Project 52 {week 4}

K is in that adorable stage where they "read" books - ie look at pictures and recite the words they remember. At bedtime she is allowed to have the light on for 10 minutes after we say goodnight. This is what we discovered when we checked in on her. For the record, that is an original hardcover Nancy Drew's Secret of the Old Clock (originally mine, and now on display on her bookshelf).  I guess its time to start on chapter books! I hope her love of reading lasts a lifetime.

just one more chapter mom! taken Jan 24, 2013

f 2.8 / ss 1/60 / iso 3200
no flash - bedside lamp was on.
edited in LR4  - curves layer, noise reduction, b&w preset, with addition of some split toning for a hopeful "chocolate" feel. Did I achieve that? tell me your B&W conversion tips and tricks!

Project 52 {Week 2}

I swear I have been taking photos, just not so good at uploading and editing them :)

Going to do a little catch up here. without further ado - week 2!

This was one of K's christmas gifts, and she was so proud of putting it together. 48 pieces!

Keira the puzzle solver. taken Jan 06. 2013

taken with a speedlight
f 3.2 ss 1/160 iso 200
edited in LR4 - some white balance adjustment, curves layer, clarity and sharpened.

2013: Project 52 {week 1}

::tap tap::

is this thing on? In case any of you are still out there, please feel free to blow off the cobwebs and pull up a chair.
I have been gone for going on 2 years now, but in true "New Years resolution" style, I feel the urge to rejuvenate my love of the craft and continue to push myself by blogging my efforts. My primary goal is to last longer than most other fair weather resolutioners will last at the gym :)

It may not always be on time, and it may not always be pretty. But it will always be honest. As a sub goal in an effort to embrace who I am, flaws and all - I plan to put myself in front of the camera more, so be on the look out for lots of selfies!

If you are starting a 365 or 52 week project for 2013, link it below! I would love to follow you as well.

So without further ado, please let me debut my 2013 project 52 {week 1}

January 1, 2013 / Vancouver, Canada / Seymour Mountain, looking south towards Mt Rainier

settings: 28mm | ISO 320 | ss1/800 | f/4
edited using lightroom: slight curves adjustment, increase vibrancy & clarity

And in the spirit of embracing myself, here is one of me and my sunshine (taken by the man, edited by yours truly)

January 1, 2013 / Vancouver, Canada / Seymour Mountain / Me and My Sunshine

settings: 31mm | ISO 320 | ss1/320 | f/5
edited using lightroom: curves adjustment, increase exposure, darks, clarity, sharpening, slightly warmed by adding yellow to wb

What New Year's Resolutions are you pursuing? And do you have a plan for tracking them?

TMMPAC: Dance

Awesome! I have been waiting for a good reason to share this sweet photo of darling K and her favourite person ever, Grandma. And my prayers were answered, thanks to TMMPAC's theme this week of "Dance".
These two are so good, they are dancing in the seat :)

ISO: 200, SS: 1/320, Ap: F/2.5
edited slightly to increase contrast and brighten.

For more dancing in the streets, head on over to:

IHF: Vroom Vroom

Its been awhile since I have participated in I Heart Faces. Y'all have seen this before, but I adore it, so I am trotting it out again :)

K and her "security blanket". She doesn't leave home without it. Seriously. And obviously footed pjs and rainboots are this season's jeggings with knee highs:

check out more "transport" themed photos at:

Shoot N Tell: Looking Up

Over at the Franklin's, Shoot N Tell for this week is Looking Up.

SS: 1/400, Ap: f/5, ISO: 200
Edited slightly in GIMP: standard curves and unsharp mask.

This photo cracks me up because I can see exactly what her "whatever, mom" face is going to look like in 15 years :)

So what else is "looking up" here:

12 Weeks to Better Photos: Week 9

Al 12 lessons can be viewed here . This tutorial was originally offered through the 2 Peas in a Bucket scrapbooking/photography website. Show them some love here.

Week 9 is Portraits
Well isn't that easy peasy? Technically speaking, my eleventy billion photos of K count as portraits :)

Challenge: Take a Portait
1. Take a portrait of an individual.
2. Take a group portrait if you have the opportunity.
3. Take a portrait in front of a backdrop or colorful wall or a fun outdoor setting.
4. Take a portrait with black & white film or convert your photo to b&w. (In fact, we'd love to see both versions - color and black & white, if you care to share.)

I hit #1 and #3 on a weekly basis. here are some of my faves from the week I completed this challenge:

I love the texture and colour of the bench here. plus it gave me a nice chance to have her look straight up for awesome sky catchlights. even with her crinkled face her eyes are super sharp and blue.

both are SS: 1/250, F/2.5, ISO 200
both were edited in GIMP - most likely just a curves adjustment (pull up the middle, pull down the left) and an unsharp mask.
The 2nd is me trying to work a bit with backlighting.
Normally I would probably try to pull out some of the pink in her face, but it was a hot day and she had been working hard, so I left it. it tells the story of how she felt at the time :)

And for #4, here is the 2nd converted to B&W. I really struggle with conversions. I always think mine look gray and lifeless unless I completely blow out their skin. Which looks unnatural.

This one I don't hate too much (except for that white shadow on the edge her face, but I am nowhere ready to try and tackle that)

next up: Landscapes

Hanging Out for Love That Shot

Thursday's is Love That Shot's Link Up day. They ask that you share your photo plus tips on how you took it, edited it, whatever!

Here is one of my faves from the past week. This is K's newest trick - hanging on the swing, She loves to twist it around and kick her heels up. She loves that she doesn't need anyone to push her. I love that part too because I can just sit back and shoot.
SOOC:

SS: 1/400, Ap: F/2.5, ISO 400, 50mm

This is nearing sunset, with the sun probably dipped behind trees/clouds at this point. I am loving that the sun is setting so much earlier right now. It is usually in that golden hour in the hour before K's bedtime. perfect!
What I like about this was  the composition - she is in a strong rule of thirds position, there is little to no distraction around or behind her. I feel like bench acts as a nice leading line too, even though its part of the bokeh.
It looks a bit cool to me though.

Here is my edit:

I just brightened and increased contrast overall using curves. Then I went into the blue channel and pulled some of the blue out. I wish her pants wouldn't go so neon, but I again, I am so not good at the masking/layers game to know how to brighten the whole photo without this happening. This happens whenever I have pink in a photo. And with a baby girl, that is pretty much everyday. meh.

What shot do you love from this week? Come share them here:

Simplicity Challenge: Birthday

It's Faith's birthday this week, over at Simplicity. In honour of that, she is hosting birthday themed photos this week.
I shared another one from this series last week for Trendy Treehouse's Favourite Things challenge. Here is a slightly different perspective for you today:

SS 1/500, Ap f/2.8, ISO 400, 50mm
edited curves slightly in GIMP

Happy Birthday Faith!
For more birthday treats, visit:

Raw(e): Pink

When Sami gave the heads up for this week's Raw(e) challenge, I immediately knew I wanted to submit this photo, which was taken two weekends ago at a family picnic. Until I saw her actual entry post, and her photo is basically the same as mine! But in the end, I kept coming back to it. I like how pink is truly the main focus here. I swear I am not brown nosing the teacher :)
So without further ado, some frilly pink ruffle butt!

SOOC
SS: 1/200, Ap: f/2.8, ISO: 800

For more pink in your life, visit:

Editing Then and Now, Plus Flower Challenge

I was scouring some photos for the most recent Paper Mama Challenge and decided to try my hand at re-editing a photo I took in March. I liked the results and so thought I would share with you dear friends.
I have always stuck to the analogy that in photo editing, less is more, and the best thing to do is get the greatest shot as possible SOOC (straight out of the camera). Photoshop is a beautiful thing, but its also a lot of responsibility. When we first get our hands on it, we tend to go overboard - heavy vignettes, over saturation, oompa loompa babies. the works! As time passes, we train our eyes, and our editing style will change (we all hope!).
So as an example, here is a photo I took in March, my original edit back then, and my new edit now

Original:

SS: 1/125, Ap: f/2.8, ISO 200, 50mm
Now I blew the highlights in this, big time. The flower is practically 3D, the reds are so clipped. Notice the hotspots on her hands and pants. Its also really cool.

Back in March, this is all I did:

basically I cropped and probably brightened the midtones a bit (which it totally doesn't need)

And this is the edit I just did:

 I was able to tone down the highlights, and play more with the individual colour channels (red, green, blue) to get the ground and her skin to a more natural colour, plus tone down the flower some. It is still clipped, and ideally I would like to recover it even more, but my masking/layering skillz are so not ready for that.

Back in March, you can see what two editing gurus were able to do with a few other shots from this same session here. I am not there yet, but I feel like I am getting closer. Baby steps, baby steps.

Hope that was helpful for some. With all that said, I am also entering the last photo in Paper Mama's current challenge, which is Flower. Check it out here for other "sweet" shots:

I Heart Faces: Beach

What to do with 2 eight month olds who wake up at 5:30am on your last day of vacation? Why, take photos of course!



drink in the last of these summer days and peruse fabulous beach entries by visiting:

In a Yellow House: Arts N Crafts

In a Yellow House's photo challenge this week - currently hosted by the incomparable Ashley of Ramblings and Photos - is "arts and crafts". Perfect because I caught this last month and love sharing it.

This is what happens when K is let loose with a box of markers, and then left to her own devices. Moms, if they are quiet, its never a good sign!

For more fabulous entries, visit:

Paper Mama: Orange and Thanks

The Paper Mama Challenge this week is Orange. Here is K in her lovely new orange dress:

ironically, pushing a stroller, just like last time. Though this time it is holding Penelope the Panda. Chelsey at Paper Mama is going to think that is all she ever does.

For more orange-liciousness (yes that can be a word), check out:

Secondly, I am super stoked to announce that last month, when I asked you all to vote on my "favourite toy" photo, boy did you deliver. I won the vote-off! Thank you all so much for helping me out. In addition to some fabu note-cards designed by Ms. Chelsey, I get to display this wonderful button:

thanks again Chelsey. I love playing along with you and Ruari :)

Raw(e) Challenge: 2(6)

The challenge this week from Sailor and Company? Go into your 2nd folder of photos and select the 6th photo in that folder. I used my online folders on smugmug for this challenge, which is sorted by most recently updated.


Ironically, its another from the series I just shared:

This is SOOC. I had been intending to get a shot of K with some Mums for the grandmother's on Mother's Day. All she did was immediately rip the heads off the bouquet :)

what's your 2(6) shot?

Paper Mama: Absolute Favourite

How on earth do you pick your absolute favourite photo of your child?

I tried and tried this morning to comb through my photos and find one I hadn't already AW'ed, but I kept coming back to this one. I used it last week in an I Heart Faces challenge, and its the blog banner for my blog about K. So even though you have already been subjected to it numerous times, here it is again, because clearly, its my Absolute Favourite:



For more favourite entries, visit the Paper Mama, here:

And so as not to make your visit completely worthless, here are a few others from that same photo shoot:

Paper Mama Challenge: Action

This week at the Paper Mama, the photo challenge is action. It just so happens this week that K started climbing the chain ladder on the playground by herself - 18 months! She is such a monkey.

Here she is, in action:

Exposure Time:	1/800
Aperture:	f/2.8
ISO:	200
Focal Length:	50mm (75mm in 35mm)

adjusted curves slightly in GIMP to increase contrast.

To see other kiddos in action, check out:

And I can't believe I forgot to share, but last week, The Paper Mama selected my picture of K with her doll Lulu as top pick for the challenge "favourite toy". Thank you Chelsea - I am extremely flattered! So I am proud to proclaim:

I Heart Faces: Over my Head

Over at I Heart Faces this week, the theme is "over my head". To capture this, I was drizzling flower petals above her so she would look up and smile ( you can see the speck of one just above and to the right).

Exposure Time:	1/400
Aperture:	f/4
ISO:	800
Focal Length:	50mm (75mm in 35mm)

edited in GIMP - brightened and adjusted curves, ran slight USM

to see what else is above us, check out:

Paper Mamma Challenge: Fave Toy

This week at The Paper Mamma, the photo challenge is favourite toy. This is perfect because I happened to snap this over the weekend! I finally got a shot I am proud of with K and her favourite doll, Lulu. Best $5 I ever spent at a swap meet. She adores that thing and the stroller it rode in on.

Exposure Time:	1/1000
Aperture:	f/2.5
ISO:	400
Focal Length:	50mm (75mm in 35mm)

Again, I could have lowered my ISO and therefore dropped my SS. I get so paranoid I tend to leave the ISO higher then it needs to be. Still, what's not to love about a post dinner stroll in your pj's, rain boots and pushing a pram?

Check out more favourites at:

Give me Your Best Shot and Award fun

Better in Bulk gives you an opportunity to share a favourite shot from the week:

Exposure Time:	1/640
Aperture:	f/2.2
ISO:	200
Focal Length:	50mm (75mm in 35mm)

normal processing - slight curves adjustment in GIMP

(note: this is not an active train track, but rather an old decommissioned section of track that houses a train museum. The museum sits in the old station. No train would even be able to head down this track now.)

So what was your best shot? Go over to Better in Bulk and share it with everyone!:

In other news last week Trendy Treehouse highlighted my photo for Father's Love as an editor's pick. Thanks so much ladies! So I get to snag this nifty button:





and lastly, a few weeks back Nat from Sanchez Family Updates nominated me for an "Honest Scrap Award". thanks Nat! Sorry its taken me so long to respond. I do really appreciate the shout-out.
I have to list 10 honest (and/or interesting) facts about myself, then nominate 10 other blogs.

1. I am exactly (to the year) 30 years younger then my mom, and K is exactly (to the year) 30 years younger then me. I like repetition, and I like 3s, so this appeals to me.
2. I totally believe in ghosts.
3. my undergraduate degree is in history. No I am not a history professor.
4. I am deeply terrified of spiders. Like I once knocked a rearview mirror off my car windshield because a tiny miniscule microscopic one was dangling from it and I freaked out and whacked at it.
5. I am an expert secret keeper. Like Harry Potter has spelled me good. For example, my BFF got "secretly" engaged about a year before they told anyone. They assumed DH knew and were talking about it in front of him. He was pretty miffed, and they were shocked I hadn't said anything. I am a vault people!
6. I often fear that I will leave this world without making my lasting contribution. But this fear doesn't cure my procrastination for doing something worthy or extraordinary. Because I also suffer from fear of the unknown.
7. I am a terrible correspondent, which makes it ironic I spend so much time on message boards. This blogging is actually my attempt to put my life out there and feel connected.
8. I fear I will never live up to the things people say about me, or the legacies left by my family. There are some pretty incredible people in my family tree; how do I compete?
9. I only make 3 things really well: quacamole, pancakes and canneloni. Everything else is a crapshoot in whether or not it will turn out well.
10. Sometimes I wish I could be a travel writer, but really, can there possibly be any money in travel writing in the age of expedia and trip advisor? I still don't know what I should be when I grow up.

And now for some nominees (in no particular order):

• The Slurping Life
• Parenting v3.0
• A Glass After Work
• Finding my Conscience
• Keddiebears
• The Exposed Mom