When I was little, my parents shared a little pond with the neighbors & it was surrounded by cattails.  They were so cool & they made puffs, something like dandelions, only bigger & fluffier.  They’re gone now, since the pond dried up & then they got ploughed down.  But I still remember winding through them as a child. They were awesome!

Well, a few weeks ago, my husband bought me a pretty bouquet of wild flowers (which are undoubtably my favorite) and in the midst of them is a cattail. Yay!

As you can see, I’m still loving the grunge on images… and this one has a LOT of bokeh (also known as Depth of Field – which means all the blurry unfocused-ness). I just love bokeh. It’s so pretty & creamy. : )

Happy Tuesday to all!

Thanksgiving. : )

We only took a few shots & half of the family was out running a”Black Friday” related errand.  I’ll be bringing my photo stuff to the next family gathering, as well, so we can get that family group shot that Terry wanted… isn’t it funny how we forget to do that until the last minute & then someone is in a hurry so it either doesn’t get done or one of the family members looks a little grumpy?  lol. I’ll definitely try to get it done earlier next time we see everyone so we can actually fit it in.

Tyson & his Granny. I know you can’t see her face well & I almost didn’t post this one, but I just love the look on his face!  You can tell he loves her… and I just couldn’t pass that up!

Yes, that’s right, it’s me, my hubby & Tyson. : ) I got Tyson to say “cheese” with me, which was absolutely adorable!  I don’t usually recommend the “cheese” trick, but he liked it.

Terry took this image. And she did a wonderful job since I handed the camera to her, said “press that button” and forgot that most people have no idea what to do!  haha. But she did a perfect job!

It was a fantastic Thanksgiving!

That’s right.  My nephews were born exactly 2 weeks & 2 years apart.  Which I must say, is a help for me as far as remembering ages and birthdays!  : )  Tyson was already 2 when we celebrated last weekend, but I don’t think that dampened his fun any.  He got lots of fun presents, mostly themed with his favorite character (I’ll give you a picture hint below!)

Tyson with his mommy & daddy.

That’s right, it’s ELMO!

And here he is: the wonderful little 2 year old!  Isn’t he cute?

I think I have the cutest nephews in the world!  : )

Happy Birthday Tyson!

Alright!  Finally, I have finished the Noah images.  Yay!  : )

He was born on September 3rd at 8:53.  And I got to photograph him on September 5th & 6th!  That’s right, he was less than a week old. I guess that’s what I get for being the auntie.  : )

Now, I promise I won’t make you wait any longer.  Here he is!

Room details. : )  Cute, right?

You can’t see it, but his arms & legs are kicking like mad.

He has my brother’s feet.  His mommy said so.

And, of course, the oh-so-proud mommy & daddy & Noah.

I love his expression.  : D

One of his aunts on his mommy’s side painted the lovely image that you can only see a piece of here.  But it’s fantastic.  Curious?  Here’s Noah & a full shot of the image.

His mommy is musically inclined.  Very musically inclined.  In fact, she has a website to prove it.  His daddy is computer inclined, but they decided an image of Noah on his computer wasn’t worth it (Noah was getting tired of being a model!)

And, of course, a final, beautiful sleeping picture.  Isn’t he precious?  I’m so very proud of my newest little nephew (and Caleb & Gabrielle’s first little one!)

Congratulations to the new mommy & daddy!  Be sure to stock up on diapers & make sure to get some coffee for his daddy! ; )

The Canon AE-1 was a very popular SLR camera in film days.  If you’re curious and want to know more about camera history like that it was produced from 1976 to 1984, check out the Wiki article.  But, actually, it (sadly) wasn’t that interesting, unless you wanted to read through a load of technical jargon.  So instead, I’m going to tell you what I love about this lovely camera.

I honestly haven’t used it much.  Maybe for a roll or two, though I have a number of lenses & it’s a beautiful camera, I grew up in the digital age & the loss of instant gratification (immediate preview on the LCD screen) and the money I’d have to pay to get the film processed (yes, as minimal as it is), are both draw-backs.

However, the sentimental value is irreplaceable.  This is my dad’s old camera.  He used it for a number of years before I was born & though I can never remember it from my childhood (he had changed professions from missionary in Germany to school teacher & hobbies from cameras to US Western history), I do remember that once I got into college & became very interested in photography, he pulled this sweet little black camera out of his uber-organized closet & showed it to me, proudly letting me fiddle with the knobs & lenses & the old feel of the camera.  The camera case actually deteriorates in your hands a little more each time you touch it.  I love the vintageness, the sturdiness & the fragility of the camera.  He promised that I could have it some day if I wanted it & then I inherited his AE-1 last November.

I took this particular image when working on ideas for the banner of my blog.  Obviously, I used a different image there, but, I love this one too because of the reflection you can see in the lens.  : )

In other news, I’m still working on Noah’s images & promise to really focus on those for a few days so you can see more images of my fabulous nephew!   Promise!

So, with that in mind, : )  Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Okay, I admit it: I’m moving a little slowly on the Noah pictures.  I’ve had some other projects I’ve been working on (sorry, not photography related).  But I wanted to get up at least a preview of my sweet littl(est) nephew.

Isn’t he wonderful?  And he’s got so much hair!  Yes, I know, I mention that often, but I just love all his hair!  I was a bald little girl until about 2.  Isn’t that sad for me?  But it seems Noah is definitely not going to have that problem!

Well, for everyone related to me: this is not the Noah post.  Sorry.  But it’s Tuesday & so it’s the Polaroid post.  Hopefully that makes it a little better.  For everyone not related to me: look forward to the Noah post.  Because he’s my new nephew!  He was born last Thursday & is oh so cute with such a wonderful head of hair.  (and also the reason that you only got one post last week since I was oohing over him).  Now I hope you’re all excited because his post is coming, soon.  Just not today.

Now here’s the  Tuesday Polaroid.

I found this stamped on a pole (or maybe an electric box… now I can’t remember!) in downtown Abilene while I did a little scouting just before Dewayne & Abby’s session a few weeks ago.

My first thought when I saw this was of the Simpsons when Maggie loves the TV more than the other family (it happens on numerous occasions – my husband & I own all the seasons possible so far!  I know, nerdy!)  How cool am I?

And in case you’re wondering “why didn’t she post a Noah Polaroid?”  it’s because I don’t want to ruin the wonderful surprise!  He’s that cute!

Have a great Tuesday & keep watching for a Noah post near you!

Really, it is a super Neat-o program.  It creates Digital Polaroids (thus the extra “d”) for you right on your desktop.  It’s like a modern version of old photography.  I love it!  You can even shake the image on your desktop to help develop it.  Really.  Check it out!

http://www.poladroid.net/

And, of course, some samples (I can’t share just one!).  And Abby will love me for it since there’s another preview for her! Hehe.

Go Poladroids!

I shared the post about other’s Diptychs about a week ago.  Now I’ll admit that it wasn’t totally a self-less effort. : )  I’ve been working on some Diptychs of my own & I thought it was definitely time to share.

For both of these, I took the opportunity to play with my manual focus & manual exposure.  It’s been a while since I’ve done that (I prefer not to typically when shooting for clients for a multitude of reasons) & I really enjoyed it. : )

And, if you’ve been following me since the beginning of my old blog, you’ve seen this one before, but it’s one of my favorites, so I wanted to post it again. It fits in the post & besides, I just ordered a little version of each side so I can hang them in my office (can’t wait for them to come in!)  Yep, I love it.

Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments!  Which of the 2 Green Shoes Diptychs do you prefer?

Diptychs are a pairing of two images (in this case photographs) to create one work of art.

They fascinate me because there is so much that can be done with diptychs and  yet if they’re not done correctly they can seem a little cliche.  So successful diptychs are witty, artistic and beautiful, at least measured by me.  : )  I’ve been interested in them for some time & have done a few on my own, however, today, I wanted to share diptychs that I love done by other photographers.  I hope you enjoy!

Creator - Deviantart: erlebnis

“Ewiger Mond”.  Creator – Flickr: [ angela ]

Summer.  Creator – Flickr: (Karina)

Confessions of Europe.  Creator – Deviantart : Nico1

Lost in a Simple Game of Cat and Mouse.  Creator – Flickr : michelle..

Creator – Flickr : [ angela ]

Less Gravity.  Creator – Flickr : memothek

Two Parts.  Creator – Deviantart : AnnaSaguinsin

CooCoo. CooCoo.  Creator – Deviantart : Unionhoney

Fragmentation of a Wheel.  Creator – Flickr : pchweat

Little Women Grow Up.  Creator – Flickr : pulciografa

Cemetery Sorrow 2.  Creator – Flickr : IrenaS

Cemetery Sorrow 1.  Creator – Flickr : IrenaS

As usual, all copyright & awesome image credits go to the creator of each diptych.

PS. Yes this means that I’m back online!  Hurrah!