Snowy days.

Today I just had to take Aiden out in the snow and get some cute pictures of him before the winter was over. It was the first time all winter he actually got to walk around in it, and touch it. Last time it snowed, it melted before he could even see what it was. When he saw it on the ground he said "snomannn" even though it was only a half inch. So, today I made extra time in the morning to get some shots of him enjoying himself.When Aiden got home from school today he was totally pooped. He hasn't been napping at his new school so he usually just falls asleep in the car and goes to bed without dinner. So, while he was snoozing on the couch I had to try and get the picture of his beautiful lashes that I've been itching for. Such long lashes, just like his daddy.

Small vacation from blogging...

I took a small vacation from blogging because I was feeling uninspired and had little motivation to take pictures. It is cold and dreary outside, so that limits my abilities and creativity. I anxiously look forward to the warmth so that I can take Aiden to the playground, park and on walks to get some different shots.

Yesterday, it was 60 degrees out and beautiful! So, after Aiden got up from his nap we went outside. He enjoys playing outside and getting some fresh air. He is very interested in the "pie-cones" and he likes to hold them up to the sky to try and put them back in the trees. At one point, he even picked two of them up to put them in a wedge in a tree. My little environmentalist...

At any rate, I took some pictures of him and played with a little post processing to try and develop my skills in that area. This is my favorite of the set. I love the conversion, I think his eyes are my favorite part of this picture.

And here it is in color, with a 70's feel...

And this one came out EXTREMELY underexposed, so when I edited it to try and bring it back (because I rarely get smiling shots of him) the background is blown...cute with mommy goggles anyway!

New Design

Today I did one of my favorite things, designing a baby announcement. I just love playing with baby pictures. I wish I was in Florida to take his newborn shots.

With the help of my amazing husband, and the Yada girls I finally came up with a fresh, new design that I totally love! Now I just need a baby boy so I can use this for myself. haha

Atlantic City skyline

A beautiful shot of the Atlantic City skyline on a brisk winter day. I was on the Cesar's pier so it looks like I am standing in the ocean to get the shot. I love the colors.

Mommy and Aiden

This picture is courtesy of my favorite local photographer, Cara. This picture is one in a series of pictures that show Aiden's absolute frustration with the camera. We tried like hell to get him to look at her ONE time, but it just didn't work out. At any rate, this picture is the only salvagable one. I like it! I am usually behind the camera, and only have a handful of pictures with Aiden. So, this is precious to me.

Lesson 2, Assignment 3

This assignment was to utilize various shutter speeds to creatively portray an effect. I used a fast shutter speed to catch the acorn going into the lake, but because I don't have a tripod and had to throw the acorn, focus the picture, and snap it all in one motion-I was only able to capture the after effect. However, I really like the ripples and reflection of the trees.

ss 1/250
f 4.2
ISO 400

Lesson 2, Assignment 1 and 2

These are the photos I submitted for my Lesson 2, Assignments 1 and 2. The first Assignment was to take a photo of a landscape at ss 1/60, while adjusting the aperature to see the difference it made. The initial aperature set at 3.5 created a totally white photo. With the ISO at 400, the exposure was best at f20, which is shown below.

The next task was to take a picture while adjusting the shutter at a set aperature to best expose a picture. This picture's settings are : ISO 400, ss 1/125, f 9
I look forward to the next Lesson, and need to work on the 3rd assignment tomorrow.

Groundhog Day?

It was news to me. I remember when you were in school, they would make a big deal about it being Groundhog's day and how we would all do arts and crafts around the "holiday." We would wait to see if Mr. Groundhog (his name escapes me) came out of his hole and make a big fuss about it. Now, mind you I am from Florida...but having winter be over 6 weeks sooner was still exciting to us. We just didn't really KNOW exactly what "winter" entailed for the rest of the states. haha

Well, at some point through the years this day has become insignificant to me. I was reminded today when picking Aiden up from daycare that today was the BIG DAY. His teacher presented me with this cute little groundhog hat that the kids made, and Aiden wears it proudly.

He is the cutest groundhog I ever did see. Mommy goggles please: