June 30, 2011

For Thursday

Here is my submission for the Before and After Blog Hop at Pixel Perfect.

A Birthday Bash Cont.

This is a continuation of my previous post back on June 5th. These are Livvy's cousins. They are not my favorite pictures by any means. Can't put my finger on what it is that I'm just not happy with. I had to process the heck out of them since the SOOC shots weren't all that great to begin with. I did a lot of cropping. I wanted to post them anyway so that I could learn from them. I recently posted different pictures of Livvy's cousins and am much happier with those results! It's all good!

New Pics (Week 3) cont. again

A Wordless Wednesday

Can't think of a catchy post title...

Here is my submission for the Little Somethings Photo Challenge. It was difficult to choose only one Fave Photo from June but here it is. It's pretty simple, I know, but for some reason I just love it. I think it looks great in this vintage frame and matches well with her sun hat! You kind of wonder what she is looking down at.

New Pics (Week 3 cont.)

I took about 500 pictures this past weekend and chose my favorites to share below. It was a crazy weekend. My husband and I took Livvy to Laconia, Weirs Beach, to see his family. They have a summer place there. I was so excited to get out of the house but more importantly for Livvy to get out of the house. The rain had us inside for a good seven days and I'm pretty sure we were both going stir crazy! Even Sunday, the day we chose to drive up North, wasn't all that great out. It was very cloudy with only occasional breaks of sunshine. We put our faith in these breaks of sunshine and decided to head up North anyway. We arrived late morning and it was still cloudy and definitely not warm enough to take the kids down to the beach. The water in the lakes region was always super cold even on a hot and humid day. Since it wasn't raining we did, however, get to enjoy the outdoors and breath in the fresh air. Our patience eventually took us into mid-afternoon where the sun began to shine through. Not only did the sun come out but the temperature seemed to have changed drastically. It went from being almost raw outside to heat and humidity and we found ourselves becoming hot and sticky. The lake seemed like the perfect remedy. Initially I didn't bring my camera down to the beach as I wanted to enjoy the water and not have to worry about it being stolen, getting wet, etc., but I couldn't let this opportunity pass. I clicked away at almost everything, but mostly, of the hubby holding Livvy and just family in general! Once the clicking started, I was unable to stop. I took pictures of almost everything!

I had to break this post into sections so that it didn't just seem like a bunch of randomness.

New Pics (Week 3)

Woo hoo I'm excited to share some new pictures! I was out all weekend with the view finder glued to my eye. Well, you would have thought it was glued. I came out from behind it only when absolutely necessary which was to eat a watermelon twizzler and some of my mother-in-laws stuffed cabbage and in that order too! My submission for Quotography Summer at {My} Perspective is below.

Finally Friday!

This is my submission for the photo challenge at Project Alicia. Can you guess the theme? Nope it's not cute. and it's not adorable. It's not gorgeous. Okay, okay it's YELLOW.

New Pics (Week 2 cont.) again

More pictures to add to my collection. Unfortunately I had to use a flash on some of these shots because, again, it is dark, dreary, and raining over here. Who needs the sun anyway? I sure don't. Alivia brightens my days! She's all I need.

Over the hump and on to Thursday

Here is my submission for the Before & After Blog Hop at Pixel Perfect and Texture Thursday at The Daily Wyatt.

My SOOC picture settings are:

Shutter Speed: 40

ISO: 400

Aperture: F6.3

No Flash

New Pics (Week 2 cont.)

In addition to this being my post for New Pics (Week 2 cont.), I figured I'd include all my submissions for Wednesdays photo challenges as well.

So first things first. Here are more NEW Pics for Week 2! For the shots of Alivia, I had to up my ISO to 800 due to the time of day I took them and being that it was cloudy. To remove some of the noise, I used an airbrush tool on parts of her face where it was more noticeable. This seemed to get rid of the graininess. Out of 200 pictures, clear ones were few and far between. I had to keep my shutter speed low to let in the light I was lacking which I'm sure you know is quite a challenge with a moving baby. In an effort to keep her still and looking up, I played with one of her noise making toys in the air at camera level. I was surprised at how well it worked, although I had to keep changing the toy so she wouldn't get bored :o) Ahhh kids, you gotta love 'em!

Is my word verification off?

Before I go into my submissions for Tuesday's photo challenges, can someone confirm that I did turn off my word verification? It really is a headache.

This is my submission for Touch Up Tuesday at Paper Heart Camera. For this edit, all I did was adjust exposure and brighten eyes. Because her nose tends to photograph orangy-yellow, I used a blush tool to recolor and then touched up any blemishes.

New Pics (Week 2)

My submission for Quotography at {My} Perspective. The theme is HAPPINESS.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday!

Woo Hoo, I've been dying to participate in Scavenger Hunt Sunday over at Ramblings and Photos but I never have pictures to fit all 5 themes! This week, however, I did and am excited to share them with you! I've had this email drafted since the 14th!

New Pics (Week 1 cont.)

This is a continuation of my New Pics (Week 1) post.

Yes more pictures of my baby! The first one is blurry, I know, but I loved it anyway. When I brightened her eyes it seemed to sharpen the picture a bit which was great! She looks like a little doll here. I just want to pick her up and squeeze her. I can't get enough!

Saturday's This and That

This is my submission for the Photo Challenge at The Paper Mama. The theme is parenthood:

This is my Alivia and her daddy looking out the kitchen slider.

I love that she is wearing her "I'm Daddy's Girl" shirt too!

TGIF!

This is my submission for Fabulous Friday over at Mcdougall Photography. I loved the emotion in this. This was right after her lunch and my baby was super exhausted. When the rubbin' of the eyes start, you know it's time for a nap!

My Show {off}

This is my submission for the photo challenge at and then, she {Snapped}. It's one of my favorite pictures! I took it later in the day so the light wasn't at its brightest. With that being said, and in order to avoid using a flash, I had to up my ISO to let in more light. My shutter speed was only at 60 which was super low for trying to capture a moving baby with ants in her pants :o) When I tried to up it, the picture got too dark. The aperture was set at 3.5. This is my edited version since my SOOC shot was still a tad dark. My original composition, although still good, was completely changed in this edited version. Her face was so beautiful I decided to crop it and make it a close-up. After I adjusted the exposure and colors, I softened her hair a bit and added a bokehlicious dancing light action that I purchased at Paint the Moon. I could get lost in my baby's eyes! I never get sick of looking at this one! Hope you all like it!

Submissions for Thursday (okay and one for Wednesday)!

My submission for the Edit Me Photo Challenge at My Reflection of Something.

New Pics (Week 1)

I have to remind myself why I really started this photo blog. I needed a place that would hold all my pictures and notes so that I could look back to see my progression as I journeyed through my new found interest, photography! My goal is to take new pictures on a weekly basis and post them for my own review and reference. I will title these posts New Pics (Week X) and use the label 'new' to locate these posts easily. These posts will also serve as a central location for me to refer when making submissions to photo challenges. I feel I should structure these posts in a certain way to remain consistent and organized throughout my click, click, clicking ventures. I may, from time to time, share my before & afters to keep record of my picture taking progression and editing style changes. Camera settings are an entirely different story. I think it would take me too long to note camera settings as they tend to differ from picture to picture. I do, however, find comfort in knowing I can always refer to the properties of my computer image files for this information! I may make notes or share some resources that I stumbled upon that week. Although I say these posts are for me, don't be fooled! Everyone loves visitors, but more importantly comments! Feel free to tune in however often you'd like! Oh and if I don't get a chance to say it, "Thank You in advance for visiting my site!" I truly appreciate your interest.

Wordless on a Wednesday

1. Submission for Wordless Wednesday at Faith Hope & a whole lotta Love.

New for the 4th

Here is my submission for the Simplicity photo challenge. The theme is NEW. I just took this picture yesterday of Alivia's new 4th of July dress that her Auntie Lola bought her. Though I didn't get a picture, there is a hat that goes with it. Can't wait to see my cutie in it! It is hanging from the hardware on my staircase. Hey whatever works right? I have some great light in this spot and am always trying to avoid using a flash. I just love using natural light! I added the texture in PhotoShop Elements but it was purchased from Paint the Moon if anyone is interested.

I feel the need to share

I love Touch Up Tuesdays at Paper Heart Camera almost as much as I love this picture! This is my baby just a little under exposed :o( After adjusting the exposure, using an eye brightening tool, and removing the lines under her eyes in Picnik, I added a Dancing Light action and cool texture that I purchased from Paint the Moon. I love that the textures I purchased came with an action to remove texture off the skin. It's absolutely brilliant and I'm sure I'll master the technique with a little practice. Not too shabby for my first time applying textures in PhotoShop Elements though!

Another day, another challenge...

This is my submission for the "Your best shot of a child" photo challenge over at The Paper Mama.

MAC-A-DOODLE-DOO!

I had one of my best friends over today and she has a 2 year old little girl named Mackenzie. Well she'll be 2 years in another month! She is the cutest little red head you ever did see. She has beautiful pale angelic-like skin and her eyes, well, speak for themselves! Thanks to Auntie Nancy Pants and Uncle Erik for letting me post these on my site!

Just a little yellow...

Little Somethings photo challenge theme this week is little.

Nothing better than little piggies.

A Reflection of Some Things

Okay, so I was a bit bummed I had no pictures to participate in this weeks theme for Theme Thursday at Another Day Another Diaper. The theme being REFLECTION. Yesterday, however, I got inspired and started clicking away around the house searching for anything and everything that produced or showed reflection. I wanted to share all of my reflection pictures since each one was so different, but I'm using the first one as my submission for the photo challenge. This is what I came up with:

Before & After Blog Hop

I'm a little bummed because I don't have pictures to fit the themes of many of the photo challenges going on today. I'll always have, however, a before and after shot. With that being said, here is my submission for the Before and After Blog Hop over at Pixel Perfect.

Wordful, Wordless, and Wordish?

Here are a few pictures for my Wordish, Wordless, and Wordful Wednesday submissions:

A Wednesday Photo Challenge

I love the photo this week for the Edit Me challenge at My Reflection of Something! I have two edits to share with you, but I've chosen the first edit to submit for this challenge.

I'm on a roll...

I've been pretty lucky the past few days. Livvy has been good and taking hour and a half naps in the mornings and afternoons. While she drifts off to la la land, I pick up my camera and start clicking away. Can't wait to actually get out of the house and take pictures. I have a trip to Cape Cod planned so I hope to have caught some great moments on camera. I need to mix it up a bit!

Baby Feet!

This submission is for The Paper Mama's Photo Challenge, the theme being FAMILY. I couldn't think of anything better than Livvy's baby feet being admired by her Daddy and Grandma. I didn't do much of an edit on this one other than adjusting the saturation.

Photo Challenges

My submission for Mellow Yellow Monday at http://www.mellowyellowmonday.blogspot.com/

Yes, the book underneath is Blogging for Dummies. What can I say?

Race against the clock!

Okay, I'm sort of racing against the clock! My husband and daughter are doing the food shopping and I've just finished editing some pictures I took today. I went crazy, took about 300 or something. Let's see if I can post them all before they come home.

A Birthday Bash

I actually got out of the house today. Livvy's cousin, Esterina, just turned 1! I took some pictures that came out great but out of respect for my sister-in-laws privacy I will not post them, at least until I get permission. I did, however, get a couple of Livvy's, well, piggies. As in "this little piggy went to the market". Her piggies are my favorite part. No her belly is. No her cheeks are. No, wait, her little chubby fingers are.

Around the neighborhood

You would think I haven't been outside before the way I was running around the neighborhood snapping random pictures! My mom was watching Livvy so I had a little time to myself. I need an entire weekend to really be able to capture some moments. I really want to plan this but I haven't figured out where I want to go yet. I also still need a zoom lens. My close-ups were taken with me almost on top of my subject.

Can you smell the tulips?

I don't usually shoot great pictures of flowers but I figured I'd participate in this photo challenge anyway. I didn't see anything about how many submissions you can make but when I checked other submissions it looks like only one, so here it goes:

Baby Food

So here is my next photo challenge! The theme is FOOD which is funny because I just posted these pictures to my site yesterday not knowing I was going to participate in these challenges. They couldn't have come at a better time!

An Aquired Taste...

Since I haven't been out in a few days to take new pictures, I've been working on edits to old photos. Some people would probably think these were way TOO edited, but they are growing on me. I'm lovin' the way my lips look in this picture!

The Wifey's Eye Shades

It's Another Day Another Diaper Theme Thursday Photo Challenge. This weeks theme is CELEBRATION. The picture below is my husband celebrating his first day off in 14 days. I woke up two mornings ago to find him wearing my eye shades. It was so early, I had to rub my eyes a few times to make sure I was seeing this correctly. Once confirmed, I had a good chuckle. Tired and all, I managed to get my bum out of bed to snap this special occasion. I hope it's a special occasion and doesn't become a habit (good grief)! If he knew I was posting it on my photo blog, he'd probably kill me.

Some Shots for Today

Yeah these are a little random, but I'm a stay-at-home mom who only has a few things in her house to work with. I edited, yet again, with http://www.picnik.com/ Hope you enjoy the before and afters.

Paper Heart Show & Tell: SELF PORTRAIT CHALLENGE

Here is my entry for the Paper Heart Show and Tell

This weeks theme is the SELF PORTRAIT CHALLENGE.

Photo Challenge: SIMPLE

I love the theme for this photography challenge which is SIMPLE. I have just the picture to submit for this.

Another Photo Challenge

Okay, so here is another photo challenge I chose to enter! These are fun!

The Challenge:

Your challenge? Take this already lovely photo and give it your own style. You can use any editing program you like. Crop, color, texture, quotes, effects, actions... anything you can come up with is fair game! Just make sure that you share a little bit about your process with us, so we can learn from each other!

And here are my edits made with http://www.picnik.com/:

- adjusted exposure

- adjusted saturation

- sharpened

- used a softening effect in the background

- brightened eyes

- used a vignette

- etc., etc., etc.

My first photo challenge!

This is my entry to the pixel perfect before & after blog hop

I'm very excited to share these with you! This picture is of my baby girl. It's one of my favorites! I'm loving the contrasting color of her turquoise tutu against the bright white of her surroundings. I did, however, choose to create a black and white also just to showcase her eyes and cheeks which I colored in.

The editing software I used is http://www.picnik.com/

My SOOC version picture settings are:
shutter speed: 1/500
aperture: f/3.5
ISO: 200
No flash used
focal length: 28mm

My Equipment:
The Canon Rebel T3i 600D 18MP

So here it goes: