iheartfaces: one big pink balloon and its Hello Kitty swimsuit wearing owner

Aww shucks. I know I said I wasn't going to post today but I just happened to look at the iheartfaces challenge this week and smiled. I love story telling pictures and these made me smile.  So now you too, can gaze upon my Bean in her favorite Hello Kitty bathing suit, enjoying her big pink punching balloon. And, all a day early, because I was going to post these tomorrow anyway. Now, after you smile at her, click on over to other entries over at iheatfaces.

little m.b. and her big milestone

I was asked to come and capture the sweet birthday girl. This is the third time I have photographed her and though she has grown, I must say, she is still a little peanut! Though turning "one" is a big milestone for a baby, I think it is even more momentous for the parents. We made it! We're still alive. We didn't snap from the lack of sleep, or loss of personal time, or inundation of baby gear. I do not miss the baby gear, or cleaning up the baby toys, but I do miss those little faces.

And the cheeks, and lips, and soft little hair wisps...

 This was a wardrobe change escape...
(and a product placement advertisement from Huggies)

 
Mom and Dad stepped in front of the camera for a few shots at the end. What a beautiful moment in the light. I told them this was their chance to grab a kiss. :)

These are my two favorite pictures out of the entire shoot. 

I love the kiss, I love the smiles, and the love. (sigh)
Happy birthday little m.b.

*******

I will be back Wednesday blogging world.
See note at bottom of Friday's post.

xoxo

Beauty

We went to a party last night and I thoroughly enjoyed myself as I followed the kids around with my camera. I was a little stalkerish but, whatever, I had a blast. Anyway, when we came home late I immediately downloaded the pictures off my card because I needed it to be empty for a project I had for today.  Before turning off my computer and heading to bed I took a quick spin through the party pictures. Total mistake. As I was cruising through, hitting the delete button every so often, this picture sped past my vision and I stopped in my tracks. I then popped it into my editor to play with it and uh, stayed up waaaaaay past my bedtime.

But OMG. Is this girl beautiful or what? (And I don't use OMG a lot, but I felt I needed to use it here.)
I happen to know that she is a fabulous girl and that her real beauty is within, but...OMG.

The funny thing is, I don't even remember taking this picture. Apparently when Beauty needs to be seen, she finds a way to slip into your line of vision to remind you that she is there. Thank God for her insistence or else we'd all be walking around in our dull little lives, blindly unaware of her presence.

May Beauty find you this coming week.
xoxo

how the west could have been won...

So I'm thinking that if Doc Holiday and Wyatt Earp wanted to really whoop it up at the O.K. Corral they could have employed more lighthearted weapons: the water weenies. (There were surgical tubing and pall points back then right?)

It would have been a more amusing, fun, exciting event. I envision anger and vengeance giving way to laughter and comradery. You know, a little tension relief. The Earp brothers and Doc standing around with the Clantons and McLaurys slapping each other on the back, wiping the water from their brows, tipping their hats to one another, shaking hands sayin', that was a good round boys, let's do it again sometime.

Seriously. Everyone would have spent their built up anger without spilling any blood.

I mean it would have been their golden opportunity to leave their mark upon history in a more positive way. It could have taught us all a little something about handling conflict.

Can you tell I've been listening to too much AM radio this week? I've been also reading too many Facebook commentaries, news blogs, editorials.

I listen to a lot of politic banter, think about our country's issues, but I am not often one to chat about it. So today and today only, I will offer up only this little piece of myself: Extreme people make me...extremely frustrated. There is nothing worse when feelings and opinions get heated and then people wind up saying the stupidest things.

Can't we just all pull out the water weenies and have a little water fight?

I really think it could work.

Come on, just saying the word water weenie makes you smile doesn't it?

You know it does.


*****

On a different note: Beginning next week I will not be posting every day. (Well maybe, if I feel totally energized and with it, but I'm not promising anything.) I am not stepping back from my photography, as a matter of fact I am going to be focusing on it more. If you have followed my blog for any amount of time you have listened to me share about my photog self and how I have thought a ton about why I pick up my camera. I have no desire to run a business, sell myself,  just because I can take some ok pictures. I really don't care about making money. It has not resonated with me to simply build a house because I have good building skills. With that said...I have thought and prayed about how to use what has been given to me. I love my camera, I love to write and I want to update my space in which I share that with you all. I also have been given a fun photo opportunity (more on that later) which will be taking some immediate time. I have four photo shoots that I am committed to in the next few weeks and then I will also be taking a break from that sort of work for a short time as well. Basically, I'm taking a break so I can work on moving forward. So stay tuned. There is some new stuff to come and I can't wait to share it with you all.

cause and effect

He loves this place almost as much as he loves Ranch dressing. (Telling, I know.)
This place affects him in a way that is familiar to me.
I completely empathize with him and smile when he tries to explain it to me.
I know, I know son... I bring you here because I love this place just as much as you do.
This night we came down to have dinner along the shore and then touch our toes into the water.

As I watched him wade through the shallows I noticed him enraptured with this...

I have vivid memories of standing at the pond at my grandparents mobile home park and throwing pebbles in to the water, watching the rings ripple out in silence 'till they reached my feet on the shore.

It is the simple law of cause and effect drawn for us on the surface of the water.

Oh if we could all fully see the effect of our words, actions, choices in such a blatant way...

...To know that where ever we go our lives are forever touching, affecting, the world around us in ever expanding concentric circles. It is the greatest lesson we can teach our children: 

who we are, what we do, and where we go, matters.

scooter girl

(Yes, Daddy "made" it. Someone was tossing it into the garbage and he took it, disassembled it, cleaned it, and took Bean to Home Depot to pick out her spray paint colors.)

Let us stop and pause. Look at my beautiful scooter girl...

After going back and forth, going back and forth, I finally decided to include a photo of me not because I love this photo (hello, no make up, crap-o-la hair, yes I was wearing something) but because I felt it would be cowardly to leave out a part of our little time together. Bean so wanted to take a picture of me so I gave it to her and she snapped away. Now you have the whole picture: just the two of us, soaking up the beautiful summer evening together. Treasured memory. :)

And there she goes scootering off into the sunset...

the kingdom of Boys

These are not my son's toes. They belong to another of the same species and yet as I look at them I wonder if he too...

loves a good dirt mound or sand pit
shuns shower time (and then when he does shower, stays in there for hours)
hates it when I remind him to brush his teeth
leaves SIX dirty socks on the family room floor in the period of 24 hours
plays with his Dad's tools
follows his Dad around
talks incessantly
pesters his sister, but fiercely protects her if need be
leaves Legos and Nerf darts in his wake
(post edit: forgot to mention that I have even found Legos in the shower.)
is obsessed with Ranch dressing (and Ebay)
would wear the same outfit for five days straight if it were not for his mother in his life
gets a flat tire on his bike almost every other day
comes home sweaty after a playing outdoors
asks a million questions (someone please save me)
bites his fingernails
is probably getting his own shovel and water hose nozzles for his birthday
"makes his bed" by just throwing the comforter up over his pillow
gets more food on the table and floor than in his mouth
refuses a napkin
uses his brand new school t-shirts on which to wipe his greasy food fingers (pulling. my. hair. out.)
eats cherry tomatoes like they're candy
eats candy like it's...candy
owns several flashlights
is one year away from earning his black belt
is growing so fast that his feet are now bigger than mine
has a violent emotional reaction to sunscreen (the spray kind has been a life saver)
loves Dirty Jobs, Deadliest Catch, and Whale Wars (not sure whether I should thank Netflix or not?)
is always right in the middle of where I need to be (it's uncanny)
has every Pokemon and Star Wars character memorized
is impatient to pose for a picture, or stop for anything, well, except maybe for dessert
has memorized the recipe for homemade vanilla ice cream
should own stock in Duracell and Energizer (I can never keep up with our stash)
loves anything that comes with a remote
can build a BBQ better than his dad
wishes he could have his driver's license now
could sleep through a tornado, earthquake and other natural disasters
loves to play defense in football
has learned to create all manner of bodily noises, on cue
collects rocks
listens to hockey games with his dad
privately still lets us hug and kiss him


Moms...am I missing anything??? The kingdom of boys is quite large, its inhabitants are uniquely diverse. Yet there's something about that Y chromosome that links them all together.

Am I right, or am I right?

trial and error

The photo below? A complete gamble and a fluke. A ginormous Redwood had fallen between two other Redwoods and Bean was using it as a balance beam. I was standing at the end of the tree that is about eight feet off the ground. There was no way I could position myself to a height that afforded me a good camera position so I lifted my camera up over my head and rested it on the end of the trunk and fired away. I could not see what I was doing and had no idea where the right focus point would be. This is the one that I liked out of the fifty I shot...

Near our campsite was a HUGE tree stump that rose twelve feet into the air. It was wide enough for about six people to circle it in a giant hand held hug. Somewhere in time someone had carved ladder steps into into one side so you could climb to the top. The kids loved it and I wanted to capture them climbing it. Because it was centered among some dense Redwoods it was mainly in shadows. To aim upward from my place on the ground meant aiming up into the brightly lit sky. If you know anything about photography you know that two contrasting and intensely lit (and non lit) situations creates an almost impossible exposure issue inside your camera's brain. To expose for both situations is an exercise in futility. So I stood at the base and shot through a million exposure settings and hoped for the best. When I got home I had to lighten the darkened tree trunk and shrug a "who cares" about the overly bright sky. I was happy just to capture three shots that caught the kids climbing.

Bean was following her Auntie across the ancient stone foundation stones and the sun and shade was intense. (Insert a repeat explanation about two contrasty light issues here.) She was not about to wait for me to get my settings right so I just gambled. The stones are way too bright but I love this series. I love seeing my Bean leaping after her Auntie.

I share the above photos because I want you to know that I am not a perfect photographer. I take gambles and mess up my settings, still wonder sometimes what the heck I am doing. I share what I think are my best photos because I am proud of them, but also because I love them. 

When I began to delve into photography I came face to face with my limitations and constant failure (hello, I really didn't know what I was doing)  but the spark it ignited in my creativity was enough to keep at it. I never took a class (because of time, money, laziness, fear and loathing of homework) so all I had was myself and my relentless teacher named Trial and Error. And believe me, being a student of Trial and Error can be a bit frustrating. But she is a persistent teacher that works you hard if you refuse to give up. This blog is a tattoo upon my body of growth that bears witness to the fact that when I keep at something I will improve, but not without some "flops".

I used to go onto photo forums and compare myself with the million amazing photographers out there. I hung my head in frustration over my blown out highlights and my less than perfectly sharp photos. I tried out styles and techniques in an attempt to become what I thought must be a "good" photographer. And a lot of times I erased photos I liked because I thought they would not pass approval by some unseen photo critic. (Boo the unseen photo critic!)  But somewhere along my photographic journey I have come to a deep conviction that finding my voice and style is the biggest personal challenge that I can tackle because it is the only way to discover just how I was created to create. And it is the only way to maintain my love and joy and passion for picking up my camera.

I know that imitation my be a form of flattery but it lacks authenticity. In my opinion, to imitate is to be a second rate version of someone else...and to lead a less than satisfying life. The best you can do is to become a student of Trial and Error. Working, failing, gambling, moving, shifting, learning, listening, until you find that place that is uniquely you. If what you do is not "perfect" by somebody else's standards, but is loved by you, then it is perfect and authentically you.

Please know that I am humbly still a student. 

I pray that you too, will daily choose to find and embrace the perfectly imperfect, authentically beautiful, creatively created you.

Welcome to Monday.

xoxo

How could you?!

Through the avenue of Facebook we were all given the sad news that the beloved family cat, Pippen, had run away. I had yet to post these pictures and the thought of doing after receiving the news seemed, well, a little insensitive considering that I knew some sisters were going to be a little sad.
No, mucho sad.

So we Facebook people sat, and waited, glued to our computer screens waiting in suspense for any news. Just kidding...sort of. In the mean time friends left sympathy comments and prayers for his safe return. Hours later (seemed like days) the update that we had all been waiting for finally came:  
Kitty has been found. He was at the neighbors' at the other end of the street. Thanks everyone. :)

Shame on you Pippen.

treasure

They spend an entire summer apart on two different continents. All summer Bean counts down the days 'till her friend will return. (This year I received an earful for scheduling a camping trip over the weekend that her buddy would return. The horrors!)

And then they reunite. And it's sweet...like one of those scenes in a movie where they run towards each other in slow-mo, arms open wide, running into each other in a collide of laughter and love and hugs. It has been this way for the last four summers. The scene is always the same.

Last night as the sun was dipping they were out at the park (it's now been a week since their reunion) and I brought my camera to catch this shot above: two young girls who treasure each other. They are always giddy to be with each other and it shows.

Their love for each other is demonstrative. When you treasure something it shows in outward manifestations, the fruit of your passion. Want to know what you really treasure? Look at where you focus your mental, emotional, and physical attention. Is it money, your appearance, someone in your life, being known, your "rights", being "right" , success? If it was diagrammed into a huge pie chart, it would be the largest slice of the pie.

I thought about that huge pie chart. Painfully and honestly drew it before me on my mental wall and stood back and looked at it. (Try it.) When I did I found it was quite discomforting. No, disturbing is really a better word. Because when I viewed the pie chart it was not the one that I thought I would see. You see I am often pretty good at convincing myself with my words.  I tell myself and others (even you) that I "cherish" my family, my loved ones, helping the needy, my faith, but the pie chart I would draw is horribly skewed because of my own convincing dishonesty. The authentic pie chart gives me away by my actions, because my actions reveal what I truly treasure in my heart.

There are a couple of well known sayings that state: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. And...The root bears the fruit. Two inescapable spiritual laws that do a pretty good job of bringing to light the discrepancies between our two pie charts. I could go around and around in circles with this but I think you know what I am talking about.

treasure: to keep or regard as precious; cherish; value highly; hoard

Here is where I could tell you to go treasure your kids, your spouse, friendships, your faith, this present moment, but I think you already know what is important. The harder task is being honest with ourselves over the contradictions between our words and actions and doing the work to make those two match.

In other words, you might make better use of your time to uncover the truth about what you already treasure and decide if you need to remove it from the storeroom of your heart, so that you could replace it with the things that are truly worth treasuring.

******

Thanks for joining me during my Verb week. I have to tell you that I had no idea what my verbs were going to be. I let the pictures speak to me and then did a little listening. Was actually a great project for me. Gonna do more of that in future!
Have a great weekend! Totally treasuring Friday! (I think that's a pretty safe thing to treasure.)
xoxo