March 27

I almost didn't get a photo today.  I was either really busy or really tired and feeling like throwing in the towel (probably more tired than busy, to be honest) but I did quickly snap this one.  Unfortunately the reflections from the door got in the way, but it's still cute. 

March 26

So far behind, behind, behind....I'm typing this on the 31st and I have no clue what I did on the 26 so off I am again to my nifty little 'Pictures' file to see what I put in there...
Oooohhhh yeah, I remember.  It was late and I went outside with Zach to experiment with some night time shots.  The first one was taken pointed up at the sky and I seriously have no clue what all those little colorful dashes are.  Are they all stars?  I had a slow shutter and there is consistent motion tracking on all of them.  The large sperm looking one actually WAS a star that I was focused on, did the camera capture all kinds of minute stars I didn't notice, simply b/c I allowed it to stay open so long?  Why all the colors?  Is the computer confused?  I haven't the slightest idea, but I thought it was cool so I put it here.

I Heart Black and White Drama

I once again face the dilemma of 'what photo would be good for I ♥ Faces' challenge this week?'  The theme is dramatic black and white and since I typically box myself in to the 'face in the middle of the viewfinder!' mindset, I know I don't have many that would exude drama, no matter the color scale.  I am working on that, though, I swear.

I found one of my niece and sister-in-law which I really like, and it looked very nice in b/w as well.  Some bit of moody mystery in that one...but then I converted this one and decided it was THE ONE.  I just love it.  I love how his little romper stripes mimic the pattern of the stairs.  I love his fearless attitude...the open stairs don't scare him!  I love how the light at the top merges with the white of the stairs, making them seem to go on forever, up to Heaven perhaps, contrasting with the darkness below.  I hope you all like it, too :)

Don't forget to head on over to I ♥ Faces to see some amazing dramatic black and white photos!

March 25

Today at Zach's school they had a field day of sorts, a couple of hours playing games outdoors competing against other classes.  I got a chance to go and take photos since Kevin was home and able to hang with Owen...Score!  Unfortunately Owen refused to nap which made the rest of the day interesting, but c'est la vie.

Here's a shot of the balloon toss :)  The kids had a blast and the PE teacher did a great job of putting it all together.

March 24 - Happy Birthday Aunt Karen!

In honor of you, I had a moment of photographic silence.  Or a whole day.  Well, ok, I was just lazy and didn't take a photo.

March 23

Hmmm...what did I do today?  Let me upload a pic and I'll come right back...Oh, ok...yeah, I went outside and took pics all around the Misha tree, a little lime tree that is suddenly covered in buds waiting to blossom.  I swear, barely any leaves on this thing but tons of little white almost-flowers.

March 22

So the backdrop is done, now I just need a couple of cute little boys, spring clothes, a basket and some eggs and we'll have a great shoot, right?  Not.  Sigh.  Oh well.  At least they're cute, even if they don't like to cooperate.  More camera issues, too, stupid grainy photos and bad lighting.

Playing catch-up...March 21

I am so far behind, I'll have to upload photos and check the date to see what even goes here LOL. 
---Oh yeah!  I remember.  I finally got my 'backdrop' or whatever set up.  It wasn't as easy as I'd expected.  And I got up and got busy on it even before taking a shower.  How's that bed head looking?  Yeehaw.

I Heart Angles

I wasn't sure what I was going to do for this challenge.  I have a couple of photos that I thought I might use, I considered trying to take some photos specifically for this challenge and I even entertained the idea of SKIPPING the challenge.  *gasp*  It's easy to say "My pics are never good enough to win anyway" but if I keep thinking that way, and not taking photos, I'll never get better, right?

So I had finally set up a small faux wall/studio/whatchamacallit in the garage (don't worry honey, I'll take it down soon!  I promise!) and tried to take some pics of the boys with a bit of an Easter feel.  White shirts, plastic eggs, basket, yada yada.  It didn't go very well.  I wasn't getting good crisp shots and neither boy was really wanting to cooperate.  Never mind looking at the camera or each other, just STAY THERE!  Owen was falling back into the seamless paper, Zach's head was too high, Owen was running off the floor, Zach wouldn't let Owen kiss him, and on and on.  I finally gave up.

The boys, thrilled to be free from mommy's photo mania, grabbed the lollipops I'd been bribing them with, and climbed onto the car.  I was sitting in the floor of the garage and looked up...voila.  Turned the camera back on and snapped this photo.  Yeah, the lighting isn't the best, but I love it.  My boys.  Don't forget to click for a larger version :)

Head on over to I ♥ Faces and check out all the other creatively angled shots!

March 20...a Multitude of Mommy Mistakes

Yesterday was a crappy day, I'd had a gazillion plans to do fun things with the new remote and seamless paper I had ordered for photo backdrops, gotten Zach's approval for some fun staged pictures, etc.  But my body apparently didn't think it wanted to play along, so instead I ended up at the doc's office instead, doubling up my Toprol.  Yippee.  Now I really feel old.

So today I was ready for good times with the boys.  We started off at the 'truck show', for lack of a better name.  It was really, really cool.  All sorts of trucks and even cars and other riding contraptions were put on display and the kids got to get on/in/play with, honk horns, turn on police car lights, etc...a huge free for all.  Garbage truck, electric truck, bulldozers, bus/trolley, and on and on...Zachary had a blast getting Dad on the police video while Owen twisted the screen all around to get a better look.  And of course there was popcorn, lemonade, cotton candy and hot dogs...perfect way to start the day, right?  So being the nice mommy that I am, I let the boys junk it up.  Then Owen headed to Grammy's house for naptime while Zach, Kev and I headed to the fair.

I had packed my wallet and camera in a back pack, b/c I thought it would be easier to tote around than a purse, and besides, my purse weighs about 2.3 tons.  Without a camera.  However, this choice to leave the purse behind ended up being mistake number 2.  Mistake number 1 happened much earlier, unbeknownst to me, and I even had a chance to rectify it when we stopped home to get clean clothes for Owen.  But mommy was on a roll.

At the fair, Zach was informed that he was now in charge and it was he was 'calling the shots'.  He played games, went through a few fun houses, ate an egg roll and drank an Orange Crush.  Looked at the animals, inspected a few preserved fish floating in jars and was even given permission to eat 'deep fried eclairs' although I DID manage to suggest he rethink that decision and he opted for the non-fried version.  Still going strong, he was looking around for more games to play (although mommy said NO we are NOT taking home any goldfish!) and after a successful ride on the Dizzy Dragons, mommy made the biggest mistake of all.

"Hey Zach!  Let's go ride the swings!"  You know, the swings that go around in a wide circle and are just a gentle sort of ride that lift you into the air so you can relax and feel like you are flying?  Yeah, these swings weren't quite like that.  He took some convincing b/c they looked a little harsh, swinging almost sideways and going kind of fast, but mommy was sure they wouldn't be as bad as they looked.

He got on.  They started up.  He started laughing nervously, then screaming and being a bit dramatic.  After a minute or two mommy realized "Ugh, this thing is really fast and REALLY sideways.  I hope it doesn't last too long."  Then mommy realized Zach wasn't making ANY noise.  He was in the swing in front of her, and he was sitting very stiff, holding his head fighting the forces pulling it down.  She knew.  She KNEW.  It all hit her, how very messed up it really was.  This is a kid with known motion sickness.  A kid who left the house without taking motion sickness medication, even though mommy knew what sorts of things to expect from a FAIR.  A kid who could rely on mom to carry motion sickness medication in her purse...you know, the purse she left behind?  A kid who just scarfed an egg roll, an orange crush and 3 miniature eclairs, on the heels of chips and cotton candy.  And she forced him onto the swings of death!  THE longest ride at that damned fair.

OMG.  He couldn't even stand up when that thing finally stopped.  I think he would have cried if he'd had enough energy, he was just too miserably to do much more than moan.  I helped him climb piggy back style onto Kevin's back where he asked to just go home.  And he said he was NEVER going to the fair.  Ever again.

At least mommy's mistake of no sunscreen didn't affect him nearly as badly as it did mommy and daddy.

Got my remote!

And what do YOU get?  A nice shot of the front of my shirt--taken from across the room with my new handy dandy remote.  Good times!

March 18

I'm still feeling really frustrated with most of my photos, no matter how much I adjust the settings, or listen to the light meter telling me it has enough light, most of them are grainy.  And omg, the amount of digital noise on the one I had at 1600 ISO.  So today, I went into the garage and set up two lights and the backdrop, grabbed the boys and a couple of lollipops and started shooting.

Overall, I'd say the results were better than I'm used to getting but I STILL had a lot of grain in several of them.  I don't know if it's an issue of shaking (even with shutter speed of  400?) or what.  But as far as 'indoors' goes, this is where I'll get the most light.  It faces north just like the living room (largest windows) which isn't super bright, but the fluorescent standing lights did help a bit.  Gah.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

It really annoys me when people say St. Paddy's Day.  His name wasn't Padrick.  Well, maybe it was.  I'm not up on the Irish to English translation.  But as far as we know, it was PaTrick.  Hence, Patty's day.  /off soapbox

I helped Zach set up a trap to catch a leprechaun.  Rumor has it, if you can trick him into a bucket or some such receptacle, he is 'trapped' and according to the magical rules they live by, the leprechaun must leave his gold in payment in order to gain his freedom and avoid being seen by human eyes.  This year we put the bucket and shiny trinkets in Zach's room (since Owen tends to wake and wander the house in the wee morning hours) and I DID warn him that by doing so, the leprechaun might blame him personally and play some pranks on him.

Nasty little bugger.  Dirty footprints AND green pee? 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!