Vintage 70's Fun

Photoshop playtime this morning led me to learn to do a vintage 70's play on a photo I took of "T" earlier this year. This photo caught my eye but the standard color processing gave it a snapshot feel. When I did this vintage process this was created. I really like it and see that it can have many theme applications. Also, last night I was working on creating my own original brushes. So fun! I used my photos and came up with some neat ones that I hope to be able to utilize in a logo for my business. I used a horse and buggy with kids stamp here. This was our kids at the Laura Ingalls Homestead in S.D. I think it looks awesome. Aw, the possibilities!

my favorite little man

Lavender by the Sea...

...at the Sequim Lavender Festival.

Sweet fragrance, beautiful coastal landscape, and generously friendly locals sums up our weekend in Sequim. With peek-a-boo blue sky and periodic showers we toured all 8 farms sampling their fine lavender cuisine, walking the fields, and shopping the shops. Little Missy was not interested in being a model this trip and so every picture I captures was painsteakingly captured. It wasn't until the last day and after her recent harvest of some lavender bundles of her own that she got into the spirit of things and actually asked for her picture to be taken! With several days of lugging around my heavy camera equipment with just a few shots for my trouble I was mildly delighted of her newfound enthusiasm. And thus, the shots of her harvest.

It was a lot of fun to be in a place where many serious photographers were out enjoying the serendity and shooting away. I chatted with one woman who had a large 100-400 mm lens and chatted with her briefly about her satisfaction of it. She gave it good reviews. Aw... yet another large piece of glass to add to the list. =)

Here my mother-in-law sits among the lavender and soaking up the atmosphere. Actually, she's posing for me. Thanks Grama J for your willingness to pose and for inviting us to this event.

"Miss Uncooperative" stands in the gift shop walkway of one beautiful lavender farm. Even though she's not looking at the camera I still like this photo.

All things purple! Eventually. She started out the day in a purple dress and sandals and ended up finding a beanie hat, a purple teddy bear, and getting three balloons from the local farms. Pretty soon she was ALL purple with the blue jean coat. Everyone enjoyed her spirit.

Pose for mommy... PRETTY PLEASE!

Missy and I sat in a cozy hammock chair on a deck of a local farm and relaxed. She then turned to me and said, "mommy get out your camera and take a picture of that yellow bird!" What? Did I just hear her request I take out my camera?! Of course I had to. =)

Here little Miss Suddenly Cooperative, asks me to take out my camera and take her picture with her proud lavender harvest that she wrapped up! Umm... OK!

Ok, she let me take two shots! I must be dreaming. Are her eyes open and is that a smile?!

My luck spillith over! The last morning of our visit and we walk the spit and enjoy the sea air. Little Miss decides I just HAVE to take this picture because she found a log that looks like a letter "A" for me. After much insisting I take this shot while setting up my camera for another.

The clouds lingered and well, lingered. A few patches of blue sky was all to be had and of course the coastal fog. There's just something about the fog that adds an element of mystery and intrigue. I couldn't resist this shot. That spot of a person below is another photographer and if you squint, you'll see their tripod.

Beautiful butterflies and honeybees gallore at the farms. This little guy fluttered around from bush to bush and I patiently chased him with my telephoto lens. Patience pays off, once in awhile.

Aw, I love the effect of this depth of field. It gives this shot a more artistic feel I think. And the angle adds motion to an otherwise calm and windless day. Thank goodness for the overcast sky, which allowed me to capture these shots in soft mid-day light.

And last, but not least, the bumblebee. All the lavender was a buzz. Literally! Bees everywhere. This made "Little Miss Uncooperative" even more uncooperative as she didn't even want to stand next to the bushes for fear that the bees would suddenly find her interesting. Well, they didn't. I didn't hear of anyone getting stung while in the gardens. Those bees were too content drinking the lavender nectar. Again, I love this depth of field!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

In Your Eyes

This blue-eyed one-year-old girl can melt your heart. When I uploaded the photos from this shoot I was so pleased with myself. And at the same time a children's poem came to mind, "I See the Moon". The picture in my below 5x7 greeting card is closeup of this sweet baby and in her eyes is a catchlight with her mother's figure standing within. How perfect! I had to try my hand at a card. This is just something I quickly put together this morning to get that lovely poem here. And, thank you to this little beauty and her mother for posing for me in the iffy weather we had yesterday afternoon. Your proofs are available for viewing in my online gallery under your last name.

Ok, I just love this crop and processing! And I was so pleased to see her bangs so perfectly edgy and sweet. I just love it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Rainy Day Color

Today we have rain coming down. And with this refreshing change of weather I decided to try out a moody color process on some rainy day shots. One gumball and an umbrella and our daughter was willing to lean against the shed outside in the rain and pose for these shots. It didn't take long and she ran off and my playtime was over. She is sitting with me now as I post this and watched me process these photos. She thought it was neat. She wanted to try it too. I may have an assistant soon. =)

Mermaid of the Lake

We're experiencing a summer heat wave right now and had high 90's to even dabbing into 100 degrees yesterday! It's an uncommon temp here and nothing like warm weather to draw people to the water. Celebrating our son's birthday yesterday we decided to make it a lakeside cookout. It was so much fun! I decided to leave my camera in the bag yesterday and take a day off. I'm sure it was a welcome change to see my face without a black camera protruding from it. =) Anyway, late into the evening when the sun was near down I saw our young friend out in the water with the warm light upon her face and I just couldn't resist! She happily posed for these shots. Thank you Miss K! I'm happy to report no pictures of our son today... HAPPY BIRTHDAY T!

Putnam - PB Minishoot

Monday this week I had the pleasure of photographing two beautiful little girls with such sweet personalities in the best location. I chose a nautical location (aw, can anyone ever get enough of water?!). This lake had the most lovely water lily flowers and pads dancing on the lakeside edge and I just loved it. My good fortune was that so did the girls! In the photo posted here is the youngest girl wading through the water and I love the mood that I captured here and the lighting. It was taken at mid-day, a very challenging time of day with harse overhead sunlight, but the shadows captured here are great and create a drama that speaks to me. I love that this little princess lost her princess sandles during the wade out and had searched below to find them and is now carrying them back to shore here and not without taking her lily treasure too. What a relaxing and enjoyable shoot. Thank you girls for sharing this day at the lake with me! You are dear friends and my have you grown into such sweet beauties. Please visit my flickr for more photos from your shoot.

Warren - PB Minishoot

My first family minishoot happened on Friday, July 6th from 6pm-7:30pm. Earlier in the week I had scouted around and decided on this lower traffic park with a perfect grassy field and surrounding evergreens taboot. It had the colors that I wanted to capture and atmosphere which I knew was a favorite to this family. The weather was perfect, sunny and warm. The family arrived just shortly after I did and was ready for their shoot.

Meet the Warren family and my twin brother! Yup, I'm a twin - well, not identical obviously. =)

We had a lot of fun visiting with them during their visit and the kids have sure grown into some cute personalities. They were a pleasure to photograph! I shot around 500 pictures tonight in under 1.5 hours. I am very pleased to be presenting to them 27 proofs in two print sizes. I captured many great shots tonight and I want to thank you for allowing me to shoot away and make a lasting memory.

Below is your free 8x10 family portrait. Please click the following link to view your proofs:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37115470@N00/sets/72157600714975965/

Bondi - PB MiniShoot

Meet "Bondi", a spirited young miniature horse who may be small in stature but is big at heart. He is my first equestrian model and boy did he put on a show for me. His owner, and my favorite Auntie, had him on a lounge lead as he gracefully pranced around in circles during the early evening of the perfect sunny fourth. His mane and tail floated and lifted as if he were standing on a windy prairie in South Dakota. Simply delicious movement. Here are some of my favorite shots from his mini shoot.

(Pose 1 - 8x10 print)

(Pose 2 - 8x12 print, texture coating)

(Pose 3 - 8x12 print, texture coating)

(Pose 4 - 8x10 print - Custom Art in Black & White)

(Pose 5 - 8x12 print)

(Pose 6 - 8x10 print)

Lakeside Fourth

What a wonderful treat - blue sky on the fourth of July - a rare occassion in the pacific northwest. And what could be more perfect than perfect weather? Being by the water, that's what! And so we were, lakeside and in good company. Plenty of food, fun and festivities. I spent the entire evening and well into the night with my eye glued to my viewfinder. I think I may need to have it surgically removed. =)* Here's my favorite pics from that booming celebration. Enjoy!

Sometimes there's just someone in a crowd that draws your attention. Sometimes the lighting is just so and the subject is just so and well, it's just so perfect, you just have to ask. So, as I stood out on the dock overlooking the lake and watersport activities of swimming and the like I turned my attention to the company beside me. As I was chatting about what I love about photography I mentioned to her the lighting right then and how it as so lovely on her hair and how beautiful she looked right then. I told her that I'd love to shoot her if she was willing. (It sounds awful to type "shoot" but that's the photo lingo for ya.) It was that easy and before I knew it I was taking her picture. Here she is being "normal and ignoring my huge lens" and chatting with another person on the dock. A special thank you to "J" for your willingness to pose for my shots, and as you can see, the camera agrees with me - you are a beautiful woman.

Early today...

Brother and Sister + Sister and Sister = Waterfight!

Canoe bound and paddling like mad to the dock! I can't remember the last time my mother (screaming paddler in the back) went swimming in the lake but today she ventured into risky territory with her sister and our kids and managed to get out undunked!

Nanny - she is known in our family as the "mother-to-all". A spit-fire woman, devoted to her family, loving and true. Here she makes her way down to the water's edge to delight in the joys of others. She is very special to us all. She is a fellow photographer - documenting all of the family events and life in general for many years. I can still close my eyes and remember her carefully writing all the stats on the backs of her prints of her pictures as she got them. I followed her practice for many years myself until digital came and replaces that tedious task. I very much enjoyed visiting with you on this day Nanny.

Lindsay

(This is for you Lindsay.) Lindsay, a gentle spirit, with a heart of sweetness, a will of iron and ambition like you would never believe possible. She puts the "super" in Supermom. And as you can see and visually feel in this adoring kiss from her two beautiful kids she loves with all her heart and soul. Thanks for BEing you Lindsay. You're a beautiful person and one that I admire and love so very much.

(color 8x10) Lindsay, with your permission I would like to add this photo to my future online portfolio (website to be created in fall). Please let me know which processing you would like to have in an 8x10.

(sepia 8x10)

Hay Harvest

One man's work is another boy's play.

Our son enjoys the hay harvest on his grandfather's gentleman field. It's all smiles and good times behind the wheel of a John Deere.

With a birthday just around the corner for this little guy I had to attempt to get a good closeup shot of those baby blue's. As is the norm, our kids do all they can to avoid eye-contact to the camera and completely ignore any gasp that I make in a mere attempt to get them to glance my way. Today he was most pleased with the task at hand (in the john deere driver's seat!) that while he sat to rest and take in the view I was lucky enough to get some nice shots handheld with the 70-200. What delicious bokeh and lighting tonight. The forest background became a sea of soft green. YUM! I'm so pleased with the clarity I got at f/2.8.

I love his expression here. I don't even mind that his face still has some dinner remains all over it. He loves to be dirty.

While he was so willing to hold still and gaze out at the field during these shots I decided to try to get some angled shots. This one breaks all the rules but I really like it.

Hands of Time

My hubby was busy weightlifting in the garage last night and he often checks his watch during the workout. I asked him to repeat it for this details shot. I often shoot and process in color and for this picture branched into black and white. It is amazing how dramatic and simple this conversion.

Earlier yesterday I ventured into the woods to discover a few Fox Gloves. These majestic flowers, so tall and striking resignate beauty. Much to my surprise and delight, after snapping several shots, I noticed a tiny yellow resident - a spider within. Can you find it?

Today (july 2) we visited Whidbey Island and saw all the wonderful wildflowers that line the roadways. We came across a field of these HUGE dandelion clocks. I mean HUGE! I just had to get out and take a few shots of these just as my battery died. Oppss... I left my other battery in the car. What a gorgeous day. It was great to be by the water again and visit some coastal themed villages to ease my heartache for Maine. I didn't take many pics today because I'm picky about lighting and it was high noon when we went through there. =)