Cars and Trucks, from Farm to Guns

Friends invited us to a car show featuring farm equipment and military vehicles.  We figured it'd be a nice night out and ended up having a blast hanging out with a great family.  I brought Ellie along on what would be some of her last shots before being sent for repair (her main dial was not working properly--try changing the shutter speed when the dial just spins!).  I used my 50mm prime lens for all the shots, in overcast/dim lighting and this was the best I could do--mostly close-up but not too shabby, I think  ;)

These last three close-ups are pretty special.  They're part of a very special car, and most kids will know which one if they look at all three of these images.  The man who built it paid attention to every detail.  Can you guess which famous car this is a remake of?

Now I'm humming the tune to its famous movie musical.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Header Challenge -- Welcome Home

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

Imac 

Lew 

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.

Feel free to click on the other participants' blogs

to see what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Welcome Home

Wow--my first week into this weekly challenge and I got to pick the theme for this week!  I chose based on hoping Fernando would come home from the hospital (he was in all last week for a back/spine issue), and he did come home on my birthday.  :)

But the idea also floated around in my head about taking a photograph that would portray the emotion of Welcome Home.  What things/scenes reflect this to me?  That's what I was thinking about all week, and the reason I chose my header.  Here's the full image:

No, this is not the entrance to my home.  But it is an entrance I've gone through many times over the years; it's a friend's home and we've been guests there on many occasions.  On this particular day (Labor Day, in fact), a whole bunch of us were there celebrating the holiday together.  I happened to pause on the sidewalk to simply take in this scene, and it spoke "Welcome home!" to me.  It's warm and inviting; just flip the little latch and come on up the steps to the porch.  Ring the bell and warm, friendly people will invite me in!

Here's another "entrance" that, to me, hollers out "Welcome!"  It's Bryan's new Wisconsin farm, and he's busy at work getting it ready for pasture-raised lamb, chicken, and eggs.

My own home feels welcoming when it's neat and tidy, things are picked up, and everything is in order.  During winter, a fire in the fireplace helps, too!  Here's a welcoming living room at a dear friend's home:

My mind also wandered back to a very special photo shoot for a family whose son was coming home from a stint in Iraq.  A special group called Welcome Them Home arranged for a parade right on up to the family's home, as a surprise to their soldier son and to honor his service for our country.  Here are just a few photographs to tell the story of his very special welcome home.

Red, white, and blue.

Parade of motorcycles.

Soldier and little sister.

Receiving a hug from every vet.

Soldier and mom.

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Header Challenge ~ Romance

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

Imac 

Lew 

Theme ~ Romance

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.  This is my very first time doing this, so it's all new to me; thus, it is all Greek to me.  ;)

The goal is to create a  header along the week's theme, and the participants visit each other's blogs, view headers and images, and vote for the best one.

As I sit here creating this post, I can't help but laugh at my very first attempt to to this.  You see, the theme is perfect.  And it's perfect because tomorrow is Fernando's and my anniversary.  And it's perfect because exactly one year ago, to this very day and minute, we were in Paris, celebrating our silver anniversary.  We had never done anything like this before.  Some of you may know we never had a honeymoon.  So this trip was a once-in-a-lifetime event for us.

And, this week's theme of romance is perfect because it allows me to go down Memory Lane and relive the most romantic time in my life.  Because, right now, Fernando is in the hospital with back/spine issues, and the most romantic thing we can do is (sort of) snuggle on his hospital bed and watch a movie together.  So I'm very happy to relive this romantic trip.

Here's the full image from the header:

On our first night in Paris, we decided to walk the one kilometer from our appartement down to the Seine River.  The above photo was our first view of that river, and it couldn't have been more perfect.  That bridge, pont Marie, became my favorite bridge, and I saw it almost every night we were there.

And, to continue the memories, here are just a few more images from our anniversary trip.

The Métro.

Iconic Métro sign.

The Pyramide at the Louvre.

Fountains in the jardin des Tuileries.

Jardin de la Vallée Suisse ~ Little garden tucked away in the heart of Paris.

View of Paris from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.

Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

One of the most romantic symbols in the world.  :)

Boat ride along the Seine.

Place des Vosges, first planned city square in Paris.

On our second-to-last night in Paris, we went back to avenue Champs-Élysées to see the Arc de Triomphe one last time, and enjoy a beautiful night out.  At one point it started to rain, which bugged me until I saw the image I captured (below), with its rainy boulevard, shining street lamps, headlights and taillights, and rain droplets on my camera lens.  Perfect.  :)

Thanks for visiting today!

Post-Challenge Update:   This post won silver in the Headbanger Challenge!  *woot!*

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Website Images | Website Photography

My images are on the Internet more and more now!  It really is exciting to see them in places other than my website galleries.  :)  And I'm always thrilled that other people like them and want to use them.

Here are a few samples of my images around the Internet recently.

 Apple trees; oh, and that calculator image is mine, too!  :)

The Crossroads Crusaders football team fan page!  (Go, Cru!)

Tea time!

Image for a young adult conference.  My "models" were very accommodating!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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The Animals on the Hill

Dogs and cats, cats and dogs!  At this Wisconsin farm, there were now animals to photograph!  More specifically, baby animals.  What fun!

These kittens are not pets.  They are--or will be--barn cats.  Hobbes, the orange tabby, is spunky and adventurous, friendly and fearless.  His half-sister, Nala, is quite the opposite.

Hobbes and Nala

Nala was elusive and it was hard to catch her with the camera.  I did get a nice pose below.

It started sprinkling a bit, and afterwards, Nala hopped up on the patio table to lick her way across.  It was a great opportunity to capture her.

The spunky Hobbes

Sadly, a few days after these images were taken, Hobbes and Nala disappeared.  After a few days, Hobbes came back, skittish and afraid.  Nala never returned.  Bryan, the farm owner, guessed that they may have had an encounter with a coyote.  Hobbes quickly reverted to his playful self, and was joined later by another kitten.

The barn kittens were fun to photograph, but I think Bryan's new house dog (which will become the family pet) is seriously the cutest dog on the planet.  Her name is Zoe, and she is a cockapoo.  Just look at her with her little biscuit (and blue octopus toy)!

How could anyone resist a face like that?  She is simply adorable, and if I were in the market for a pet, I'd take her brother, who was available at the time.  In a shout-out to her breeders, visit their Facebook page.  Her fur is so soft, she doesn't shed, and she is a smart little puppy.  Although I must say, by this time she has probably grown and is not as little anymore!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Little Cutie | Chicago Portrait Photographer Children

Life has overtaken our family.  I haven't posted in a while, but that simply means I have been busy.  In fact, busy doesn't even describe our recent life.  So "catch-up" is the name of the game for me.

Here is a cutie I was privileged to photograph recently.  Her image is plastered all over my website, too.  Now you know how much I love this little sweetheart!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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