Portrait Of My Heart

How To Photograph Fireworks!

2011-06-30T15:11:00.000-07:00

This LIVE online workshop starts tomorrow at 10:00am Pacific Time and get this.....IT'S FREE! If you've always wanted to learn how to photograph fireworks, you won't want to miss this! It's quick and easy to enroll and if you check out their calendar, you just might find some other workshops that you're interested in also.

Check out FREE: Photographing Fireworks with John Cornicello at creativeLIVE

Pigeon Shadow!

2011-06-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

I took this picture along the riverwalk on 1/03/11 and I just love that I captured the shadow of the pigeon in flight! (***click on the image to see a closeup view!)

I've earned $25 in Amazon Gift Cards through Swagbucks....check it out!

2011-05-09T18:45:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about Swagbucks? I remember hearing about it, when they first started out a few years ago and I was very skeptical and dismissed it. I mean come on, how can you earn money just by using their search engine, really? Boy was I wrong.....you really can and it's easy to boot! I kept seeing people post on their blogs about how they bought their christmas presents with swagbucks and I finally decided to give it a try, so I downloaded their toolbar and now when I'm on my computer searching, I am periodically awarded swagbucks. So far to date I've earned 2,378 swagbucks (*note: you will see below on my widget that I don't have that many and that's because I've redeemed 2,250 already)! You can redeem your swagbucks for products in the swagbucks store or for gift cards and I like using mine on $5 Amazon gift cards. I now have five $5 Amazon gift cards which = $25 that I can spend whenever I want. Cool huh?

Here's another thing I just realized......you can earn 10 swagbucks for every coupon you print (from swagbucks website here) and redeem at your local grocery store. This is great for me because I've just recently started couponing! woot woot

Here is a link if you'd like to check out How It Works and here is their FAQs page where you can find out more about earning and redeeming swagbucks.

I've included the widget below for those of you who would like to sign up and start earning some free money! (just click on the sign up button in the bottom right corner of the widget)

FEATURED REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY!! NICHOLE VAN’S {life as art} Workshop-In-A-Box

2011-04-10T00:25:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all, you might want to enter this giveaway, hosted by Workshop Jungle, to win Nichole Van's {life as art} Worshop in a box! If you haven't seen her work, you'll want to hop on over and take a long peek because her photography or {art} is beautiful and I'm blown away by her creativity! Check out her blog here.

My favorite portrait of hers is the beautiful bride leaping through the air at dawn! I love all of her photos, but that one grabbed me the first time I saw it and it still grabs me everytime I see it! Here is the link if you'd like to see it yourself! (click on art then click marriage to find the bride leaping!) I would LOVE to win her workshop in a box, so I can learn from her! Good luck to all of you who enter!

Free LIVE Workshop with Jasmine Star.....starts today!

2011-04-08T03:31:00.000-07:00

This is another fantastic workshop from CreativeLive, featuring Jasmine Star teaching about building a Wedding Photography Business. Enroll now and watch it LIVE for free!!!

Check out FREE Workshop: Building your Wedding Photography Business with Jasmine Star at creativeLIVE

Posing and Lighting Workshop!

2011-03-19T02:19:00.000-07:00

If you don't already know about creativeLive, you just have to check them out, ASAP! They offer free LIVE workshops and let me just say how AWESOME this site is!!!

Today I sat in on the first day of Bambi Cantrell's 3 day Posing and Lighting Workshop and I never dreamed I would learn so much in just one day! Seriously folks....Bambi is my new photography hero! She is absolutely brilliant with posing her models and I don't know about y'all, but that's the one thing I struggle with the most. I have a feeling posing will be a lot easier for me now, after watching Bambi in action and listening intently, to all of her careful instructions. One of the things she taught us, was how to pose the subject in a way that is flattering, slenderizing and natural looking or as Bambi would say, "Believable!" Oh my goodness, she taught us so much more and it's all still spinning around in my brain, as I type this post. Can you even imagine 7 hours of priceless instruction on posing and lighting? It was fantastic and I can't wait until tomorrow's class, in fact I'm still so excited from today, that I can't even go to sleep. lol I mean I posted about it 3 times on my Portrait Of My Heart facebook page and also tweeted several times today too, haha. Hmmm....I might be just a little excited! :)

Here is a short video I found on youtube tonight that I thought I'd share...

Bambi Cantrell's Tips for Beautiful Portraits

Helpful Hint ~ Prevent Avacados From Turning Brown!

2011-03-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

I found this tip on preventing avacados from turning brown and just had to share it!

***Don't forget to pause my music player before playing the video!

I gave it a try and I have to tell you....it really works!

This is 24 hours later and my avacado looks exactly the way it did, when I put it in the container with the red onion, the day before. It didn't turn brown at all! woot woot (*note: the brown you see on the avacado was already there when I cut it open!) Isn't that cool? Ok, well I'M EXCITED because this works better than any method I've ever tried! I don't know what the red onion does, but it works like a charm and I can't wait to see how many days it will keep my avacados nice and green. Hope you all enjoy this little hint.....give it a try. :)

New Facebook Fan Page (photography/photoshop resources)

2011-01-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd get the word out, that I've started a new Facebook Fan Page because I wanted a space dedicated, to all things related to photography. I just got the page up and running last night, but I've already started sharing photography and photoshop resources and tutorials etc., for those of you who are interested. I would love for it to become a place where we all share resources, so please feel free to hop on over and share any photography or photoshop links, with us.

I am so looking forward to learning and growing in my photography skills this year and I can't wait to see my progress 12 months from now. *squeal*

If you have an interest in photography or photoshop and you'd like to check out my page, just click on the badge below and I'll see you there!

Portrait Of My Heart Photography

Promote Your Page Too

Project 365 ~ Week 3

2011-01-20T15:05:00.000-08:00

Sunday

This was such an awesome day and let me tell you why... First off, church was awesome, we had 3 baptisms and 2 people join. Secondly, my friend Elsie surprised me with this jar of Mayhaw Jelly that she brought back from Texas and it meant so much to me, that I almost started crying! Seriously, I gasped so loud, all the new people sitting around us, probably wondered what was wrong with me, until they heard the laughter that followed and saw the hugging that went on. Lol

My granny, used to send me her homemade Mayhaw jelly once in awhile, before she died many years ago and I've really missed it. You have to understand, just how much I love this jelly and just how much I love my friend, Elsie! She and I, are originally from the same area in Texas and even though we live in Oregon now, we're both southern girls at heart and we love us some good ol' southern food and Mayhaw jelly! She's been spoiling me lately....she's made me chicken gumbo twice, since my back surgery and it was so yummy and good! I love you, Elsie!

Monday

You should have seen me scramble when I looked out the window and saw the eagle flying toward the house! I ran and grabbed my camera and camera bag, all the while holding my breath and squealing, as I had to quickly unzip the bag, grab my zoom lens, switch lenses, run out the sliding glass door, change my settings on my camera and snap two shots before it was gone. Whew....that got my heart rate up for sure! If I would have had my camera ready, I could have gotten a closer shot, as it flew right over my head. *bummer*

I love the snow on the mountain!

Tuesday

This is a lovely journal that my friend Michelle made me last August. Isn't it adorable? She knows how much I love photography, so she personalized it with the camera, my name and she even put one of my own hummingbird pictures on it, along with the verse. Isn't that special?

...and this is the inside, with a little note from her and a pic of me and my honey, that says, "Always kiss me goodnight!" Awww! As you can see, I hadn't used it yet, because I was waiting for the new year to begin.

....and inside the back, she added a cute little envelope for me to tuck away little notes, pictures or whatever I want to put in it. It's a great place for keepsakes, don't you think? I just love it and I appreciate the thoughtfulness that went into it! Thank you, Michelle...you're such a special friend!

Wednesday

I looked outside and had to grab my camera to get a shot of this scene. There's just something serene about it and the sky is lovely, the way the light is shining, through the clouds!

Thursday

We got home really late after church and Kasey's friend Steven came over, so I quickly threw a cobbler together, so they would have something yummy to eat. I used frozen mixed berries, but seriously this bag had mostly raspberries in it with a little Marionberries and blueberries, as well. Here's a little trick if you don't have any icecream on hand and you don't feel like driving to DQ for some....just use frozen cool whip and that will suffice! Fortunately, I had frozen cool whip in the freezer and while nothing is better than vanilla icecream on cobbler, frozen cool whip is pretty good!

Friday

Ok, so we decided to have a boring, but healthy meal for dinner and it was good. Although, I do have one question....why do I always want something more, after I've eaten a healthy meal? Lol I mean come on, why can't I at least have bread and butter? Oh yeah, now I remember....it's because bread makes me fat! :)

Saturday

Ohhh....to be a dog! I was looking for Sophie and this is where I found her. Yep, all sprawled out, squishing down the pillow on the back of the couch! Mind you, she's not supposed to be on there, but she was just too cute, so I left her there. She's so spoiled!!!

If you'd like to join in on Project 365, hop on over to my friend Sara's, to link up!

Skywatch Friday ~ Golden Sunrise (11-28-10)

2011-01-14T01:22:00.000-08:00

This was such a gorgeous golden sunrise! I woke up later than usual on this morning and I was already scrambling to get ready for church, when I looked out my window and saw this. Well....even though I was already running late, I just had to grab my camera and get a few shots, ya know! Oh, how I wish I would have had more time because this is my favorite kind of sunrise. Clouds and fog always make the sunrise even more beautiful! Oh and did I mention that there was no time to grab my tipod? Ugh....I know I could have gotten some spectacular shots, with the tripod! Because I was hand holding the camera, I had to have my shutter speed set to at least 1/60th of a second, to prevent camera shake and I wasn't able to set my aperture to f/22, like I normally would, but....I did the best I could without my tripod!

Canon Rebel Xsi

Canon EFS 55-250mm lens

Manual mode

Aperture f/20

Shutter Speed 1/60 sec.

ISO 100

Manual mode

Aperture f/20

Shutter Speed 1/80 sec.

ISO 100

Manual mode

Aperture f/20

Shutter Speed 1/60 sec.

ISO 100

Manual mode

Aperture f/20

Shutter Speed 1/80 sec.

ISO 100

Hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY to see more beautiful skies all over the world!

Project 365 ~ Week 2

2011-01-09T18:55:00.000-08:00

Well....this is my first full week of taking a pic everyday, for Project 365 and I'm afraid I wasn't very creative! Lol It proved to be a little harder than I thought, but I can see that this project will inspire me to keep my camera or my iphone handy at all times. I intend to make a book out of all 365 days of pics, at the end of this year, through Blurb. I can't wait to sit down with a cup of tea and look through it! Here's a little peek at a few of my blog friend Sara's, blurb books.

Sunday

Today, was a very long day, but it was wonderful! We had a great church service followed by a baptism in the river.....in January! Brrr, it was so cold! After the baptism we went shopping at Costco and Fred Meyer, then at home I prepared the food for our home group that we hosted and at 7:30 I fell into bed. I turned on the tv and started watching Worst Cooks in America and it was then, that I remembered that I needed a picture for the day. Ugh! I seriously couldn't get myself up, so I took a shot of the tv with my iphone....real creative huh? I got up at 9:00 to get something to drink and I could barely walk, so I went right back to bed and stayed there til morning. I'm still recovering from my back surgery, so I guess I over did it just a little. Lol

Monday

Today I didn't feel up to going swimming, but it was such a nice day, so Andy and I decided to go for a short walk on the river walk. It was lovely and the air was crisp and cold and so refreshing! This is a shot I took from the trolley tracks. This is a perfect spot for portrait pics....the leading lines are fantastic!

Tuesday

Today was another long day! We drove out of town to see our dear friend, who is drawing very near to the end of his journey on this earth, and it proved to be a very emotional day. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him and talking to him and just holding his hand! We will miss him terribly, but we're so thankful that he will be waiting for us, up in heaven! Before heading home, Andy and I enjoyed soup and salad at Olive Garden and we were really bad and split a piece of rasberry cheesecake....shhh, I won't tell if you won't tell! Lol After we got home, I was just dragging, so I decided I needed a protein shake.

Wednesday

I just had to post this pic of Sophie because her little paws are so cute!

Thursday

Ok, so I guess this is what you do, when you realize that you haven't taken a picture for the day.....you look for something in your house! Hence, why I took a pic of the candles on my kitchen table. Lol These really are beautiful at night when the lights are turned off....they actually flicker! They are battery operated candles that have been dipped in real wax, cool huh? I got them from my sister-in-law's shop and I love them!

Friday

Andy and I decided to take a drive on the beach today and there happened to be part of a whale carcus, that had washed up. The seagulls were feasting off of it and I actually captured a gross pic of one of them pulling the flesh off. Ew...I won't be posting that one! It kept raining off and on, so I just rolled down my window and took some shots from the truck. We had a wonderful drive....I just love the beach!

Saturday

It actually stopped raining for a little while, so I ventured outside in my backyard, scouting for something to take a picture of. I actually did find a few things to take pics of, but in the end I just had to post this one, of Sunny and Sophie playing with the stick. Sophie does manage to steal it once in awhile, but most of the time she's just happy to latch onto it, along side Sunny and run around the yard with it. Of course, when she does steal it....the chase it on!

If you're interested in joining in on P365, head on over to Sara's blog and link up!

Skywatch Friday ~ Beautiful Moon 5-26-2010

2011-01-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

I love it when the sky is an indigo blue!

Canon Rebel XSi

Canon EFS 55-250mm lens

Manual mode

Aperture f/16

Shutter Speed 0.4 sec

ISO 100

Focal Length 250.0 mm

...and I love capturing the moon through branches!

(settings same as in first pic)

Doesn't it look like the moon is tetering on the branch in this one?

Manual mode

Aperture f/16

Sh Speed 1/5 sec

ISO 100

Focal Length 250.0 mm

...and lastly, one more of the beautiful moon peeking through the branches!

Manual mode

Aperture f/16

Sh Speed 0.3 sec

ISO 100

Focal Length 250.0 mm

Hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY and check out more beautiful skies all around the world!

Project 365 ~ Week 1

2011-01-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

Well....I finally decided last night, to join in on Project 365 over at my blog friend Sara's and I have to admit, that I'm a little scared because I know it's quite a commitment! Now is probably the right time though, especially since I just finally got a new computer and shouldn't have any problems with this one. Note to self: N.e.v.e.r buy a reconditioned computer again! It was a total waste of money and really has hindered me from being able to blog etc. Thankfully, I'm almost finished transferring all of my pics to the new computer before it completely crashes...Yay! It's been a frustrating process the past couple of weeks....it takes about 7 or 8 hours to transfer one folder of pictures off of the old computer....that tells you how slow it is and of course, it takes even longer when it shuts down and I have to start over. Arrrg!

I'd like to apologize to all of my followers (if I have any left) for being MIA off and on for so long, I'm praying that I will be able to get back into the routine of blogging again and I think P 365 will help me to do just that! I don't really know all the rules of P 365, so please forgive me, if I happen to break the rules. Hopefully, someone will clue me in, if I do it wrong! :)

SATURDAY

I opened the sliding glass door to step outside and take this pic, but it was sooo cold that I just stayed in and took it with the door open. lol Normally I would have taken more pics, but I was on my way out to lunch with my friend Elsie and wouldn't you know it.....I completely forgot to take a pic of the two of us and our meal. We're both originally from Texas, so we thoroughly enjoyed our tamales, blackeyed peas, cabbage, collard greens and cornbread! Mmmm, mmm good! We both were blessed with double the good luck, as the tradition goes, because we both had black eyed peas and we both found a coffee bean hidden in our pieces of cake. Woo hoo!

And to finish off such a lovely day, I snapped a picture of my baby Sophie, with her bone! Yes, I call her my baby and yes, my 21 yr old daughter makes fun of me and says, I've become one of those old ladies with the little dog that she talks to like it's a person. Haha, yep that's me folks! I do talk to her like she's a person and my excuse is, that I don't have any grandbabies yet, but hey....at least I don't dress her up in little outfits. lol

Well, so far so good, I've just finished my first blog post for the new year and also for P 365, now let's hope I can keep this up! Happy New Year everyone! If you'd like to link up and join in on Project 365, just head on over to make music from your heart to the Lord and I know Sara will be excited!!!

Skywatch Friday ~ Sunrise 11-28-2010

2010-12-31T18:40:00.000-08:00

Those of you who know me, know how much I love to take pics of the sunrise and I'll tell you, since I've been laid up from my back surgery, I've really missed getting out there with my camera! I'm a little out of practice, but it feels good to be getting back in the saddle again, so to speak!

Ohhh, to see those vibrant colors in the sky and capture them with my camera, just brings me such joy and I don't know why, but it just makes me feel alive! Wow...I'm amazed everyday with the beauty of God's creation!

Canon Rebel XSi

Canon 55-250mm lens

Manual Mode

Aperture f/22

Shutter Speed 1/40 sec.

ISO 100

Focal Length 84.0 mm

Manual Mode

Aperture f/22

Shutter Speed 1/100 sec.

ISO 100

Focal Lenth 84.0 mm

Now hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY to see more beautiful skies all over the world!

Skywatch Friday ~ Saddle Mtn Under Pink Clouds!

2010-12-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

I never get tired of this view! I get to see it everyday, from my livingroom window, dining room window, sliding glass door and my bedroom window....I am a lucky girl for sure! The sky is ever changing, minute by minute and I always have my camera handy, so I can capture it's beauty!

Hop on over to Skywatch Friday to see other beautiful skies all over the world!

Your Hands by JJ Heller

2010-11-28T17:43:00.000-08:00

(***Don't forget to pause my music player in the right sidebar before you play the video)

This morning, something reminded me of this song, so I thought I would share it on here. It seems to go right along with the things that are going on around us at the moment! The lyrics are in the video, so I won't take the time to type them out. Please remember to pause my music player before you start the video! :)

It was so great to be in church this morning and I have to say.....it was AWESOME! The music was sooo good and the message was one that I'll never forget. It was one of those where you lose track of time because you're so ingrossed in it and you almost don't want it to end! I don't know what's happening, but God is doing something in our church.....something really, really great and I love it! Our church has really transformed into the church I always knew it could be. One with people who are "real" and not superficial! One with people who are loving and not judgemental! One with people who just simply love Jesus and One with people who have grace with other's, even when they may not deserve it! Sure...we've always had a pretty loving church, but now it's different....it's deeper....it's real! That's what happens when you go through major trials together and you keep your eyes on Jesus and not each other!

It's been a wild ride this past year, with so many trials and it's been so encouraging to see how our church family has handled them. Of course, we are no where near perfect and yes, there are always a few who don't handle things well or in the right manner, but that's where grace comes in folks.

We're still going through some trials, with four of us recovering from major surgeries and with the loss of one of our dear members who is now in heaven. Also, the time is drawing near, for us to part with our dear friend Dale, as the brain tumor overtakes his body. It's so painful to watch this unfold, but soon he will be in heaven and he will feel pain no more. My heart aches as I watch my sweet friend in anguish, as she takes care of her dad, all the while her heart breaking because she will soon have to say goodbye!

Things are bitter sweet these days, as we experience pain and loss in so many families and at the same time, we are also experiencing such joy and growth! I'm so thankful for so many new families and for the family that joined this morning too.....wow....will I ever remember all of their names? lol

I hope you all like this song. Music speaks to me and this song happens to be the theme of my life and of my church family's lives right now!

Skywatch Friday ~ A Glimmer of Pink!

2010-11-26T14:08:00.000-08:00

I love it when the sky is pink! Ok, truth is....I love any colors in the sky....pink, red, violet, yellow, orange, gray or even blue! My husband often catches me gazing at the sky, just enjoying the beautiful cloud formations or the birds flying over and of course, I usually have my camera in hand. LOL These pics are sooc (straight out of the camera) taken on 3/31/2010.

(Taken with my Canon Rebel XSi, Aperture f/11, Shutter Sp. 1/15 sec., ISO 400, Focal Length 60mm)

(f/11, Shutter Sp. 1/60 sec., ISO 400, Focal Length 60mm)

(f/16, Shutter Sp. 1/8 sec., ISO 100 Focal Length 109mm)

(f/16, Shutter Sp. 1/8 sec., ISO 100 Focal Length 60mm)

(f/16, Shutter Sp. 1/60 sec., ISO 100 Focal Length 116mm)

I took this pic an hour and 28 minutes later and as you can see, the pink is gone and it's looking a bit dreary out. I just love how the sky changes from minute to minute!

Please hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY and take a look at some other beautiful skies all over the world!

Hummingbird Sillouettes

2010-11-25T01:34:00.000-08:00

I LOVE MY HUMMINGBIRDS! These aren't the greatest pictures, but they're not too bad considering the fact, that I took them through my livingroom window. As you can see it was getting dark out, so I had to increase my ISO to 1600 and that's why there's so much noise (grainyness) in the pics. I was bummed about that, but I wasn't trying for prize photos....I just wanted a few shots of their little sillouettes. These little birdies are fast, so by the time I grabbed my camera, changed my lens and set my aperture, shutter speed and ISO, there was no time to even think about composition, I just started snapping pics. lol

This one is my favorite! I wish I would have had a little more light, so I could have increased my shutter speed to freeze the motion of the wings a little more, but this isn't too bad for 1/800th of a second. In past experience shooting hummingbirds, I've been able to freeze the wings completely, with a shutter speed of 1/3200 sec.

I wasn't able to move for fear that they would fly off, so I couldn't adjust my lens and zoom out, in order to get both of the hummingbirds in the frame. (Manual mode, Aperture f/5.6, Shutter Sp. 1/800 sec., ISO 1600)

This little birdie isn't as sharp as I would like, but I took this pic about 10 minutes after the above pics and it had gotten darker, so I had to leave it on a more open aperture to let more light in and I chose a slow shutter speed. (Manual mode, Aperture f/5.6, Shutter Sp. 1/60 sec., ISO 1600)

Show Your Skills Linkup!

2010-11-19T19:56:00.000-08:00

I'm participating in another Show Your Skills Link Up over at Everyday Elements. I'm a little late posting this because I'm a little sick. *Bleh* Anyway, my friend Amanda is hosting this fun meme every week, so if you want to show off your editing skills or if you just want the practice, what are you waiting for? Come join in on the fun!

This is my edit and I've included Amanda's original image below, so you can see the before and after.

I edited Amanda's flower picture in PSE 7> cropped to 4x6> levels adjustment> Photo Filter -Deep Yellow> Amanda's Color Intense action (color pop 13% opacity & intensify 15% opacity> Amanda's Soften & Sharpen action (sharpened the stamen and pollen a little and softened just a tiny bit around the edges of the flower)> Primitive texture- softlight 81% opacity and erased it off of the flower. I can't remember where I got the texture from, but I'm thinking it is probably from Shadowhouse Creations.> added 3 of Patti Brown's overlays> Beach Glass- softlight 42% opacity> Forest Fire- softlight 93% opacity> Etheral 100% opacity and I erased a little bit of Etheral off of some of the petals. Lastly, I used the burn tool and burned a little around the edges on the duplicate background layer> flattened> resized for the web. Whew...and that's it!

This is Amanda's flower sooc (straight out of the camera)!

Show Your Skills Linkup!

2010-10-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

My friend Amanda of Everyday Elements, is hosting this Show Your Skills linkup and this week, we are using her barbed wire picture with cow's hair tangled up in it! I've included her original image, so you can see the before and after.

If any of you would like to join in, there's still time and hey, if you want to learn how to edit your own pictures Amanda is a great teacher! Check out her website and all of her free video tutorials, plus free actions, textures and editing tips etc. She also offers very affordable live online workshops, if you're interested and trust me, you will learn sooo much!

This is my edit and here is a very quick run down of what I did....

Levels adjustment 50 1.12 222 > Hue/Sat adjustment> Saturation +22> Photo Filter> Blue 77%> added some overlays and a texture at different opacities, until I got the colors I wanted. I used Soft Light blending mode on all of them except one...on that one, I used the Saturation blending mode! I darkened the barb underneath the wire just a smidge and I sharpened the middle of the barb just a smidge also. As you can see, I like color....it may not be appealing to some, but I am drawn to warm colors! :)

This is Amanda's original sooc image! I love this shot and I thoroughly enjoyed playing with it in photoshop elements! Thanks Amanda, this was fun! :)

Love Your Shot Link Up!

2010-10-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

This is my first submission to the Love Your Shot Link Up over at Love That Shot! I took this photo of Hannah Burk, in a recent photo shoot, for her senior pictures and I am in love with her gorgeous brown eyes and beautiful face!

Canon EOS Rebel XSi ~ 50 mm f/1.8 lens ~ Aperture f/2.8 ~ Shutter Speed 1/40 sec ~ ISO ~ 200 ~ Focal Lenth 50.0 mm (This is my final edit and the one she will use as one of her senior pics.) Scroll to the bottom of this post to see the original (sooc) shot and work your way up to see the Post Processing steps.

In this final edit I went back and darkened her lips just a tad and then I used the lasso magnetic tool to remove some of the texture from the background while leaving the color, then added a slight vignette and I love the end result!

Next I added a texture on overlay blend mode and lowered the opacity to 60% and used the magnetic lasso tool to erase the texture off of the skin, while leaving the tint (color). I then added the same texture, but this time I erased the texture off of the skin entirely and then I added one more texture on softlight blend mode, just to brighten up her eyes and skin a bit more.

I did a clean edit using Amanda, of Everyday Elements Deep Clean 1 & 2 actions, which I adore. I removed blemishes, lightened up all of the shadows on the one side of her face, evened up her skin tone, softened her hair just a bit etc. I then ran Amanda's Eye Tricks action and then her Newberry action and tweaked all the layers, plus I changed the color of her clothes by using the "bring out the blues" layer in Newberry. I used a white brush 63 % layer opacity and then just brushed over her clothes and raised the layer opacity to suit.

This is the original straight out of the camera shot and as you can see, it's a bit dark because the sun was setting and there wasn't much light left in the sky, but I was having too much fun shooting to stop! LOL

Post Processing on Hannah Burk's Photo!

2010-09-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share my Post Processing on Hannah's photo! Hannah is such a sweetheart and a dear friend to our family and I appreciate her letting me practice my photography and photoshop skills on her!

This is (sooc) straight out of the camera! I forgot to change my white balance, so it was on auto. Ugh! As you can see her skintone, just isn't right....it's a little too pink and the bright sun, made her skin too light on the left side of her face. Then, the right side of her face is in the shadow, so that needs to be fixed also.

I started out in Adobe Camera Raw and did some tweaking there, but I still wasn't happy with the color of her skintone. Next I opened it up in PSE 7 and did a clean edit with Amanda's Deep Clean 1 and 2 actions (where I removed blemishes, evened out skintone, smoothed skin, burned her lips to make them a little darker etc.) and then I fixed her skintone with Amanda's Stix action. (As you can see, I also got rid of the shadow on the right side of her face and lightened up the shadow on her arm a little bit too!)

Ok, so now I softened her hair and then added the Rustic 7 texture, from Shadow House Creations, set to Normal -layer opacity 90% and erased it off of her skin and hair. Then I added Patti Brown's Apparition Glow overlay, set to Screen -layer opacity 45%. I then added Patti's Fantasy II Glow overlay over entire image, set to Normal -layer opacity 11%. Then I ran Amanda's Vignette Options action and only used the Multiply layer to darken the corners a bit. (Do you see the dark spot on her shirt up on her shoulder? It's from the texture, so I had to fix that!)

I erased the Apparition Glow overlay off of the background in this image and then to fix the spot on the shoulder, I added a layer mask and chose a color next to the spot and brushed it over the shirt, with a soft black brush!

Ok, this was my final edit and in this one, I increased the opacity layer to 100% on the Rustic 7 texture and I like the end result! I still haven't decided whether this one is my favorite or the image right before it. I was going for a very soft look and I think I accomplished it! I just hope Hannah likes it too! So there you have it....I listed the main steps to the post processing, but of course, I didn't list exactly everything I did to the image....just what I could remember, besides it would take way too long, to list every detail. LOL

Andy & Dave's Road Trip Adventure!

2010-09-14T02:34:00.000-07:00

Andy and Dave about to leave on their Harley adventure. These brother's need some serious bonding time!

Don't they look like "biker" dudes? Well, Dave really IS a biker dude, but Andy's just now becoming one! LOL

Rev 'em up boys! Vrrroom, Vrrroom!

There goes Davey....oh, it's probably not cool to call a Harley rider, "Davey," is it? I meant, "Hey, there goes Dave, that cool biker dude!" hahaha

Annnd......they're off! (I owe a big thank you to Jane, my sister-in-law, for taking these pics!)

Beautiful Scenery!

Dave chillin' on his Harley! Isn't he cool? This was taken at Craters of the Moon National Monument.

This is in Idaho!

I love this picture of biker Dave!

Before Sunrise in Arco, Idaho! Isn't this beautiful? His iphone takes pretty good pics!

This is highway 22 and Andy said, there was about 200 miles of this! LOL

My honey is home! Oh, how I missed him, but I'm so thrilled he had a great time with Dave. They will have to do this again, for sure! In fact, from what I understand, next year they will be taking a trip to Alaska! Oh....what fun they will have!

Attention Shoplifters....Oh, I mean Photo-lifters!

2010-09-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

I guess I will be creating a watermark for my photos soon, because someone swiped one of my photos off of my blog, somewhere around the 21st of July. When I logged on to my blog sometime after that, it said a photo had been removed and I was shocked to find that my background was completely gone, just solid white! Fortunately, I was able to reinstall my background and nothing else was messed up, at least I don't think so, the rest appears to be ok.

Anyway, that's never happened before, so I wasn't sure what to do, but I think there's a way to track it, isn't there? Does anyone know if you can track it, to see who took the photo?

Here's the thing....If any of you would like one of my photos, just leave me a comment and ask me if you can have a copy, especially if you're one of my friends or maybe you happen to be in the picture.....I would be more than happy to email it to you!

I have so many pictures, that I haven't added on my blog for this very reason, until I get a watermark on them, so hopefully I will get to that soon!

Ok, well that about sums it up, so NO MORE PHOTO LIFTING....PLEASE! Haven't y'all seen those signs in the stores that say, "Shoplifters Will Be Prosecuted!" Maybe we need to make a sign for "Photo-lifters!" LOL

Before & After Shots...Plus...Who I'm Learning My Photoshop Elements Skills From...

2010-08-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some BEFORE and AFTER shots of Hannah (my friend's daughter), so y'all can see, just what you can do in Photoshop Elements 7. These photos are just some of Hannah's senior pictures, that I've done so far, but I'm working on some more at the moment. (***NOTE: click on the images to enlarge!)

I love this one! I need to mention that I used Amanda's actions on all of these pics......I LOVE her actions!!! I also changed the color of the background with overlays in this one!

The original in this one is underexposed! It was taken in a dark spiral staircase and we tried to get her somewhat close to the top toward the light, but no worries.....I fixed it in Photoshop! Now I just need to add a vignette and try some overlays to change the background a little. I actually did this one in some brown tones with one of Amanda's actions and it's really awesome and I also did it in black & white, with another one of her actions.

I still have one more thing to fix on this one and then I will be happy with it, but I thought I'd share it anyway. I need to smooth out her skin on the right side of her face, just a tad bit more, but this is definately a favorite of mine! I used overlays, to change the colors in the background and I must say, that I LOVE Amanda's Vignette Options action also!

I really love this one, even with those rusty nail thingys, sticking out of the cement wall! LOL Oh and I used Amanda's Deep Clean 1 & 2 action on all of these pics.....I can't live without them, plus I also used a texture on this one.

I gave a shout out, for my friend/teacher Amanda recently on my facebook and so I decided to do the same here on my blog. I want you all to know who I'm learning all of my photoshop skills from.....I wanna make sure and give credit, where credit is due! Lol Fortunately for me, I happened upon her blog one day at Photography Haven which then led me to her Everyday Elements online workshops and tutorials where I signed up for her All About Actions online workshop.

I've always wanted to learn how to load actions into my PSE and learn how to use them and Amanda's workshop taught me just that! I joined her Everyday Elements Facebook Fan page immediately and her flickr group (for workshop attendees only) where she gives a wealth of information and help and even critiques our editing to help us learn more and more about editing in PSE. If any of you out there are interested in learning how to use Photoshop Elements or actions, I encourage you to check out Amanda's workshops and tutorials, I highly recommend them. I actually won her online Advanced Intermediate workshop for free, through one of her giveaways in her flickr group.....lucky me!

Anyway, to sum this up.....Amanda is very easy to learn from and is a very humble, generous, knowledgeable and an extremely helpful teacher. I just met her online, just before the first workshop I took on June 1st and now I feel as if I've always known her. I feel as though we are kindred spirits and we haven't even met in person, but sometimes you just know, when you've met a person of good character! I really hope and pray I can meet her in person someday, so I can personally thank her for all that she is teaching me and hug her neck, as we used to say, when I lived in the south. She really is a sweetheart, y'all.

26 Blissful Years Together!

2010-08-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated our 26th Anniversary, so I thought I'd share some wedding pics with y'all!

I'd also like to share something my husband wrote on Unifyer yesterday and I'll also share my response to him. (Just in case you don't know....Unifyer is a communication tool used by churches and it's awesome.) ***CAUTION.....YOU MAY THINK THIS IS A LITTLE SAPPY! LOL

So here is what Andy wrote:

Things I Know About Marriage After 26 Years!

1. Marriage gets better with Age!

2. Love only becomes real through time, trials, and togetherness
.
3. To care for ONE person for so many years is indescribable. You HAVE to experience it.

4. Looking back shows you how far you've come.

5. 26 years is not very long, and I long for more.

6. Life After Kids is Awesome. (I loved having Kids, but they are not the highlight of our marriage)

I know that its a day early but I love my wife now more than I ever could imagine. I know that I have said that throughout the years, but it keeps growing to unimaginable depths. I never realized that love is so unstoppable and it makes me long for what our love will be in 26 more!

How can you have a marriage so full of Love?

1. Forgive one another daily.

2. Desire one another Hourly.

3. Prefer one another every minute. (put the other first)

4. Think of one another every second.

and learn how to do this through the ONE who taught it to us.
Jesus Christ.

Here was my response to what he wrote:

I'm in tears after reading this and I'm almost speechless because words can't even express my love for my husband! Last night as I laid in my bed not able to sleep, I just watched my Andy, my honey, my best friend, sleep so sound and so calm and it made me smile, as I looked at his face and thought about how much I love him!

He means more to me than life itself and living life with him just gets better every day. Our love just deepens more and more by the minute and the longing in my heart for him never goes away, in fact it just gets stronger and stronger! I still light up when he walks through the door and I still want to spend every waking moment with him.

Being married for 26 years is a long time, but to me, it's not long enough! I long for many more years to spend with my honey and he is so right......marriage does get better with age! If it's this good now after 26 years......I can't even imagine how blissful it will be in the years to come!

I love you babe and thank you for loving me and for still making my heart go pitter patter, even after 26 years of marriage! You're the best husband and friend I could have ever dreamed of having! We were made for each other and I thank God for giving me you! Happy Anniversary my love!

Surprise From Old Friends!

2010-07-21T02:05:00.000-07:00

What a great surprise when I answered the phone recently and Wayne said, "How do I get to your house?" I was like....what? Are you here in town? Lol As it turned out, they were driving through town on their way to Alaska, where they are being stationed in the Coast Guard once again. We were so thrilled to be able to spend some time with them, after not seeing them for several years and let me tell you, they haven't changed a bit! Oh and Wayne is still a hoot, just like he always was.....some things never change. haha Anyway, Wayne and Cora if you see this.....thanks for the nice surprise visit!!! We love y'all!

And now on another note.....I will be MIA for a little bit because I'm having back surgery in 5 1/2 hours and I don't know how long it will be before I'm up and able to get on my computer. I know what some of you are thinking, "You've already been MIA, so what's new?" Well, that's true I haven't been blogging a whole lot because I've been laid up off and on with my back for several months now and especially since February. I think that's when my vertebrae actually broke off and is sitting on my tailbone. Anyway, I won't bore y'all with anymore of that, I just wanted to let you know why I've been absent on here and why it will be awhile til I'm back on, unless my husband can figure out a way to rig my computer up beside my bed. LOL Hope to be back on soon!

Fireworks 7/04/10

2010-07-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

Capturing good shots of fireworks is not easy, but I gave it a good try. I had to cheat a little on a few of these and lighten them just a bit in photoshop because they were a little dark. Maybe I'll do better next year! Lol These were taken with my Canon Rebel XSi ~ 55-200mm lens ~ manual mode ~ shutter speed set to BULB ~ Aperture f/16 ~ ISO 100

Pink Sky After Sunset!

2010-06-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

I love it when the sky turns pink after the sun has set! It was getting dark very quickly, so I had to hurry and get some shots, while there was still a little light. If only I had noticed it sooner! I took these from my back deck on May 27, 2010.

The wind was blowing so a couple of the branches are a little blurry!

The dark clouds add a little drama!

I just love the pink sky in this one!

The clouds are covering Saddle Mountain in this one.

I really love the clouds!

Please hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY to see more beautiful skies around the world!

Creepy Crawly Things!

2010-06-21T01:30:00.000-07:00

I'm having so much fun with textures and overlays from Patti Brown's collections over at Kaleidoscope. Check out her blog here! I love how textures can add an artistic look to a creepy crawly image!

This poor caterpillar was blown off this leaf, by a huge gust of wind, right after I took this shot. It was hangin' on for dear life, as I was snapping pics in between gusts, but our storms are pretty powerful, so it finally lost the battle and fell about 4 feet to the ground. (Photo taken Sept. 2009)

This is a little risky of this fly don't you think? Don't worry though.....the spider didn't get him! This was the first pic I took with my 50mm 1.8 lens the day it came in the mail! (Photo taken 9-3-09)

I wish I would have been fast enough to get a shot of this grasshopper, when he was upside down. He was a funny little thing to watch and boy was he fast! (Photo taken 9-3-09)

Ewww.....I don't like spiders, but I don't mind photographing them! (Photo taken June 2010)

This grasshopper blends right in with the colors in the background doesn't he?

(Photo taken 9-3-09)

Learning To Use Actions in Photoshop!

2010-06-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to learn how to use actions in photoshop, so I was so excited, when I ran across Amanda's online workshops over at Everyday Elements. I can't say enough about Amanda and how helpful she's been to me! I've already learned so much from her and I must say.....her tutorials are awesome and I LOVE her actions! I highly recommend her All About Actions class, if you want to learn how to install and use actions, in Photoshop. Click on the links above to check out her blog and the other classes she offers!

(My daughter Kasey) I ran Amanda's Deep Clean action and then I ran her Soften and Sharpen action, just to soften her hair a bit. (This is my first attempt at editing with actions)

I ran Amanda's Deep Clean action + Soften and Sharpen + I also ran CoffeeShop's B&W Classic and Bittersweet Vintage on this pic. Rita over at CoffeeShop has a lot of actions and tutorials also, so you might want to check out her blog too. Oh and I also added a texture, used the soft light blending mode and turned the opacity way down, then erased it on her face and skin.

(Tori and Billy) Amanda's Deep Clean + Soften and Sharpen + CoffeeShop's Perfect Portrait only to define her eyes a bit. Just so you know.....I didn't need to use all three actions.....I was just experimenting with them and I mostly only used the Deep Clean action.

I also added the Golden Sun Glow overlay to give the background a little glow of color. You can check out Patti's textures and overlays at Kaleidoscope. I'll be talking about her textures in a future post.

I added Pioneer Woman's Sepia Tone action to this one and I love how it turned out! Check out the link to see her actions and tutorials.

I'm having so much fun with actions and now I'm so excited about Photoshop!

Calling All Photographers Out There In Blog Land...

2010-06-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

If you've ever thought about teaching a beginner's photography class, but just haven't known where to begin, you need to check out the Photographer's Kickstart Program. Jessica Grieves is the author and designer of the Kickstart Training Module, which will equip you with all of the materials you need. This is a great opportunity to generate some revenue and also help out mom's in your community, who want to learn how to take beautiful pictures of their children! For more information about it or if you'd like to enter the contest to win the Kickstart Training Module, go here.

A Bitter Sweet Goodbye...

2010-05-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

It was bitter sweet saying goodbye to Michael, as he left to report to his duty station, in Georgia! The bitter part is knowing that he is going to Iraq in July, but the sweet part is seeing how my baby has grown into a man! Not just a man.....but one who loves and adores his wife, Jaymie.....and one who is willing to fight for his country!

This was taken as we were leaving to the airport.

Making every moment count.......grabbing another hug in the grocery store! Aw....I'm tearing up as I type this.

Surprise! I know, I know....a little weird taking a pic of Jaymie coming out of the restroom, but I couldn't help myself.....I mean after all the camera was in my hand, what was I to do? Lol

In the airport parking garage.

That gentleman on the right, tried his best to get out of the picture, but he just wasn't fast enough. Lol

I had to get a shot of my honey!

A very sweet, tender moment! I love candid shots like this!

This picture warms my heart every time I look at it! Don't you see love written all over his face?

What a beautiful couple! I had to get one last shot as Andy and I were leaving. We wanted Michael and Jaymie to have some time alone, before they had to say goodbye, so we gave our hugs and kisses and we were on our way.

We Are So Proud!

2010-05-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

This is my free collage from Walgreens that I posted about yesterday. These are just some of my favorite pics that I took at Michael's Turning Blue Ceremony and his Graduation in Georgia! The Turning Blue Ceremony was held at Fort Benning and the Graduation was held at the National Infantry Museum.

Marching in for the Turning Blue Ceremony

We went to the motel so he could take off those funky (or should I say geeky) glasses that the army issued him and put in his contacts......he was so relieved! LOL

Picked up his gear and now he's chompin' at the bit to get to Atlanta airport, where he will catch his plane and be on his way, to see his wife Jaymie! Yippee.....bootcamp is over!!!

And now Mama is happy! :) He is home for 24 days and then he reports to his duty station at Fort Stewart, Georgia. As soon as he gets there, he will find out if his company is just returning from Iraq or just getting ready to deploy, to Iraq.

Free Photo Collage at Walgreens!

2010-05-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Walgreens is offering a free 8x10 collage for Mother's Day, but you need to hurry because today is the last day! I just found out about it on my niece's blog New Eyedea Photography where she posted her collage. Y'all really should check out her blog......her photography blows me away! She really has an eye for it and I just love her creativity......she truly is gifted! Just check out her gallery here and you will see what I mean.

On another note, we're back from our son's graduation from bootcamp in Georgia and we had a nice trip, but we are exhausted. I'm finding the older I get the harder it is to travel, it takes so much out of me and it just takes longer for me to bounce back. LOL Getting old stinks sometimes! Right now we're just spending time with Michael and his wife Jaymie, until he has to report to his duty station, so please forgive me if I haven't replied to any comments that you may have left me. I just want to spend as much time with my son as possible before he leaves and I'm sure you all understand. I'll be posting some pics soon!

Happy Liver Day, Kasey!

2010-04-26T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today is a very special day, you see exactly 20 years ago today, my daughter Kasey had her liver transplant that saved her life! We are so thankful that God let us keep her with us and we are especially grateful, to the mother that was so extremely generous, to give Kasey the liver of her child that was hit and killed by a car. We will always be thankful for that selfless gift in the midst of her horrific tragedy!

These are just some pictures of Kasey,while she was in the hospital in San Francisco, awaiting her transplant. She and I were there for 5 months.

Holding my baby! I am so blessed to have her in my life.....I love her more than words can express!

With those big beautiful smiles on her face, you'd never guess she was in end stage liver disease,

in these picures. Of course, the fact that she is flourescent yellow, just might be a dead giveaway though. Her bilirubin was sky high and in fact, it actually reached 50 and

normal total bilirubin should

only be 1.

Andy and Michael came to visit! Kasey loved her daddy and her big brother to pieces, so she was so happy when they would come see us! It was very difficult being away from both Andy and Michael.....it tore my heart out, but the medical bills were piling up, so Andy had to work as much as he could. Bless his heart, he would drive 14 hours straight through on his days off, just to see us for a day or two and then turn right around and drive straight through, to get back home and sometimes he would have to go directly to work.

Aw....Kasey and her daddy!

Another wonderful day when all of us were able to be together! *smile*

Hangin' out in the hospital playroom waiting for them to come and take her to prep her for the transplant surgery. This was my last kiss before handing her over to the nurse........she was in surgery for 11 hours! Andy and I spent the eleven hours in a small private waiting room. We had Domino's pizza delivered (they were the only ones that would deliver to the hospital) and spent the whole time pacing the floor, praying and

just hugging each other. I'm sure you can imagine how relieved we were when the doctor came in to tell us that she had made it through the surgery! We had to wait another grueling hour for them to get her all cleaned up in recovery, before they would let us see her. The first thing we noticed was her pale skin.....it was such a wonderful sight, after seeing her so yellow for 7 months.

Time To Do the Hallelujah Dance.....Won't you join me?

2010-04-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

Oh how I wish y'all could see me doing my Hallelujah Dance right now! Ok, well maybe I don't really, because I'm sure I look pretty funny! LOL Why am I dancing you ask? I have a computer again! Woo hoo.......I can't even begin to express how excited I am! We finally took my computer in to find out what was wrong with it after Andy had replaced the power source and that didn't fix it. As it turned out, the mother board was bad and the good news is......drum roll please.......my two hard drives that I had replaced a few years ago are fine, so I still have all of my pictures! Whew, what a relief! *sniff, sniff* Somebody get some tissues, I might just cry some tears of joy!!! The guy said I have 180 GB of pictures.....I'm guessing that's a lot, since he was surprised by it. LOL

Anyway, my computer was so old that we decided to buy a year old reconditioned computer that is faster than my old one and the guy said that will make it much easier to use photoshop. Hmmm, guess I might just have to learn how to use photoshop now. I learned a few things awhile back, but it's been so long now, that I'll have to re-learn it. Ugh! Andy has been diligently downloading all of my software to my scanner, printer, camera etc. Oh and he re-downloaded itunes for me too, so now he has transfered all of my songs from the hard drive into itunes and I'm having to organize all of my music into folders all over again....arggg, what a job, but I'm not really complaining, I'm just happy to still have all of my music!

There is one thing I can't figure out how to fix......everything on my screen is stretched, so when I look at my pictures everyone is short and fat and the faces are all stretched wide. I went to the control panel to try to fix it, but have not suceeded. I guess I will have to call on Monday and ask the computer guy how to fix it.

Just to let y'all know, even though I just got my computer, I'm afraid I won't be on it much right now because my daughter-in-law is on her way here to visit for a couple of days and then we will be packing and leaving for my son's graduation from bootcamp in Georgia, but don't worry as soon as I return, I will be sharing pictures with y'all. If I have time, maybe I will be able to put a couple of pics of my son and daughter-in-law on here before I leave, but don't hold me to that, just in case I don't get to it. :) Bye for now and I'll be returning soon!!!

Skywatch Friday ~ Astoria-Megler Bridge at sunset!

2010-04-15T02:25:00.000-07:00

The Astoria, Megler Bridge stretches 4.1 miles from Astoria, Oregon across the mouth of the Columbia River, to Point Ellice, Washington. It is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.

These first two photos were the first two shots that I took and I like them both for different reasons. I think the first one is a little better exposure, but I like the composition in the second one because of the pilings in the foreground, plus I love the ducks too. LOL

It was so hard to choose my favorites because I had so many, but I did my best!

This one may be a little dark for your liking......but I love it!

I love this one also....and the rest as well!

Ok, so I noticed that I need to clean my lens again, because I can see a couple of water spots on these photos. Ugh! I guess I will have to edit the spots out in photoshop, if and when I ever get my computer fixed!

Please hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY and check out other beautiful skies all over the world!

By George....I Think I'm Gettin' It! (freezing the motion)

2010-04-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

I took these pics yesterday and I was finally able to achieve my goal of freezing the motion of the hummingbird's wings! Woo hoo, I'm so excited! I've been practicing with different shutter speeds and found that 1/3200 sec. does the trick, but because I increased my shutter speed, I also had to change my ISO to 800, which I don't like to do because you get more noise in the photo. I definitely do see some noise (grainyness) in these photos, so next time I will try 1/2500 sec. or 1/2000 sec. and see if I am still able to freeze the motion and also get enough light with my ISO set to 400. A few days ago, I tried a shutter speed of 1/1600 sec. with ISO 400, but wasn't able to freeze the motion of the wings as well....I'll be posting those photos soon.

All of these photos were taken in TV mode......Aperture f/5.6, Shutter Speed 1/3200 sec., ISO 800, Focal Length 250 mm

It has been so much fun practicing and learning as I go. If you've ever tried to take pics of hummingbirds, you know just how challenging it is, but hey I love a good challenge!

***(click on the pictures to see a closeup)

Click on the following icon to link up and share your bird photography.

I've Had Enough....I'm Out Of Here! (hummingbird 6/02/09)

2010-04-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Another hummingbird from our trip to Arizona last summer...

This little hummingbird wasn't very cooperative when we first me, so it would usually only allow me to get a few shots, before it had had enough and would take off. I completely understand......I mean after all......I WAS invading it's territory! LOL

I found out that it's really tough to get the right exposure, when you're pointing your camera up in the trees. These are a little over exposed and blown out in the spots where the light is coming in through the trees, but I was still learning at the time and didn't really know what I was doing yet. All that considered, I think these turned out pretty good! :)

Skywatch Friday ~ Sun Rays!

2010-04-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

These were taken on January 24, 2010.
I was right in the middle of exercising on my Elliptical machine, when I saw these sun rays shooting down through the clouds, so of course I had to get some shots of it! :)

Please hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY to see other skies from all over the world!

Hummingbird...Sittin' Pretty!

2010-04-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

These are just a few of the hummingbird pics I took when we were in Arizona last summer. I was pleased to find that I still have some of them on my SD cards, so I downloaded them onto Andy's computer, since my computer isn't fixed yet. Woo hoo, now I can start putting them on my blog and I'm so excited! I have tons, so I'll probably be posting some at least once a week for awhile.

Skywatch Friday ~ Sunrise Sillouettes!

2010-04-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures on Jan. 9, 2010. I just love it when it's still dark, before the sunrise and you start to see that beautiful, deep orange color with the sillouette of the horizon and trees! It's so gorgeous and peaceful! These were taken in Manual mode with my Canon Rebel Xsi and my 55-250 mm lens. Aperture f/16, Shutter Speed 1/8 sec., ISO 100, Focal length 171 mm

Aperture f/16, Shutter Speed 1/8 sec., ISO 100, Focal length 100 mm

Aperture f/16, Shutter Speed 1/8 sec., ISO 100, Focal length 100

Aperture f/22, Shutter Speed 1/8 sec., ISO 400, Focal length 123 mm

Aperture f/22, Shutter Speed 1/8 sec., ISO 400, Focal length 135 mm

Please hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY to see more beautiful skies all over the world!

Our Newest Visitor ~ Ruby-Throated Hummingbird!

2010-03-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

This is our newest visitor and I was so happy to get some shots because this one is very shy. He comes by several times a day now.

Can you see the bright red feathers on his throat? (click on the picture to see a closeup)

I'm still in awe at how they can turn the red feathers on and off! Here they are off, so they just look like dark feathers on his throat.

And now the red feathers are on again! Amazing huh?

Skywatch Friday ~ Beauty Before Sunrise!

2010-03-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

These were beautiful skies on March 15th and thankfully my husband woke me up from a dead sleep to capture them! I hit the floor running, as I threw on my clothes, grabbed my camera and tripod, put on my socks and shoes, flew out the door, climbed down the hill and proceeded to set up my tripod on uneven terrain. Whew....I was out of breath! The only regret is that I don't think I was fully awake yet, so I forgot to change my aperture. I changed everything else, but unfortunately it was on f/5.6, therefore the trees and branches in the foreground are not sharp. If I would have changed the aperture to somewhere between f/11 and f/22 like I normally do, everything in the picture would have been sharp and in focus. Oh well.....lesson learned! Hopefully next time I will be fully awake and have my thinking cap on. LOL

This was my first shot and as you can see....the horizon isn't quite level. My tripod wasn't cooperating with me or the uneven ground!

The colors in the sky were simply gorgeous!

Please hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY and take a look at other beautiful skies all over the world!

Skywatch Friday ~ Sunset on the Beach!

2010-03-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

I realized that I hadn't taken any pictures of the sunset in quite awhile, so Andy and I decided to head to the beach. As we were driving on the beach we were amazed to see cars parked everywhere and almost every vehicle had someone standing beside it snapping pictures of the sunset! I can't remember the last time I've seen that many people on our beach....I guess we all had the same idea! LOL

I took these on March 6, 2010

It really WAS spectacular!

You can barely see the silloutte of these little birds. Right after I snapped this shot the sun was gone, so I didn't have a chance to adjust my exposure to make it a little bit lighter, but I still love these little birdies anyway!

Please hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY to see more spectacular skies all over the world!

Skywatch Friday ~ Saddle Mtn. Clouds & Fog

2010-03-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

These photos are straight out of my camera with no editing, just in case you're wondering. I took these pics on January 15th and I was so taken by the fog and the clouds!

Please hop on over to Skywatch Friday to see other beautiful skies all over the world!

My New Little Baby.....Sophie!

2010-03-09T20:47:00.000-08:00

My daughter Kasey brought home this adorable puppy a few weeks ago and told me she was my birthday present.......umm, YEAH RIGHT! Apparently, the owner was taking the last few puppies to the pound and of course, Kasey couldn't handle that, so she picked one out and brought her to ME. She's very cute, but I already have a very busy schedule and I had no idea how I would be able to train a puppy. I'm not one to just get a puppy, feed it and play with it and then leave it to itself the rest of the time.......I put a lot of time into training them! My exercise routine has suffered considerably and I am very upset about that because now I'm not going to reach my goal by the end of April. Oh well, that's ok for now, fortunately Sophie is smart and is learning pretty fast. Although, she does have a stubborn streak in her, but thankfully she now knows that I'm the pack leader!

I had forgotten how exhausting it is to have a puppy. I can't take my eyes off of her for a minute, while she's in her teething stage and I have to take her out to potty constantly. The cool thing is that I don't actually have to go outside with her anymore though....by the 5th day I was able to open the front door, put her down and say, "Go Potty," and she would go down the steps and out into the grass all by herself and go potty. Then when she is done going "tinkle" I say, "Go Potty Again," and if she has to go "number 2" then she will go, but if she doesn't, then she will just go "tinkle" again. It's pretty funny because one day I was trying to get her to go potty both ways before I brought her back into the house, so I kept saying, "Go Potty Again," and she went "tinkle" 5 times. LOL What an obedient little doggie!

Awww! Isn't she cute when she sleeps?

Here she is chewing on a branch with Sunny!

This is one of the things I'm trying to break her of........tormenting my cat, Ling ling!

So far I've taught her.....sit, down, speak, fetch, wait (meaning she has to sit down and wait until I call her to come through the doorway into the house and also before going outside). I just started working with her on Come an she's doing better with it the last two days. I taught her hide -n- seek....where she has to wait, while I hide somewhere in the house and then I yell, "Sophie Come," and then she has to come find me. She loves this game because she gets a treat when she finds me! I don't know if I will teach her all of the tricks that I taught our dog Sunny, but we'll see.

Oh boy, here we go again!

Wow! A moment where she's not going after the cats......that's amazing!

Trust me when I tell you.......THIS IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! LOL Cheetoh is not one to be messed with and he doesn't allow anyone near his tail, especially since the raccoons took the end of it off, about 6 years ago. He is a tough cat.....he's been hit by a car......been in many cat fights.......been in fights with raccoons at least a few times......and has been cornered by dogs trying to kill him. He really isn't afraid of anything and so I tried to warn Sophie to not mess with him. Oh sure, Cheetoh played with her a little bit, but then.....well, let's just say this......Sophie knows her place with him now!

Eagles Wanted My Puppy For Lunch!

2010-03-05T21:36:00.000-08:00

The other day I was out in the hot tub in the afternoon and I happened to look up to see one of the eagles hovering right above just circling and he was really low......of course you know what I did next, right? I jumped out of the hot tub, threw my robe on and as I was heading into the house to get my camera, the eagle flew off screeching. Fortunately, my camera was just inside the door!

I grabbed my camera, quickly switched the lenses and by the time I got outside, there were two eagles hovering and circling over me. I snapped a few shots and then knocked on the living room window and pointed up to get Andy's attention. As Andy was coming out the door, I’m overly excited and I’m saying, “I’ve never seen them do this before......Look how low they are........they’re just hovering over us!” Then Andy said, “Honey, they’re after your puppy!”

Just then I realized that they were hovering right over where the puppy was playing in the grass. GASP! No wonder they were looking down......duh! That never even dawned on me! Andy quickly grabbed the puppy and put her in the garage and the eagles continued to look for her for a little while, circling the house and looking in the front yard and the back. Isn’t that scary? Oh my goodness, I was so freaked out! Andy probably nabbed her up just in time. Can you imagine how horrifying it would have been for me to see an eagle grab my puppy and take off with her? I probably would have been hysterical!

They keep coming back and circling looking for her, so obviously they remember where they see their prey.

Now I'm constantly on the lookout for Eagles hovering above! They can just find themselves some other Entree because they're not getting my little puppy!!!

Skywatch Friday ~ Red Cloud Sunrise!

2010-03-04T11:23:00.000-08:00

I've been away from Skywatch for a couple of months now, since my computer died on me and I'm glad to be back. Hopefully I will have my computer fixed soon, but for now I have to use my husband's, when he is not working. I hope you enjoy these red and pink clouds as much as I did!

***(click on pictures to enlarge)

Please hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY to see other skies from all over the world!

So Inspired!

2010-02-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

I've been watching The Biggest Loser Couples and I am so amazed at the dedication of all of the contestants. Not only is it an entertaining reality show with plenty of competition to keep you interested, but it's the success stories that are so inspiring and touching!

Jillian Michaels looks fantastic with her rock hard abs and toned body and while I have to admit it wouldn't hurt my feelings if I looked like that......for me that's not what it's all about......it's really about being healthy, feeling healthy and of course, looking healthy is just bonus!

For me, exercise is not a choice, but rather a necessity due to my injuries from my auto accident almost 7 years ago. Exercise is physical therapy for me, it keeps my muscles strengthened, keeps my energy up and literally keeps me walking and enables me to get around with ease.

My problem has been trying to find the right equipment because I have to have low impact. My favorite machine pictured above is the Eliptical because it is very low impact and I actually feel the least amount of pain while doing it. Now don't get me wrong......it is hard work.....I mean it's a killer, but I can burn double the calories in half the time compared to walking on my treadmill. I've learned a couple of tricks that make it easier for me though, I put a dish towel over it, so I don't focus on how many minutes I've been on it and I put in a good chick flick to watch and get lost in, to keep my mind occupied. Once in awhile I will peek at how many minutes and then I will almost hear Jillian telling me, "DON'T YOU QUIT........KEEP GOING........KEEP GOING.......YOU CAN DO IT!" So once I hit 30 minutes, I think.....I can do 10 more minutes and so on, until I hit 70 minutes. It's brutal, but I've learned to push myself and just push through the pain even when I'm having sciatic pain down my leg and I think it is almost unbearable. I always feel so good when I'm done and I feel like I've really made Jillian proud! One day I even did 90 minutes on it.......ok well, I haven't done that again!!! I've been known to overdo it, just a bit! LOL

If My Computer Wasn't Already Dead......I'd shoot it!!!

2010-01-19T19:01:00.000-08:00

I'm really not a violent person, I'm just frustrated with my computer, I mean how many times is it gonna die on me? Many of you know that it died on me a few months ago, then it started working again......then my husband's computer died......then he got his fixed and then guess what? Yep, mine died again! I guess we have the worst luck with computers! Of course, mine IS 10 years old, so I guess that's understandable. Anyway, I apologize for not being able to visit all of your blogs right now, hopefully we will be able to get my computer fixed soon!

Christmas Is Over, but....

2010-01-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

My tree still stands! I'm just not ready to take it down yet. Call me crazy, but I love the warm glow of the lights at night and I really want to enjoy it for at least one more week or who knows maybe even two more weeks.

So what's with the balloons you ask? Well let me tell you the story......I thought I was out of bows, so before I knew it, my clever husband started blowing up balloons and putting them on the presents in place of the bows. He even wrote the names on the balloons....I mean really? I have name tags! This is typical, for him to come up with such a funny idea like this, he is a character. The funny thing is......I found out I wasn't out of bows after all, they were right in my closet. I seriously don't know how I didn't see them the first time I looked, but I have to say, I'm actually glad I didn't see them. Ok, so maybe bows are prettier, but the balloons were much more fun and it was a special added touch by my husband. It definitely added to the excitement, when one of the balloons popped, while we were playing a game at the kitchen table. I literally jumped and my heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest, it was pounding so hard. lol It was so loud it sounded like a gun shot! Thanks to Andy's creative and funny idea, we will never forget this christmas!On Christmas Day we played board games the entire day. It really was a blast just laughing and hoopin' and a hollerin'! We enjoyed way too many snacks, fudge, pumpkin pie and goodies and my chicken enchiladas were to die for.

It was a fantastic day and it brought joy to my heart, to have my family together, especially since Michael is leaving for bootcamp in the Army on Jan. 10th.

Skywatch Friday ~ Indian Beach 12-7-09

2009-12-31T00:27:00.000-08:00

We decided to go for a drive on one of our coldest days this winter and this is where we ended up. Indian Beach! The wind was bitter cold on the beach and of course we were unprepared and not dressed appropriately for the cold weather. These lighthouse pictures aren't as sharp as they should be do to my shivering. Andy was laughing at me, as I was shaking all over and my teeth were chattering uncontrollably. He even tried to hold me steady while I took the pictures! I think the first lighthouse turned out pretty good, but I had to try and sharpen the second one a little. It was quite an adventure......we even had to cross over some water on a skinny log to get where we wanted to go on the beach.....it was fun!

I love that I caught this helicopter over the lighthouse!

It was so beautiful!

There were no clouds in the sky, which was very strange to see!

I took this picture from up on top of Ecola State Park. I think I prefer the view from down on the beach!

These icicles were down on the beach. Brrr! It was sooo cold!

Please hop on over to SKYWATCH FRIDAY to see other skies from all over the world!

Skywatch Friday ~ Sunrise 12-6-09

2009-12-24T00:22:00.000-08:00

Aperture: f/16, Shutter speed: 1/60 sec., ISO: 100
Ok, so get this.....I was actually trying to blow dry my hair and run outside and take pics of this sunrise all at the same time, in the bitter cold on that morning. My hair froze and dried weird, so I ended up having a bad hair day with no time to really fix it very well, since I was running late. It was quite comical, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to practice taking some more sunrise shots. While running back inside to try and fix my hair, I missed the sun when it first peeked over the mountains, but what's a girl supposed to do? I had to get beautified and that takes time! Anyway, it was worth sacrificing my hair to get these shots! lol

f/16 + 1/60 sec. + ISO 400

An eagle was flying around.....do you see it? They are so beautiful!

f/16 + 1/60 sec. + ISO 200

Please hop on over to SkyWatch Friday to see more beautiful skies all over the world. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!

Skywatch Friday: Saddle Mountain ~ Just After Sunrise!

2009-12-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

These pics are the last of the series, from the beautiful sunrise that I have been posting for Skywatch Friday, for three weeks in a row now. These are straight out of the camera. (So far, I have not edited any of my sunrise pictures with photoshop.)

This is the view that I get to see every day, right out of my living room window!

Please hop on over to SkyWatch Friday to see more beautiful skies all over the world.

Bitter Cold!

2009-12-15T12:04:00.000-08:00

This was a bitter cold day, as you probably can tell, by all of the ice on the water!

I was able to get a quick shot of this crane before it flew off. I was so bummed that I wasn't able to get a better shot of him, but he had no plans of sticking around, just so I could get a shot that was more in focus! lol

ICY COLD at the Falls!

2009-12-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

This was the view of the falls from the road last Tuesday. It looks beautiful doesn't it? From this point of view you can't tell just how cold it is down by the water!

Brrr! Believe me when I say, "It was freezing down there by the waterfall!" My hands were burning from the cold, my teeth were chattering and I was shivering so badly, I could barely hold the camera still, when snapping the pictures! Andy held on to me so tightly, so I wouldn't slip on the icy rocks, but unfortunately he didn't have anyone holding on to him, as he slipped on his rear. His only other concern was to protect my zoom lens that he had in his hands at the time. Isn't that sweet of him to take care of me and my lens like that? This is why I love him so much!!!

This isn't snow in these pictures! This is the freezing mist from the waterfall! I wish I could express to you, just how cold that freezing mist was, as it was hitting our faces.

This picture should be a good illustration as to just how cold the freezing mist was! This wall of ice was formed as the freezing mist sprayed upon a branch. I'm shivering just thinking about it!
This is my honey! He is so wonderful to drive me around from place to place to take pictures, just for the sheer fact that he wants to spend time with me and because he knows how much I enjoy photography! He is truly my best friend and soulmate! We had such an awesome day together despite the cold!

Skywatch Friday ~ The Sun Comes Up!

2009-12-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation from last weeks series that I posted for Skywatch Friday. If you'd like to see my submission from last week go here!

I love the geese in this one!

***(Click on the pictures to see a closeup!)

Here comes the sun!

I was playing with the exposure and as you can see, I had to underexpose to get the outline of the sun, otherwise it was just a big bright blob like the picture below.

Please hop on over to SkyWatch Friday to see more beautiful skies all over the world.

ELK...

2009-12-08T23:48:00.000-08:00

Aperture f/5.6 + Shutter Speed 1/30 sec. + ISO 100

This was my first attemp at photographing Elk and I'm really happy that I actually got a few good shots. These first three photos are my favorites!

f/5.6 + 1/250 sec. + ISO 100

f/5.6 + 1/40 sec. + ISO 100

f/5.6 + 1/85 sec. + ISO 100

f/5.6 + 1/320 sec. + ISO 100

f/5.6 + 1/100 sec. + ISO 100

Crooked Beak!

2009-12-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures that I took when we were in Lake Havasu City, Arizona last June. I noticed something unique about this hummingbird the moment I snapped my first shot of it.....take a look at it's beak.....it's crooked! I don't really know anything about hummingbirds, but I don't think this is normal, of course any of you bird watchers out there can correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, this bird was very camera shy, so it took me several attempts over several days,before I was able to get close enough to get some shots of it. I took tons of hummingbird pics while we were there, so be prepared to see more very soon. My only regret is that I didn't really know much about my camera at that time, so I had no idea how to control the shutter speed and freeze the motion while the birds were in flight. I was so bummed because I could have had some spectacular shots.

*** (Click on pictures to see a closeup!)

It turned it's head to look at me as I was slowly creeping closer. It was such a funny bird to watch.....I can't wait to show you the pics I took of it scratching itself, but I'll save those for another post!

Just look at how crooked that beak is!

Fantastic HP Computer Giveaway!

2009-12-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't you like to win this...

It's the HP TouchSmart600 PC and it has a whole suite of built-for-touch applications!

For 5 chances to win one of your own.........check out each of the links listed below to read their reviews and enter their giveaways!

Sophie from BooMama

Kelly from Kelly's Corner

Stephanie from a Year of Slow Cooking

Jen from My Charming Kids

NieNie from NieNie Dialogues

AEB ~ Auto Exposure Bracketing!

2009-12-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight, while I was visiting AUTOFOCUSED (a photoblog), I learned something new and I'm so excited! In his post he talked about auto exposure bracketing, so I did some investigating and discovered that I have AEB on my camera. I found a couple of video tutorials for those of you who would also like to learn how to use this feature. I've been accomplishing exposure bracketing manually by changing the exposure while metering, but the auto mode will be so much easier. I still have so much to learn about my camera!

This first video shows you how to find AEB on the Canon Rebel XSi, which is my camera. Just skip the first 60 seconds to get to the actual tutorial. ***(Pause my music player on the right before clicking on the video!)

This next video explains how to use the AEB feature a little more in depth. The camera used for this tutorial is different than mine, but it teaches the same basics of auto exposure bracketing!

Skywatch Friday ~ Just Before Sunrise!

2009-12-03T15:26:00.000-08:00

Canon Rebel XSi, Manual mode, Aperture: f/16, Shutter speed: 1/80 sec., ISO: 800, Focal length: 55mm I took these pics on November 24th.......the colors in the sky were gorgeous! Next week I will post my pics of the sun after it came up. I've decided that the sunrise is my favorite thing to photograph right now.......if only I were a morning person!!! lol ***(click on pictures to enlarge)

Aperture: f/16, Shutter speed: 1/80 sec., ISO: 800, Focal length: 55mm

Aperture: f/16, Shutter speed: 1/80 sec., ISO: 800, Focal lenth: 146mm

Aperture: f/16, Shutter speed: 1/80 sec., ISO: 800, Focal length: 146mm

Aperture: f/16, Shutter speed: 1/80 sec., ISO: 800, Focal length: 55mm

Aperture: f/16, Shutter speed 1/200 sec., ISO: 800, Focal length: 55mm

Aperture: f/16, Shutter speed: 1/200, ISO: 800, Focal length: 171mm

Aperture: f/16, Shutter speed: 1/200 sec., ISO: 800, Focal length: 250mm

Aperture: 1/16, Shutter speed: 1/500 sec., ISO: 800, Focal length: 116mm

Aperture: f/16, Shutter speed: 1/640 sec., ISO: 800, Focal length: 55mm

Please hop on over to SkyWatch Friday to see more beautiful skies all over the world.

Skywatch Friday

2009-11-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

I really enjoyed watching these gray clouds, as they moved over those beautiful, white fluffy clouds!

I think this one is my favorite!

Please hop on over to SkyWatch Friday and take a look at more beautiful skies all over the world.

One More Recipe...

2009-11-25T00:20:00.000-08:00

I will be trying one more new recipe for Thanksgiving, so I thought I would share it. Click here for the recipe for Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese. I already have a big block of (yellow) cheddar cheese on hand, so I will be using that instead of white cheddar, but I'm sure it will still be yummy.

I'm looking for a good baked macaroni and cheese recipe, so if any of you have one and would like to share it with me, I would appreciate it. I will be sure and let you know if this recipe turns out to be a winner!

This is my menu for Thanksgiving:

Roasted Butter Herb Turkey
Stuffing
Grainy Mustard Mashed Potatoes
Mac 'N Cheese with Bacon and Cheese
Sweet Potatoes
Broccoli with Sour Cream
Sweet White frozen corn
Cranberry Sauce
Olives
Deviled Eggs
Vegetable Tray with dip
Pumpkin Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie
Cheese Cake

Mmm, mmm, this is going to be quite the feast! Wish you all could come and eat with us!

Thanksgiving Recipes!

2009-11-23T02:10:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share the mashed potato recipe that I will be cooking with our Thanksgiving meal. I saw it on the Tyler Ultimate show, while I was sick on the couch and even with my stomach bug, I said, "Hey those look like they would really be good!" So I asked Andy to bring me a pen and piece of paper and I jotted down the ingredients. That was the only thing I accomplished, while glued to that couch for days. lol

Anyway, here is the link to the video where you can actually watch him as he cooks them.
Grainy Mustard Mashed Potatoes

And here is a link to the Recipe.

I can't wait to try them!!! If any of you try them, please let me know if you liked them. :)

As for the turkey, I'm still trying to decide on the recipe, but I think this one will be it Roasted Butter Herb Turkey My sister used this recipe the last couple of years and she said it is so moist and delicious! I will have one alteration though.....I will drape peppered bacon over the whole bird. I do this when I make turkey breast and oh yumm, not only does it flavor it so well, but it also makes it moist too.

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Welcome Heidi Elyse Davidson ~ born 11-03-09

2009-11-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

Jim, Mandy, Cadence and Heidi Elyse! Cadence cracked me up when she stuck her tongue out. What a beautiful family! (click on pictures to enlarge)

Heidi Elyse: 8pds and 21 inches long

Doing what babies do.........Eat!

So precious!

Here she is happy and content and ready for a nap after filling her tummy!

Cadence crawled up in Heidi's crib, so of course I had to get some shots of her!

So cute!

Cadence doing what little girls do.........Monkey around!

I love this picture!

Cheese!

She is such a pretty little thing and I'm so excited to finally get some good shots of her. I've tried before, but she just doesn't sit still, so they're always blurry from her constantly moving. Whew! I finally captured her!

Skywatch Friday ~ Sunrise

2009-11-19T14:26:00.001-08:00

Today I'm sharing my favorite shots of this beautiful sunrise. I think I'm getting better at using manual mode....it's been fun practicing! ***(click on picture to enlarge) I love the bird flying over the cloud!

Canon Rebel XSi, Focal length 250.0 mm, Manual mode, Aperture f/22 + Shutter speed 1/500 + ISO 200

Aperture f/22, + Shutter sp 1/800 + ISO 200

Aperture f/22 + Shutter sp 1/3200 + ISO 200

Aperture f/22 + Shutter sp 1/4000 + ISO 100

Please hop on over to SkyWatch Friday and take a look at more beautiful skies all over the world.

More Sunrise Pics!

2009-11-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

These are just some more of my favorites! Oh and by the way, I forgot to mention in my previous post that these pics are straight out of the camera and have not been edited in photo shop.

Aperture f/22 + Shutter speed 1/200 + ISO 100 I love this shot!

I know I already posted a pic similar to this one, but I think the composition in this one is a little better. There were 2 jets that ruined a couple of my pictures that morning. (click picture to enlarge)

Sunrise Sneak Preview!

2009-11-16T23:00:00.000-08:00

This is just a sneak preview of some of the sunrise pics I took Nov. 14th. I really didn't want to post them until this Friday for SkyWatch friday, but I just couldn't stand it, so I decided to post some now. Don't worry, I saved the best ones for SWF, so sorry you have to wait to see them!

***click on the pictures to enlarge!

I love how this jet ruined my picture! (click on picture to enlarge)

Worship and Praise Sunday ~ One Life To Love

2009-11-15T15:07:00.000-08:00

***(don't forget to pause my music player in the right sidebar, before playing the video)

Today I'm sharing One Life To Love by 33 Miles!

This isn't exactly a worship song, but it's one of my favorites and it has a strong message that I think all of us need to be reminded of. "You only get just one time around, You only get one shot at this, Once chance to find out, The one thing that you don't wanna miss!" I always get choked up when I listen to this song because of the man who is dying and the woman who leaves her children.....it just breaks my heart. We only get "One ride, One try, One life.....to LOVE!"

Please hop on over to my friend Brittany's blog at SweetNothings, where she is hosting Worship and Praise Sunday and you can listen to more great songs. There you will also find instructions, if you would like to link up, to add your song/video.

If you would like to listen to all of the Worship and Praise videos I have shared thus far......scroll down to LABELS in my right sidebar and simply click on Worship and Praise Sunday or just click here.

Skywatch Friday ~ A Drive On The Beach!

2009-11-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

I've wanted to join SkyWatch Friday for some time now and I decided that today is the day! I'm not exactly sure if I'm supposed to post more than one picture or not, so please someone correct me, if I should only post one.

My husband and I took a drive on the beach recently and it was so beautiful that I just had to stop and take some pictures. The sky was lovely and the clouds were so cool in the last photo.

Please hop on over to SkyWatch Friday and take a look at beautiful skies all over the world.

Jumpin' Grasshoppers!

2009-11-10T19:18:00.000-08:00

We had hundreds of these grasshoppers jumpin' all over our yard this past summer, so of course you know, I just had to get some pics of them!
Love those little "bug eyes!"
They're fast little creatures, so it was a challenge to get some good shots. Unfortunately, they're just not into photo shoots!
But the biggest problem was this here "Camouflage Kitty" hiding out in the weeds. Do you see her? She looks like a sweet kitty doesn't she? HA! I think those poor little grasshoppers felt like they were in a Godzilla movie or something. Here they were....minding their own business.....and then.....Giant Godzilla Kitty would pounce on them and have them for lunch! Made it very difficult to take pictures....just as I would point my camera toward one, she would jump on it. I tell you, I felt like an accomplice to murder. It was so sad! *sniffle* Just so you know, I tried to fight off Godzilla Kitty the best I could and I saved many of their little lives. Hooray! Godzilla Kitty has been conquered!!!

Worship and Praise Sunday ~ I'd Need A Savior

2009-11-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

***(don't forget to pause my music player in the right sidebar, before playing the video)

Today I am sharing I'd Need A Savior by Among the Thirsty!

I hope that you will listen to this song all the way through because it is awesome! I will be singing it in church in the morning for the first time and I'm excited! However I do have a bit of a sore throat and feel as if I'm getting sick, so I'm just praying that my voice will hold out, until after I'm finished singing because I don't want anything to hinder the message of the song.

Please hop on over to my friend Brittany's blog at SweetNothings, where she is hosting Worship and Praise Sunday and you can listen to more great songs. There you will also find instructions, if you would like to link up, to add your song/video.

If you would like to listen to all of the Worship and Praise videos I have shared thus far......scroll down to LABELS in my right sidebar and simply click on Worship and Praise Sunday.

Stump Plant

2009-11-07T14:47:00.001-08:00

Manual mode
Aperture 2.8
Shutter Speed 1/320
ISO 800
Focal Length 50.0 mm
Canon Rebel XSi

This was taken at 5:31 pm in a shaded area, so I had to choose an open aperture, plus increase the ISO to let in enough light in order to get the correct exposure. This little plant growing out of the old stump caught my eye!

At Sunset!

2009-11-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite pictures....I just love it! Andy and I were driving home and decided to stop at one of my favorite little spots, so I could take some pictures. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I'm finally remembering to bring my camera along most of the time now.
Manual mode, f/22, shutter speed 1/12, ISO 200
Do you see that weird little glare in the clouds? I asked my teacher about it and this was her reply... It's sunflare. That is when light come directly into your camera...it happens a lot with sunsets and sunrises because your are pointing your camera to the sun. It's a reflection of light on the glass in your lens.

If you use a lens hood, or even hold your hand slightly above the camera in the direction of the light you can block it.

Everything else in the image looks great! Do you have elements or photoshop? You can clone it out!
Manual mode, f/22 + 1/100 + ISO 400
The clouds were so cool!
Manual mode, f/22 + 1/12 + ISO 200
I love the clouds in this picture also and the sun setting behind the clouds was gorgeous! One thing I should mention to those of you who are learning as I am.....I should have had a shutter speed of at least 1/60 to prevent camera shake, since I was hand holding. I was sitting indian style and propping my elbows on my knees to keep my camera steady and I just got lucky. It's best to use a tripod if you're going to use a shutter speed less than 1/60. What I should have done was increased my ISO to 400, so I could have increased my shutter speed like I did in the photo above this one. Another note: If you increase your ISO that lets more light in and your picture will be lighter, so you will need to underexpose a bit to get it true to color and not lose those beautiful colors of the sunset. When you are metering....just play around with the exposure and try -1 or somewhere between -1 and -2 and you will see what I mean.

Lesson 6 : Composition ~ Hannah!

2009-11-04T17:23:00.000-08:00

Lesson 6: Composition

Canon Rebel XSi, Focal Length 50.0 mm, Manual mode, f/4.0, Shutter Speed 1/320, ISO 400, Composition- Leading Lines.
The leading lines of the Pigeon steps lead you directly to my subject, while the line of the cement wall also creates a straight line to my subject. (I think I could have tilted my camera a little more.) I also tried to place her eye line across the top third line of the photograph!

*** Here are mine and my teacher's comments...
deje34 [Oct 19, 2009 at 03:47 AM]
This wasn't the best time of day to take this photo (4:00 PM), while the sun was still out, but I waited several days for a break from the rain and was lucky enough to get an hour where the sun came out. By the time I picked up my friend's daughter I had about 20 minutes to get some shots of her. This was a shady spot, but I'm not happy with how bright the right side of her face is. When I tried lowering the ISO, it created shadow on the left side of her face.....what could I have done about this?

candice*stringham [Nov 03, 2009 at 11:42 PM]
Debra- I think the lighting on her face is wonderful. She has great catchlights in her eyes, and the shadows fall softly on the right side. I don't think the left side is too bright at all- the shadows add depth so that she doesn't end up looking like a cardboard cutout. The overall composition shows a great use of leading lines, from the curving wall on the left to the tracks on the right. Very nice portrait.

deje34 [Nov 04, 2009 at 07:08 AM]
Candice thank you again for your comment! I'm still learning what a good portrait is supposed to look like and what lighting is good or bad. I still have a lot more to learn, but I'm getting there. I'm so glad that I got the composition right and I'm glad I captured a good portrait. Yay!!!

Lesson 5 ~ Owen Hillard....isn't he a cutie pie?

2009-11-03T23:13:00.000-08:00

Lesson 5: Indoor Lighting

Canon Rebel XSi, Manual, Aperture 1.8, Shutter Speed 1/50, ISO 400, AWB, Focal Length 50.0 mm
(I'm finally getting this picture uploaded....I had to swipe it off of the class gallery because my computer died with all of my pictures on it. I hated having to do it this way because every time you save a picture, you lose some of the quality, but I didn't have a choice and it still looks pretty good.)
***Here are mine and my teacher's comments:
deje34
Ok, well this isn't as sharp as I wanted it to be...for some reason now I'm thinking I remember someone saying to use f 5.6 for portraits, but not sure. I had trouble holding the camera still, so most of the shots were a little blurry. I took this at church this morning and had to use Auto White Balance because Tungsten turned the photo blue.

Candice, as you can see by my settings, I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to taking portraits, hence why I will be taking your portrait class! I locked the focal point on his right eye and I'm very disappointed that his whole face wasn't more in focus. What was I thinkin' choosing f/1.8? Ugh! Should I have chosen f/2.8 or even 4.0 ? I tend to choose a low aperture because I love the look of a blurred background, plus I wanted to let in more light, so I could lower the ISO for this photo. I do LOVE how I'm drawn right to his gorgeous eyes though! Is it ever ok to choose f/1.8 for closeups and is this pic still good?

candice*stringham [Oct 25, 2009 at 08:59 PM]
You are definitely on the right track Debra! You have beautiful catchlights in his eyes which adds "sparkle" to this photo. The settings you used are fine for portraits, but this also depends on what you are trying to accomplish. When you focus on an area you have a certain amount in front of and behind that point, known as the focal plane. The focal plane runs from side to side, so anything in that same plane will be in focus. When you use an open aperture, the depth of field (the area in front and behind the focal plane) is VERY small, sometimes less than an inch.

It looks like the sharpest area is on his sleeve and his eyes are slightly behind this area of focus. With the open aperture the depth of field is very small so the eyes are a tad less sharp than the sleeve. Notice how his forearm and ears are blurred- this is because they are either too far in front or behind that focal plane. When you use a more narrow aperture such as 4.0-5.6 you have a greater depth of field, meaning you have more room in front and in back of the focal plane. Next time try increasing the ISO indoors so that you can increase the exposure some without sacrificing the shutter speed, but remember you will need to use an open aperture since there is not much light in most rooms.

deje34
Candice, thank you for answering my question and continuing to teach me! I love that you explain things in a way that I totally understand and I GET IT! Thank you so much, for taking the time to help me!

Free Jessica Sprague Class! YAY!

2009-10-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

***(Click to enlarge!)
If you have Photoshop or Elements 7......I would highly recommend signing up for this free class. I will be signing up for it, even though my computer isn't fixed yet. Jessica's classes are usually self paced, and once you register you will have the lessons and videos forever, so if you're too busy at the moment you can still do the projects. Registration begins November 2nd, so Check it out....you won't be sorry! JessicaSprague.com

MIA because my computer died!

2009-10-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

Just thought I should mention why I have been MIA lately....it's because my computer died. Still don't know if it can be fixed yet! I'm just hoping that I haven't lost all of my pictures. Somehow I had a feeling this was going to happen and I even mentioned to my husband, that I needed to back up my photos, but just didn't get it done in time. *sob sob* Ok, I'm not really crying....well at least not yet! Now if I lose all of my pictures....trust me I will be crying for real!!!

Hopefully, my computer will be fixed soon and I will be online and uploading pics to my blog again. This is driving me crazy!

Until then...

What Do You See?

2009-10-14T19:14:00.000-07:00

AV mode, f/5.6, Shutter Speed 1/25, ISO 200, Focal Length 250.0 mm

When you look at this photo, what do you see? I see an Olympic Swimmer getting ready to push off the wall and begin a race! Seriously, doesn't that look like a stick figure to you? This is a cool tree that I look at, every time I'm in my hot tub. The top was destroyed by hurricane winds a couple of years ago and I'm impressed that it's still standing, since about 50 other trees around it were either snapped off at the trunk or uprooted. While I was squatting down and zooming in on it from my back deck last night, the wind was blowing so hard I thought I was going to fall over. We are having a bit of stormy weather for sure!

Yesterday morning while I was in the hot tub doing my exercises, the wind dragged two of my lounge chairs across the deck and literally picked another chair up and tossed it in the yard and then picked up my terry cloth robe off a chair and tossed it into the hot tub with me. I love being in the hot tub when it's stormy out like that...it was quite fun!

I submitted this photo, into my class gallery, as one of my creative assignments!

Sunrise ~ October 11, 2009

2009-10-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Manual mode, f/22, shutter sp 0.5 sec, ISO 400, Focal Length 70.0 mm

f/22, shutter sp 0.3 sec, ISO 400, Focal Length 55.0 mm

I was running late Sunday morning, but couldn't help myself and just had to take some pics of the sunrise....the sky was so beautiful. I didn't have time to grab my tripod, so these aren't as sharp as they could have been, but I still think they turned out pretty good for my first attempt at getting a sunrise on manual mode. I had to underexpose when I metered to get the sky true to color.