Touch of Whimsy.....

Todays' challenge over at "Love that Shot" is "touch of Whimsy". While I was thinking about and digging through shots I could use, I came across this session I did with my eldest daughter.  Both of us had so much fun with it.  I  relished the thought of getting to edit them up again.  (At the time I was strictly a  Picasa girl)

It was a fun day for just us girls.  I sent her upstairs to choose what she was going to wear and down came "Alice in Wonderland"  Well.....at least what she would have looked like if her dress had been pink. (My girl is most definately a pink mink kinda girl.)

Outdoors we went and took over a 150 shots!  I had a hard time picking my favorites.  As any mother would attest to, it was like picking your favorite child!

But here are a few more I loved and I hope you like them as much as I do.

Local Flavor....Love That Shot!

I took this shot about a month ago we Mr. M and I were out exploring our new backyard.  Living in WY and having the Big Horn Mountains and Yellowstone National Park as your playground, inspiration abounds.

This shot is my first attempt at creating a panoramic shot from several frames.  One side gave me a bit of trouble as it was a bit under exposed.  But all in all I was really happy with the outcome of it. I have only been working with my PSE 9 program now for about 4 months now.  I can't imagine why it took me so long to get it... but boy I can't imagine life without it now!

Here is what I had to work with.

So what do think?  I love hearing feedback.  Take the time to head over to Love that Shot as well.  It is a great community for all photographers from beginners to pros.  I love their weekly challenges!

Fathers' Day

Thank you to all the MEN who helped raise, guide and love us.

Mr. M & "MagPie"

Fathers seldom say"I Love You",
though the feeling's always there.
But somehow those little words
are the hardest ones to share.

And Fathers say "I Love You"
in ways that words don't match.
With tender bedtime stories,

Mr. M and "Berry"

or a friendly game of catch
You can see the words
"I Love You"
In a father's boyish eyes
When he runs home,
 all excited
with a poorly wrapped surprise
A Father says I Love You
with his strong helping hands
with a smile when you're in trouble
with the way he understands
He says I Love You haltingly
and with awkward tenderness
(Its hard to help a four yr old into her party dress)
He speaks his love unselfishly
By giving all he can
To make a secret dream come true,

Mr. M and "George"

or follow through a plan.

A father's seldom spoken love,
Sounds clearly through the years-
Sometimes in peals of laughter,

Sometimes in happy tears.

Perhaps they have to speak their love
Ina fashion all their own.
Because the love that fathers feel
Is TOO big for words alone
   -Anonymous-

To Mr M.,
   My loving spouse and father of our children
 
To all 3 of my Dads,
     How blessed was I to have more than one!

    To my Brother,
       from whom I learned love has no boundries

        To my Uncles,
            Who showed me how to live life to the fullest!

The whole crew...minus me of course!

Love that Shot

Going out on a limb and entering a Link up contest with Love That Shot.  This is my favorite floral shot to date.  Shot this Peony with my baby, my Canon XSI. Here's hoping everyone likes it as much as I do.  As always i would love to hear what you think about it or how it makes you feel. : )

The Joy of Editing.....with Picasa!

You have the perfect spot.....you got everyone looking at the camera......the Heavens have aligned.... you press the shutter button and capture the PERFECT MOMENT!

Rapture!  It feels great, wonderful and exciting! You hurry home to show all your friends and family only to discover that something went awry.

AGGGGGGHHHHHH!

Well have no fear there are many photo editing programs and tricks that can help you salvage your precious capture. The good news is some of them are even FREE!

First let me find a example picture...

Our lovely model today is my very daughter  ; )

Okay you may be saying that there isn't a whole lot wrong with this picture, Right?

I have to tell you for the most part I would agree with you. She has a great expression and has a great sparkle in her eyes. But the evening we took this we had the most gorgeous light, color temperature is off and her face is just a bit darker than I would like it.  So lets see what we can do to fix it, shall we? 

One of my favorite FREE programs to use is Picasa. .Here's a link to get ya there.

  http://picasa.google.com

 Very beginner friendly and easy to use.  Good for basic fixes and has a good selection of "artistic" features.

First off I want to lighten her face and adjust the temperature (fancy way of saying color adjustment) of the overall picture.  Both of these are found under the tuning tab in Picasa. Okay lets see how that worked out for me......

OH That is much better!  Hmmm....I think it needs a little bit of sharpening, so lets do that next.  That is located under the effects tab.  Zoom in on your picture so you can get a really good look at what your are doing with this one. 

 The saying "if a little is good...more is better" DOES NOT apply here!  Too much sharpening can create what we photogs call "noise".  It's that funny speckling or pixelation that happens when you uber sharpen your photos.  Do just enough to bring all your details into a clean focus.  You will like you results a lot better if you do this.

From there we can start to have fun with it.  Add all sorts of effects, B/W, Sepia, Soft Focus so on and so forth.  Lets' see how she looks with some of those.

last picture was edited with Piknik a online editing program partner of Picasa

There a not so great picture saved!  So what are you waiting for?  Get brave, go put on your creative britches and start creating something special.  I would love to see what you all come up with.

Beautiful Butterflies!

Last fall I was witness to one of natures wonders.  The Great Monarch Migration!

Last September I had finished getting my kids onto the bus and was sitting down to enjoy my morning cup of joe when I noticed my Elm trees looked a bit odd.  It appeared that they were losing there leaves.  But they were not falling the right way.  So I walked out my back door and wandered over to have a look.  About halfway there I realized just what I was witnessing.

 I slowly turned not wanting to disturb them and scrambled back to the house to grab my camera.  I was so excited I had never experienced anything like this outside of enclosed butterfly garden at the Minnesota State Zoo. They were everywhere!  I must have had over 300 of these guys and gals resting and refreshing themselves in my trees and grass.  At one time I had them in my hair and all over my arms and legs.  For over an hour I was in a wonderland.  To soon they had warmed up and were on to the next lag of their trip.  And within a minute my yard was totally devoid of butterflies. 

WOOOOOOOW!  It took my breath away!
 Every year these beautiful creatures make a 2500 mile migration.  Taking the same path to the same exact trees down in Mexico.

The miracle of this journey is that it takes 14 generations to make the trip!  How in the world do they know the exact way to go?  It confounds me and makes me smile all at the same time.


For more info on these natural miracles go check out these sites

http://www.monarch-butterfly.com/



http://www.monarchbutterflyusa.com/Migration.htm

Master Monarch

Butterfly leaves

Behind the HomeSpun Motto

A lot of you have seen or read my studio's motto "Making today's moments...Into tomorrow's memories".  Few know the story behind it.

I am a stay at home mom of four very different and unique children ranging in age from 10 to 4 1/2.  Two boys and two girls.  Luckily for the girls they have two brothers, one younger and one older, to watch out for them. (Although they may not always appreciate it.)  My eldest is where my motto stems from.

20 months

Mr M. and I had been trying for over two years and suffered two miscarriages before our eldest came along. I held my breath until that magical three month mark came along.  And other than EXTREME morning sickness (I.V.'s were required) this pregnancy went just as all the books and magazines said it should.  And in late June I gave birth to a very healthy (8 lbs and 12 1/2 oz.) and normal (whats normal anyway) baby boy.

Everything was going along just swimmingly when we began to notice that he was just not keeping up with other boys his age.  At his pediatrician check ups I was told not to worry about it.  All kids mature at different rates.  This held small comfort as my son continued to not  meet those milestones.  He was also starting to "pull away" from being held.  His eye contact was falling off to the wayside. That maternal gut instinct told me something was not right despite what our doctor tried to tell us.

A priceless gem

In short I had him tested and a thought that had been nagging in the back of my mind was confirmed. As every new mother will tell you they think their child is the absolute most perfect child on the face of the earth. There are very few things that will dissuade them from that particular train of thought.  I was dealt such a hand. My  firstborn, my angel, my sweet baby boy  was autistic. Total BOMBSHELL!  I was in total shock.  And I still had to go home and explain it to Mr M who was at work and unable to come to his diagnosis meeting.  Mr M. did not react well with this.

There is a magical connection between men and their firstborn sons.  It is their greatest achievement in some ways.  Going all the way back to Cavemen days.  They have this "Look at what I have created" bravado and mentality.  My line is strong and will go on.  Hearing there was a defect in his progeny was a bit much for his ego to take.  And in response it took many years before he would even admit that our son was "autistic"

Easter 2003

  At the time they couldn't tell us the severity of his autism.  They needed to see how he progressed in the next few months.  He was then enrolled in an Early Childhood Special Education program at the age of 18 months.  He was eventually found to be in the high functioning category of autism. One in every 110 children is diagnosed with a form of Autism. (That is more cases than the people who ACTUALLY get the chicken pox!) He is among the many children being diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. He continues to struggle with it but is making leaps & strides toward what society precieves as "Normal".  To us he is who he always has been.  Priceless beyond measure. ( But I am his mother and to me he IS my perfect angel.  So you could say I am a bit biased on the subject.)

We learned early on to treasure the moments where he would actually let us snuggle with him.  Usually between fits of flaring temper tantrums and unresponsiveness. And it was HEAVEN when he would smile and laugh.  Occasionally I was able to capture these rare moments on film.  And while those pictures may not be the picture perfect studio portraits we all have hanging on our walls, they are more precious to me than any of the others are.

Interacting with his sibling brings me to tears some days

My quirky boy in his own lil world

He turns eleven this month.....sigh. : )

We just never know what life will bring us tomorrow.  Capture a moment TODAY and preserve the memory it WILL be for you TOMORROW!

Backyard Beauty

We so often travel to far away destinations in hopes to glimpse exotic beauty.  But when was the last time you meandered through your own neighborhood or town?  We can become immune to the things we see everyday.  Instead of taking the same ole route when you go for your daily walk/run, take a new alternate one.  Take a moment to look at the world around you.  You never know what hidden treasure you may spot.
  So stop,

     take a deep breath,

          and look around you with new a perspective.

All of these photos were found within 100 yards of my own home.  Rediscover the wonder of your own backyard.  Beauty is everywhere if you only take the time to look for it.

Happy failures.....

It's absolutely gorgeous!
     You captured them perfectly.
            I wouldn't change a thing!

Those words are what drive photographers to capture pure moments that define who our clients are and what they represent.  It is a euphoric experience every single time we hear our clients gush about the images we captured.

With that said, let me tell you that sessions do not always go as planned.  We have our off days too.  Cranky kids, shy introverted adults, families that are stiff and awkward from the moment the camera comes out. Bad weather, lack of inspiration.....really the list can really get long REALLY fast. So what's a girl to do when you just got nothing?  From some of my worst  most challenging sessions have come some of my treasured memories.  I am gonna share a few gems of these with you all today.

 First up is my own dear son. After we moved to Sheridan I was artistically lost.  The outdoors is my studio so I had to scope out the joint before I could even consider finding clients. We FINALLY had a nice over cast day that were just perfect for taking some shots. So this is where my littlest man comes into the picture. I got him dressed and out we went to the places I thought had potential.  I was totally stoked.  I was going to get back in the saddle and get the ball rolling again.

 I probably should have asked him if he was up to it first    : ) Hind sight is 20/20 as they say.  But if I had I wouldn't have captured these.  Now while I wont be hanging this in my home anytime soon (well....maybe) they DO capture the spirit of my lil Imp.

Next up is the bad weather category.  Specifically group shots during a Tornado Watch.  Why not just reschedule you ask?  Well this particular group was a band of guys who all had day jobs and rescheduling would have been a nightmare!  SO out we went humidity, wind and well crummy weather be darned.  This was a wild bunch of guys.  Just an absolute joy to be around.  But trying to get them in any specific pose.....FORGET IT!  They were so animated and funny I could just follow them around and capture them being the big goofs they are.

Families can be a challenge.  Especially when young children are involved.  You must be quick and have a plan.  But even when you have a plan the session is at the mercy of the youngest member.  Before I left MinnesotaI had an chance to photograph my pastors' small intimate family.  His wife was a part of my MOPS group and a very dear friend.  I had taken their sons' photos before so I didn't for see any hiccups. HA HA HA! Live and learn.  He decided that he was just not going to sit at all. Where as in his previous session that was all he would do.  He if had cooperated whose to say if I would have "found" these treasured moments.

This whole session I worried about if I had any shots that they would like.  But I have never been one to back down from a challenge, so once I got back to the office I got to work.  Let me just say that photo editing is just as important a tool to setting moods as setting up the shot before you snap it. With a few tweaks I was able to create an familial intimacy to the session despite having taken these shots right in the middle of town.

So were these photos failures?  At the time I may have thought so.  But they envelope certain successes that have helped me grow into the photographer I am today.  And I could be nothing other than grateful for these happy failures.  They are priceless in their own right.  What happy failures have you had?

Sleepy Sighs and Lullaby's.....

Newborn Photography as a whole is relatively new in the photography world.  Sure it was always there, kinda lurking and hanging around in the background.  But it has only recently found its legs and taken off running. I mean what parent doesnt want those sweet, sleepy and all squished up photos of their precious darlings?

The newborn phase passes so quickly.   On average the time you have to capture this phase is between 5-10 days old.  They are still so sleepy and supple you can almost tie them in knots.  But there seems to be a switch that flips soon after the ten day mark.  They get more alert and sensitive to their surroundings.  That super duper deep sleep is a thing of the past.  Now there is an exception to every rule.  Boys tend take a bit longer to rouse from this phase than girls do.  And some babies are just bright eyed and bushy tailed straight from the get go.

I met one said exception to the rule I stated above. She was my very FIRST newborn session! Miss Stella Rose.  She was just a wee peanut too, weighing in at a mere 6 lbs!  I had first met her mother at our local library and gave her my business card.  Hoping beyond hope I could get my hands on this lil sweetie!  A couple days later she called me up and accepted my offer.  Now the real work began.  Finding the props and necessities for capturing some darling memories. Surfing for inspiration, finding courage and faith that I could do what I had promised. I worried that she was going to be about 3 weeks old by the time her session came around.

So as you can imagine I had nerves a plenty the day her session came. Self doubt can plague even the stoutest of artistic hearts. I am no exception!  But I soon found my stride and got to work.  Patience is vital when photographing newborns.  Both for the baby and the parents.  There are diaper changes, feeding, crying, calming, rocking etc..... The list goes on and on.  But with perseverance magic happens.

Well....hello there!

Spring.....no scratch that, SUMMER has finally arrived!  And with all this wonderful weather a new arrival seems to have adopted our family.

About a week ago Mr M and I noticed a dog that had just "appeared" at the vacant house next door to us.  It was very timid and took off like a light whenever anyone tried to approach.  A slight woof as a warning as it tucked tail and boogied off somewhere.  We noticed that it hung around this house no matter how many times it went and hide from us.

Well we warned the kids about the dog and under no condition were they to try and pet/play with the "puppy".  A neighbor and I put feelers out thinking that maybe she was just lost and waiting for his/her owner to return.  But we both had concerns that the owner would not be returning for it.  No one we asked had recognized it or remembered seeing anyone with it.  My neighbor called the shelters, made a craigslist listing, and called a local call in radio show in attempts to locate its' owner. I employed my zoom lens and caught a few pictures of it.  Then made fliers and called local vets hoping that one of them would recognize her/him.  All of our efforts have been absolutely fruitless.

Evidently it had had enough of our pestering and just gave in.  Sunday brought a break thru with this skittish critter.  After returning from church our nervous friend kept edging toward the kids and I.  So being a protective mother hen I sent the kiddos indoors.  Still nervous to anyone approaching I sat myself down and waited for it to get the courage up and approach me.  Took about 40 min. but trust was finally built up between us. She belly crawled up to me and immediately rolled over.  She has not left my side since.

Daisy Mae

She has shown no aggressiveness around food, the kids and with only an occasional woof at passing pedestrians.   She is just a really sweet and loving dog. We are still trying to locate her owners but may consider keeping her if we fail to. Oh and the kids have taken to calling her  DAISY MAE

Til next time

Wyoming Welcomes You!

First off and foremost I believe in "The Big Guy". He and I, we are bestest buds. We talk everyday and about everything under the sun.  Sometimes in weak spiritual moments I have even foolishly asked for the trivial things in life.  MY plans, wants and desires of an earthly bound life.  And I am of the firm belief that if you want to hear him laugh, well then, you just go ahead and tell him your plans.  Boy has he had a few good belly laughs at my expense.  The most recent one involves our families latest move to the great state of Wyoming.  Do you sense a story coming on?

We were living in Minnesota.  Enjoying the land of 1000 Lakes.  I had started my business (after much coaxing and gentle prodding of Mr. M and other family members) and had just broken out of my "circle of friends" clients.  So, in other words I wasn't begging my close friends and family to let me take their portraits anymore. I actually had people seeking me out. SCORE!

So come around October of last year Mr M. came home and told me he had been promoted. My excitement for this was short lived when he also informed me that this promotion came with a move to WYOMING! And he would need to report to work November 3rd.  Which was in 2 short weeks.

WHAT?!  See told you GOD has an awesome sense of humor.  : )

SO......as we had little time to prepare for this move it was decided that Mr M. would go ahead of us.  On his days off from work he would scout out a new rental to live in.  I mean honestly, how long could it really take? Hearing any laughter yet? It would take another FOUR MONTHS before he located suitable housing for our family of six that was within our budget.

They were VERY long months with Mr M. being gone for roughly 3 weeks at a time.  Me at home trying to pack, prepare kids for the move, and finalizing all my previous clients edits/orders. I was really doubting if this was the move we had hoped it would be. 

 Don't get me wrong....We as a family always wanted to end up in Southern Montana or Northern Wyoming. My family hails from Washington state while Mr M's is from Minnesota.  We wanted a happy meeting in the middle place to ground ourselves.  Nothing like driving 1500 miles with four kids in a non air conditioned vehicle.  FUN RIGHT! It just felt like to me that the timing was all wrong for this move.  But once again that was my foolish plan not HIS.

In the three months we have now been in WY we have managed to get "unpacked" and settled into a routine for the most part.  We take it a day at a time round here.  The family has ventured out into our new city and discovered some hidden jewels. (Easy to do when the Big Horn Mountains & Yellowstone are your new back yard.)   I hope to begin actively seeking clients again here real soon now that the weather has begun to cooperate with me.

Til next time enjoy one of the jewels I found!