Babies are growing up

  Ohhhh, remember the teensy tiny baby Angel Fish? 
Thank you for pretending to care and that you could actually see anything!!! 
I just looked at that picture and realized how ridiculous it was to try to even get you to see those fish that day. 
Oh well.
I know though that you can see these guys today!
Okay, so to start with here is the momma again so you can remember, and will you just look at how her babies have grown??!!??
There were two with a yellow tint to them, maybe tending to be albino???
We shall see.
The other 13, (no I didn't count, I just took my friends word for it) have the tell tale stripes of their parental lineage.

Can I just tell you that I am completely grossed out by being able to see through them. 
Blech!

 But intrigued as well.

Gotta tell you, chasing around these fish on completely manual focus is not for the faint of heart or impatient.
My lens chooses to only focus on the glass, so trying to spin it about and follow these darting beauties was some feat!!  I know these are no awarding winning shots, but they sure tickled my friend...so that makes em good enough for today.

because I had to

Ugghhh, today was one of those days when I did not have any desire to pick up my camera.
But, you know I did it anyway.

Luckily the sun was at least being gracious as I set out into the backyard in search of inspiration.

This is a lima bean plant.
Ick!  My daughter brought it home either from church or school in a styrofoam cup.
If is flourishing.
Blech...who likes those thingsanyway??

This is a new branch? Frond? Leaf?
Hmmmm don't rightly know what to call it...it is the Sago palm at any rate.
Love those gorgeous curls.

I was really hoping at least Shelby would help me with picture time today. 
I asked her...."Hey Shelby, wanna take a picture?"

Shelby???


Shelbster..please??

Then she took off running to bark at our neighbors, which is never really appreciated.

Wow, look at those bulging puggy, chihuahua buggy eyes.

They are part of her charm!!

As is her adorable grin. 
She is a good dog.

BUT, she did refuse to sit for a picture just like all the rest of the losers people around here. 
ahhhh ha ha, joking.  I really just wanted to use the super cool strike it out button on this new design page!
Here is hoping for a better picture taking day tomorrow.
later, me

 

Let me explain

 Have you ever had a photographer take an unimaginable number of photos of your little munchkin and then present you with only a handful??? 

Let me explain what happens from snapping time to when you get to see the final images.
I think there is a bit of a mystery involved there.

I have this little doll to thank for posing for me today, and giving me this excellent set of examples to work from.

This is my process, others may do it differently, but I can't speak for them...obviously!! 

I see something!
It reaches out and touches me and I immediately tell my subject to stop in their tracks.
It usually freaks people out, but they get used to me.


 I take the opportunity and snap,

 and snap,

and give them something else to do, and snap again.

I refocus a bit and check to see what I may be missing and snap again. 

 If they happen to still be sitting still...they have finally relaxed and will give a real face.
A face that isn't strained or fake, just real.

And that is when I get even more excited, because their true self...or at least one version of it is about to be captured.

See how her eyes are just subtly different in the one below from the one above?
BUT, with this one below...the focus is JUST off.  I mean it is good enough...but not really.  Not when you see the next one down,where it is sharp and crisp.  Go ahead scroll down and compare the next two.

Why in the world would I give you any of the first 6 images, (or 3 others that I didn't post) when I can plainly see that the 7th one is the very best?  
All those snaps are not always random finger nudges, they are purposeful choices to try and capture what I am seeing and what I want to freeze in time for you to have at your disposal.

The last thing for me in my work flow is fine tuning for presenting the final project.
I chose to up the contrast, brighten a bit, and convert to black and white on this one today.



 
I choose black and white for many different reasons.  Today the choice was because I don't care for the green of the slide along with the natural green of the trees.
It bothers me personally, so I take it as the best option.
You may not agree, and that is okay! 
But please rest assured, if your photographer is presenting you a picture then it is THE best one they got at that time and they are not withholding something wonderful from you. 

If your photographer is anything like me...they ONLY want you to have the best...and simply won't settle for anything less. 
My name and brand goes along with my pictures, which is why I only give the best.  Besides, it is not worth the time to try to work over a good shot to try to make it great. 

I hope this helps a bit with the mystery of the number of snaps taken.  It sure was a mystery to me, before I was the snapper!!! 
See ya tomorrow!!

a Mom's thoughts

Ohhhh, I know you can't see it but I can...blogger has a new "interface".
Uhhh at least I think that is what I remember it is called. 
It is the place where I type and load pictures and codes when I need to, it is like the backstage of blog land.
It is so much more clear and concise.
I need that in my life! 

I had a blast with the college kids who were here this weekend.
I spent half of the day Saturday with them, and the youth from our church. 
There seems to be so much secret Aggie code that I was not getting, but they let me hang anyway.  I mean, I was driving them around so they kind of had to.  ha haha! 
Their leader guy...who was amazing by the way...talked to me a bit about what the goal was for these kids.

They specifically set out to visit a church in order to serve. 
Wow, who does that?
Who spends their free weekend time in manual labor and bible class teaching, not to mention time with crazy just younger than them teens? 
They in turn learn about service, giving of their time, relating to different peoples and how to be  leaders.
It is like a mini mission trip.

I was admiring these kids and thinking about how cool they were and how fun it was to be with them.
Then I realized...these kids are someone's baby. 
No, I am serious. 
Somewhere some Mom was wondering where her child was that weekend.  Wondering who they were meeting, if they were getting enough to eat, if they were comfortable, if they ironed their clothes for church...you know all the regular things moms worry over.
I bet that Mom wondered if their kid was living like they raised them. I bet they wondered if they said yes ma'am and no sir...and if they were happy.
Well all you Moms out there I am here to report that your kids are awesome. 
They arrived and were very quick to divide up and head to the homes of those who would be keeping them. No hesitation, no questions asked...just trust that we were placing them in homes of people who would take good care of them.
They showed up on time the next morning and got right to work...and they worked hard!!! 
Down and dirty work...yeah, they did it!
They then ministered to our kids with a truckload of fun skits, singing and camaraderie.
Oh, and believe me they ate well.  We always eat well around here.
The men led classes and took part in worship service like they had done it all their lives.
They encouraged us with their youth and energy, they laughed a ton!!! 

And ya know what they let me take their picture a time or two as well.
I know you don't know these kids any more than I did when they pulled into our church parking lot on Friday night, but do know this...they are loved children of God, who touched our lives these past few days.

And, they are all someone's baby!!! 
Mom's...your kids done good this weekend!! 
God bless them as they grow in service and love.

My Job

Oh, I suppose I really mean job, not Job. That is a big difference isn't it.
Ahhhhh ha ha, I can crack myself up over the silliest things.

I woke at 6 this morning.
Now mind you I had the coffee pot set for 7:30, but really thought I would sleep until at least 8.
That is when I HAD to get up.

I woke thinking about how this blog is getting the leftovers of my life.
You know, snippets here and there as I dart about trying to get everything accomplished in a day.

My initial intent for this place was to share my thoughts, encourage people, and maybe teach someone out there a new recipe or two. I found myself intrigued by the idea of taking pictures of things to share to spice things up a bit and to have something else than white background and black letters.
This, along with my creative right brain slant eventually led me to the purchase of my handy dandy camera and the desire to learn it. The desire to learn it has opened up amazing possibilities for me and my direction for this blog took a turn, now didn't it?
I feel like all I have been doing lately is throwing a picture at you in a mad rush to move on to the next thing I need to do.

I am sorry for this, but I won't apologize.
My paying "job" right now is being a Mom.
Ha ha ha, in fact my husband says I make the same amount as he does (as he "hands me the check" each week to manage our money).

I really want to take the time to tell you about so many things that are on my heart; the ways that I see God and his working on my life and outlook.
I want to tell you about my journey as a photographer and what it is teaching me about service and being a christian woman.
I want to, well I just want to do more.
But...right now it isn't possible.
So, you are going to get pictures of dirty dishes and yellow poles all lined up and I am going to continue on my quest to become an amazing photographer while being a Mom before all else.
(Now don't worry, I am just talking as far as jobs go!)

When time allows I will try to be a blessing to you faithful readers out there.
When it doesn't, I hope to at least give you something fun or interesting to look at from my little corner of the world.

Thanks for being patient with me...that is assuming you are!!??!!

Oh, I almost forgot here is your picture for today.


Pretty amazing, right???
Ahhhhhh ha haha!!!

Today is going to be another fun filled day, which I do sincerely hope to get to tell you about.
Our church family is hosting a group of kids from Texas A&M University this weekend.
These fun kids are a part of Aggies for Christ and are here to minister to our teens as well as members of our church family.
You know I have just got to hit that with my camera!!!
AND it is the first soccer game of the season for my adorable middle child.
AND there is a going away party for some of the neighbors who are moving.
AND ...oh there isn't another and.

Well I must get ready for my day.
Thanks for listening and thanks for being patient in this growth spurt of my life.

This is just one of a lovely series I took late last night before climbing into bed.


It occurred to me rather suddenly that my busy day had not lent itself to reaching for my camera.
So, instead of trying to find something magical for you...I worked on a low light situation photo.
Night time, only one bulb on in the kitchen.

I am not promising that the yellow poles at the oil change place are gonna do much more for you tomorrow, but take out my camera and practice I did!!

Driving my son home this evening....

...this was our sky. We have wildfires all about us now and it is a bit unnerving.

We could sure use some rain here in Texas y'all.

I need to hit the hay, lots to do tomorrow too!

Week 35 edit and a fly

It is edit day!
I am learning a lot from Ashley on edit day...which will all have to be stored away for later use when I have more appropriate programs to use.

So, for now I will keep plugging away with my freeware AND continue to strive to take excellent SOOC shots!

This was our original shot on Monday.

I wanted to get rid of some of that odd pink look to it and loose the weird light thing near the top.


My clone and heal tool tends to lend a very choppy look to it when used in great quantity, which led me to have to rotate a bit so it would have less to heal.

I thought I really wanted to see her hands there holding the old glasses, but find that it doesn't bother me that I can't.
Maybe the story is bold enough with the huge contraption on her face.
AHHHHha hahaha!!!

I am finding it very helpful to be taking pictures "yesterday" and posting them "today".
Takes some of the pressure off, and I am able to use my downtime between bus catching to work those pockets of time.

So here are some images from yesterday.
I have no idea what this is.
It is on the shared fence where my neighbors gravevine grows???

Ahhh well, it caught my eye and I find it strangely beautiful.


The light yesterday morning was quite lovely striking this white bowl.

What I truly love about the image though is the minuscule fly there.
I imagine him wondering where this bowl was made, if that pot was made in Italy!

Yes, that is how my kooky mind works!

Have a delightful day!