Here is my fix:

Pretty drastic difference. And since she was concerned about the background, I applied a smart blur filter to blur it even more. Then I used a CoffeeShop Action [Perfect Portrait] to fix minor skin issues and make the eyes a bit more defined. Finally, I sharpened and reduced the noise.

Here are a couple more creative fixes that worked off of the above fix:

Flipped photo and cropped

Applied Bakery Glaze Action [Blueberry and Vanilla} and adjusted opacity.

Splendor B&W Action with a soft blur.

Hot Cocoa Action, then lightened the face!

Make sure you check out all the other fixes at iheartfaces…there sure are some snazzy one!

My Beautiful Sister

2010-05-18T18:44:00.001-07:00

and her adorable daughter…more to come later. But I LOVE this one!!!

And a little texture…I like the effect! So soft and pretty!

Baby Behary Session

2010-05-18T17:18:00.001-07:00

I finally finished the newborn session that I shot a few weeks ago! And boy oh boy is she precious!!! Just darling! And I just couldn’t get over her cheeks and her absolutely beautiful little baby lips!

Water Wednesday

2010-05-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

The photos from last Friday are super special. They are underwater photos…and not just any underwater photos…kick butt underwater photos! My friend Bill Lamp’l from Grove Scuba volunteered his time [and his super big daddy camera] to take photos during Friday’s lessons. We missed 5-ish kids because of a pool fail!! Hoping he will come back one more time to get the rest of them! Wink Wink!! And if you are ever in the Miami area…and want to snorkel or dive the amazing wrecks and reefs off our coast…you must check out Grove Scuba!

Water Wednesday

2010-05-05T19:35:00.001-07:00

Another installment of ISR swim lessons in Sunny South Florida! This week, I’m going for faces…and lots of smiling ones at that! Enjoy!

This week, I have a very special friend coming to help with some amazing underwater shots! So two photogs on Friday [both in the water!!]. Should make for some great shots for next weeks’ installment of Water Wednesday.

A Great Give-Away

2010-05-04T10:15:00.001-07:00

Two of my favorite places have joined together to give away a fabulous newborn photography sling prop! I have drooled over these for a long time [and tried to win one before…maybe I’ll get lucky this time!

Anyway, head over the The Maternal Lens to check out the give-away…and make sure to check out Keri Meyers site for all the cool slings [not to mention her amazing work!].

Here’s the one I want…I love it! Hopefully someday I will have one of my very own! Ivory Gauze…so yummy and natural!

PSA: This photo IS NOT mine…it is one of Stephanie Fisher's amazing shots using the Keri Meyers sling that I love! Isn’t see talented!!!

Behary Hands & Feet Sneak Peek

2010-05-01T21:00:00.001-07:00

What is more delicious than tiny fingers and toes?? Nothing!

Fix-It Friday

2010-04-30T12:59:00.001-07:00

It’s that time again over at iheartfaces…and this week’s photo was a lot of fun to work with. It screamed texture and allowed for cloning practice.

Here is the original:Here is my fix: Using PSE 5.0, I did some basic fixes [lightened the photo just a little]. Then I cloned out the yellow & black signs and all other distractions. Then a crop. Here is the result of that.Then for some texture…I used two. Once I had my textures the way I wanted them, I sent the photo for some text over at Picnik [to me it screamed for some Robert Frost]. And here is the final edit. Make sure you check out some of the other fixes over at iheartfaces….lots and lots of interpretations!

The Perfect Frame

2010-04-30T08:46:00.001-07:00

Don’t you just love this!!! Those eyes and those cheeks! And the pose is so natural and one of my favorites!

Water Wednesday

2010-04-28T19:14:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos from the Spring ISR lessons here in sunny South Florida. These are from last Friday. Hope you enjoy…I just love looking at all these tiny swimmers!

Smiles!

2010-04-26T08:16:00.001-07:00

This week over at iheartfaces, the theme is smiles! I had so many to choose from that were compositionally and technically better than this one…but the pureness of the smiles…the pureness of the joy…made me choose this one over the “better” ones! I did a little editing to add to the photo…increased the flare that was already there and added a bit of blur to enhance the motion [while erasing it from their adorable smiling expressions]! Hope you like it!

Make sure you check out the other entries over at iheartfaces…there sure are some precious smiles this week!

Newborns are so….YUMMY!

2010-04-24T17:03:00.001-07:00

Who can resist beautiful, tiny newborns. And I was lucky enough to get to photograph this little angel today. There are so many great shots…so this is just a sneak peek. More coming…

Isn’t she absolutely gorgeous!!! And she was so good!!! She tolerated me, my silly daisy hat and all the other stuff I brought with me.

Fix-It Friday

2010-04-23T10:56:00.001-07:00

It’s Fix-It Friday over at iheartfaces. This week’s photo was submitted by Allie. She wrote that she’d like to “bring out her eyes more and brighten the colors just a bit.”

Here is the original:

Here is my fix:

The first thing I did was crop the image and slightly tilt. Then, the snowflake blur bothered me, so I took it away. Then, I applied “Perfect Portrait” from CoffeeShop and played with the adjustments until I got it the way I wanted it. I think it definitely adds a color pop and emphasizes her eyes.

Make sure you head over to iheartfaces and check out the other fixes.

Tree of Life

2010-04-22T18:56:00.001-07:00

Water Wednesday

2010-04-21T18:48:00.000-07:00

Due to traveling and catching up upon our return, I am a day late [will back date]…sorry for the delay. Here are the ISR swimming photos from last week. Shooting more tomorrow with even more new students! Can’t wait!

Just had to include this one…even though it’s not in the water…this is the kind of love and encouragement ISR kids getting during and after swimming! Love this one!!!

Hiatus

2010-04-14T21:02:00.001-07:00

We are going out of town...and believe it or not...I don't have a laptop...and no internet where we are staying anyway...

So, I'll see you later next week...with lots of pics to share!

Water Wednesday

2010-04-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Last week, I had the opportunity to photograph ISR lessons again [which I will be doing once a week through the Spring Season]…but this time, I donned a mask and snorkel…and a swimsuit [the horror!]. The perspective below the surface of the water is totally different….for many reasons! Anyone that knows anything about ISR knows that the program is amazing! And those of us that are ISR parents know that some kids cry…some scream…some so much that we parents might develop some anxiety. But we also know, those that have experienced the entire cycle, that our children and babies are not scarred and LOVE the water! Look at these faces under water and tell me they don’t look peaceful…there is no fear in these faces!

Amazing…and these kids [ranging from infants to 4 yr. olds] have water survival skills. They learn to float and wait for rescue as babies, learn the swim float swim series as toddlers, and learn advanced swimming skills as they get older. My 2 yr. old can float, swim-float-swim, follow verbal and non-verbal cues and so much more…she wants to do things she isn’t technically ready for…such enthusiasm…and as an 8-month old infant [when we first started] she screamed…ear piercing…she pulled her hair…actually had a bald spot…threw a fit just about every single day. Only behaved this way at lessons…never while playing with Mommy or friends in the pool at home…she clearly wasn’t scared…she was expressing her independence and the fact that she only wanted to do it her way…she didn't want to work! Too bad little one…you learned and excelled and know how to save yourself in the water!!! Now, at 2, she can’t wait to get in the water at lessons each and every day!

Water Wednesday

2010-04-07T15:43:00.001-07:00

I have the privilege of shooting private ISR lessons at the UM pool. If you’d like to know more about the ISR philosophy, click here! I chose this type of lesson for my daughter when she was 8 months old. We have taken the “refresher” lessons every season and I can truly say that I am still amazed every single day. So, as a kick-off to the season, I will be posting images of these little swimmers and floaters every Wednesday…hope you enjoy!

Amelia’s Bunny Sneak Peek

2010-04-04T21:34:00.001-07:00

Oh what the heck…why wait another day. It’s the final hours of Easter…so here goes. I could dote on this one, but she’s my own so it doesn’t seem fair. But I love how these turned out…especially since she’s now at that age when she’s not always cooperative and had developed the “cheesy” smile.

S, P, and Z’s Sneak Peek

2010-04-04T21:29:00.001-07:00

I love sessions that are a challenge. Getting “that” shot becomes that much more fun! For this session, “P” was not in the mood…making sure I got a shot of her became my mission. Plus she is too cute…and S and Z are adorable too…great looking kids. And a newborn…what more can you ask for!

Thanks to mom for volunteering to get into a shot so that all three kiddos were in one together. “P” didn’t want to be in a group photo without mom…the joke here was that mom wasn’t prepared for a photo-op so I jokingly told her that I would photoshop some make-up…not bad if I say so myself. Although I was tempted to be funny and give her a “goth” make-up job!

Fix-It Friday

2010-04-02T19:09:00.001-07:00

It’s that time again…and I missed last week. So here is my entry for this week. The picture was truly adorable…not much to “fix”…honestly, I fixed a few stray pet hairs on her leggings and a small bruise on her wrist…other than that, I actually let photoshop do it for me…a quick auto enhance and removed color cast. Done….then on to the more creative fixes.

Here’s the original:

Here’s my fix: OK…so one last thing I did was pop her eyes with CoffeeShop.

And the creative fixes:

This is also a CoffeeShop Action….Sweet Bakery Glaze

Vintage, vignette, and soft focus using Picnik.

Make sure you check out the other “fixes” over at iheartfaces.

M & M’s Bunny Sneak Peek

2010-04-01T10:13:00.001-07:00

Cute huh? M&M…and they are adorable.

BTW – This was the first photo that capture this adorable little one sitting up! These are the moments I love!

C & J’s Bunny Sneak Peek

2010-03-31T08:24:00.001-07:00

Another set of adorable siblings…and my oh my how fast the little princess has grown. It’s hard to believe she’s already a year old [plus some].

J’s Bunny Sneak Peek

2010-03-30T21:42:00.001-07:00

This adorable little girl just wanted to cuddle the bunny…and bunny was very jumpy during her shoot…just wouldn’t sit still. Love rapid fire for times like this! And I do have to say that my own daughter adores “J” and sat by side the entire time I worked on this set of photos.

More sneak peeks coming tomorrow…Hippity Hop!

Dramatic Black and White

2010-03-29T16:41:00.001-07:00

I love B&W…love it! I knew exactly which recent photo [OK – there were two I would have liked to enter from this shoot, but my husband likes this one better] I would enter this week over at iheartfaces as soon as I knew the theme was Dramatic Black & White. If you follow my blog, you have probably seen this photo before, but I have never entered it. I love everything about…it makes me smile. It’s one of those capture I “hope” for as a photographer!

When you have a few minutes…or hours [because there are that many great ones!]…hop on over to iheartfaces and check out some of the other entries.

Focusing on Angles

2010-03-23T12:34:00.001-07:00

We all know that a photo shot straight on is far less interesting that one with a more creative angle. This week over at iheartfaces, this is exactly the focus. I can honestly say that I hardly ever shoot straight on…when shooting for clients I have to force myself to remember to shoot some shots straight on because the average consumer isn’t always impressed with a “crooked” or artistic portrait of Johnny! Unfortunate, but true! So after digging through my images, I decided to shoot a new one.

I laid in the mulch…and if you knew how much I hate mulch [or sand….or dirt] you would know that even for me [who shoots weird angles all the time] this was outside my comfort zone. And I am still picking tiny bits of mulch out of my hair and pockets.

I used PSE to do some minor edits. I increased the flare, lightened her face just a little [enough to see her expression] and softened the entire image.

Make sure you head over to iheartfaces and check out more of the entries…there are some very creative angles!

B & J’s Bunny Sneak Peek

2010-03-21T19:11:00.001-07:00

Check out this new big brother and his tiny little sister! Doesn’t he look so sweet! The bunny was only cooperative in short spurts….so I was shooting fast. I am pleased with the shots I got!

C’s Bunny Sneak Peek

2010-03-20T18:46:00.001-07:00

I promised these on Friday…so I am a day late, but here they are. This adorable little munchkin was delightful to work with. Only 2 months old and he let me handle him, move him around [constantly], reposition him between shots…and not one single peep. He was so chill!

POTD – March 19, 2010

2010-03-19T18:38:00.001-07:00

I promise there will be more Bunny Sneak Peeks tomorrow…it’s been a long, rough day and I just didn’t have the time to finish editing. So for today, pretty tree….

K’s Bunny Sneak Peek

2010-03-18T17:47:00.001-07:00

How cute are these! And her red curls just shine! Don’t you just love how little kids interact with live animals…makes for the most precious shots!

More previews of adorable bunny portraits coming tomorrow….stay tuned!

Hippity Hop Easter’s on its Way!

2010-03-17T12:18:00.001-07:00

POTD – March 17, 2010

I love bunnies…soft and cuddly…and even better when paired with adorable munchkins. These aren’t the sneak peeks…just a little taste of the mini-sessions from today. I was supposed to work in the grass with a nice natural background, but it rained. So I brought a few props and shot under the pavilion. Hopefully on Friday, the weather will be much improved and I can shoot as planned.

Not bad for a back-up rain plan….

Bundled Up

2010-03-16T12:05:00.001-07:00

POTD – March 16, 2010

The theme this week over at iheartfaces is “All Bundled Up.” I almost considered skipping this one…I mean seriously, I live in South Florida. And yes we have had an unseasonable cool winter…even some nights in the 30’s…but really! During the day…even on cold days…50 is the lowest it got and that is pushing it. For us, a light sweater was sufficient. I suppose I could have taken pictures of all the native Miamians who bust out their leather jackets, leather gloves, scarves, and ear muffs as soon as it hits 65…but generally I just laugh at them as I stroll by them in shorts and a long sleeve shirt [lightweight one at that!]. But, I do have this adorable photo of my niece from the weekend they came to visit from sunny Central Florida. It was in the 60’s that weekend and she sported this blanket cocoon all weekend when we were outside.

Make sure you head on over to iheartfaces to check out some “real” bundled up shots complete with ice and snow…real cold!

POTD – March 13, 2010

2010-03-13T20:35:00.001-08:00

I had the opportunity to see Michael Buble in concert last night and was able to get the Canon 20D through security. Took the 50mm 1.4 since I knew lighting would be an issue…no zoom, but still figured this would be my best shot at getting decent photos without flash! Here are a few, SOOC…not bad if I say so myself!

This is Naturally 7, the opening act. 7 Guys out of New York that create their entire sound using voices only! No instruments…if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would have never believed that the drums, electric guitars, harmonicas, cellos, violins [you name it] were all being created with their voices. Simply amazing!

Had such a great time…the show was amazing! I had no idea what to expect because I had never seen Michael Buble live…and never realized that he is such a comedian!!!

Fix It Friday

2010-03-12T10:45:00.001-08:00

POTD – March 12, 2010

Missed a day…but here we are at Friday and it’s time for Fix It Friday over at iheartfaces. This week’s photo needed some adjustments. It was under-exposed, but not impossible to fix.

Here is the original:

For my first fix, I just wanted to lighten it up a bit. I also cropped it and cloned part of the little girl’s arm. Once lightened it had an obvious color cast that I then corrected. That gave me a better palette to work with.

Fix 1:

Much better…but there was still work to be done. I reduced the noise and applied Perfect Portrait [a CoffeeShop Action] to the photo. Then, the dark circles under the eyes were bothering me so I touched those up. Personally, I’m not a 100% happy with how they turned out, but they are better. There were also a few stray hairs that really stood out so I got rid of them.

Fix:2

Then for fun, here are a few more.

Fix 3: Increased blur in the background

Fix 4: Selective coloring on the pinball machine

And finally, I used Picnik to give it a vintage look:

Check out some of the other “takes” on this photo over at iheartfaces…there are some seriously talented photo editors over there.

POTD – March 9, 2010

2010-03-09T20:14:00.001-08:00

I am just going to keep with the jumping pictures for a few days because I have a few good ones! This one was taken last year while on vacation with the extended family. Uncle Andrew can still fly off the swing…it was fun as each of us “big kids” tried to jump from the moving swing!

How High Can You Go??

2010-03-08T09:38:00.001-08:00

POTD – March 8, 2010

The theme this week is “JUMP”…I knew I wanted to use this picture as soon as the them was announced. This was taken during a recent family shoot and this girl could practically fly! I love that you can see the sand flicking from her feet…I love that she is smiling…she looks so comfortable…like she does this kind of stuff everyday!

Make sure you check out all the other great jumping photos over at iheartfaces! There are some great ones!

POTD – March 7, 2010

2010-03-07T15:13:00.001-08:00

POTD – March 6, 2010

2010-03-06T19:54:00.001-08:00

Fix-It Friday

2010-03-05T19:48:00.001-08:00

POTD – March 5, 2010

It’s that time again! Fix-It Friday over at iheartfaces! This picture is adorable…you almost have to wonder what this little boy is looking at…he has such an intent look on his face. Here is the original:

For my first fix, I fixed a few blemishes on his skin, lightened up the shadows a bit and sharpened the eyes. Then, I did a Gaussian Blur layer and erased the blur from the eyes and mouth…Here is what that looked like:

Finally, I added a texture and erased the texture from the boy…leaving it mostly in the background.

All of my edits were done using PSE 5.0…make sure you hop over to iheartfaces and check out the other creative fixes.

POTD – March 4 ,2010

2010-03-04T19:48:00.001-08:00

This is truly a terrible photo…but it’s a rare capture. And I love it!

POTD – March 3, 2010

2010-03-03T18:51:00.001-08:00

POTD – March 2, 2010

2010-03-02T19:10:00.001-08:00

Hilarious Outtakes Week

2010-03-01T06:32:00.001-08:00

POTD – March 1, 2010

This week’s them over at iheartfaces is Hilarious Outtakes…in other words, they want to see the pics that weren’t exactly planned, the mistakes, the ones that made you pee your pants when you actually saw them enlarged on the computer screen hours after shooting. I have thousands…sometimes it seems that might be all I get [especially from the 2.5 yr. old living in my house! toddlers….]. So here are a few that still make me laugh even after looking at them over and over!

This first one was taken Christmas morning…I am not sure Grandmomela knew it was going to be a full contact sport requiring face gear and mouth gear to hold her grand-daughter.

Next, this one was taken recently and was very spontaneous. I was doing the pregnancy shoot for this beautiful woman. I had her positioned on the ground and was shooting from one angle. When I moved to try another angle, she must have thought I was finished…so she got up. I said, “No…no no…sit.” So she did just like a good obedient dog! Good thing we both have a good sense of humor.

Then there were these two adorable kids….siblings…separated by a few years. Both adorable, and yes I did get some good ones. But this little monkey wanted to goof off most of the time, and the big sister had just about had enough. She kept such a straight face for so long…and then she just lost it. She couldn’t contain herself anymore [btw – the shots leading up to this are pretty funny too!]

Oh what the heck…it’s too good not to share at least one of the preceding photos from these two! He was just so “on” and trying everything to in his 3 yr. old bag of tricks to get to his big sister…and not cooperate for the camera. I mean come on…who doesn’t want someone on the payroll to be the personal nose picker!

And finally, no face, “butt” I couldn’t help “butt” snap this picture. It is an all too common sight for me. This is the view I get of my daughter on a regular basis these days. She is always bending over to pick things up…only problem is the there isn’t a pair of pants that fit her quite right…

Hope I gave you a few laughs! There are lots more opportunities to laugh and pee your pants over at iheartfaces. Make sure to check them out.

Belly Shot Preview – Part II

2010-02-28T21:02:00.001-08:00

POTD – February 28, 2010

As promised, here is the second round from a recent pregnancy shoot. After the beach portion of the shoot, we headed back to the house for a little belly boudoir. I love the way they turned out.

Alright…that’s enough. The rest of them are left for her eyes only! And boy are they good!

POTD – February 27, 2010

2010-02-27T20:26:00.001-08:00

Kissin’ Cousins

Vander Molen – Behary “In the Womb” Preview

2010-02-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

POTD – February 27, 2010

This preview will be in two parts…much like the photo session itself! Three weeks ago, I had the opportunity to capture one of the most special moments in two peoples’ lives…pregnant with their first child. I had never met this couple until the day of the shoot…we only conversed through e-mail and one phone call. Up until this day, the mom-to-be was merely one of my father’s co-workers…she [they] are so much more today! I can’t wait to meet this little angel and hope I get a chance to photograph her tiny little precious new [only the wrinkles a brand new baby has!] angel!

I can’t wait to find out what they think about these…but I have to tell you that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the last two!!!

Fix-It Friday

2010-02-26T09:50:00.001-08:00

POTD – February 26, 2010

It’s that time again…and today I am super excited about Fix-It Friday because I am so crazy busy today that I don’t really have time to think about what I am posting today. The decision is made for me…and the photo is super cute too!

This week's photo comes from Caroline at Frogmum. She writes: "My daughter is standing in our front garden - I was laying down. It was a beautiful day, but her face was in full shade & looks a bit blurry. She looks too dull against the blue sky. I'd like to be able to pull the whole thing up and make her pop out without losing the beauty of that blue sky."

Here is the original:

And here are my fixes:

For the first fix, I added some saturation to the sky, lightened the shadows on her faces, and fixed a few minor other things. Then, I used Coffee Shop Perfect Portrait action.

Second…just a basic crop. I also added a vignette.

And finally, the last two fixes used Coffee Shop Moody Pop action…one color and one in B&W.

And just for fun...what if I want a more interesting sky:

All edits were completed in PSE 5.0 and took less than 10 minutes combined! Happy editing! Make sure you stop by iheartfaces and check out all the other interpretations!

POTD – February 25, 2010

2010-02-25T10:42:00.001-08:00

Strawberry Bloom

POTD – February 24, 2010

2010-02-24T20:33:00.001-08:00

This was taken over a year ago…she was fearless even then! Never afraid to reach out and touch all the creepy crawlies!

POTD – February 23, 2010

2010-02-23T07:15:00.001-08:00

It almost looks fake! But this is the aftermath of a prescribed burn near the Everglades…all the green will be back before you know it! And, you won’t be able to see that tree line in the distance once the saw grass grows back.

Sunshine Blog Award

2010-02-22T21:41:00.001-08:00

My blogging friend [and SS sister] Shirley has bestowed upon me the Sunshine Blog Award. I read Shirley’s blog just about every day…I go there for her stories, her photos…inspiration! And, I have to admit, I just adore Hannah [her cat]. I’m honored…so a big Thank You to Shirley!

I don’t get a lot of these blog awards…so this definitely puts a smile on my face! It’s nice to be noticed from time to time!

So now, I have to choose 6 others to pass this on to…and I’m going to tell you why I chose each [if I could pass it back to the one who sent it to me I would, because like I said before, I read Shirley’s blog daily!].

Beth

Just love her! Met her online a few years ago and have had the privilege to know her IRL as well. Beth makes me smile! Her positive attitude is contagious…and her sarcasm is right up my alley. And finally, her blog makes me pee my pants it’s so funny!

Sherry

I love Sherry’s blog! We also met online…I have never met her IRL, but our children were born the same summer and we got to know each other through a mommy forum on SS. Her blog has a little bit of everything…inspirational stories that remind us of what’s truly important in life…her many crafty projects [boy is she talented…just real life!

Steve

AKA NikonSniper! Yep, I’m a Canon girl…but his landscape photography is amazing. And the places he has seen and shot are incredible! I have been following his blog for quite some time! When I grow up [retire] I want to travel and take photos just like NikonSniper…maybe I’ll call myself PerfectCanonAim….hmmm need to work on that one!

Kendra

Never met Kendra in real life, but have admired her creativity for years on SS. I happened upon an amazing blog one day and started following it. I finally realized that this blog belonged to her! Small blogging world.

Angie

One of the iheartfaces blog owners [the other half of Angie and Amy] and uber talented photographer. Of course, I love her blog because her photography gives me lots of inspiration. But, it’s the stories that have me hooked. And if you haven’t checked out iheartfaces, you should definitely stop by there sometime too!

Dana

Don’t know Dana at all. Don’t know if she even realizes that I love her blog. I love her photography…I love her messages…so much inspiration on her blog. And I seriously loved her open letter to Gymboree! And loved that they responded [the power of blogs and social networking…and the OMG they are actually looking!]. But what a story that rebuilds faith in people…some people really do care, and you see this all the time on her blog!

Fearless Hands

2010-02-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

POTD - February 22, 2010

This week’s theme at iheartfaces is all about hands. I have been thinking about this one for a while.

Here’s the directions from iheartfaces: “Show off those teeny-tiny baby hands, chubby toddler hands, the soothing hands of a mama or the gnarled, wise hands of a grandfather. We can't wait to see what you come up with for this challenge!” In fact, there doesn’t even need to be a face.

I desperately wanted to do something different to showcase hands! I have tons and tons of beautiful hand shots…but I wanted something different since I know that there will be lots and lots of baby hands, chubby toddler hands, and gnarled older hands. So I thought about these things:

What does my child do with her hands??

Do I really want to showcase her and all the nasty things she does with them??

She picks up gum and trash from sidewalks with these hands!

And then it came to me!

Yes, she touches everything…and I truly mean everything!

But the most amazing thing, even when she touches already been chewed gum and other gross things, is that she has fearless hands. Hands that explore her world…hands that have already taught her many many things in her short life…hands that reach out to hold…hands that reach out to touch…hands that reach out to love ALL of God’s creatures.

I absolutely adore these hands!

Make sure you check out all the other hand entries over at iheartfaces. I am looking forward to seeing all the other great photos!

POTD – February 21, 2010

2010-02-21T15:50:00.001-08:00

Another pregnancy preview! I am having a blast with these photos…so many options! And the parents-to-be are pretty darn gorgeous too!