Weekly Header Challenge - Smile

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

Imac 

Lew
Tom W 

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

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Smile

A big welcome to Tom W, a new (to me) participant in the Weekly Header Challenge!

What a great theme this week!  Many of us need a nice, big smile after our long, cold, snowy winter.  In choosing my images, I went for the cuteness factor.  And what can be cuter than kids?  Not much.  :)

I also stuck with my current images, choosing from ones I've taken just this year.  The main reason for that is I don't have to change catalogs in my editing software (Lightroom), which adds an extra headache or two onto the process.  Someday I'll be able to dedicate a whole day--which is what it'll take--to getting some help debugging the software; for now, I stuck with my current year's catalog.

Here's my full header below, taken at a wedding just last weekend.  I didn't cut too much off the image, since everything from top to bottom is vital to its composition.  I love all their expressions, these cute little flower girls and ring bearers!  I love the two ladies peeking around the door to make sure the kids start down the aisle at just the right moment.  I love that they're all sweetly holding hands.  And I love those cute silver shoes, too.

And, I love how, as they walked down the aisle, they made everyone smile.

In my cache of images, I went back a few weeks to another wedding, in mid-February in Texas.  We were blessed with 70-degree weather and no rain for this particular wedding--just one week later they were in the 30s with rain, freezing rain, and sleet!

Below, the little flower girl (daughter of the groom) was twirling through the barn in her pretty dress.  I saw her twirling and immediately started shooting.  Only afterwards did I realize my settings were all off, since she was twirling in the light and my camera settings had been set for the dark interior of the barn.  With a lot of tweaking (I don't think it's called tweaking at that point!) I was able to save the series of images.

These two young men are brothers.  The little guy has Down Syndrome, and I have a special place in my heart for special kids like him.  He was a sweetheart, and when I asked the pair if I could take their picture, they immediately snuggled in together, arm in arm, and smiled for me.

That cute twirling flower girl gained a mama that afternoon, and here they are hugging after the ceremony, the new mama wearing her beautiful wedding dress and daddy's suit jacket to ward off the wind.

That's all the smiles I could find this week; I can't wait to smile some more as I visit your blogs!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

Visit my website
Stop by my family blog
Like me on Facebook

Weekly Header Challenge - What's Up There in the Sky?

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.

Click on the other participants' blogs to see

what they've come up with!

Theme ~ What's Up There in the Sky?

I almost forgot to post this week--argh!  Travel--especially when you get home at 3am and collapse into bed--messes with my head.  I keep thinking today is Monday...

You get the benefit of fewer words, and mostly pictures.  ;)

Here they are:

My header, which is the moon over my parents' lake house in the Adirondacks of upstate New York:

ISO 100, 17-85mm at 17mm, f/14, 30-second exposure (counted in my head)

More of the moon, way up there in the sky:

ISO 100, 70-300mm at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/800 second

The Florida moon, along with a few asteroid trails!!

ISO 100, 17-85mm, f/8 64-second exposure (again, counted in my head)

Below is the moon, along with Jupiter and Venus (Craver inspired this one):

February 27, 2012

ISO 100, 17-85mm at 17mm, f/22, 53-second exposure

Captured an airplane just to the left of the steeple below.

An annual airshow at the local airport, half a mile from home.  These below shots were taken from my back yard.

Way up there in the sky, for the last time, went the Space Shuttle Endeavor!  We were lucky enough to experience the launch (about 50 or so miles away) when it was delayed almost two weeks, and our vacation with friends began!

Fireworks are up there, too, especially if you're sitting really close to the launch site.  Two of my favorites from last year's Independence Day celebration:

ISO 100, 17-85mm at 17mm, f/8, 4-second exposure

This little guy thought he was way up there in the sky, too!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

Visit my website
Stop by my family blog
Like me on Facebook

We Interrupt This Frisbee Game

I was in a bad mood for this early July Frisbee game.  Chalk it up to hormones, heat, or whatever; I just didn't feel like being around people.  It was nice to hide behind the camera for a bit in order to get some alone time.  It also helped that there were two games going on at the same time, and I was able to walk across the field to shoot the game in which my guys were playing.

Before the game started, I enjoyed the view, which was glorious with the sunlight radiating out from the clouds.

During the game, I kept hearing the deep croak of bullfrogs.  There was a pond behind me, so I turned and saw these wildflowers.

After the first game, the teams switched around and I found myself back among people.  I sat for a while, then snapped a few shots of this adorable little guy interacting with one of the moms at the field.

Aidan, the adorable little guy above, has a new baby brother.  Here he is with their mom.

And, here's baby brother with his grandma.

Aidan was getting a little ansty, or bored, like all little boys are wont to do.  I asked him if he wanted to take a picture, and he seemed willing enough.  I don't know what it is about kids and cameras, but they catch on pretty quickly, and Aidan--only about two years old--had my big 'ol camera down in just a few minutes.  I helped him point, and he pushed the shutter, saying, "Push the button!"  He did a great job, and these are the images he captured.

Grandma!

 Mommy and brother

Grandpa!

 Some Frisbee action--he even got the Frisbee mid-air!

Mommy, brother, Grandma!

Little boys are sure to put you in a good mood, and Aidan did his job well.  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

Visit my website
Stop by my family blog
Like me on Facebook

Sweet Summer's Eve

We recently invited our church family to our house for an end-of-summer get-together.  We had a beautiful time of fellowship, with children providing the evening's entertainment.  No TV needed here!  A dog-barking app on a friend's iPad was sufficient to amaze this little child.  The expressions on Miss E's face were priceless, and I caught only one of them.

I love the family interaction of this image, with mama and her two girls, and daddy looking on.

Cindy practiced being a grandmama, holding Joy's and Thomas' baby.

Little Mr. A is starting to look just like his older sister, and his personality is just starting to emerge.  He's such a cutie!

Little Miss J and Little Miss E sat themselves down in the doorway, and this was one time I didn't mind shooing someone away so we could shut the door.  :)

I took several shots of them, and fell in love with them all.  For the below image, I applied my own pre-set called Summer's Eve to the image.  I love the vintage look of this winsome photo.

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

Visit my website
Stop by my family blog
Like me on Facebook

Project 2012 -- Week 34

Project 2012 -- Week 34

August 19-25

Welcome to my Project 2012 weekly post!  This is my time for looking back over the past week, choosing my seven favorites images, and sharing them here with you.  If you have a project you're working on, please leave a comment so I can visit your blog and see what you're up to!

Last week began with veggies and ended with veggies.  I'd say that's a good week of summer!  Below is the product of two different days of canning:

[232] Canning day

I saw this idea on Pinterest, and decided to try it.  I layered salads into canning jars, minus the dressing on the bottom.  Each day at lunchtime, all I had to do was dump one jar out onto a plate and top with tomatoes (I like to cut them fresh) and dressing.  I didn't fill these quart-sized jars, but trust me, once I dumped one out onto a plate I realized I had a huge salad for lunch.  My layers:  carrots, red peppers, purple onion, chopped lettuce, cucumber, green olives, cubed mozzarella cheese.  They were delicious with my homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

[233] Salad days

After another tomato harvest, I had some fun with my macro lens and caught the below once my eyes spotted the reflection.

[234] Tomato reflection

Danny, my science-minded son, called me to grab my camera right before Friday Frisbee.  He had filled his water bottle to the top, without spilling over, and filled it a bit too much.  Science concept at work:  cohesion of water.  :)

[235] Filled to the brim

At the Friday Frisbee game, Emily brought her three children.  Sammy, #2 son, decided to tackle his little sister, who's only two years old.  I think she's used to roughhousing with her two older brothers, because she took this tackle in stride.

[236] Tackle!

Thomas threw the Frisbee to me.  :)

[237] Catch, Mom!

Last photo of the week--more veggies!  I spotted a recipe over on Proud Italian Cook, and tried to duplicate it.  I had cut the palm of my hand with the knife, however, and forming veggie patties with my hand stung.  So I dumped the veggie mix into a stoneware pan and baked it.  It turned into my own version of a recipe, which I'll post on my family blog soon.  Promise.

[238] Eggplant veggie frittata

Thus ends another week of summer photos.  We're starting to get into the full swing of school, since my two college students are already in full-school mode.  Thomas is taking chemistry!  So I'll probably have some awesome photos of him doing incredible things with chemicals.  Let's hope he doesn't blow anything up.  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

Visit my website
Stop by my family blog
Like me on Facebook

German Shepherds and Waterskis

But not in the same picture.  :)

We spent an afternoon one day early on in our vacation at Winter Bay.  Partially owned by the U.S. Army, this area of the lake is all sand, and is a popular swimming area for lake residents.  That's where we were sunning, swimming, and playing Frisbee, when a couple other boats showed up--one with dogs, the other with waterskis.  Of course, I pulled Ellie out to capture some sweet shots.

I'll start with the waterskiing shots--these two young boys were so fun to watch!

I love that last shot--that boy did a serious face plant when he released his grip.  I love that I captured not only his splash (with his face, and a foot sticking up), but I got the hand grip as well.

On to the dogs.  I must tell you--the only dog I do not like is the German shepherd.  I was bit by one at the tender age of five, and it must've made a large impression on me, because they're the only dogs I'm nervous around.  Well, maybe Dobermans, too.  But I get a very unique, queasy feeling around German shepherds.

Anyway, meet Jake and Riley.  (I'm not sure which is which.)

Their owner, Mark Miller, explained that these two dogs--father and son--love to snap at the water when it's splashed in their faces, or in their direction.  The guys made very sure to keep their distance as we splashed toward the two dogs.  Their snapping jaws made a loud, distinct click as their teeth closed at the water droplets.  If a hand got in the way, I'm sure bones would have been broken; that's how powerful their jaws are.

Intense focus

Their whole bodies came out of the water as they leaped at the splashes.  (Another dog, Georgia, got in on the action in the below shot.)

They truly are beautiful animals.

In the below shot, it looks like this guy and Thomas were going at each other!

I think this last image is my favorite German shepherd shot.  I cropped it square so the focus is on the dog and his jaws and teeth.  I love the droplets of water splattered throughout the image, and the water streaming off his front legs.

I eventually got up enough courage to pet one of them.  He didn't seem to even notice I was there.

One fear, somewhat conquered.

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

Visit my website
Stop by my family blog
Like me on Facebook