7 Months and My First Handmade Prop

Yes, my baby is 7 months old and yes, I made my first photography prop! I found a pattern on Etsy to make one of these fringe throws and I just had to have it! I LOVE it and can't wait to make another....possibly a girl-themed one?!

I'm in love with this one:

A drawer from his dresser worked perfectly as a little seat. :)

What a sweet little model I have!

Hand-Me-Down

This cute Grammy outfit was Caleb's back in the day.

Now it's Stellan's.
Not for long, though, because I couldn't button every button in the back!

Here are a couple shots of Caleb wearing it. (I would say that my photography skills have definitely improved since then. Yikes!)

That Boy

All I can say is thank goodness for washable markers!!

Dreaming Out Loud

In case some of you don't know, I have a passion for photography. I realized it, or maybe I should say that I realized how strong of a passion it was, right after we moved from North Carolina, two February's ago. I didn't know what I wanted to do with that passion except simply learn how to take better pictures.

Over the past couple years I believe I have improved. I know I've learned alot, but I also know that I have a ton more to learn. This past December, I learned of a photography scholarship called Soar! After considering applying, talking with Chris, and praying about it, I decided to apply. The purpose of the scholarship is to provide everything necessary to start a successful photography business: the gear, business coaching, photography assignments, blogging, etc.

I did not win the scholarship, and when I learned that, at first I was very discouraged. Very discouraged. I had thought that this was my one chance if anything was ever going to happen with my love for photography. How was I going to get better if I didn't have the proper equipment?

Well, I am so very extremely thankful to God for providing a way for us to finally purchase a DSLR camera for me! I just received it in the mail last week and I'm so excited about learning how to use it! I never thought that one week after finding out that I didn't win the scholarship, Chris and I would realize that we would have the ability to buy a good camera for me. God is so good!

I still have access to many, many benefits of the Soar! program. I am following along the journey of the 3 winners this year and participating in the photography assignments from home. I hope to learn how to use manual settings on my camera to step out of "auto mode" and achieve "the perfect shot". I hope to grow as a business person, learning all the how-to's of starting a business and being successful. I hope that my passion overflows into my work, capturing moments in time that will be meaningful to families for years to come.

I don't know exactly the plan that God has for me in this. I know it's a risk, saying my dream out loud for all the universe to hear, but I do know that God gave me a passion and a desire, and so I'm going for it. Yes, I'm scared. And nervous. But I'm excited. I'm going to do this. I'm going to see where God takes me on this journey. Will you join me?

Critique This

I'm excited about this new blog hop of Monica's from Pixel Perfect. I welcome any one who wants to critique my work and give me tips so I can improve my photography. If you came from Monica's blog, welcome!! Thank you for stopping by!

For this photo, I tried black and white with selective color for the first time. I watched a tutorial on how to do it and this is my first attempt. I'm pretty happy with the result. What do you think?

Belated Birthday Pics

I finally took Laura Anne outside to take her 5-year pictures! I decided that we will not be going to a studio anymore because 1--it will save us money, and 2--I'm perfectly capable of taking at least halfway decent photos. :)

I love this next picture although it is a tad fuzzy. The camera focused on the grass behind Laura Anne. But it turned out okay after sharpening it in Photoshop.

For the following picture, I told her to look off to the side at another tree because I wanted to get a profile shot.Then she saw Chris walking up behind me, getting ready to surprise me, but she was trying not to turn her head.

After he surprised me, I snapped this one:

I think Chris must've been making her laugh:

Squinting from the brightness:

One of my favorites from the day:

Funny story: She was telling me how cold she was here, but I really wanted to get this shot:

I was trying to get a natural smile, so instead of saying "smile!" I told her "picture Daddy wearing a tutu!" I didn't get the look I was going for:

We did get some good ones, though. She is beautiful and growing up way too fast.

And now if you'll excuse me, I just received a package I've been waiting for for a loooong time. You'll see soon!!!!!! :D

Touch A Truck

A couple weekends ago we went to a local event called Touch A Truck. Trucks, service vehicles and construction vehicles of all types were there for kids to climb in and, well, touch!

It turned out to be a very windy and cold day, but I'm glad we went.

Laura Anne loved "touching" the trucks.

Caleb, on the other hand, surprised Chris and me by being very timid and shy about the whole thing. He didn't want to do anything, especially without Daddy.

I think we all enjoyed ourselves though. Stellan slept in the stroller the whole time we were there so you won't be seeing him in this post!

Hehe, I got sneaky snapping a picture of Caleb.

Checking out the police PT Cruiser:

I thought this was amusing. This was on the police car:

Aw, a lovely shot of Caleb refusing to look at the camera.

This is for Grammy and Pops:

There were lots of scary clowns, too. Sorry, but I despise clowns. That's why Caleb surprised us again by wanting to have his face painted by one.

Laura Anne, too!

True story: Caleb wanted Lightning McQueen painted on his face. Miss Clown did not have Lightning McQueen in her book of face paintings. So she did the best she could. (Click on the picture to make it larger so you can see) Caleb was satisfied. The End.

This was Laura Anne's--a crown with a unicorn in the center. She's into unicorns right now.

Oh yes, and Laura Anne and I explored a school bus. She loved that.

Then we had lunch with Uncle Red!! It was a fun day.