Sunsets and Fireworks

I know I have been MIA but I have a really good reason, honestly I do. I'll share more with you later once I start feeling a bit better. Major milestone today though, I downloaded pictures from my camera that go all the way back to th 4th of July. I even did a bit of editting, major accomplishment for me! I know you may be sick of fireworks but I think you'll like these. ENJOY!

Sunday Scavenger Hunt [06-19-2011]

It's Sunday and that means it's time to share your shots from this week's Scavenger Hunt.

Let's hop right to it. Enjoy.

Emotion

From a Flower's Point of View

Natural Form

Letters

Bliss

I hope you enjoyed the hunt. Let's see what Ashley comes up with for next week!

My Macro Photography Excursion

On Saturday I went to a state park along Lake Michigan for a macro photography excursion with my local camera club. My favorite macro instructor Lou was there to guide us and I was eager to soak up even more of his macro wisdom. It was unseasonably cool on Saturday morning and it was overcast which actually made for the perfect conditions to shoot macro in. The dew stayed on the plants the entire time we were there which made for some great shooting. As you can probably tell, I was stoked about shooting macro but then the evil camera shake thanks to my hunk of junk tripod ruined my day. I took about 250 pictures and only a handful are something I would share with you. While showing my husband my downloads, he said "did you get any that turned out?!" - thanks honey, that's going to cost you a new tripod and ballhead! Seriously, if you don't have a good tripod you are fighting a losing battle and let's just say that I lost. The shoot wasn't a complete loss, I learned a lot and got a few good shots. Here's a few that I haven't already shared with you. Be gentle with me, remember I went to battle with my tripod....

The photo above is out of focus (thanks camera shake) but I like the composition so I decided to share it anyways.  

 In addition to the beautiful wildflowers, we had two deer that decided to pay us visit.

This one I honestly heard growl at me...yes a deer, I honestly heard a growl.

I also couldn't resist the opportunity to take a photo of the group while they were working their magic.

There is a whole lot of kneeling going on and next time someone says "bring knee pads", I'm going to listen to them and throw fashion out the window for the time being. I thought I wasn't ever going to feel my poor knee caps again. I am heading to the Home Depot this weekend to get a pair and while my hubby is away for the weekend, I'm going to order that new tripod and ballhead. He'll never say "did you get any good shots" again...LOL

Scavenger Hunt Sunday [06-12-2011]

Life has been very busy but I've managed to spend some time with my best buddy - my camera! While I didn't hit these prompts "out of the ballpark", I did take them all this week - baby steps....

I did on the other hand go to the Cardinals vs. Brewers baseball game in Milwaukee and unfortunately the wrong team won! Boo who.....my hubby is still pouting, he really is. I enjoyed snapping pictures.

Without further ado, let's start the hunt.

Long Exposure

I went on a macro photo excursion at a state Beach Park this morning and afterwards decided to get creative with exposure at the beach. Yes, it's overexposed but I love the look.

Shapes

I had a million ideas for shapes but decided I liked the squares and triangles that you see here from the dome roof at Brewer Stadium.  

Green

Gosh, I couldn't pick just one since I took about 300 green pictures this weekend.

I demonstrated constraint and am showing you only 2.



Fruit

This is a bit of a stretch but I think these wildflowers are "fruit" to all of the animals.

I know LAME, but give me a pass on this one. [thanks]

I did however have 2 deer run right in front me while on the trails. One started snorting at me, really it honestly sounded like snort. I just snapped away and they eventually started eating and ignored me.

Childhood Memory

We didn't travel a lot as kids but I do have fond memories of going to Brewer and Cubs games as a kid. Too bad I couldn't dare cheer for either team anymore given I married a die-hard Cardinals fan.

This picture is our friend's son, Ryan, he takes his baseball and the national anthem very seriously.

Despite the loss, it was a great game, and a fun evening at the stadium. No cotton candy but it brings back fond memories indeed.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday [06-05-2011]

I've been a bit of a scavenger hunt slacker but trust me, I've been taking lots of pictures!!! I am still recovering from my Me Ra Koh photography workshop and editing the beautiful pictures that I was forced able to take in the worst lighting conditions possible. Despite my lack of time this week I was determined to participate....with the help of my pictures taken in the last month! Cheating maybe, but this is all about enhancing our photography skills and pulling our cameras which I've done. So here we go on another hunt.

Hot, Hot, Hot

my futures so bright that I gotta wear shades.

Finding Form

even in places you are not "technically" allowed to shoot.

Front Page of the News

or a Magazine Cover. This is a headshot I took of my friend Erica from my workshop. She was beautiful to photograph which made it so very easy. I even learned how to use my external flash which I used here. I'm in LOVE with my flash now. Wanna know the secret, send me a comment and I'll share. It works every time!

Chore

My dad is retired but always seems to be working or doing chores for others. Here he is filling up the backhoe so that he could help to dig out the foundation for my brothers new garage.

Beads

or sprinkles, they are oh so beautiful and delicious. This was my first cake pops attempt and I was surprised by how delicious they were. However they are a labor of love!

Sweet, Sweet Zara

It's People's Choice at I Heart Faces, as well as Sweet Shot Tuesday, and I sure shot a lot of sweet faces this past weekend at Me Ra Koh's Confidence Workshop! I am bursting with inspiration, confidence, and lots of dreams after 2 solid days and look forward to sharing more with all of you soon. In the meantime, here is one of my favorite shots.



Building my Photography Confidence

I can't believe in 3 short days I will be meeting MeRa Koh and attending her Confidence Photography Workshop in Chicago! I did a whole lot of begging to get my husband on board but I know he'll be happy in the end because I'll be so much more confident as a photographer and a woman. If you are not familiar with MeRa, I encourage you to visit her blog. She is a regular on the Nate Berkus show and she's also had her work featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show. [Sidebar - sniff, sniff - I will miss watching her show everyday, I literally grew up watching the show]. I will be attending the workshop with 25 uber talented women and I look forward to learning so much from them too.

If you are looking for a great photography book on taking pictures of babies, you'll definitely want to purchase MeRa's best selling book, Your Baby in Pictures. I really love the book and I think it's a great book for any new parents even if they are using a point and shoot. And yes, I am going to be that nerd that gets my copy autographed!

I'll share much much more when I get back on Monday! In the meantime, keep snapping away.

I Heart Faces - Flowers

This week I thought I would try out a new photo challenge through I Heart Faces and it turns out that this week the challenge is "flowers" - my favorite! Who doesn't love a beautiful picture of flowers?! This picture was captured at the Conservatory at the Lincoln Park Zoo and I just love it. Let's see if she is a winner. It's also SOOC - do I get bonus points for that?

Scavenger Hunt Sunday [05-15-2011]

Running a little behind with getting my post up and ready so let's hop right to it this week.

Here we go on another scavenger hunt.

Bring me Flowers

or dandelions if you are a 4 year old that doesn't know the difference.

Here's my niece giving my mom some "flowers" from the yard.



Visual Contrast



Friendship

with Brooke is something I treasure dearly.

BTW - the reflection from the "bean" is making my thighs appear larger than they really are - honestly!

Dark

What beautiful shots of Buckingham Fountain after dark. And if you don't have a tripod with you don't worry, grab a garbage can nearby, it does wonders!



Before and After - well let's save that one for another hunt shall we?

Scavenger Hunt Sunday [5-8-2011]

This past week I went on a photo excursion to Chicago with my dear friend Brooke from My [Boys]terous Life and we had an absolute blast! We went to so many places that I lost track but I have my 966 pictures to remind me of all of the wonderful places we went to that day. Ouchy.....I also had an aching body to remind me off all of the walking, squatting, and running around that we did. I was WIPED out to say the least but the pictures I captured were truly worth it.

SOOC

or Straight Out of Camera for you non-photo type.

Easy peasy....that's how I like to roll. Photoshop is evil, yup I said it out loud.

This was my favorite capture of the day and I think it's just perfect.

This was taken at the conservatory at the zoo and despite the very warm temps it was totally worth it.

Sprouting

Took a million pictures for this and here are my 2 favorite. Sorry I couldn't pick just one.

 The city of Chicago did a beautiful job of making the area around Millennium Park so beautiful.

Isn't it Ironic

that my husband spent his birthday on Saturday at a play house for my niece's 2nd birthday?!

He's a kid at heart which is one of the things I love about him.

Lazy

Something I definitely haven't been lately but the animals at the zoo sure were.

My ape buddy just sat there chewing away on those sticks all morning. This is how I plan on spending my Sunday morning this week, sitting around doing nothing but munching on some good food.

 I couldn't forget about him, this is the definition of lazy, don't you think?

BTW, their horns are made of hair not bone. Good to know right?

Smells like Spring

at Millennium Park when you have beautiful tulips and trees blooming all around you.

Isn't this just breathtaking?! I took a lot of pictures here and I'm sure you'll see more soon.

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