Rock The Shot / May Photo Challenge “Flower Portrait”

My first “Rock the Shot” entry. It just so happens that I took my boys to the park yesterday & was ooohhing & aawwing at the location, fantasizing about having a photo-shoot there in the early evening light just knowing it would look gorgeous. However, getting out at that time would be around 7:00 on a sunny day & thats calling it to close to the little ones bedtime, so getting out around then is, lets say, darn near impossible. SOOO I figure its a great time to practice some mid-day shooting. Scary? YEAH..those harsh lights & bright bright sun, get out! But hey, I’m usually up for a challenge. I plopped my lil guy down who I’ve nick-named ”trouble” and made my settings and snapped away before he took off. I got about 4 images of him before you see ones of him crawling away. Talk about a short opportunity..anyways,  I was actually able to make it work without blowing the image out…I must say, I was pleased with my end results. Of course I had to take the image to my photoshop physician & break out the tools. There was a wee bit of a yellowish green tint on his skin that I had to remove and bring back his beautiful baby glow, along with a curves bump to lighten him up, a little of this a little of that and wala…just like I saw it with my own eyes.

Visit www.rocktheshotforum.com for more entries, great talent and awesome information.  Good luck to all entries.

The Every-Days

One of my favorite quotes:

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away!”

One of my little reminders to enjoy the everydays

More Than a Mother

More than a Mother by Kari Keshmiry

When God set the world in place,
when He hung the stars up in space,
when He made the land and the sea,
then He made you and me.

He sat back and saw all that was good,
He saw things to be as they should.
Just one more blessing He had in store;
He created a mother, but whatever for?

He knew a mother would have a special place
to shine His reflection on her child’s face.
A mother will walk the extra mile
just to see her children smile.

She’ll work her fingers to the bone
to make a house into a home.
A mother is there to teach and guide,
a mother will stay right by your side.

She’ll be there through your pain and strife,
she’ll stay constant in your life.
A mother will lend a helping hand
until you have the strength to stand.

She’ll pick you up when you are down,
when you need a friend she’ll stick around.
A mother is one who listens well,
will keep her word; will never tell.

A mother never pokes or pries
but stands quietly by your side,
giving you the strength you need,
encouraging you to succeed.

A mother is one who can be strong
when you need someone to lean on.
You’re more than a mother to me;
a reflection of Him in your face I see,
a love that knows no boundaries.
I’m glad that you chose to be
all this and more to me.

You share a love that knows no end,
you’re more than my mother,
you are my friend.

 

 The pictures, processing and post of these images has been especially enjoyable to me. Capturing the special bond that only a Mother & Daughter can possess. For me, it was important that I created a soft, slightly subdued feel to these images to focus on the delicacy of such a special union. As I watched their interactions during the shoot, it was wonderful to see how much fun they had together.

 This young lady is the last (baby) of 4 children for this glowing mother. I can’t imagine spending our lives devoted to our children & then at some point having to let them go off into the world on their own. I’m sure it is a very bitter-sweet time in life, but it’s also one that brings new chapters with more wonderful moments to experience and share. 

Before long, life will more than likely spin around and place this lil lady in the same role, experiencing all that Mothers do & will also then realize what we go through & why we do it. She will then experience a whole new appreciation of “MOM”.

This doesn’t mean life has ended for Mothers. Now is the time to reconnect with our own needs, desires, hobbies, goals, relationships, anything that was set aside while we nurtured life. There’s also the exciting possibility of being GRANDparents! This time though, you get to release them back to mum & dad when you’ve had enough . Totally kidding! Ok, maybe theres some truth to that. Anyways, I must say, I adore these images of you two & I hope you both do as well.

And to wrap it up, I just have to include these as well!!! I will be watching for you on “So You Think You Can Dance” in the near future ! …. I’m pretty positive too that you & I will be doing many-a-fun-sessions this summer so you will be seeing more of her.

My 2 Boys

When I think back to the many instances I said, and believed that I didn’t want kids ~ I am SO SO happy that it didn’t ring true. I guess it just took finding the right soul to change my mind. . Come 20 yrs of age I settled down with someone. Together we had alot going materialistically speaking but something was most definitely missing. After a near decade of being with a man I thought I would finish my life out with, my feelings began to change. These feelings which started off as seeds, grew & grew & suffocated my every thought & emotion. I was at a point where I could no longer quiet my inner-self screaming at me to change something. I decided it was time to move-on. End the relationship that I pretty much just played along with. I wasn’t truly happy, he wasn’t the person who brought the best out of me. He didn’t have the same morals, beliefs, or even hopes & dreams. We were two people playing house. No wonder we didn’t want to have children, and thank God we didn’t because that might have changed everything.

 Then I met him. Immediately we clicked. Both in a similar situation, we related to eachother. I also couldn’t deny the fact that I was totally swooned by his smile, playful personality and gentle ways, whether I wanted to be or not! Of course I kept those feelings under surface (I believe he felt the same).  Anyhow ~ we became a support for eachother & little by little a bond had bloomed. Shortly after we were sorta stunned with the news I thought I would never hear. 4 pregnancy tests later & confirmation from an ultrasound, we had a little one on the way. I have to say, it was thee utmost exciting news! I no longer felt the same…the words &  feelings of no children just shattered in a million pieces and I was so grateful I was blessed with all that was going for us. Life has a way of delivering the unexpected sometimes and in this case, it was a very welcoming surprise. Two little ones later I am one blissful mama!

If I could only bottle it up!

It was a cold, wet, rainy even hail at times day ~ but that didn’t stop us. I did a previous post of some landscape & nature photos I took on this same day & location but these particular ones below, I wanted to have their own spotlight. Having a toddler is often a day filled with the funniest comments and precious moments. He’s filled with endless energy! I wish I could bottle it up along with his laugh & little voice, even his age at times. There’s that part of me that never wants him to grow but it just serves me to treasure these moments.

He LOVES being outdoors, thats when he seems happiest. …  Little ones definitely bring “life” to our lives and I just couldn’t imagine mine without them!

 This location will most certainly be one I visit often and I’m looking forward to what the spring and summer bring here. 

 

Till next time…..

Nina / Steampunk Shoot

Never heard of steampunk? Neither had I until a fellow photographer made the suggestion in a photography group I was involved in before I left Las Vegas. The same group I’ve done other fun sessions with & posted many images of them on this blog. These ladies are great and all very talented. Anyways ~ a date, time, location and theme was set-up and off we went. I invited Nina to model so I basically spent my time with her. As you will see, the camera LOVES her. She came along with some great attire & accessories to look the “steampunk” part (steampunk by definition: a subgenre of science fiction and fantasy featuring advanced machines and other technology based on steam power of the 19th century and taking place in a recognizable historical period or a fantasy world. ~ Sounds cool huh?). With little knowledge of this style, we just went with it & had fun doing so.

 I wouldn’t want to mess with her

These indoor images were inside an old print shop (which was extremely cool to see the old printing machines & typewriters by the way), located at the Las Vegas Clark County Heritage Museum & the outdoor ones were all in the surrounding area. Finding & shooting at great locations like this place is 1/2 the fun.

Ha ha, I love this one above, isn’t she great? Totally getting into the fun of it all. Who am I kidding, I personally love them all…. It was great shooting her since we worked together on poses etc. and she was up for anything. Not to mention she’s seriously model material! Don’t blush Nina .

 

 Well, my last shoot before I said goodbye to Vegas…there’s things I’ll miss but good thing for memories & pictures to keep them fresh. To round up this post, these were the last images of the day..some of my favorites as well because the sun was low & it stretched out its last rays of warmth before saying good night.

 

 

Till next time….

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Destination Unknown

Excuse me while I blow the layers of dust off my blog! My poor un-nurtured blog =(. I have tried many times to make my way on here but there’s this little thing called life that pulls me in other directions. I have come to the realization that It’s almost best to plan on the un-planned. Thats quite alright though, I’ve always been a go with the flow type of person & I don’t like to complain. So no, I’m not hybernating ~ although a nice long sleep sounds truly delightful ~ I am living! I do plan, well hold on, let me take that back, I have made goals to get back on here and more often, even if I don’t have anyone reading this, it’s still an outlet for me. So to quickly make the announcement, we’ve moved! It was sudden, it was stressful, but we did it…. No more Vegas! This has been a dream of mine for several years now & it has come even more prevalant the last few. We are up in God’s Country we like to call it. Life is a bit different here, a bit slower paced, old mixed with new, open,laid back, charming and most definitely beautiful. I look forward to going on many drives with an unkown destination & getting lost in hopes to find special places like this one

This is the place we will be planting roots & giving our family what we have dreamed of, this is the place where I feel we can make that happen. I know they say that home is what you make it & that it doesn’t matter where you go, it’s all going to be the same, but location really makes a difference for me. You know, we have prayed about this move for some time now & things didn’t necessarily happen or work out as we pictured it, but as I tell my hubby, we never gave God details. However, here we are & we have every bit of faith that things will work out. Our family has been awesome & supportive & we are so thankful to have them surrounding us, even in spirit.

Well, enough rambling…I’m not the best “blogger” so before I make that obvious I will end for now but I will be back soon as I have quite a bit of new inspiration all around & some family members I will be bribing to model for me so I can get my fixes. Who knows, my name might even get out there a bit & time will tell the story. In the meantime, I’m relaxing & doing what I love without any pressure.

Till next time.

  I had to post this last one because I was so excited to see some deer. There was about 7 of them that was saw together. I had my wildlife radar on & spotted them as we were driving by. So cool this is practically in my backyard!

Bradshaw Family / 2nd Time Around

I don’t know what offers more joy than a family, and this particular family exudes fun. They are all firecrackers & it was pleasure capturing their smiles.

Silly faces,

And a down right serious gaze.

We did a shoot last year with this family that you can see here. It’s fun seeing how much the children have changed,

And how the parents look the same.

Another wonderful experience doing what I love. Thank you Bradshaws for this opportunity.

Expecting?

What a great way to either treat yourself or be treated. Cherish the memories of this temporary time in your life.

The Finer Things In Life

There’s been  many times in the past when I have kicked myself for not bringing my camera. This particular day I patted my back for bringing it. The weather was beautiful & the park was filled with autumn’s colors, welcoming in winter’s entrance. It was a picture perfect day! All the different birds happily gathered around, singing their songs and fluttered around like children at play. While we soaked up the warmth of the sun…

And played in the tree’s…

We enjoyed the finer things in life, a gorgeous, pleasant day. It’s moments like this that give you glimpses of what heaven must be like. Filled with love, warmth & beauty. Happy Holidays Everybody!