I Heart Faces ~ Slice of Life

Slice of Life. What does that mean to you? When it comes to taking pictures for me it means capturing life as it is. Nothing posed. Nothing planned. Nothing scripted. Life as it happens. All in the moment and seeing life as it is. Real. Emotions. Pure. In the moment.

This picture above shows a dad tickling his son showing sheer joy and happiness on their faces. What a beautiful moment. And this image is even more special to me and those who know him because this dad has recently traveled home from serving in Kuwait to be with his family for several weeks. This makes my heart so happy for them!
Welcome home Rob!

To see more "Slice of Life" pictures stop on over to I Heart Faces! See what other photographers of all levels have revealed as life unscripted.

She's My Inspiration

My daughter is clearly my favorite part of my photography journey because she continues to amaze me with her beauty which makes capturing images of her so wonderful. Not to mention her patience with me when I ask to take pictures of her. I am not sure if she realizes how much she has taught me about being a photographer but I would like to believe she has a little bit of an inclination of how taking pictures makes me so very happy. And how being in this spot in my life right now, this road I am traveling, finding my niche in life doing something I so enjoy; it's is an awesome feeling!

Thank you sweet daughter for your brilliant smiles and beautiful green eyes! ;)

Photography Class Giveaway!

I am so looking forward to my upcoming photography class I will be having on April 16th. I am especially excited about everyone who has signed up! I want this class to be fun, full of information and really hoping for those "Ah-Ha" moments where things really begin to click(not the shutter button click!)when learning how to use ISO, Aperture numbers and Shutter speeds to bring out the best in pictures taken.

For this class I want to make it extra special. In order to do that, I contacted a few retailers about possibly donating an item to one lucky participant in my photography class. As luck would have it, this necklace above arrived in my mailbox the other day.

Can we say adorable, whimsy, one of a kind camera necklace? We sure can! And it is special because for any photography lovin' gal this necklace will be so fun to wear!

The lead-free camera holds a signature aqua-toned rhinestone on a soft leather suede adjustable cord. I am very excited to give this to one special gal attending my class in April!

These are created by Pamela Topping and she graciously donated this necklace to me.

If you would like more information about this necklace and more styles, please stop over to Pamela Toppings website here. She is also having a super cool giveaway this week in honor of her birthday as well! Be sure to check that out! She can be found on Facebook here. And if you are using Photoshop and/or Photoshop Elements, you have to see her wonderful actions she offers. They are beautiful and surely a staple in any photographer's tool bag.

If you have not signed up for my photography class, be sure to contact me to find out more information and details!

Jake ~ My Willing Subject

I have to admit some of my favorite subjects to photograph are dogs. They are so patient. Well usually. As long as they are not too shy about my camera. Some dogs are. My own dog is but I think that is because she has had her picture taken so many times she has developed a complex.

Lot's of times dogs are very willing to be photographed. And of course love, love being the center of attention. Dog treats usually help. It draws their attention solely to you and your camera. Having experience with dogs is a biggy. Nothing bothers a dog more than someone who is not familiar with being around dogs. They sense a newbie. They know a stranger to the canine world. Having the dog language down and understanding dog personalities and expressions truly makes photographing them very entertaining!

This makes my job behind my camera so much easier. Less stressful. Can I add so much fun?

This is Jake. He is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. His human dad is currently building our stairway as part of our remodeling job we are having done to our home. So Jake sits patiently in either the back seat of his truck or yesterday was able to soak up some rays of sun and warmer temperatures all comfy in the bed of the truck.

I love his eyes and expression. So much patience. Completely content.

He didn't seem to mind me taking pictures of him either. I am pretty happy with how they turned out and think this handsome boy was a perfect model.

I recently acquired Adobe Lightroom 3. It is a wonderful and powerful editing tool for post processing your images. I have been playing around with it lately, navigating my way around and loving it so much. While I strive to get my pictures exposed properly, sharp and as I see them through my camera's viewfinder, a program such as Lightroom adds finishing touches and brilliance to final images I share here, my website and for my clients. Yes, I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to photography!

Sometime I will share my before and after pictures. Those straight out of the camera images and then show how they look after some final post processing.

For now, I hope you enjoy these images of Jake!

I Heart Faces ~ Sun Flare

I Heart Faces, a wonderful website full of all kinds of resources for photographers, is having a weekly theme open to any level photographer for sharing pictures. This week's theme is sun flare and my entry is of my daughter. Believe it or not she was petting our dog Ruby who really is down below her in the tall grasses of our hay field.

Be sure to stop on over to I Heart Faces and view more pictures having sun flare in them!

"Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose." - Garrison Keillor

"The best way to make your audience laugh is to start laughing yourself."

Oliver Goldsmith