Kimberly Adams Photography

India: Day 2

2012-01-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

Editing these photos I have come to realize that I need to hand my camera off to other people more often. There are very few pictures of myself in any of these. I swear I actually did go to India.

Our drive from Agra to Jaipur started with some very heavy fog. Oh my god we are all going to die fog. I'm thankful our drivers figured out where the road was and somehow figured out which way they were going. I'm also grateful we didn't hit any of the crazy people walking in the road.

Highlights of the day:
- Riding jeeps to the Amber Fort
- Riding camels, mine was called Johnny
- Jal Mahal (Water Palace): We didn't go inside but it was beautiful to look at
- Watching the locals make rugs by hand and hand stamp table clothes using wooden blocks

India: Day 1

2012-01-18T10:17:00.000-08:00

I don't think there is a better way to spend your first day in India than at the Taj Mahal. To say it is beautiful is an understatement. Built as a symbol of love it is hard not to fall in love with it.

Some first impressions of India:
- There are a lot of people. You can see in the pictures the insane amount of people visiting the Taj Mahal. A line wrapped around the entire building just to get inside. Having payed over 10 times the price for our "foreigner tickets" than the natives (not by choice), we did have the luxury of skipping the lines.

- There is no such thing as personal space. While in the Taj Mahal the husband and I were pushed into a crowd of people by a lady using her giant breasts as people movers. There was really no where to go since the exit was being blocked by security, but this lady thought she could use her "assets" to skip the crowd and make her own escape. It didn't work.

- I would die the first day if I attempted to drive myself anywhere. Everyone got car sick on our drive from Delhi to Agra. Lines on the road mean absolutely nothing. Drivers laugh in the face of speed limit signs. Bicycles, pedestrians, tractors, rickshaws, cars and semi-trucks all share the road. The best thing to do as a passenger is close your eyes and don't look at the truck that is about to hit your car head on.

- It seemed like most Indians have never seen a fair skinned person before. They all wanted their pictures taken with us. They were especially enamored with Sally's red hair.

More pictures to come!

The View

2011-12-30T18:37:00.001-08:00

Internet is sparse, but we are alive and well

Leaving on a jet plane

2011-12-27T15:55:00.001-08:00

And we are off to India. I will try to post camera phone pictures whenever we have WiFi. I didn't bring my laptop and it feels so good, but it also means short posts and phone pics.

A not so relaxing time of year

2011-12-18T10:36:00.000-08:00

As most of you are probably experiencing, this time of year is not very relaxing. I have so many things to do that I simply ignore them all and pretend they don't exist. Because somehow they will magically accomplish themselves, right?

For now, let's just reminisce about those lazy summer days, shall we. (Summer in Texas is October, so these pictures aren't too old)

The Girls are Back in Town!

2011-11-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

After 2 weeks without horses, the girls are finally coming home today. I will show you in pictures why they were gone for so long, but I can tell you they were putting their amazing Percheron muscles to work.

Escape Artist

2011-10-17T13:28:00.000-07:00

Little Miss trouble maker.

The day the horses came to live with us is the day Little Miss decided to explore the property a little. In my excitement to see the horses I didn't make sure the side door was shut all the way. This wouldn't be a problem if the only animals we have were Leia and Midnight. Leia would simply follow me around and eat horse food, and Midnight would sprawl out on the porch to soak up some sun. Little Miss, on the other hand, is not one to sit still and ponder life, she is more of the get out there and do things type of person, err cat.

An open door to the outside world with no humans to supervise her was just the opportunity she needed to explore her unexplored world. Which, for her, means the empty wooded lot next to our house.

After thoroughly welcoming the horses I came back to an open door and a missing cat. I checked her usual wandering locations to find absolutely no sign of her. This is when I started to freak out. Little Miss might be an adventurous cat, but she is an adventurous cat with no front claws and no idea what a poisonous snake is. To her a snake would be something fun to play with, something that looks similar to the strings I let her chase around the house.

After walking around the empty lot with a bag of tuna fish and no sign of a missing cat I knew it was time I went into the unexplored woods. The woods down in the south are not the same as the woods up north for a couple of reasons. One, the undergrowth is much more dense and prickly. Two, there are poisonous snakes. Three, there are poisonous spiders. Four, THERE ARE POISONOUS THINGS IN THERE THAT ARE WATCHING ME AND WANT TO EAT ME!!!

I may have been a little scared to go into the woods. For a girl who grew up in the woods of northeast Ohio, this is kind of hard to admit. Once I made it over the fence and through the densest ivy/weeds/may-be-poisonous-creatures-looking-at-me I started calling for the little run away. After a couple minutes of wandering around calling for the escape artist (and possibly freaking out the neighbors) I heard the most pitiful cry I have ever heard. Someone was lost, and didn't know how to get back home. I followed the cry, she followed her name, and we met beneath a scary looking fallen try that was sure to house a poisonous snake.

That cat was so happy to be found and so scared of something in those woods. She would not let me put her down until we were safely in the house. And she has not left that house since, although not because she didn't want to. I am not about to go searching for her in those woods anytime soon. She can stay inside for a little while longer.

Renters

2011-10-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

One of the features that was on my house "must have" list was room for horses. This was actually a fairly easy thing to find since horses are a big deal in Texas. It seems like every lot that has room for horses has horses. They are everywhere. So, all of the houses we looked at with acreage had a pasture with a barn. Yes!! Of course we ended up buying one of those houses, and were left with a pasture, no horses and grass that needed to be mowed.

I figured it would be a few years until I would find a horse I wanted to adopt, and possibly a few more years until the husband actually let me. The husband, I fear, is possibly a little afraid of horses. Something about them being big, with big feat, and uncontrollable.

We entertained the idea of renting out our back pasture. The conversation usually arose when it was time for the husband to mow the grass back there, and usually just in passing. We have absolutely no idea how to go about renting out land. It's not like we could just put up a sign on the fence that says, "For Rent". No one would see it but our neighbors.

Which brings me to our neighbors. I was sitting outside one morning eating some breakfast when our neighbors rode their bikes by the house. I waved, they waved back. Then they turned around and came up to the fence. I thought, cool, they must want to meet me. Which they did, but they also wanted to know if they could rent our pasture. Yes! No sign needed.

It turns out their horses ate all of the grass in their pasture. Due to the drought the grass isn't growing back. The husband hasn't mowed our pasture for a couple of months, so there is plenty of grass at our house. Which means, free horses for me!

Meet Sunny and Star, both black Percherons. I have to say, they look amazing in the pasture. I may have to kidnap them. Although, it would be really hard to hide them. I wonder if they will fit in my bedroom?

Star

Sunny

It's Not All Doom and Gloom

2011-09-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

When I am feeling on the low side each month, usually around that time when I find out again that I am not pregnant, again, I try to remind myself about the positives. Other people like to remind me of the things I should enjoy while I don’t have children (mainly sleep). So I am taking their lead and writing my own list.

1) I get to sleep in. While mothers all over the world complain about their 5am wake up calls I am still sleeping. In fact, I am taking advantage of this and sleeping in until 11am. I love sleep! Don’t hate me because I am well rested (insert evil laugh here).

2) I stay up late because I want to. While we are on the subject of 5am wake up calls, sometimes that is when I go to bed. Trust me, this is a very rare occurrence because, as we just discovered, I love sleeping, but I can do it if I want to.

3) I get to eat any of the food in my house by myself. With a picky husband who only eats pop tarts, chicken patties and Raman noodles (all things I do not eat) everything in my pantry and refrigerator is mine. I don’t have to share it with anyone.

4) I don’t have to eat half eaten, slobbery scraps left behind by the masters, I mean kids. (see #3)

5) My house is fairly clean, or as clean as I need it to be, without a toy in site.

6) I can stay late at a friend’s house without worrying about getting home to pay the babysitter.

7) I can decide last minute that I want to go out with my friends without having to make any plans.

8) I spend hours on my hobbies without distractions (if you don’t count the cat trying to lay on my keyboard while I am typing).

9) I sit on airplanes and read books. No little kids to keep entertained for fear of upsetting the other passengers.

10) I can take trips all over the world. Most of these trips have been for school and are just in the US, but we plan on going to India this winter.

Now before you start getting all resentful of my wonderful childfree life you should know that I would give every last one of these up for a chance at being a mother, but today I needed a little pick me up.

Did I miss something? What else should I try to enjoy before a baby comes along. (This is not a trick, I really do want to know)

50mm f/1.4 Vintage Honey Action

Colton

2011-09-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

Colton is the new addition to the Druke boys (here and here). I am in love with him already. He has the squishy cheeks that his older brothers have and a head of hair all his own. Unfortunately, I had to leave him behind with his mother, but next time I will find room in my suitcase for sure.

All pictures were taken with a Nikon D200 and my awesome new lens, and edited with the amazing new RadLab. Email me if you would like to know more about the Photoshop actions recipe I used for these images.

6 Years

2011-08-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the husband and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary. We have experienced so much in these past years, but at the same time it has flown by. I can't believe we have been together for twelve and a half years.

In these past six year we have moved to Chicago. We rented a house, then a duplex, then another house. We bought our first house together, and did a lot of work on it. We went on our first cruise. We experienced heartache and loss together. We navigated the path through graduate school. We moved to Texas, and bought our forever home. I couldn't imagine having these experiences with anyone but him.

I feel so extremely lucky to have found someone so early in life who is my best friend. Who finds their soul mate in high school and actually stays with them (besides you YankeeDrawl)? How lucky am I? I'm getting all teary eyed just writing this.

We are definitely not perfect, but I have never found being together hard. "Us" has always come easily. We fight, although we like to say we "discuss", but we always work things out. I know it is cliche, but never going to bed angry has definitely worked for us.

To celebrate 6 years together here are 6 great things about my husband.

1) He is funny. Sometimes I tell him he isn't funny so he doesn't get a big head, but he definitely makes me laugh a lot.

2) He is a big dork. So am I, so this makes us perfect for each other. I told him he could never leave me because he would never find any other hot chick that likes Sci-Fi, geology, and hates sports.

3)He is a great friend. He always calls his friends for their birthdays, or calls them because something reminded him of them. If one of his friends needed something he would be right there helping them out.

4)He accepts my quirkiness. Who else would make my doctors appointments for me because of my irrational fear of talking on the phone?

5)He is great with kids. My sister's son, Michael, loves him more than me.

6)He is the love of my life and my best friend.

Android: Vignette Demo: Porta Filter

Android: Vignette Demo: Porta Filter: Grungy Instant Transfer 1 Frame

Android Photographer

2011-07-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

First, I wanted to say a big thank you to those that emailed me after my last post. I am sad to hear that so many have to go through infertility, however I do think it is important that we share our stories for the sake of all those who think they are alone in this battle. A supportive community can really help us get through those tough times.

Now, this is a photography blog, isn’t it? I think it is about time that I wrote a tutorial, don’t you? It has been a while!

More and more often I have found that the only camera I have with me is the one built into my phone. While I love my Nikon, and I try to take it with me as often as possible, there are those times when I just don’t feel like lugging it around, or it is not really safe to take it with me. For those times I rely on my Droid camera.

A little bit about the Motorola Droid camera:

I hate this camera. My previous phone, the LG Dare, was much much better, and it wasn’t even a smart phone.

The Droid does horribly in low light. Without a flash the pictures are grainy and the camera captures very little available light. With the flash, the images are washed out and still grainy.

As for settings, there is very little you can change. There are only 3 focus modes, auto, infinity, and macro. You can change the exposure to 3 different settings; 0, +1, and +2, but with each addition you loose quality. There are only 5 white balance settings; auto, incandescent, daylight, fluorescent and cloudy. The flash can be turned on or off. There is zoom up to 4x, but as with exposure, you loose quality as you zoom in. That is it for controlling the settings. As a photographer, this is horrible. I want to change my ISO, I want some screen modes (portrait, landscape, etc.), more white balance settings, better zoom, and better low light quality.

I have heard that later versions of the Droid (the Droid 3 just came out) do much better in low light situations, but they still lack in the ability to change settings.

What makes this phone bearable are the apps available through the app market. Without these apps I would have returned this phone long ago.

Android Apps:

There are a lot of photography apps available for android, and there are a lot of posts out there telling you which ones are the best. The problem with those posts is that the writers judge the app based on the reviewer ratings and haven’t really tested them, and there aren’t very many pictures to show you what the app can do. However, those posts are a great starting point for which apps to try first. I’m only going to show you the apps I use frequently and have used for a long time, and I will show you my favorite pictures I have taken with each app.

There are several apps out there that I have downloaded thinking they would be great, only to delete them later. Here are a couple that you shouldn’t waste your phone storage space on.

Adobe Photoshop: It does very little. I found I never used it.

Pudding Camera: The free version is in Korean, so I couldn’t figure it out.

Camera360: I never used this one either. It didn’t have enough options to justify me keeping it.

Camera Magic: This one is about to get deleted from my phone. I never use it. It doesn’t have very many filters, and it has fewer options than the built in camera.

Now, what do I use? Here is a complete breakdown of all of the apps I use frequently. All apps are free to download through the app market. I never pay for an app.

QuickPic: Use this instead of the stock photo gallery. It is cleaner and runs more smoothly and faster.

FX Camera

This was the first photography app I ever downloaded, so I used it a lot in the beginning. I have to say, though, that I don’t use it much now.

Likes:
It is the only app I have found that has a fisheye mode and a Warhol mode (the only other options are ToyCam, Polandroid, and SymmetriCam).

Disklikes:
Since it only has 5 options, I find that I rarely use it.

FX Camera App: Palandroid

FX Camera App: Toy Cam

Vignette Demo

This is a very popular app on the market. A lot of people seem to really love it. It is a much better option than the stock camera, and can be set to start up when you hit the camera button.

Likes:

- There are a lot of filters, something like 84 total! My favorites include Cross-processing (with 6 different color options), Technicolor (under Cinematic), Faded Vintage, Colourised Vintage, Velvia, Toy Camera, and Toy Camera Cross Processed.

- You can save your favorite filters in a different folder for easy access.

- You can add frames.

- There are options to auto-save filtered pictures and the original picture.

- You can change the screen modes. There are 11 different modes to choose from, including Night-portrait, beach, snow, action, and landscape.

- There is a self timer

- You can turn on different picture taking guides (Golden Ratio, Rule of Thirds, etc)

- There is a time lapse option ( I haven’t used this, but it seems like fun)

Dislikes:

- On the new version I found it hard to figure out how to navigate to the options (hit the back button)

- There is no preview for filters, and you have to pick the filter before you take the picture. This means that if you take a picture using a predetermined filter you won’t know what it looks like with that filter until after you take the picture. I find I like to apply the filter after I take the picture so I can test different filters on the image to see which one I like best. For this reason alone, I find I don’t use this amazing app as often as it deserves.

Vignette App: Cross Process (X-pro Yellow)

Vignette App

Retro Camera

This was my favorite app for a long time, and some of my favorite photos are taken with it.

Likes:

- Although it doesn’t have very many filters, the few it does have are some of my favorites out there.

- The interface is cute.

Dislikes

- Like with most of the other photo apps there is no preview for the fillter.

- It does not have very many filters (only 6 cameras to choose from)

- There are few setting you can change

- The “viewfinder” is very small.

Retro Camera:Pinhole Camera

Retro Camera: Little Orange Box

Retro Camera: Pinhole Camera

Retro Camera: Little Orange Box

Retro Camera:Barbl

Little Photo

This is my go to app right now. I use it all the time.

Likes:

- You take your picture first, and then apply all changes and filters.

- There are a lot of filters (over 50). My favorites are Lomo, 2-hand lens, 201 Film, Tone Lighting, Toy Camera, Vintage Paper, and 4:50pm

- It has several different frames.

- There are several “tools” such as bokeh, text, drawings, etc.

- You can use multiple filters on one picture (although, the quality decreases when you do)

- You can import photos taken from other apps and from the stock camera and apply filters.

- You can auto-save the original picture (which I just learned how to do)

- There is a 3 second self-timer option

Dislikes

- Even though I like being able to apply filters after I take the picture, it does add extra time to the process

- There are no screen modes or other regular camera settings

- The flash doesn’t work with my phone

My favorite! Little Photo: Lomo

Little Photo: 2-Hand Lens

For more images from these apps check out these flickr groups

For camera phone inspiration check out these amazing images from a recent Pioneer Women post (unfortunately, none of mine made the cut):

If you have any questions about any of these apps, or you want me to try out one of the other photography apps available for Android, let me know in the comments section or send me an email.

All photos were uploaded to Photoshop where they were water marked, changed to the correct color mode for the web, and saved. Besides that all images are straight from my phone (and appear as they do on my phone's screen), no other actions where taken in Photoshop.

Conquering IF

2011-07-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

And now for a slightly different subject. If you are here to see pictures, skip the entire content of this post and go to the bottom. There is a cute picture of a cat. Now for the heavy stuff.

IF is a subject I have been reluctant to discuss on this blog. Mostly because this is a photography blog, partly because it is a subject rarely talked about in society, and partly because I am also not looking for any pity. I want to talk about it now because I know there are other people out there struggling with IF and I want them to know that they are not alone.

When the husband and I first started trying to have a baby IF meant:

If I get pregnant now I will have a summer baby!

If I get pregnant now we can announce the pregnancy at Christmas.

If I get pregnant now our baby will be 6 months old next Christmas.

As time went by our hopes where still high.

If I get pregnant now I will have a fall baby.

If I get pregnant now it would be the perfect Christmas present.

If I get pregnant now we can announce it at the Hubbies birthday party!

If I get pregnant now the baby will be 3 months old next Christmas.

Now things are a little different.

If I had gotten pregnant when we started trying I would have a 1 year old now.

If I ever get pregnant I don’t care when the baby is born.

If we didn’t wait so long to start trying, would I still be having these problems?

If one more person says, “It’s about time you guys have a baby”, I may punch them in the face.

If I never get pregnant, will I be ok with that?

If one more person announces their pregnancy will I break down in tears again?

IF stands for infertility, but as you can see it means so much more to those of us struggling to get pregnant.

I have come a long way in this struggle. I went from the excitement of starting our family, to fearful we may have problems achieving that goal, to bitter that everyone else seemed to get pregnant so easily, to accepting IF, and now to optimistic that I may conquer IF. I may not conquer it by having a child of my own, but I do know that one day I will have a child.

Of course, I am not optimistic everyday, and I still struggle with bitterness now and then. Sometimes I still feel like crying when I hear a certain song, or see a baby in the mall. But, that is not my everyday life now. After 2 years of struggle I am finally at a point where I can do something about it.

After dealing with crappy student health insurance for the first year and a half of this journey we finally have amazing infertility coverage with the husband’s new job. I feel extremely blessed to have the insurance we have now, and I plan on taking every advantage of it to conquer IF.

Yesterday we took the first step toward actually figuring out why I can’t get pregnant. I had a laparoscopy to look for blocked tubes and endometriosis that could be preventing me from getting pregnant. It turns out my tubes are not blocked, and I didn’t have too much endometriosis, but I don’t go in to talk to my doctor until next week. So, I won’t know for sure if this was the problem until I talk to him.

Today I am feeling great. Recovery hasn’t been too bad, and I am still feeling optimistic. If you are having the same procedure and want to know more about it feel free to contact me and I will be happy to tell you how everything went. I was lucky to have my sister with me, who had the same procedure last fall. Without her I would have felt lost and very anxious.

I plan on writing a few more posts about infertility for those who want to know how to deal with a friend/relative struggling with IF, and of course those who struggle with it themselves. I will also try to keep you updated on how our conquering goes.

For more information about infertility here are some good websites to check out:

Resolve

Mayo Clinic

Blogs

99 Reasons to Laugh at Infertility

Stress Free Infertility

There are also some good support groups on Babycenter:

Actively Trying: The Next Level

Fertility Issues

I did not put this cat in the basket. The weirdo slept in that basket for several days until I put laundry in it.

Finally Home

2011-06-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a week long trip up north to attend my sister-in-law's graduation from Vet school, and my husband's graduation from graduate school. Congratulations! You can now call me Mrs. Doctor Adams. After all of the excitement, visiting with family, seeing my friends, for the first time in my life I was excited to come back home.

When I was a kid I used to take summer trips to stay with my sister in Chicago. Some of those trips started as weekend family vacations, and only morphed into summer trips due to my inconsolable crying as we loaded into the car. I didn't want to go home. I have never wanted to go home. Everywhere else in the world was more exciting than home. Ultimately, my parents would let me stay with my sister, and I would happily wave goodbye as the rest of the family drove away.

This desire to be anywhere but home has carried into adulthood. I finally achieved my dream of living in Chicago (well, the suburbs), but every time we went to visit family back in Ohio I would never want to leave. I would never want to go home.

Now, I never want to leave this house. I feel like crying whenever I leave it. Maybe this honeymoon phase will end, maybe I will want to be anywhere but here some day, but right now this place feels more like "home" than anywhere else in the world. We are finally home, and I never want to leave.

As you can see, the animals love it too.

Inside pictures to come, as soon as I finish unpacking.

Fountain of Youth

2011-05-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

I have found the fountain of youth! Although, it is not actually a fountain, it's our new house. And, it probably won't keep you young forever, just while you visit. Plus, I'm not actually sure it works on humans, just dogs. You want proof you say?

When we first got Leia she never got tired. She could run circles around all of the other dogs at the dog park for hours, after an hour run/walk to the park. As she got older she slowed down considerably. Before the fountain of youth (our new house) she would run around the house with the hubby once before she got tired, stopped for a drink of water, and then went to bed. She could always be found in her bed, on our bed (usually our bed), or on the couch. Now...

Last week she raced me back and forth up the driveway, then I got tired. Yesterday I called her into the house after she had been outside for almost an hour in the dark. She didn't come when I called. I got worried and walked around the house to find her. As soon as she saw me she charged passed me and ran all the way around the house, through the house, upstairs and jumped excitedly onto the bed. She would have kept going, but I made her go to bed (it was a long rapture day).

I don't think it has anything to do with the 3 acres she has here compared to the 0.17 acres she had at the old place. This house is definitely the fountain of youth. If you want to regain your youth I am charging $1,000 for a one night stay, free if I like you. Now that is a deal!

**All claims of youthfulness have not been fully tested. Stay at your own risk. If youthfulness does not occur we claim no responsibility. No money back, no guarantees. Offer not valid to those we don't know.**

New House Sneek Peak

2011-05-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

I have been spending way too much time planning the colors and layout of the new house, and not enough time actually putting it together. Until then, here is a sneak peak. Have I mentioned that I am in love with my house? I never want to leave it.

Time Flies

2011-05-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Has it really been that long since I posted something? So much has changed around here, starting with the "around here" part. I will get into all of the details when I get home from the current trip I am on. Home is now Texas, and I can't wait to share it with you.

During all of the changes in my life these past couple of months I missed spring, but I was treated with the most amazing flowering trees during my current trip back up north.

More to come! I am excited to share with you all of the changes.

Relief

2011-02-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

I can check another thing off my to-do list, only to start directly on the next item of business. I will be back to the regularly scheduled program as soon as I find out where I left my brain. I'm pretty sure it ran off with my sanity.

Little Boxes

2011-01-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

My house is in boxes. Little boxes packed away in a storage pod. Everything I wanted to keep and move to our new house is in that little pod. A new house we don't have yet (and we won't have it for several months).

My mind is in so many places right now. I typed 3 different blog posts, deleting them all before settling on this one. I am getting the house ready to sell. I am preparing to buy a new house. I am still in school, working on two different projects right now. I am preparing to leave school. So many things to do right now, and not much time left to do it.

I think the thing I am looking forward to the most about moving to a new city is the weight that will be lifted from my shoulders. The house will be sold, the new house will be bought, and my research will be complete. My mind will be free to focus on something new instead of being split into little boxes.

View

2011-01-04T19:45:00.000-08:00

This month the One Word on Shutter Sisters is a choose your own word. My word for the month is "view". There are so may ways to interpret that word, and many of them are very meaningful to my life this year.

We will have a new view out our window when we move to Houston in April. I am so excited about this new adventure, I can't express in words my feelings about this change in our lives. It will open up so many new possibilities for our little two person family. I have so many plans for the future.

I want to start this new year with a new view on life. The move will help refocus my life in so many ways, but there is a lot I need to work on from the inside. I need to let go of some things, and accept a new reality. I need to trust more in God. I am definitely not there yet, but I know it will happen with a little work.

To help with my visual "view" I got some new camera related presents for Christmas. The husband bought me a wireless remote for my camera. I used the remote on my old camera all the time, but I never got one for the new camera. Now that I have it, I don't know how I lived without it. The pictures below would have been very difficult without a remote.

I was also able to widen the view of my 50mm lens with a wide angle and macro lens adapter I got from my sister. I am in love with the wide angle adapter (which I used in all of the pictures below), but am having a little trouble with the macro adapter. User error is most likely to blame for that malfunction.

What views are you looking forward to this year?

All images are from Chagrin Falls, OH.

Oh Where, Oh Where Can She Be

2010-12-14T19:23:00.000-08:00

Can't find the cat? I know where she is.

The Last First Snow

2010-12-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

It snowed this weekend for the first time this year. I am happy to say that this is the last time I will say that. Well, the last time I will say that and mean significant snow, because I am pretty sure it doesn't snow this much in Houston.

I have always hated snow. I'm not sure if it is because I spent the first five years of my life in Dallas, or if it was the five years I spent in New Mexico for college. Being cold is just not my thing. I always thought it was such a hassle to get all bundled up just to go play in the snow, get cold and wet, and then come back inside without feeling in my hands and feet.

As a kid, the worst part was standing out in the cold waiting for the bus, freezing from head to toe, only to watch the bus slide by my house and decide to keep driving. In high school it was driving to school at 5 mph, hoping I didn't slide into the ditch (because the back of my old car wouldn't cooperate), and then finding out school was canceled. Nice of them to tell me before I left the house!

I am not sad to be leaving this weather. I'm sure it won't miss me either.

Michael

2010-11-18T11:17:00.001-08:00

Michael is the son of my older sister. This is just one of his traits. He is also 7, my nephew, my godson, very active, loving, really smart, tall, cute as a button, and pretty good at Lego Star Wars. He also has Alopecia. Unfortunately, this is the first attribute people tend to notice about him. For the most part I don’t blame them. It is human nature to be curious. I have had people come up to me and ask, “What is wrong with him?” While this may not be the best way to ask that question (There is nothing “wrong” with him), I don’t mind educating people about what Michael has to live with everyday.

I usually give people the short answer, “He has alopecia, which makes his hair fall out. It isn’t contagious and it doesn’t hurt him.” Everyone so far has been satisfied with this answer, although I am prepared in case they want the long version. Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder. Causes are unknown and there is no known cure. While it doesn’t hurt him physically, imagine being 7 and having your classmates make fun of you for something you can not control. He is strong. So much stronger than any 7 year old should be. He is very good at ignoring comments and continuing on with his day.

A couple weeks ago the husband and I took Michael to a nearby apple orchard. We took a little hayride (I say hayride loosely due to the lack of actual hay) around the orchard. Michael was perfectly content sitting in the front seat looking out at all of the trees. He had a peaceful look on his face. I prayed he didn’t hear the little girl behind us say, “That boy has no hair” as we first entered the wagon. He didn’t seem to notice. In fact, he was a happy boy the entire day.

I hope I’m doing the right thing. I hope that by being honest when people ask questions, and by letting the odd comment here or there go, that I am teaching Michael that he should not be ashamed of his alopecia. I hope I’m teaching him that it is ok to educate the uninformed, and through education come acceptance, research, and maybe one day a cure.

No one asked questions this day. In fact, I barely saw any stares of curiosity. We ran up and down the tree lines. We played in the pumpkin patch. The tube slide saw us descend many times. Michael enjoyed running through the cow maze and then through the corn maze. We raced each other on the giant tricycle track. Apple cider donuts where enjoyed after running into old college friends (which, by the way, was totally random, seeing as we went to college in New Mexico). Michael had a blast, and we were blessed to have the opportunity to hang out with him for the day.

You may notice from the pictures that Michael’s favorite person in the world is my husband. I’m sure he loves me too, but he never stops talking about Uncle Derek.

To learn more about Alopecia go here

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

From our black cat to you. Have a spooky day!

The Wild Child

2010-10-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

There's one in every family. That child that causes trouble. The instigator. Little Miss is "the one" in our family. She has several names around here, "chubs", "chubbie", "no", "stop that", "brat", "crazy". All of these very fitting for our insane cat.

You may remember that Little Miss was our foster cat. We were taking care of her while my sister and her husband were stationed in Hawaii (poor them). Well, the sister has been back on the mainland for over 6 months now. I may have stolen the cat, or just not given her back. She is ours now.

Don't let the sleeping cat below fool you. These moments are rare. Little Miss's favorite thing to do is knock things off of high places. She doesn't care what it is, and she usually doesn't intend on playing with it. The challenge of reaching something high above her head. The thrill of watching it fall to the floor. That's what she lives for. That, and terrorizing the older cat.

Bully. That should be her other name. I must yell, "stop that" a bajillion times a day as I watch Little Miss fly through the air and wrap her fuzzy arms around Midnight's neck (the older cat). Midnight is not impressed with Little Miss's ninja skills.

Even though she is a real pain in the butt a lot of the time, she has her moments where I know I could never give her back. She loves to lay on the hubby's chest before bed. Every morning, and every time we come home after a long day at school, Little Miss follows me around and cries until I pick her up. She just wants to be held and loved, and I will never deny her that.

Puppy Fix

2010-10-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted pictures of Leia in a very long time. Actually, I haven't posted pictures of any of our animals lately. So, over the next couple of days I will be forcing you to look at baby pictures. Well, my version of baby pictures.

Leia is as lazy as ever. Actually, she is sleeping under a blanket right next to me. Her favorite thing to do is curl up under a blanket close to someone. That sounds like my favorite thing to do as well. Like mother like daughter.

I can rarely get a picture of her in a position other than sleeping or laying down. It is funny actually, I'm pretty sure she hates having her picture taken. Whenever I get out the camera she mysteriously relocates to a different room. When the camera is in her face she refuses to make eye contact. Like father like daughter.

We couldn't have picked a better dog for us.

Things Only Married People Say

2010-10-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

My husband and I were having a "discussion" a couple weeks ago. I don't remember what we were arguing about. It obviously wasn't very important, but how many arguments really are.

I was in the kitchen and he was around the corner in the bedroom (what a great way to "discuss" things, right?). I was getting frustrated, he was getting frustrated. I said something like "No!" to some request he made.

His response: "Fine, then I'll just steal some of your hangers."

Who says that? Married people, that's who. The best way to get back at your spouse? Apparently it is stealing their hangers. Don't worry, though, I stole them back. See who's laughing now.

Some background: I never have enough hangers. One day all my clothes are hanging nicely in the closet. The next thing I know I am trying to hang up my laundry and there are 2 extra shirts without hangers. Obviously it is all my husbands fault. He steals them you know, and now I have proof right out of his mouth!

Sneak Peak: Family Photos

2010-10-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

I met this awesome family a couple of weeks ago. They have a super cute son who has all the energy in the world. That boy thought that running around was so much fun. If only I had that much energy. If only I could run that much, then I wouldn't have any problems with my weight. I had a lot of fun, and I'm pretty sure they did too.

Alligator Land

2010-09-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

I'm not afraid of creepy crawly things. I can pick up a spider with my hands and move him outside (although, I do prefer to use a cup or something to catch him). I used to play with snakes when I was little. My brother, sister and I would catch frogs behind my grandma's house to enter into the frog jumping contest at the fair. None of those things phase me. So, we went to Alligator Adventures in Myrtle Beach to pet the alligators. Aren't they cute :)

One of these things is not like the other. Apparently, alligators don't eat turtles, who knew.

I pet this guy. I had to tackle some kids to get to him, but they lived.

Feeding time.

There were snakes and frogs there too, but I am sad to say I didn't get to hold any of them.

Look at that tongue. Or not, if your too scared he'll come out of the screen and eat you :)

Chillin' on his branch. He's not scary, right?

Anyone left? Or did I scare everyone away? Really, they're not that bad, maybe a little cute even. No? Ok, that's the end of the creepy crawly pictures.

Time Flies

2010-09-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

Way back at the end of June, beginning of July (When I took these pictures, and these), I went to North Carolina. I did much more than just take pictures, but I didn't really mention that part of the trip. This was my second trip to Jacksonville to visit the little sister. The whole family went down for Thanksgiving several years ago before that skinny girl moved far away from me to Hawaii. Now that she is back in the states I get to visit her again.

This time we went to Myrtle Beach. We had gone last time, but we never made it to the actual beach. There really isn't much there besides water and sand, but I can't tell people I have been to Myrtle Beach without sticking my toes in the sand. The lighting was perfect in the shade of the tall buildings, so I had to take out my camera. Hmm... I guess I didn't do much besides take pictures, did I?

Thanks to Josh, my trusty assistant/brother-in-law, for taking the pictures with me in them.

Me and the sister. We are pretty big dorks when we get together.

Mom was not too happy about taking pictures.

Aren't they cute?

All of us sisters got matching blue star tattoos on our toes several years ago. My tattoo just happens to be on really chubby feet. We will just pretend that they are the cute kind of chubby.

I caught mom off guard. Isn't she pretty.

More from North Carolina coming soon. Be aware, there may be reptiles in future pictures. You have been warned.

Cute as a Button, Baby A

2010-08-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

My friends need to stop having adorable babies. It's really not good for my health. I am lucky, though, that my friends let me take pictures of their babes. This adorable little girl just turned 6 months old, and she already has 2 little teeth sticking out.

I really need to do a tutorial on lighting, but I can tell you that these were all taken outside. The sun was setting and we were in the shade of a building. It was the perfect lighting.

Now, on to the cuteness.

Go back and look at those cheeks, but don't eat your screen.

The Druke Boys

2010-08-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

Remember these cuties from a year ago. Well, they have now added another brother to their house of boys. I was so excited to get the chance to go visit them this past weekend and take some pictures of these handsome fellas. I got to nibble on those adorable baby cheeks all weekend, go ahead and be jealous.

That last guy there is my godson. Can you believe the cuteness this momma creates?

Inspiration

2010-07-21T11:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend I said goodbye to a friend moving back to the UK. She lives near downtown Chicago, so we met up down there to hang out for one last time. We ate at our traditional place, Quartino's. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it. Eat outside, though, you won't hear yourself think if you try to eat inside.

After dinner we decided to check out the Transformers 3 filming location. I have never been to a "set" before, so it was kind of cool to see it. We saw what appeared to be "bad" transformers (race cars with machine guns on them), really cool cars, and Tyrese, who plays Sergeant Epps in the movie.

After a couple minutes of getting our movie set thrills we headed into the nearby mall to check out the Lego store. In this mall there is a photography gallery filled with pictures of Chicago, among other things, taken by Cesar Russ. This brings me to the whole point of this blog post, inspiration. I have been in a photographic rut lately. This usually happens in the winter because it is so freakin' cold here that I don't feel like doing anything. The rut continues until I find my inspiration. This time it came from Cesar Russ.

After seeing his gallery, and his photography of Chicago, I thought to myself, "I can take these pictures", "I can do this." While searching through some old photos on my laptop today I came across this picture I took of Chicago in July of 2008, 2 years ago. This picture has just been sitting on my hard drive. I took the picture, uploaded it to my computer, and then never looked at it again. I decided it was about time this photo made its debut.

Since that day I have taken more pictures than I have all month. I really needed that inspiration.
What inspires you? How do you get out of your ruts?

Floating on Air

2010-07-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

I wish I could say that emotionally I am floating on air, but I'm not. I feel... just here. I'm simply taking one day at a time, waiting for the next good thing to happen. I may not be at the top of my game right now, but at the same time I feel truly blessed. Blessed with good friends, a caring husband, a wonderful family. That is what keeps me up. Those are the people that help me float on air.

A Girl and Her Marine

2010-07-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that's my dress my sister is wearing. I don't look that good in it. Actually, my sister and I look absolutely nothing alike. Take her, subtract 3 inches, add 20 pounds, take away all the pigment in her skin, lighten up her hair, and then you would have me. Other than our similar voices and anti-social behavior we are nothing alike. But, she is still my best friend. I hate that we live so far away from each other.

I love you little sister.

A Marine and His Girl

2010-07-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

My baby sister married a marine 4 years ago. I couldn't be happier with who she picked. I trust him with her and love him like a brother.

He is headed to Afghanistan in March for his third tour of duty. We all worry about him when he is gone, but no one more than my sister. I wish there was something I could do for her during that time, but there is no way I could know what she is feeling. All I can do is be there for her and give her what she needs. One of the things is pictures of the two of them together. I can do that!

Notice that thin figure and long legs she has? Yeah, I don't have those. More proof that she was adopted, haha.

More to come tomorrow.

After the Storm

2010-06-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

We have been getting some pretty amazing storms around here lately. I love storms. I'm not sure why, exactly. When I was a kid I was terrified of storms. Every time there was a storm I thought it meant a tornado was coming.

Once, when I was maybe 10 or so, I looked out my window during some heavy winds and saw a tornado. It wasn't moving fast. Actually, it wasn't moving much at all. The wind just sort of made it sway back and forth. I went running to my parents, scared to death of the tornado outside. They came to look out my window and told me to put my glasses on. It was just a tree, swaying in the wind.

I'm not sure when my phobia changed into a love affair. I'm not afraid of tornadoes, I want to see one. Well, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone or destroy anything. I can sit and watch the lightning all night. When the winds pick up and the rain starts falling buckets from the sky, I get excited.

This last storm was especially exciting. I drove through most of it. After the rain stopped, and the thunder and lightning were only a thought in the distance, the entire world changed. A warm orange glow covered everything. I wish I could come up with a clever analogy to describe it, but there is nothing else like the silence and atmosphere that permeated the air around us.

Of course, this was a perfect time to go outside and snap some pictures. This one is my favorite. The neighbors weren't home, so they didn't notice me taking pictures of the swing in their front yard. At least I think they weren't home.

Almost There

2010-06-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

I am loving the warm weather here.

Old Soul

2010-06-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

My baby is getting older. She is only about 5 or 6 years old, although we really have no idea since she is a rescue. That makes her about 35 or 42 in dog years, and yes I did use a calculator, don't judge. When I look at this picture I don't just see a stubborn dog who refuses to look directly at the camera. I see an old soul. There is white around her face now that wasn't there when we got her. The eyes look as if she has seen a lot in her years, as if there is sadness there. It makes me wonder what a dog that sleeps on the couch all day has been through. Do we not love her enough? Does she not get enough plates to lick after dinner? Are we not good parents?

There is a WNYC Radio Lab out there that talks about whether or not animals have feelings. Can they love? Do they feel happiness, sadness, appreciation? Do they ever get jealous? Can they plot, or take revenge? With a cat that likes to pee on my things when she gets mad at me I have to say yes to the last one. When I was a kid I remember my dad telling me that animals can't think. Everything they do is instinct. Growing up with animals I have to disagree. I see the jealousy in my animals when I am petting the other one. I feel the love from them when we cuddle on the couch. I think there is a lot going on in those heads that we don't know about, what do you think?

Science and Engineering Art Fair

2010-06-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

Last week I entered 4 of my photos in the Science and Engineering Art Fair at Northwestern. The fair was set up to show the creative minds of scientists and engineers. Most of the time I think my creative brain wins out over my logical brain. Anyways, I was so excited to find out that I won 2nd place for the photography section of the fair. I am so excited because it is my first time winning anything, or entering anything, for my photography. It makes me think that I may actually have a chance to start a photography business someday. Below are the 4 pieces I chose to enter. The sunset photo was the one that won!

Summer!

2010-06-02T15:15:00.000-07:00

I am loving the summer weather around here. I have been having winter nightmares recently. In them I wake up to about 3 feet of snow in May. I freak out in my dream. Then I wake up extremely relieved that there isn't any snow on the ground. I think my subconscious is trying to tell me something. Perhaps it is trying to tell me to move to Houston. I'm going with the explanation.

Make A Wish

2010-05-19T10:23:00.000-07:00

Remember being a kid and believing that blowing on a dandelion would make your wishes come true. After all of my complaining, sadness, and sorrow I still believe in that dandelion. I have everything I need in life. A wonderful husband, family that I adore and whom also love me, a roof over my head, education, food, and great friends. Make a wish on this beautiful spring day and watch the dandelions take that wish into the wind.

At a Standstill

2010-05-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

I am waiting for a new beginning. As if I were sitting on this swing just waiting for someone to push me forward. I've tried pushing myself. I do everything your supposed to do, but nothing works. Now I just wait. My body seems to be working against me, but I know this future I have been praying for is waiting for me. I feel it in my bones, in my mind, but mostly in my heart.

It seems like everyone around me is starting their lives in the way I want to start mine. It seems so easy to get that swing moving, but nothing is as easy as it seems. The one thing that keeps me going is knowing that I am not alone. As I sit on this swing there is someone next to me, someone in my position, someone who has been sitting here longer than I have. Now I have someone to talk to while I wait. We will do this together.

Sorry for the cryptic post. Don't worry, I'm ok.

Signs of Spring

2010-04-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

Is anyone still out there? I'm probably talking to myself right now, but that's ok, I deserve it. Spring is in the air, and I am finally picking up my camera again. Winter and I don't get along, which really takes a tole on my photography.

I entered my photography into an Art Fair here at Northwestern, so now I am pumped and ready to start taking pictures again. So, here goes.

All The Pretty Lights

2010-03-02T18:51:00.000-08:00

I am counting down the days until all of that white stuff is gone and replaced by beautiful spring flowers. I am also counting down the days until I move to a warmer climate and only see that cold, wet stuff on visits to the north. One more winter to go and then we will be heading south! Houston, here we come :)

Across the Deep Blue Ocean

2010-02-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

I don't want to admit how long it took me to figure out what these are called. As soon as I figured it out I said, "duh, I knew that." Sea Urchins, or Echinoids (dead), in case you were wondering. I'm glad I saved some poor soul the time searching on Google for "round, hollow sea creature", or "spherical sea creature" or "circular coral reef animal", because I certainly did not spend a lot of time doing the same thing, nope, not me.

And now that I am done wasting time on the internet looking up round sea animals I will now go waste more time on the internet stalking people on Facebook.

This has been a public service announcement brought to you by a procrastinating graduate student that just wants to go home right now. Have a nice day :)

Glass Bottles

2010-02-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

I finally got my pictures off of my camera. Now I have something to keep me busy when I should be getting work done.

I met some new friends over Christmas break when I took a road trip with my friend, Emily, to Idaho. They had a great house filled with cool finds. One of my favorites were the colorful glass bottles that caught the light in their windows. I would love a collection like this.

It reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad would hunt for old glass bottles in the woods behind our house. He would try to find really old bottles buried in the dirt. He would come home with some bottles that turned out to be very pretty once the dirt was cleaned off. Now my dad hunts for sea (lake) glass along the shores of Lake Erie. I'm not sure what he does with them, but if it were me I would put them in the window.

Snow, Snow, Come Today

2010-02-09T16:14:00.001-08:00

So, I am writing this from the library where I am waiting for students to show up for tutoring. I pretty much get paid to blog. I thought I was all set to get some pictures off my camera to process and post. I brought some papers to grade. I have a book I have been reading. I was all set to sit here and wait. Turns out I'm not "all set". I brought the wrong answer key, so I can't grade. The book I was reading is still sitting on my nightstand, and I don't have my camera cord with me. Looks like I'm not going to be doing anything I had planned on doing. Oh, and to top it all off, I forgot my laptop cord as well. So, in exactly 1 hour I will be left without anything to do when my laptop dies.

On a happier note, It's Snowing!!!! I know, I know, you think I'm crazy, and your right. Normally, around this time of year, I would be complaining about snow. I would be wining and crying about how cold it is and how much I wished it were spring. The problem is, we haven't had any good snow storms this year. If it is going to be cold there better be snow on the ground, and I don't mean a dusting of snow either. If it is going to be cold I want it to be cold and blizzarding (which apparently isn't a word). I want to curl up on my couch with a hot cocoa and watch movies all day. I want to go sledding or cross country skiing (not like I'll get off my fat but and do it, but I want the option). I want to make snow forts and throw snow balls at my husband. Unfortunately, this winter has been devoid of snow. The roads have been fine. There has been no excuse to stay indoors and do nothing (besides the "it's too cold" excuse).

I'm sorry all you DCers, but I wish I was you right now. Life is boring here in the cold, windy, not snowy Chicago. Unfortunately, this "winter weather" we are having right now isn't even going to give us a foot of snow, so I'm out of luck this year. So, I'll take what I can get right now. Maybe next time.

Monotone Beauty

2010-01-26T14:12:00.001-08:00

I have a lot of pictures sitting on my camera just waiting for me to do something with them. I will look at them. I will process them, but right now I am just going to bask in the beauty that once was summer. Oh summer, I miss you, please come back to me.

Standing Tall

2010-01-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

Don't let anyone tell you what is right or what is best for your life. Do what is best for yourself and follow your heart. Stand tall and stand by your decisions, but always be prepared to admit your mistakes and admit when you were wrong.

I have made a big decision in my life about my future. My family and friends have been very supportive of that decision, but there are some people that haven't. At first I let it get me down until I realized that I am the one that has to live my life and no one else can do it for me. So, I shouldn't let a few non-supporters choose the direction of my future. I have to do what is best for me. You should do the same.

Florida Sunset

2010-01-19T16:45:00.000-08:00

Oh to be back in Florida enjoying the sunsets, and the warmth. I'm still settling into my life of teaching and not traveling. It is taking me awhile to get back on my feet. Stay tuned for some tutorials I have been working on.

90 Years Young

2010-01-12T18:40:00.001-08:00

Today I am highlighting a photograph by someone other than myself. My husband took this picture of my great grandfather and I during our trip to Florida (I did the processing). I feel so blessed to have both of my great grandparents around. They have such wonderful hearts and I love them dearly.

Recently the hubs and I took a trip to Florida to celebrate my great grandad's 90th birthday. He doesn't look a day older than 80 :) Seriously, this guy is young at heart. He still rides his bike around the neighborhood, and still insists on driving his car places (he's not going to sit in the backseat of any rental car, that's for sure). I hope to be as young as him when I am 90.

My great grandparents used to live nearby in Pennsylvania before they moved to Florida. There where a couple summers that I went and stayed with them when I was younger. I remember my great grandad always having a smile and a hug to give. I still can't resist his smile and his hugs. I will cherish every moment I get to spend with them.

Thank you for this picture, husband.

Weeds are people's idea, not nature's

2009-12-23T14:09:00.000-08:00

Leaving the Nest

2009-12-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

I have been on a never ending travel binge over the past month, and I'm not done yet. Right now I am relaxing in the bitter cold of Ohio after spending a week in warm Florida. More to come on my travels as soon as I have some time.

Sneak Peak: Senior Pictures

2009-11-30T20:47:00.000-08:00

Isn't my cousin-in-law good looking? He looks a little like Val Kilmer. He was nice enough to humor me and be my model for an afternoon while I continue to practice my portrait photography. He gets free pictures and I get to plaster his image on my blog.

He was a really good sport, and a really good model. I didn't even have to tell him what to do, he was a natural in front of the camera.

I need feedback so tell me what you like and what you don't like. Should the pictures be lightened up a bit, are they too dark, too bright, too dull, bad composition? Thank you for your feedback.

P.S. Thanks to my husband for being the creator of shade with his coat and his body. I love my assistant :)

I and Love and You

2009-11-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

Caught Her Eye

2009-11-16T16:31:00.000-08:00

Frosted Fall

2009-11-12T18:50:00.000-08:00

Duet

2009-11-11T17:15:00.000-08:00

I loved having my husband home for a weekend. I can't wait for him to be home for good. You almost forget all of those annoying things guys do when they are away for a long time.

Curves

2009-11-10T06:54:00.000-08:00

Embracing my curves today because they're not going anywhere.

Just Dance

2009-11-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty!

2009-11-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

Standing Apart from the Crowd

2009-10-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

What makes you different?

Eyes of a Butterfly

2009-10-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

Fall Carpet

2009-10-21T17:13:00.000-07:00

Love

2009-10-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

I love my husband, and I love that he is coming home in 2 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Don't worry D, I love you more :))

A Horse of a Diffferent Color

2009-10-19T16:46:00.000-07:00

Fall Lights

2009-10-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

I put these lights up in the backyard sometime in the beginning of summer. I have yet to actually turn them on. Now it is so cold that my body thinks its December and wants to put up Christmas lights.

I support global warming...Bring back summer.

For anyone interested, I used Coffee Shop's Vintage gold action on this, along with some sharpening and burning.

Leia Dog

2009-10-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Leia misses her daddy. Come home daddy.

Catching Light

2009-10-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

Hanging Together

2009-10-06T19:51:00.000-07:00

Curly Cue

2009-10-05T13:36:00.001-07:00

Yummy Bokeh

2009-10-02T10:25:00.001-07:00

Koi

2009-10-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Danger: Spikes May Cause Harm

2009-09-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

Fly Away Home

2009-09-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

I saved a moth from certain drowning death. He doesn't look so good here, but he was doing much better when I left him. Let's just say he survived to go home to his happy family. If you believe otherwise, please do not let me know.

I Sunk Your Battleship

2009-09-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

Battleship Texas If you have kids, and even if you don't, I highly recommend going here if you are in the Houston area. They pretty much let you explore most of the ship on your own. The hubby and I even climbed around on areas that would most likely be off limits if there were a sign. We got to play with the big guns and shoot each other. Nearby is the San Jacinto Monument which is also worth a visit.

Monster Trucks

2009-09-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

For my sister's last hoorah in the continental US we went to the Monster Truck show at the Great Geauga County Fair. Oh my god how I loved it. Monster trucks are awesome. Huge, giant trucks go flying through the air, how amazing is that. I got an Avenger shirt (because he is awesome) and had all of the drivers sign it. Can you say dork? Who was there? Bigfoot, Avenger, Brutus, Iron Warrior, Black Stallion, Screamin' Demon and Samson. If you have never been to a Monster Truck show you should definitely go. Just call me a hick, I know.

Swimming in a Sea of Green

2009-08-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

Smokey

2009-08-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

Smokey is such a ham. He is the only horse I have met that will pose for a picture. He loves it, and I love him for it. Now, if I can only get him to turn his head with the rest of his body so that he doesn't trip over his own feet while I am on his back. That battle has yet to be won.

Riley

2009-08-21T11:21:00.001-07:00

How can you not love that crazy face?

Lace

2009-08-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Climbing Trees

2009-08-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

I love the tree in this photo. I love how grand it is, how it's branches reach out long and strong. I love how thick the trunk is, and the history behind all the rings hidden beneath it. I wonder how long it has been there, what it has seen. How many kids have climbed up to sit on it's branches.

When I was a kid, and needed to get away from everything, I could usually be found sitting in a tree. The backyard of my house lined a tree filled forest with plenty of branches to sit on. I was devastated the day my grandpa cut down the big tree in my front yard that was perfect for climbing. There is just something about sitting high up in a tree alone that put me at ease and made me happy.

Painted Bokeh

2009-08-18T09:21:00.000-07:00

I love bokeh, that creamy out of focus background that adds texture and interest to the photo. I'm not too pleased with this TTV, but I do love the bokeh in it. It looks almost like a water color painting. I should write a tutorial about bokeh soon, so stay tuned.

Wild Flowers TTV

2009-08-17T10:09:00.001-07:00

Nap Time

2009-08-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

Little Miss is on vacation in Ohio with her real mom, my sister. The Chubster is now reeking havoc on other non-suspecting victims (cats) with her sharp teeth. We miss you Little Miss (and by "we" I mean me, because Midnight is having a ball without you).

For Heather and Josh

2009-07-30T14:28:00.001-07:00

My sister, Heather, and her husband, Josh. Aren't they super cute. I'm going to miss you guys.

Bumble Bee

2009-07-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

Last flower one, I promise this time. Although, I would say this picture is more about the bee than the flower :)

I have a lot of pictures to sort through from this weekend. It was really great to have family around. I am lucky to have so many people come out and visit me. I wouldn't be able to get through these 6 months without my family. Thanks guys.

Pretty Weeds

2009-07-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

I seem to be saying pretty a lot lately, but these are some pretty little weeds/grasses. This weekend I can finally stop boring you with flowers and start posting pictures of people. My sister is coming to visit with her husband from Hawaii!!! I am so excited. They have a fun story that I'll tell you when I take some pictures of them. For now, though, I am still working on my photo walk pictures.

PS. If anyone knows how to get that picture to be a decent size, please let me know. I am obviously blogspot challenged. I have it posting in large format already :(

Pretty Little Fingers

2009-07-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this flower look like it has dainty little fingers reaching out to grab something? This is another shot from Scott Kelby's Photo Walk.

Something I learned from Carol Freeman while at the walk was that you have to label your photos in Flickr with the actual name of the flower/animal, and possibly the scientific name. I would have labeled this one, "white flower". I probably will still label it that since I have no idea what this flower is. Anyways, she says more people tend to type in the actual name of the flower than they would type in "white flower" when looking for photos, so you will get more views this way. So, if anyone know what kind of flower this is then please fill me in. To me it will be called, "pretty little white flower with dainty stamen".

Photo Walk

2009-07-20T15:37:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to participate in the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk. I didn't get to actually walk with Scott Kelby, darn, but I did get to hang out with some other awesome photographers. One of them was an amazing, and well known, nature photographer, Carol Freeman. I learned some great tips from her which I will write about in a separate post.

We had a beautiful, sunny, cool morning to walk around and enjoy one of my favorite subjects, flowers. These are the two images that I think I am going to submit for the contest. I would love your comments about the processing, etc. Please feel free to tell me to choose a different photo, and don't be afraid to give me the honest truth.

Perhaps this one instead?

Ready to Fly

2009-07-17T12:56:00.001-07:00

I am ready to fly into a new direction for my life. Who knows if it is a good decision or not, but I am ready. It is about time I start living my life.

The Many Faces of Connor

2009-07-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

Connor is my mom's cousin's son's son (2nd cousin's son?), say that ten times fast. He is a cutie and looks just like his daddy. At 5 months old he can barely sit still , with his legs constantly moving and his body always twisting. He is going to be an active little guy.

Family: If you want these images let me know and I can send you a CD with them. Stay tuned for more pictures from the weekend as well.

Thank You

2009-07-09T12:41:00.001-07:00

Thank you everyone for the nice comments on my previous post. You guys are awesome.

For D

2009-07-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity while I was in Houston this past weekend to attempt some child portraits. My friend D offered her cute kids for me to practice on. They are the most adorable kids and sweet as pie. I love you N and B, miss you too.

I have a lot to learn about portraits, but it was definitely a good learning experience. Thanks D for braving the heat, here is a sneak peak at some of the photos. (These aren't as vibrant as they will be in print, I saved them in the print color profile and not the blog color profile. Don't print these, D, wait for the CD)

I would love any constructive criticism for my next attempt. Give me what you got. If anyone wants to offer up their kids for some free portraits and you live in the Chicago/Houston area (or Dallas and are willing to drive to me, Alicia) I would love the practice.

Country Time

2009-07-01T09:54:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I miss the country. Especially when I'm stuck in traffic, or when I want to watch the sunset. Watching the sunset over a street of houses just isn't the same. Taking a walk through the Forest Preserve isn't like walking through a forest in the middle of nowhere. Today is a day where my heart longs for the open land, clean air, and broad skies.

Strawberry Pickin'

2009-06-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

On my way home from Houston I made a pit stop in Ohio to pick up the furry kiddos. It was perfect timing for strawberry pickin' with my grandma and cousin. I got to keep all three buckets of strawberries, one bucket is in my tummy, the other is in several strawberry pies, and the last one is going into the freezer for later. I love this time of year. Next stop, blueberry pickin' in July.

Delicate Edges

2009-06-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Sky Watch Friday: Chicago

2009-06-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have participated in Skywatch Friday. Now that things have settled down a little bit I am ready to jump into it again. Hello all you skywatchers, I missed you :)

Here is the view of Chicago, across Lake Michigan, from the Indiana Dunes. Rain had just blown through so the sky was an amazing shade of pinks, oranges, and purples.

Have a happy weekend.

Indiana Sunset

2009-06-25T10:27:00.001-07:00

Before our road trip to Houston we had some friends visiting from Portland, Oregon. We thought it was a good opportunity to do something Derek and I had never done before. So, we decided to pack a picnic lunch and drive out to the Indiana Dunes. After more than an hour of sitting in rush hour Chicago traffic (somehow lunch turned into dinner) we finally made it to the dunes. We only had enough time to eat dinner, climb Mount Baldy, and walk along the beach. It was perfect timing, however, because we left right around sunset. The slight cloud cover from the quick rainfall we had made for a perfect sunset over Lake Michigan.