Libby's Photo-A-Day Project

Grizzly

2007-04-16T22:00:00.001-05:00

A grizzly bear from my trip to the zoo yesterday :-) Plenty more zoo pics to share!

St. Louis GTG

2007-04-15T21:57:00.000-05:00

Today I went to the St. Louis GTG!! My husband's family lives in that area, so it was very easy to make the trip. I had so much fun meeting more DPCers and talking shop :-) We went to the St. Louis zoo, and I think most of us filled at least two memory cards!! But it was such a good time. Everyone was so nice and friendly--and you know, that's really what I've come to expect from DPC. It's a great community with wonderful people, and it was a treat to get to know some more!

2007-04-14T21:56:00.000-05:00

2007-04-06T23:29:00.000-05:00

2007-04-05T22:27:00.000-05:00

2007-03-01T16:14:00.000-06:00

Another reverse macro. I'm on a kick.

Thinking about trying the water drop shots again now that I've got my lights.

Flower macro

2007-02-27T12:58:00.000-06:00

2007-02-26T18:56:00.000-06:00

Finally got my studio lights in and everything put together. Had to go buy some flowers, just for the occasion ;-) I also ordered a macro reversing ring so I could do some extreme close-ups! This was lit with just one of my new flash units, and I was amazed that it threw so much light I had to set the camera to f22....even with the reversed lens! Crazy. Crazy amounts of light--and I'm loving it.

Yellow Daisy

2007-02-21T22:43:00.000-06:00

Flowers against snow

2007-02-15T21:11:00.000-06:00

The snow is drifted up on our back deck at a height of about 3 feet. It's actually formed a little mountain.

And, I discovered that while the sun is out in the afternoon, it makes for kind of a nice backdrop and reflector. All I really had handy were some flowers my hubby gave me last week, so that's what you get :-)

Winter Tree

2007-02-14T12:07:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we were under a blizzard warning. The day before, we had gotten 6 inches of snow which seemed to continually blow across the roads. I haven't checked all reports yet, but we were supposed to get another 6 inches yesterday.....something I think Mother Nature more than managed.

Business, schools, and even some health clinics shut down early or spent the day closed. I was lucky enough to have my work close before the roads got too bad, and a block from my house I saw this scene. Got home, warmed up a bit and then gathered all my winter gear to treck down the block on foot with my camera.

I wish I could have captured the snow as it appeared to my eye--swirling little demons of snow that were so thick it looked like a wall of fog around this tree.

Today, the wind is much more still and the sun is shining....so I don't think a reshoot will be possible :-(

PAW 3 delayed a bit

2007-01-21T22:14:00.000-06:00

Please accept my apologies for not having a "Friends & Family" shot ready for today. The friend who was supposed to fill that slot this week had a death in the family, so I decided that being there for her in whatever way I could was more important. It's been a rough week for her.

But there have been some good things, too. It snowed for the first time (well, that stuck!) last night. And the Bears are going to the SuperBowl! So here you have another photo of behind my house and the almost two inches of snow that fell. I've been playing around with the High Pass filter and different blending modes lately, so this photo is pretty heavily processed. But I wanted to give it a very different feel from the other shot of the backyard.

2007-01-20T17:59:00.000-06:00

Tried to go out again today, hoping to catch a picturesque barn at sunset. Sorta failed in the driving mission again. Since moving, Chris and I are still trying to learn some of the back roads. Hopefully we'll get the chance to make another short trip tomorrow. Maybe went a touch overboard on the processing, but the sky was very overcast and blah.

2007-01-19T17:54:00.000-06:00

Went out driving with my husband after I got off of work in attempts to get some more "rural" pictures. We didn't see quite what I was looking for, but we did come across several small herds of deer. Hadn't brought my long lens, so this is about as close a view as I can get you.

2007-01-18T21:41:00.000-06:00

On saturday morning, my husband and I will begin to chase a dream of ours :-) We have an appointment with a travel agent to start planning a trip to Italy! It's something we've talked about for a couple of years and are finally putting into action. We don't know exact details yet, but we'd like to go for 14-16 days. The plan is to hit Rome (with Pompeii and Herculaneum), Florence, Assisi, Capri, and Sorrento. Then we'd like to hop over to Greece and hit Olympus and Athens.....cause hey, if you're flying across the world, you might as well see as much as you can :-)

Needless to say, the camera will probably be glued to my face for most of the trip. No worries for filling the PAD on those days ;-)

Before we leave in September, I must secure a good wide angle lens suitable for landscapes.

Our turn for dinner

2007-01-17T22:51:00.000-06:00

It was our turn to cook dinner tonight, and while preparing the vegtables (to be sauteed) I was attracted to these green pepper seeds. The top of this particular pepper just came off so nicely and all the seeds were still clinging tightly inside. So I got my camera and used my 70-210 macro to snatch a shot.

Dinner was Chicken Breast marinated and baked in Pesto sauce...incredibly yummy and good for us too! Accompanied, of course, by the veggies. First time we tried this recipe and it really worked out well. We're making a second batch of the chicken right now to keep as leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

More Pheasant Feathers

2007-01-16T21:50:00.000-06:00

2007-01-15T22:16:00.000-06:00

My husband hunts, and he was kind enough to bring me home a pheasant ruff and some feathers from the last time he was out. These birds are so beautiful to me. When I was younger, my Dad and I would drive the motorcycle through a local forest preserve area and count all the different animals we could see. Deer, of course, and hawks. And there were buffalo (farmed) as well. But the pheasants were something that we were particularly proud of being able to spot from the back of a bike. I remember being so amused at the way they ran, almost like our own Midwest version of the Road Runner. Their little brightly colored heads sticking up out of the prairie grass to watch as we passed.

I don't feel as though I've really captured the colors or the texture that is part of what makes these birds so stunning....so I think I'll keep working on that this week. Didn't really do much to set up this shot, so tomorrow I'll try a different lens (shot this with 50mm) like my macro and add some different lights....or any lights really :-)

PAW Week 2

2007-01-14T21:56:00.000-06:00

This is my friend Shoshanna :-) She is an AMAZING artist who does work that really touches my spirit. Currently she's challenging herself to do 50 watercolors in 50 days...something I couldn't even conceive of. It seems hard enough just to snap a photo every day--I cannot imagine creating what she does on a daily basis. She's a full-time artist, creating spectacular visions for the rest of us to enjoy. Please, please take the time to visit her site at the link below and see some of her watercolors:

http://www.shoshannabauer.com

*EDIT* Until I figure out how to make a hyperlink work, the above is the site address if you're interested in checking out her watercolors. From there you can also find a link to her prints for sale....amazing work! I'm ordering the Phoenix print as soon as I decide on canvas or watercolor paper.

My weekend

2007-01-14T12:55:00.000-06:00

My weekend has been fabulous! Chris (hubby) and I left friday evening for Chicago, with plans to visit my folks and many of our friends who live up there. And it's been a great weekend with lots of laughs and games--plenty of good times. All of which I've documented with my camera!!!

Unfortunately, none of them can I share with you until I get home to Urbana later tonight. Because I left my camera cord at home :-( And my dad shoots Nikon, so that's a no-go with the borrowing. So forgive my apparent lack of photos. I assure you that they've been taken for each of the days and I'll upload them onto my comp tonight when we get back.

For now.....

GO BEARS!!

Saturday

2007-01-13T21:43:00.000-06:00

On Saturday Chris and I went to a party with my old roomates :-) There used to be 7 of us all living in a house together.....can you imagine? And we all survived. No hair pulled or boyfriends stolen :-) Anyhow, we only seem to be able to get together about twice a year so it was really nice to see everyone again. This is Matt and Rin...who you'll likely be seeing again sometime soon as they live in the same town as me. But don't they make a cute couple?

Friday

2007-01-12T21:32:00.000-06:00

This is my parent's dog, Toby. He's a long haired dauschund. He's very cute and loves to play! Especially likes licking toes.....weird dog :-)

2007-01-11T21:04:00.000-06:00

Today I had a photoshoot with another friend who's an artist. She's going to be my PAW for week 2 :-) She's also doing a project of her own--50 paintings in 50 days! I'll put a link up to her artwork on sunday when I post her photo. But for now, here's a taste of her studio....just wait till you see her work!

2007-01-10T22:19:00.000-06:00

For some reason or another, one of the things I really enjoy in life is more "old fashioned" writing. I learned calligraphy in 4th grade and still enjoy it. I'm trying to practice learning different scripts and fonts, though it's not always easy going. But to me, there's something special about a bottle of ink and a pen to dip in it. It feels like it gives any written word more weight, more meaning.

So here's my attempt to capture my feather pen & ink.

2007-01-09T22:00:00.000-06:00

Random, I know.

There are stories behind these items, though they're not related. And they're even more boring than these pics.

But I told myself this year that I was going to post something EVERY day even if it was mediocre. As a musician I know that sometimes you hit wrong notes, even in performances......as a photographer (even a hobbyist one) it's harder for me to accept that. Doesn't mean it's any less true though.

I'm a SLACKER!

2007-01-08T22:34:00.000-06:00

Welcome to my first Slacker photo of the year. Is it a little sad to have a slacker photo up on January 8th? Yeah....maybe. But I worked for nearly 10 hours and then spent the better part of the night trying to figure out exactly what it is I'll need to get the radio transmitter for my lights mounted on my camera. Wanted to make sure I had all that worked out before I place the order for the whole kit & kaboodle.

So my drooling became more important than taking today's picture :-) Shake your heads if you must.

But, despite the extreme volume of slack involved in this photo (including neglecting to change my ISO back to anything remotely reasonable before shooting) there is actually a bit of a connection to my life. Ever since I was ten (so...16 years) I've played the flute. Normally I play your standard every day silver flute. But on a band trip in high school I came across this wooden flute which really kind of captured me. I really enjoy all the different sounds of different kinds of flutes--one of the oldest instruments in the world, you know. Made from a variety of different materials in nearly every region of the world.

Jaime

2007-01-07T21:23:00.000-06:00

Let me introduce you to my friend, Jaime :-) She and I met through some mutual friends about a year and a half ago. We've become close friends, and now it seems like I've known her all my life! There are lots of things that I appreciate about Jaime--her loyalty, her silliness, her compassion. All in all, I'm very happy to have had the time to get to know her. So, here she is now, introduced to you. I hope you enjoy her company as much as I do.

My backyard

2007-01-06T17:09:00.000-06:00

I was running out of time to get my photo done today! We have plans for a short drive to hang out with a bunch of friends and it looks like it'll be another long night. I wanted to get a nice sunset shot, but the atmospheric conditions apparently didn't agree to much. So, looking out over the backyard and the farm field behind it I decided I'd try to do an HDRI of the shot. Still need a bit of practice with that. People keep suggesting Photomatix, so I might try that out.

But here it is, the scene from my back porch :-)

Games!

2007-01-06T02:05:00.000-06:00

Went out tonight to play some board games with friends. I realized all of a sudden that it was a quarter to midnight! Yikes! So this is a photo of the game that we were all playing--Order of the Stick. It's kind of similar to Munchkin in terms of how the game works. It's hysterical because it references so many films, jokes, and other games that we all know.

Sorry to be uploading this one so late, as I know it's technically the next day. But we just got home, so you'll have to cut me a little slack ;-)

By gum, I think she's got it!

2007-01-04T22:56:00.000-06:00

I solemnly swear that I won't post anymore water droplet shots for several months!!! :-) But I feel like when I try something new, I want to keep at it until I get the results that I was looking for. So many times when I set out to shoot a photo, I have a specific look or idea in my head. Maybe it's trying to mimic a great image I've seen or simply trying to evoke a particular mood....but I find it hard to move on until I've got something at least close to right!

So thank you for your patience as I've posted several similar shots this week....but I'm very happy with my results tonight. This is pretty darn close to what I was looking for. I think that having some studio strobes would probably be about the only part of the equation that's missing. The added light would allow me to get a better focus, use a better DOF, and reduce my ISO.

Soon. I will have them soon. *I hope!*

2007-01-03T21:50:00.000-06:00

Every week my husband and I have dinner with two other couples that we're good friends with. We take turns, rotating who cooks and hosts, and generally a fabulous time is had by all. We've been doing this for about a year now. It's really nice to be able to take the time to make a good homemade meal (maybe even something fancy and new!) and have good conversation with some of our dearest friends. Tonight we both got to sit back and relax as it was someone else's turn to do the cooking!! Of course, I brought my camera and snagged a couple picks for my PAD. The first one is a little more serious than the second one ;-) Though the second features our lovely chef, who will undoubtedly be modeling for my PAW theme! Some from DPC may recognize her as the model for my shot in the Wind challenge. She's awesome :-) But more on her awesomeness later.

2007-01-02T21:16:00.000-06:00

Tried the water droplets again tonight. This time I used a different dish--a shallow blue plate, which I think worked much better. It allowed me to shoot without capturing the edge of the baking pan I used last night. I also added one of my halogen lights to the set-up which (I think) is responsible for the clarity of the water. Upped my ISO to 1600, causing some noise that I had to soften with the blur tool.

But all in all, I think it's a better capture than yesterday. Still not *quite* what I was looking for....but better.

Water droplets

2007-01-01T20:00:00.000-06:00

I wanted to try my hand at capturing water droplets in stop motion. After doing some reading and searching the house for a turkey baster I apparently don't really have, I decided to give it a shot! The only light came from the light in my bathroom and my on-camera flash. Usually I'm not a big fan of on-camera flash, but in order to get the shutter speeds necessary to stop the motion, I had to make some concessions.

Decently pleased with the results...not "wowed." Unfortunately, there was nowhere to add extra lights in the bathroom I used. I think maybe tomorrow I will try again in another sink that might allow room for my little halogen worklights.

For the New Year

2006-12-24T12:34:00.000-06:00

For the New Year 2007 it looks as though I'll be making another attempt at a PAD project.....but this time, with a little twist! In addition to sharing a photo each and every day, I'll also be presenting a themed photo every week. Looking over my life and what is truly important to me, I've settled on the theme of Family and Friends. These important people have offered me support in ways that I can't even measure....so this PAW (photo a week) project will be in tribute to them! Along with their photo, I plan to tell a little bit about why they mean so much to me and a little bit of their story as well.

There are a number of people at DPC who will also be participating in their own PADs and PAWs. They are absolutely wonderful photographers and you should check their work out from the links on this site.

Seeing as how this PAD went woefully awry at several points in 2006, I'll be spending the remainder of the year doing some adjustments to this blog in order to get it ready for the next year's project.

Thanks to all who have checked in here and offered comments and support! Hope to see you visit again in 2007!! :-)

2006-12-19T16:03:00.000-06:00

These are some shots that I took of me and my husband for the Life challenge. Having someone like him to share all aspects of my life with has truly been a treasure. Supportive in every way, caring, silly, loving--he gives so much to our life together :-)

2006-12-16T18:29:00.000-06:00

Trying to get back into the swing of things, though I know the year is almost over.

Seems that despite any determination, the Photo A Day was a bit tougher than I thought it would be! Still trying to decide whether I'll attempt again next year. I'd like to say that I will...

But I can say that I learned a lot by what got done on this one. My knowledge of shutter speeds, aperture, etc. has grown. I'm certainly still learning about composition, and coming up with ideas in general. I tend to prefer "found" shots rather than set-up ones. Hopefully that will change over time--especially with the possible addition of some studio lights. And I feel comfortable, at home, with my my camera. I have "zen-ed" with it, so to speak :-) Which makes me quite happy.

Colorado Springs

2006-10-13T22:41:00.000-05:00

Took a trip to Colorado Springs to see two friends get married, and made a vacation out of it! Being from Illinois, land of the flat and home of the boring, I really enjoyed the trip and getting to take pictures of the mountains.

I was scared to drive to the top of Pike's Peak, but we did it anyways! Here are some of the results:

2006-08-14T18:25:00.000-05:00

Some photos from the Chicago GTG this last Saturday!

2006-08-10T21:55:00.000-05:00

Had a lovely afternoon with my husband, walking around one of the local praire trails. We saw a deer! And, also lots of butterflies, which of course I had to stop and take a million pictures of :-)

Amazing circles

2006-08-08T23:29:00.000-05:00

I really got a kick out of the Amazing Circles when I first found out about them. So sometimes when my photos don't come out absolutely fabulously, they get turned into Circles instead.

And today, I tried my hand at putting a bunch of them together to make what I call "Granny Quilt":

2006-08-07T15:40:00.000-05:00

2006-08-07T00:24:00.000-05:00

Attempting to give some flowers that "ethereal" look....hmmm, need more practice.

2006-07-31T00:15:00.000-05:00

Wednesday was the third wedding anniversary for my husband and I. We planned a lovely evening, going out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and then out to see a movie. Sometime during the movie it began to rain, which was very welcome as it's been incredibly hot and humid here lately. All the way home we talked about the parts of the movie we enjoyed. Just before we were about to turn into our driveway, we passed what looked like a large leaf....unusual because the neighborhood is new construction and there aren't any large trees. I told Chris to back the car up carefully, and through the steady rain we could see a HUGE toad in our headlights. I didn't want someone to run over the poor guy, so I hopped out of the car and into the rain to carry him to the safety of our lawn. My husband, of course, laughs at my lack of concern over the rain...especially because it's replaced by concern for the large toad. I escort the toad to the our yard while my husband parks the car and then joins me to look at just how big this guy is. And a "crazy photographer" moment strikes :-) You all know the ones I'm talking about.

So I look at my husband in the way that only women can, and ask if he would pretty pretty please bring out an umbrella and a flashlight while I get my camera....so that I can take pictures of the toad.

As he smiles, shakes his head, and starts towards the house to retrieve the requested items, I'm struck again by just how much I love him. It's not everyone in the world that would share my joy over a large toad found in the rain. And those who would patiently hold an umbrella and flashlight while I snap away with my camera must literally be one in a billion.

2006-07-30T16:50:00.000-05:00

A monarch butterfly feeding on sweet clover in my backyard. Taken in the afternoon (lots of sun) with my 70-200mm macro lens. I was attempting to get some dragonflies, but they're a little harder to snap than I thought they'd be!

2006-07-28T11:37:00.000-05:00

Now that some of my landscaping has started to bloom, I'm the crazy camera lady who's always taking pictures of her flowers. Every time a new plant blooms, I inform my friends how many currently have flowers :-) It sounds strange, but considering I put them into the ground looking like nothing more than detritus, I'm very happy to have some good sized healthy plants!! Now, if only the butterflies and hummingbirds will take notice I'll be in business.

Long time, no picture

2006-07-27T00:06:00.000-05:00

Here's my valiant attempt to start this up again! And on my third wedding anniversary, nonetheless. Life has been quite busy lately--getting the new house settled into and finishing up jobs with two of the families I nanny for. Now things have settled down for a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to another job search, which will hopefully end in me teaching Pre-school! But, along the way I had the pleasure of being asked to take some engagement photos for two of my friends.

They live out of town, but came in for a weekend. It had been raining a couple of days before their arrival and I was really worried that the weather would ruin the outdoor shoot we had planned. Luckily, the rain stayed about three days off and we were blessed with plenty of sunshine. The only thing that had me concerned then was that the couple wanted to go to lunch with a bunch of people before the shoot...meaning we'd be shooting in some pretty harsh afternoon sun. Nothing to do about that I suppose. Though it was an experience snapping pics at such high shutter speeds! I've spent some time editing the 400+ shots that I took of the couple, and they gladly gave their permission for me to share some here :-)

Another Outtake

2006-04-26T01:12:00.000-05:00

Here's another outtake for the Negative Image challenge......again, NOTHING like what I submitted. Though it was a tough choice cause I really liked the colors in this one. But I thought it might be a little too abstract for some DPC voters. So, instead, I'll share it here!

Sorry for the number of these Negative Images, but I really like shooting in this style. I've been doing some since I was shooting with my Sony P&S, which had a negative mode. It's really fun to take photos of things that look AWFUL and then find they look particularly pleasant when inverted. I've also found that underexposed shots come out really well when inverted. Fun stuff!

2006-04-25T00:21:00.000-05:00

Was messing around the last couple days with some shots for the Negative Image challenge.....so this is an outtake...

Though it's an outtake that has nothing to do with what I submitted, other than that it's a negative image :-) So no worries for any of you DPCers!!

Youth soccer

2006-04-19T01:05:00.000-05:00

My husband coaches a youth soccer league and tonight his team played a game! I've brought my camera to a couple of the games and taken some pictures. At the end of the season, I'd like to burn some CDs of the photos for the parents of all the kids on the team.

Here are a couple of the shots!

The kids are just too cute....they work so hard! I've also learned that it's a wee bit harder to take sports shots than I might have originally thought ;-) Big props to those who do this for a living and take all of the shots that us everyday people associate with the sports we love!

Oh my oh my

2006-03-30T23:55:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been quite a while.

I fell off the bandwagon :-(

Actually, my computer PUSHED me off of it! I think when it got dropped it did something bad to the motherboard. All attempts to install nearly anything onto the hard drive have failed. Yet it still saves. But, even at that, it sat dark and unreachable for nearly a month until my Dad fixed it (miraculously!) about a week ago.

And why, if my computer has been functioning for a week, have I not posted anything here?

*sigh* Cause I'm lame, I guess. Though, truthfully, I've been insanely busy. My husband and I close on our new house tomorrow morning! Which means I've been to Home Depot 843 million times and have spent many hours sewing curtains and the like. Add to this a best friend who is getting married in two weeks and the bridal showers I've had to attend, and I'm just beat!

Heck, I might as well get out all the bad news at once. I was GOING to post a picture here tonight, but I can't. It went into a challenge over at DPC :-) I spent this afternoon getting stuff to make a lightbox and playing around with it for the Yellow challenge. The good news is that I REALLY like what the lightbox does...it makes my work so much easier and I can't believe I ever lived without one!

Since we close tomorrow, I can't even promise a picture for tomorrow, but I will try really hard. I wanna get back in the groove of this....amazing how much you miss it when you're not working on it.

2006-02-16T00:32:00.000-06:00

Shells that my hubby and I collected on our honeymoon. Viewed through a glass vase/jar.

Shoulda woulda

2006-02-16T00:29:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I didn't post this cause it's an outtake from the Abstract challenge. Looks NOTHING like what I submitted, and in retrospect I wish I had entered this one instead. Not that it's super fabulous, cause it could certainly be more interesting. But I think that I like it better than what I entered.

Meet Tucker

2006-02-09T23:16:00.000-06:00

This is one of my two cats :-) Her name is Tucker! Yes, strange name, especially for a *girl* cat....but, it is as it is.

I know that February is themed as Emotions for me, and looking over the month so far, most of it fits. The stuff I took about my grandpa, certainly. The excitement over buying a house.

So it wouldn't be very proper if I left out Tucker. I got Tucker on a trip to visit my grandma and grandpa several years ago. It was a rough part of life for me. I was dealing with failing health of family members, a long distance relationship with my boyfriend, and finding out that what I had dreamt of studying in school wasn't as fulfilling as I thought it would be. Definitely one of the lower points of my life....which is why this little (ok, she's not so little anymore!) kitty means the world to me.

I've always loved cats, and we had three when I was growing up. Loved them with all my heart! But this one....this one is different. Not only do I feel a bond with her, but it's obvious that she feels a bond with me too. My husband laughs because Tucker will come sit on my lap, look straight at me, and talk to me....ok, maybe the odd looks are because I'll occassionaly talk back to her ;-) Tucker knows just what I need, depending on my mood. If my hubby is out of town, she'll ALWAYS come to sleep with me. If I'm feeling sad or crying, she rubs up on my leg within moments.

Even though I know it may seem like "just another pet picture," this one represents love and empathy to me. Many a times I've wondered where I'd be without the steadfast company of this cat :-)

2006-02-06T23:45:00.000-06:00

Oh people of the PAD world....

I beg your forgiveness!!!

But, in all truthfulness, I'm not a slacker (though one might think so from lack of update so far today!). I've been busily and steadily editing some photos for the Hurricane Katrina Volunteer Photo effort thingy. Yeah...thingy...that's about as much as my brain will give me right now. Too much patching, cloning, healing, etc for today...

If the world were perfect, I'd have time to shoot some stuff, edit it, post it here, AND do the volunteer work. But I kinda figure that these people might need their photos more than I need mine right now :-)

So, I'll hop back on hopefully tomorrow. Should have the last pic done by then and be back on track here!

2006-02-04T23:49:00.000-06:00

Spent most of this evening trying to nail down some abstract shots for the challenge this week. I think I maybe got one, so I posted all of the ones that didn't make the cut....many of them for obvious reasons ;-) I'll have to keep trying tomorrow and monday and see what I get. Finding that it's VERY hard to take an abstract photo that still looks like a photo as opposed to digital art. Very difficult indeed. I'm imagining that those which are more "photo-esque" will probably score better than those that look more digital in nature, but who knows? Had a good time anyways!

2006-02-03T23:04:00.000-06:00

I'm gonna hope that I'm not jinxing myself with this one.....

But we put an offer in.

Now it's just crossing fingers!!

*edit for more details*
Yup, it's new construction, hence no lawn yet :-) There's seed down, but seeing as how it's winter....We're pretty excited though! Still hammering out offers, as our lease on our apartment doesn't run out until July. It was pretty overcast the day I took the pic, so that's why it's in B&W.

2006-02-02T23:45:00.000-06:00

I chose today to continue the tribute to my grandpa with another photo :-) As the oldest of the grandchildren, my sister and I got to spend the most time with Grandma and Grandpa before they fell into bad health--something I'm profoundly grateful for. I have years upon years of great memories with them. Trips to the zoo, the movies, Show Biz Pizza, the mall, the pool.....everywhere a kid would ever want to go!

Grandma taught me how to knit when I was about 6 years old. She helped teach me to swim.

And Grandpa taught me a lot too, something I realized even more after he had passed. He was a loving and gentle man with a certain touch of stoicism. It's not that he was ever afraid to cry, but more that he preferred to look at the happy parts of any situation. He had a gift for remembering people and all kinds of details about their lives--who they were married to, the names of their kids, their most recent golf score. I suppose it came from his work as a lobbyist....or perhaps he had that job because of his ability to connect with people.

One summer when my sister and I were visiting, Grandpa sat us down at the kitchen table and handed us each a large manila envelope. Inside were some stamps and several pages of a stamp collecting kit. He showed us how to affix the stamps to the pages, and how to patiently soak stamps off of envelopes to expand our collection. After that, every time we went to Grandma and Grandpa's, he would give us each some stamps he had set aside and we would spend at least the better part of one day doing nothing but fiddling with our collections. As we grew older, it slowed a bit. I think he tried to give the same experience to the other grandchildren, but I don't know that anyone else really had the same interest in it.

So, when he passed away and I was asked what I might like to remember him by, it took me less than 5 seconds to reply. The stamps. They somehow categorize the time I spent with him. He also collected coins--more than stamps actually....but to me, the stamps were more representative. One of my cousins took a small portion of the collection, and the rest came home with me.

It may sound dorky :-) Not too many 25 year olds have stamp collections in this day and age!! lol But I absolutely treasure them. Still working on trying to get them all cataloged and organized....but I'll finish some day. And then I'll be able to pull them out and show my children. And tell them how wonderful it was to spend time with my Grandfather, share stories about him, and tell them what kind of a man he was. Who knows? Maybe they'll like it :-)

2006-02-01T20:56:00.000-06:00

A couple nights ago my computer was really acting up. I had to restart it about 6 times, all my programs were taking forever to launch....I don't know what's wrong with it! It's very unusual because I don't have problems with my computer very often at all. After putzing around with it, I finally managed to fix it, but it was a trying night to say the least! So I helped myself to a little of the above ;-)

And today I took a shot of it and am posting it--not only because it's good at fixing computers, but because this particular bottle has sentimental value as well. This is a 1969 bottle of Cutty Sark. Why do I have this?? Well, it had been my grandfather's. He was a lobbyist in Iowa for many years, and though he and my grandma never really drank, they always had a full bar available for entertaining. They had apparently moved their entire stock with them from Iowa to Arkansas many years ago. My grandpa passed away two years ago this March, and while we were going through the house my family was surprised to come across a large collection of unopened liquor. So, weird as it may seem, it's a memento from my grandpa. Luckily for me, I happen to enjoy scotch :-) Now whenever I raise a glass of my "grandpa scotch" I can think of him.

2006-01-31T22:45:00.000-06:00

Again, another day where my photo went into a challenge!! Not sure that I should have put it in...but I was just so itchy! The last few challenges have passed me by without any entries, so I wanted to get back in the swing of things.

2006-01-30T20:52:00.000-06:00

Well, today's shot went into a challenge....so I'm scrounging for something else to post. My apologies because it's not the greatest shot.

2006-01-29T23:28:00.000-06:00

Well, the first picture is my new toy!! Had some gift cards to Best Buy, so I went out there today and bought a Graphire4 graphics tablet. Which will help a LOT with keeping my wrists healthy (especially with all the editing I'm doing lately). I've played with it some tonight....which is how I arrived at the second photo! Really didn't want to do another shot of myself, but I needed a photo to futz with and get used to the Graphire.

Love love love my new toy!!

2006-01-28T22:23:00.000-06:00

My sweetie nicely agreed to pose for me before heading of to a University of Illinois basketball game. Go Illini!!

2006-01-27T17:22:00.000-06:00

2006-01-26T23:13:00.000-06:00

2006-01-25T16:06:00.000-06:00

Guess who? Yup! Ok, so I know I've been lax about posting things here the last three days. My deepest apologies! Between work, school, house hunting, any kind of social life, and getting all these pics edited, my life has just been crazy.

So, here are the pics.

Hope to get out tomorrow and this week and do some "me" stuff.

More Emily

2006-01-24T18:00:00.000-06:00

Haven't had much time to go out and shoot today as I'm still editing the shots from yesterday! So here's another one:

Emily

2006-01-23T23:30:00.000-06:00

This is my friend, Emily. Emily is a DJ here in Champaign-Urbana, IL.....and a pretty dang good one too! She spins weekly at one of the clubs in town and it's always a thrill to go dance to her tracks. Lately she's been working on a lot of her own stuff (in terms of music) and is starting to get more active in the biz. So for some crazy reason she asked ME to take some photos that could be used for promotional pieces! A little intimidating cause she in addition to knowing how to work the turntables, she can shoot a camera with the best of 'em too. We went out for about three hours today and I struggled with poor lighting conditions all over the place (need my own studio!), but in the end I think we came out with some ok stuff. Most of it's certainly a different style, but I think it will project her image well. This first one is a little more "mainstream".

This one I was having fun playing around. I really want to give her some stuff that's as unique and artistic as she is. Of course...if I fail, it's a good thing she has Photoshop too!! ;-)

All in all, a great day though. Filled my card and had tons of fun shooting away! Thanks to Emily for giving me this opportunity and for being willing to be my guineau pig!

2006-01-22T17:14:00.000-06:00

Took my husband with me today, and he must be my good luck charm. Maybe he smells better to the animals than I do ;-) We saw several downy woodpeckers, but unfortunately it was too overcast to really get a good photo of them. I snapped off about 20 different shots, but I was really disappointed when I got them home. No good at all.

But I did get this rather goofy looking pic of my hubby :-) He keeps suggesting that we paint his face and hide him in a bush for the Wildlife challenge....I keep refraining from making jokes about "domesticated animals".

Entering the challenges is always a thrill....but there's a simple joy to be found in just looking for ways to meet them.

2006-01-21T20:09:00.000-06:00

Still looking......

still not finding.

2006-01-20T17:07:00.000-06:00

Still on my hunt for Wildlife. There have been lots of signs.....but no animals so far.

2006-01-19T20:53:00.000-06:00

Went out today to try and find some wildlife. Usually, on any given day that I travel down the highway, I can spot a hawk every mile or so. Though, of course, the day I try to search one out....they're all gone.

So instead we get some fungus :-) Thought and thought to see if there was any way I could consider that "wildlife"....

and realized I should just post it here.

2006-01-18T12:37:00.000-06:00

Still trying!! Gonna try tomorrow to bring in some lights for the side, see if that helps the smoke stand out a bit.

2006-01-17T23:07:00.000-06:00

Tried something I've been curious about for a while now, and found out it was much harder than I expected!! Took forever to figure out the settings and what the best way to do the post processing was....and I still don't think I'm quite there yet. Might do some more experimenting tomorrow.

I think I over NeatImaged this one...but I kinda liked it.

Oh, for those that don't know, this is a photo of smoke. Seen 'em around and liked them, so I thought I'd give it a try.

And David is dope.

2006-01-16T23:45:00.000-06:00

Following my Game Board trend ;-)

A free for all

2006-01-15T18:52:00.000-06:00

Tonight was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen in a long time. Like many people, I'm quite a sucker for a good sunset. Plus, my dad's given me one of his tripods, so I just HAD to make use of it :-)

The result? You will now be bombarded by about 5 different sunset pics....that's the most I could narrow it down to!

Another first

2006-01-14T23:38:00.000-06:00

It's my first shot of the moon. Driving back from errands with my husband and my parents, the moon started to rise--probably as large as I'd ever seen it! I silently willed my dad to drive quickly so I could get to their house in time to pull out the camera and tripod. Finally got home, pulled the gear together, ran out to the front yard, and snapped some shots. It's the first time I've taken shots of the moon with this camera, so there was quite a bit of experimenting with settings, and possibly even more of me cursing while I desperately tried to remember advice on settings I'd seen in the forums (much to no avail).

And then.....there was editing. Dang. It is HARD to edit the moon...especially to get it to look like it does in the sky. Used a 75-300mm lens, bulb mode, and tripod to take the shot. Did some levels, contrast, and color balance work in post processing, as well as a crop and some sharpening.

Definitely a technique I'll have to practice at more-both with taking the shot and with Photoshop. But, all in all, I liked it. Reminds me of the giant poster I had of Neil Armstrong on the moon which hung up in my room as a child.

2006-01-13T12:49:00.000-06:00

Today we have a yellow abstract, because most of the day was spent getting ready for a weekend trip and driving!

2006-01-12T22:58:00.000-06:00

I was hoping that I wouldn't have a picture to put here today...was hoping instead that I'd have something to enter in a challenge. But, as it is, there is a feather here.

Not much to say about it really. Found it on the ground downtown.

That, and I like feathers :-)

A house!

2006-01-11T21:36:00.000-06:00

Hurray for houses!!

*apologizes* I'll back up a moment.

Today my husband and I got pre-approved for a home mortgage. We met with a realtor about two weeks ago and met with the bank today. So, the looking can officially start!! We're very excited about this, needless to say. So it inspired my PAD for today. It'll be quite a ride, I'm sure...trying to find a house that we BOTH love, getting ready to move out of our apartment--just all of it. But, at the end, we'll have our very own home :-) A place to call ours!

And...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there's at least one extra room that could be used as a studio ;-) Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Early Bird

2006-01-10T16:05:00.000-06:00

Went downtown today to try and take some shots for the Singled Out challenge. And then I said to myself, "Self--it's the middle of the afternoon on a workday/schoolday, it's raining, and it's cold outside. Did you really? expect a lot of people wandering around downtown?"

*shakes head* Gonna have to try that again I guess.

But, I did manage to find some cute little birds and so I entertained myself with them for a while. Chased them all around a bank parking lot, narrowly avoiding cars. It was fun :-) Perhaps next time I get the chance to shoot some birds, they'll actually be some more interesting ones--a little more color maybe.

All the way from England!

2006-01-09T23:55:00.000-06:00

My good friend, Matt, is back in the States for a month!! He's recently been in England, working overseas. Matt is one of those guys that always knows how to make me smile and is just a joy to be around. So, naturally, I forced him to pose for my PAD :-)

*WARNING* This is by -no means- a serious photo :-) Much like Fat Free Ice Cream is not really ice cream.

We've been hanging out and having fun for most of the evening, and Matt, who is quite used to being on stage, developed some shyness. Hence the National Geographic pose with my lovely old quilt as a veil :-)

Went for a tritone here in the spirit of somewhat keeping with my January theme.

I must admit...photo was not my first priority today. It's been months since I've seen my dear friend and I'm not ashamed to say that goofing off was more important to me today! ;-)

Threads

2006-01-08T19:54:00.000-06:00

Another bit of practice with stock photography, though I don't know if I'll end up submitting it or not. But, there's some history that made me think of the idea. When I was a little girl, I spent a fair amount of time with my mom, who taught me how to sew. We worked on clothes for dolls, quilts, halloween costumes....and, as I got older--even prom dresses. It was always time that I really enjoyed spending with my mom--something for just us girls. It meant a lot to me then. I felt so grown up, learning to use the sewing machine.

I hope that someday it's a skill that I can pass on down to my future children :-)

Take stock in practice

2006-01-07T17:59:00.000-06:00

Been trying my hand at some stock photography in the last few months. Now that I have my DLSR, I'm starting to feel the itch for new lenses!! :-) Everybody told me I would--and it looks like they're right! It makes sense to me that one of the better ways to fund my photography addiction might be with my photography. After all, if I can't make enough to contribute even slightly to the hobby...perhaps I don't need to go out and spend a fortune buying equipment ;-)

At any rate, I was practicing some stock stuff today. Been trying to get myself in that frame of mind, which I find rather difficult. I'm not used to taking a simple image of every day items. I really kinda prefer the more "artsy" stuff. But, of course, if you want to sell a product, it has to be what the market wants!

This was a first attempt at the "Medical" category. Realized only *after* I uploaded the pics to my computer that I'd had the ISO set WAY too high! So there's been some NeatImage done to this shot. Other than that, just your very basic adjustments: Levels, Contrast, Crop, Resize. If anyone has any tips on what might make this stand out more to a potential buyer, I'm hoping to do a reshoot tomorrow! Lighting is a particular problem for me, as I don't have any of that equipment and have to make due with the lights around the apartment.

Thanks a bunch!

2006-01-06T21:31:00.000-06:00

I'm in the field of Early Childhood Education, and it's so much fun to be around kids! There's a part of me that feels like I can really be myself around them--be the 5 year old that's hidden behind "responsible adult activties." It's amazing to me to see all of the new experiences of young children happen on a day-to-day basis. I love watching them try at something for the first time and the smiles on their faces when they finally succeed.

So, this picture represents my inner child, I guess :-) I wanted to do something that was reminiscent of a children's book illustration...or perhaps even a child's drawing. For this photo, I used the Colored Pencil filter as well as the Paint Daubs filter for a little added colored area.

I know it's not a very "realistic" photo...but it reminds me of that book "Corduroy."

My first

2006-01-05T21:24:00.000-06:00

Well, it's my first self-portrait! I had wanted to get outside today and take some photos, but it's been nothing but cloudy, overcast, and grey here in Illinois. So I decided to take a brief stroll into the land of self-portraits. Probably not something I'm going to do a lot, as I HATE pictures of me....likely one of the reasons I enjoy taking pictures of other people!

The unedited shots didn't come out quite like I wanted, so I've gone with something of a digital art filter. Was wishing that I had the Draganizer plug in for Photoshop :-) But I used what I had. Tiny bits of saturation, gaussian blur, diffuse glow, levels, USM...all that good stuff.

So..not really one that you frame at your parent's house....but for a dreaded self-portrait....

Well, at least it's done!

*and before midnight too!! :-)*

EDIT-Just realized I hadn't downsized the photo...eek! Sorry bout that. All better now

Martini Anyone?

2006-01-04T11:45:00.000-06:00

So I sat down tonight to think about my photography and made a martini.....

Set it down for a minute....only to see my two cats drinking from it!!!

And...well, I guess one of them had a little too much ;-)

Tee hee! Ok, first things first--this is NOT a real martini! I don't want you people thinking I get my pets drunk :-) It was WATER and I garauntee that no animals were harmed in the shooting of these photos :-)

Also, it's my first attempt at a triptych! I really was gonna just do the martini glass, but wasn't thrilled with the lighting I was getting. While messing around with the settings on my camera, the cats came up and started drinking out of my glass. Initially though about chasing them away, but then it was just too cute :-) So, now I have a little storyboard! Tucker is the tabby and Conner is the white one. And yes, Conner really DID knock over the glass at the end of the shoot...that just made me giggle.

Abstracts

2006-01-03T23:13:00.000-06:00

Well, another day spent running around like a chicken, only to suddenly find that it's 10:00 at night and I STILL have to take my photos! Therefore, we have some abstracts....but at least it's a two for one day....

And another one, which is the same photo as above, but distorted into something that I find rather lovely :-) But one of these days I'll need Konador to teach me some of his abstract tricks!

Red, red wine

2006-01-02T20:13:00.000-06:00

A glass of red wine had during dinner with friends tonight :-) As the New Year progresses I have endeavored to make sure that all of my friends know how much they mean to me and how supportive they have been. Every week we have dinner with a couple of friends and we usually share a bottle of wine, lots of laughs, and memories of all kinds over the last few years.

In terms of the photo, I like the colors mostly. The composition leaves something to be desired, looking at it now. But I'd rather drink some more than do a re-shoot ;-) I've learned tonight that glassware (much like metal!) is harder to shoot than one would think. Most especially after you've touched it or taken a sip from the edge and left smudges on it. Darn near impossible to clone smudges too!! It was a quick edit tonight as there are fun times ahead. So--in retrospect--things I would change about the photo: composition...to centered. And the smudges/lighting reflections....just nothing to do about that tonight.

Lonesome Dove

2006-01-01T16:46:00.000-06:00

Since Thanksgiving I've been enjoying the use of a 70-300mm Minolta lens, on loan to me from a relative. It's a film lens, but it works pretty well with my digital body and I've loved being able to get some closer shots of birds and the like. Originally there had been about 4 doves hanging out, but this guy was the only one who wasn't camera shy :-)

2005-12-28T17:35:00.000-06:00

Just a test run to make sure that things are working properly :-) Found out how to make these circles in Photoshop and had a little fun with it!

Some personal guidelines

2005-12-27T17:10:00.000-06:00

As I'm still relatively new to photography, I wanted to give this project a few guidelines to help me in my development. I've outlined a theme for every month of 2006! Not every daily photo will stick to the theme, I'm sure, but my hope is that many of them will. This way I can spend some serious time focusing on different aspects of photography.

So, as of a few short days before the start of the year, here is my plan:

January-Black and White
February-Emotive
March-Patterns/Texture
April-Portrait/Self portrait
May-Flowers/nature
June-Macro
July-Light/Shadow
August-Digital art/art filters
September- Landscapes/Wide Angle
October-Color
November- Sunrises/Sunsets
December- Frost/Snow/Coldness

Just a few days till kickoff!

What it's all about

2005-12-20T21:42:00.000-06:00

In 2006 I will be embarking on a photographic journey of my life. I will strive to create and maintain a Photo-a-day project. For anyone unfamiliar with the concept, I will have one photo for every day of the year! I'm really hoping that this keeps me busy with my photography and encourages me to be creative and thoughtful with my shots.

I'd love it if you stop by to take a look and maybe even tell me what you think about my photos!