bokeh how-to

It's New Year's Eve Day, and I'm finally posting a Christmas-y photo. Better late than never, I say. Besides getting everyone's fun photos in the mail, another reason I love Christmas is for capturing the lights. This year I didn't get out much, but I did enjoy my own little tree at home.

If you tree is still up, you can try this too. Bokeh is the background blur in an image. It's a made from tiny bits of light that are out-of-focus. In my Christmas tree photo, the bokeh became the subject of my photo. You'll want to shoot at a wide aperture. In the photo below, I used my Tamron 28-75mm at f/2.8, the widest or most open aperture available. Switch to manual focus so that you're actually turning the focusing right yourself, and play around until you get an effect that you like.

It takes just a little practice, but it's a fun effect. Have fun! And, Happy New Year's Eve!

christmas photo album

Wow, the month just flew by! I've missed blogging, but it was also nice to take a little break, even though it was unintentional. I've been a rather sporadic blogger this past year. Maybe 2011 will be different?

One of my favorite things about Christmas is receiving our friends' family photos. Really. I love photos (no surprise), and it's always nice to get a little glimpse of how kids have grown, even if I can't keep up with everyone throughout the year.

I display our photos here on the wall rather informally.


Several years ago, I decided that it was a real shame to toss everyone's photos after Christmas, so I purchased a cute little photo album. Nothing crafty about it. Just a regular album that you can slide 4x6 photos into and out of.



When it's time to put away Christmas decorations, I take down my photos, and put them into our album. If they're too big (like those long envelope-length cards), I just cut off what doesn't fit, and slide them in. Our album sits on our end table throughout the year so that my girls can look though it and be reminded of who our friends are. Some are long-time friends, some are new friends, but I love how it helps them to know that we are loved and part of a bigger community of people who live all across the country.

bartelt family

These three boys are just the cutest. They really are. So well behaved and photogenic too. We were all a bit under the weather--coughing and sneezing together during this shoot, but I still think we managed to get some nice images. Enjoy!

photo booth

How many Christmas parties have you been to this year? Our office party this year was particularly fun because they brought in a Photobooth. You know, the kind you go in, hide behind the curtain, and come out with prints? Real, live, prints? It was so fun. The girls were in school, so it was just David and I with little Z. I loved what we captured. So fun!

the cortez family

I really enjoy getting glimpses into families lives as I photograph them. It's such a treat for me. I learned that Mike used to be a firefighter in Manhattan during the time of 9/11. He has an incredible story. I also loved photographing their little guy. He is such a cutie! Don't you agree?

hand family

I'm so lucky to get to take photos for so many of our good family friends. These guys are great! And sooo picture perfect. I joked with them that they couldn't take a bad picture, and it's really true. Shannon told me when their oldest was a baby, she would get her pictures taken for fun because was so entertained by the experience. I can totally see that--she's such a good performer! It must run in the family. They couldn't have made my job any easier. Thanks for a fun, easy session, guys!

thankful

It's become our tradition every Thanksgiving to make "thankful links."

We've been doing this since Miss A was 15 months old and Miss M was 3.  Back then, we asked the girls to tell us something they were thankful for and we wrote it down for them.  Now, we each write our own!

I use old scrapbooking paper to cut long 1-1/2 inch strips.  This year I used Christmas colors: red, dark red, green and white.  We had the parade on in the background as we were doing this.  It was really low key.  Everyone can write as many or as few as they'd like, and take as long as they want to finish.  When everyone is done, we staple the strips together to make a long chain-link.  The girls love it, and it's become a fun tradition.

What are your favorite traditions?

ballet hangover & a sad story

I think I'm almost over it--our ballet hangover, that is. It's what happens to our family twice a year a full week of rehearsals, late nights and ballet buns, tights and leotards. It usually takes us a few days to recover. But, it's worth it.

This year the girls' Nutcracker recital was bumped up a bit, so as to lessen the craziness of the Christmas season. It was so much better in November! And, it sort of launched me into the Christmas spirit. Sort of. As much as one can have the Christmas spirit while living in central Florida.



Now for the sad story. The day after the recital, we actually had a date on the calendar. A real date where you get a babysitter and take a shower and go out with just your spouse. It hasn't happened very often since little Z was born, sadly. So, we were really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, Miss M began to feel ill--on the day of our date!! But, we decided to go for it anyway, leaving our sitter with instructions to call if something bad happened. And, it did. Just as we arrived at our destination, my cell phone rang. Miss M had just thrown up. Lovely. So, there was no date. Now, isn't that a sad story?

technical difficulties

EDIT:
Thanks to some help from my friend, Lisa, and a little bit of luck, the photos are all straightened out!

So, I like the new layout except for the fact that I'm having technical difficulties and my photos are not showing up anymore. I really have no idea what the problem is. Yesterday I changed so many things on the blog--the layout, the footer, and adding pages--that I'm not sure how to find the problem. The site I use to host my photos, Photobucket, is still hosting all my previous images, so I can't imagine there is a problem there.

Oh, and I've checked the blog using three different browsers. My photos show up using Google Chrome (but the blog is all funky now), but not in Mozarella Firefox (that what the girls call it) or Explorer.

Anyway, if you're a technical sleuth, feel free to give me your input. I'd sure appreciate it. My momma brain is not functioning so well on the little sleep I've been getting lately!

Thanks, friends!

after school

I'd begun to hate our after school routine. I'd hear myself say things like, "you can do that (whatever, you fill in the blank) AFTER you finish your homework."

The public school schedule is not for the faint of heart! It's a ton of work to just keep up. Papers. Homework. Sign this. Sign that. Return this. Money for that. I get weary just thinking about it.

So, I'd decided to boycott the schedule one day. I mean, they're just first and third graders. Does life have to be so scheduled and serious all the time. Sheesh!

So, we've started playing before we do our homework. Yeah, I know. It's radical, but it had to be done. Play first, then work. That's what I say. Not everyday, but a lot of days.

Miss A took the camera for the first one below. And, Miss M showed us what she thought of that.

Click on in and check out my new layout. It's in progress, but I think I'm really gonna like the larger pictures. I'm working on a few more tabs, so for now, the Archives and Labels are in the footer, waaaayyy at the bottom.

the stephens family

It's been my treat to photograph this family from the very beginning when Amanda was just pregnant with the twins. Every time we meet up something memorable happens. This time was no exception. Just moments after we started shooting, one of the twins literally flipped head over heels off of a bench and landed head-first in the dirt. Luckily, I was nearby and caught him by the ankle so as to pad his fall.

He is one tough little dude. The fall did not even phase him, and he went right along his merry way.








"Happy Feet." We really needed video to do their little dance justice. Just check out their leg action! They're getting jiggy with it. So cute.

six month portraits

Since I've been busy taking everyone else's family photos, I thought I'd better take Z's 6 month portraits too.

He wasn't super smiley--we did this right before nap time.

But, he loved all the attention from M & A trying to get him to smile at the big black thing I always stick in his face. David's job was to be the "catcher" just in case Z he fell off the chair...

...which he actually did at the very end of our short 10 minute session. But, David caught him-- just barely--before his head hit the floor. Too bad I didn't get a photo of that!

the kelly family

It's always a pleasure to meet up with our friends, Pete and Chanin. Not only are their children adorable, but they really know how to work the camera. Now, I'm not gonna lie to you, photographing small children is not an easy job. But in my experience, sometimes the most difficult children are the most interesting to photograph. Because they are real. And, true to themselves.

Everyone's having fun here. Except possibly Pete, who is getting pummeled by his son bouncing up and down on his back.




Here's the grumpy face. "I'm mad. I'm frustrated!" And, quite honestly, he was for most of the session.

I LOVE this one. Possibly my favorite image from our session. He reminds me of a monkey here. And, since I know how much Chanin mocks loves Curious George, it's just perfect.



Isn't she just beautiful? Like mother, like daughter!




You guys did awesome! And, I had fun with you.