Still going for creepy



Yes, these pics were taken in a cemetery! My sister and I have probably watched a few too many episodes of "Ghosthunters", and we love to go out to the cemetery to see what we might capture! Anyway, in keeping with the season, I wanted to post a couple of graveyard photos. Any suggestions on how to make them spookier? CC welcome, thanks for looking!

What do you think of this?


I was going for spooky here, not sure if I made it. I thought the 2 little windows kind of looked like creepy eyes. This is a picture of an old "calaboose" on the outside of town. It's a little one-room building that in the past was used for many things, including a schoolhouse and a jail. I used Lady Ren's B&W Grain action, also one of her borders, and did lots of dodging and burning. I'm in the mood for some spooky stuff, since it's nearly Halloween! Let me know what you think!

Rodeo Girls




I had the opportunity to shoot something a little different a few weeks ago. Our county had it's annual rodeo, and a friend of mine had a daughter participating in the kids' playday. It was midday, so the sun was pretty harsh. These were shot at 200 ISO, Aperture priority, various settings, with my 75-300 lens. Please CC! Thanks!

Volleyball photos




Oh my gosh, I haven't posted in FOREVER! Life has really been getting in the way of the things I like to do! :) I have been busy taking pictures, though, which is a good thing. I've done some seniors, some sports, a little bit of everything really. These are some shots I took at a recent volleyball game for one of the volleyball moms. (We have a GREAT volleyball team this year - the girls are ranked 7th in state.) The lighting was tricky, it was a day game, and we have some big windows in the gym, but they're really high, so exposure was tough. These were shot in TV mode, settings everywhere, with my 85mm lens, mostly at 800 ISO and some at 1600 ISO, then run through Noiseware. I'm still having a hard time falling in love with my 85mm. I like it ok for these kind of shots, but I'm still struggling with it on portraits.

Anyway, CC always appreciated! Thanks for looking!

A few from D.C.

I've been absent for quite a while, but here's a few shots from our D.C. trip in July. This first one is Lincoln's balcony in Ford Theater. That was such an interesting place! The park rangers that man the theater and tell the story are very knowledgeable.


Capitol Building , taken out of the car window driving down the street!



The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. This was an awesome process to watch.

The National Cathedral was absolutely my favorite place that we visited. It was so amazingly beautiful, that I just started crying when we went in. I had seen it on West Wing (yes, I'm a Wingnut!) in "Two Cathedrals" episode, and this was the one place that I didn't want to miss on our trip. My family was not as enthusiastic about it as I was, thinking it was just going to be "some church", until we walked in. My kids were in awe. If you ever visit D.C., you must put this on your list of things to see.

Who knows what any of the settings were for these! I didn't even look them up, I just wanted to get something posted! I've got to try to do better about posting. Let me know what you think! CC always welcome.


Oh Brother!



I had the opportunity to take a few shots of these guys a few days ago! They were pretty cooperative, ( unlike my own boy ) and we were shooting just for fun so I didn't make them pose too terribly long! I was playing with my new 85mm lens - it's going to take a while to get used to the focal length. I did some full length shots, but didn't leave myself any crop room - something to get used to. I don't have all my file info, but I know they were shot in Aperture priority, Raw, and at 800 ISO - I always forget to change it! So I had to run Noiseware, and I used Ren's Booster Baby. CC Please! Thanks for looking!

From a recent family session



These are a couple of shots from a family shoot that I did last week for some friends of mine. They're sending their youngest daughter away to college, and wanted some family pictures to send with her for her dorm room. These were both in Av mode, f/4.5, not sure of shutter speed. Unfortunately, I didn't have my 85mm yet when I took these! I used some of Renee's Actions on them (Love Those Actions!). Let me know what you think!

My new lens is here!


I finally received my 85 mm lens! Of course, my kids have made themselves scarce, but my hubby was willing to oblige me! The focal length is going to take some getting used to, as well as the weight, but I can already tell that I'm going to love it! 85mm users, leave me some tips and hints! Thanks!

Engagement shoot



These are a couple from a recent engagement shoot. This is a really fun couple, the bride to be is the daughter of a friend of mine, and she is SO photogenic! I'm really hoping I get a chance to take some bridals of her, also! On the first one I applied Ren's Glow action, and the on the second I applied one of her Grunge Borders. Let me know what you think!

Maternity shoot








I took these about a week and a half ago, the couple had a due date of mid-September. Unfortunately, Mom had to be hospitalized a few days ago for preclampsia, and I believe they were inducing labor last night, so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers!

This was a difficult shoot, the lighting was AWFUL! I had to shoot everything at 800 ISO, so I have lots of noise, and my focus was soft on a light of my shots. I ran Noiseware on everything, which helped some, and I used Renee's actions on most of the shots, Defog, Botox Brush, Vignette My Way on some...

I would LOVE CC on these! Thanks for looking!

Something different


I did an engagement shoot in a dairy and farming community about 30 miles away this weekend. I haven't had a chance to proof the session yet, but while I was waiting on the couple, I shot some of the farm across the street. These are irrigation wheels, ( or at least that's what my husband says - I had no idea what they were )! Anyway, I really liked the color and the texture of the scene. I applied Renee's actions ( of course, because I'm addicted to them !) - I used defog, Vanilla Creme and Glow, then Resized and Framed. I shot with this with the kit lens, ISO 200, Aperture Priority, f/5.6, ss 1/500. CC Please!

Mother and Daughter


This is from this weekend's shoot of my niece. We hadn't really planned to do a mother/daughter shot, so it was kind of impromptu. Settings were Aperture priority, f/5.6, ss 1/200, ISO 200, 50mm lens, converted and Renee's border added in PSE4. CC welcome! TFL!

Brynn



I've been absent for awhile, but I'm going to try to get back in the swing of things, and post at least once or twice a week - but I'll probably never be on topic! This is a shot of my niece, Brynn, from a shoot yesterday. I'd love some CC on this! Settings were Aperture priority, f/3.5, ss 1/320, ISO 200, 50 mm lens, shot in RAW. Do you like the color or the black & white? I'm having a hard time deciding! Thanks for looking!

Kaylee



This is my other niece, Kaylee, from our shoot the other day. We had so much fun - finally, a willing subject! These were taken in Av mode, f5.6, 400 ISO, RAW, 50mm lens. I used Pam's skin smoothing technique on the 2nd one, and applied Renee's borders on both. CC welcome, thanks for looking.

Rylee Rooster



Holy smokes - it's been forever since I've blogged! I almost forgot how to sign on! And I have no idea what the theme for the week is, I'll have to dig up my list!

Anyway, this is my niece Rylee, also known as Rooster in my family! I shot some of her and her sister Kaylee last week, and we all had a great time! I applied some of Renee's grunge borders to these (LOVE the borders - thanks Renee'!). This were shot in Av mode, f/5.6, various shutter speeds, ISO 400, 50mm lens, in RAW, cropped and resized in PSE4. CC please! Thanks for looking!

Mike


Yesterday was not only Father's Day, it was also my 18th wedding anniversary, so I wanted to share a pic of my very best friend, Mike. He's a great dad, and the best husband in the world! Love ya', honey!


Settings for this were Av mode, f/1.8, ss 1/100, 200 ISO, 50mm lens, RAW, cropped, sharpened and converted to b/w in PSE4. CC always welcome! Thanks for looking

One more birdie picture!


This guy was in the yard, trying to learn to fly. He could hop and go about 5 feet, but wasn't able to go much farther! I love the baby birds we get every year - it's so much fun to watch them. Settings for this were Av mode, f/8.0, ss 1/250, 50mm lens, RAW, cropped and resized in PSE4. CC always welcome!

#26 "Open and Shut"



First pic is #26 on the 26 Things Challenge - "Open and Shut". We get these little House Sparrows every year in the corner of our carport. We had a garage sale this weekend, and the little guys got pretty agitated from all of the commotion! Settings were Av mode, f/4.0, ss 1/80, ISO 400, 50mm lens, RAW, cropped in PSE 4.0. CC always welcome!

Gotta have my sports!


One thing I can't live without is sports! We are a sports family - Becca plays softball, volleyball basketball and cheers, Ryan plays baseball, football, basketball and golf! We are constantly at some field or gym, but we love it! And if we're not watching the kids playing, we're watching on TV. I did these magazine covers for all the girls on Becca's team - just for fun. I know I've got a little bit of a pole coming in on the left side, but I didn't want to crop any more, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to clone it out smoothly. Oh, well, at a youth field, I guess you just have to live with the poles and trashcans and cars in the background! This is the first time I've done something like this and I want to get better at it, so CC away! Thanks for looking!

Roses out my car window



I'm off topic today, but I wanted to share these shots. I took these at the cemetery on Memorial Day, out of my car window. I applied Momstime/Lori's tutorial to the first one, and on the second I used a Gaussian blur around the edge. Settings were Av mode, f/5.6, ss 1/250, 75-300mm lens, RAW, cropped and enhanced in PSE4. CC Please! Thanks!

Memorial Day


Freedom is definitely something I couldn't live without. This is a picture of our War Memorial at the square, every Memorial Day the VFW has a ceremony and puts these flags out at the Memorial and the cemetery. I didn't make it to the ceremony, but I did go pay my respects at the Memorial. Settings for this shot were Av mode, f/4.0, ss 1/2000, ISO 400, 50mm lens, RAW, cropped and defogged in PSE4. HHCC always welcome! Thanks for looking!

JJ



This is JJ the wonderdog, the world's largest chihuahua! He's actually lost a little bit of weight, at one time he weighed 20+ pounds! JJ's had kind of a hard knock life. He doesn't really think he's a chihuahua, he thinks he's a german shepherd, and when he was about a year old, he got out of the yard and jumped on a chow, which chewed him up. Then about a year later, he ate some rancid sausage out of a neighbor's trash, which gave him hives. If we had him out in the yard with us, he would sometimes lose his mind and chase cars like a big dog, with us chasing him, and he was hit by a pickup truck two different times (he just bounced off, though - it never hurt him!), and now he has blown out his ACL because he's such a chubbo, and the vet says that surgery usually doesn't work on small dogs, so all we can do is give him baby aspirin when it bothers him. He's a mess! No wonder he looks like such a little old man at the age of 9! But we love him, and he loves us!

One more from the Conservatory


Here's another shot from the Butterfly Conservatory. I REALLY want a new lens. I used my 75-300mm on all of these so I could get some "bokeh", but they just weren't as sharp as I would have liked. Settings were AV mode, f/5.6, ss 1/800, ISO 400, RAW, cropped and sharpened in PSE 4. I'd love some HHCC! Thanks for looking!

One from the Butterfly Conservatory


I've got to get back in the habit of posting - I've missed it! Here's a photo I took this past weekend at our new Butterfly Conservatory. I thought this little guy was pretty cute!

Settings were AV mode, f/5.6, ss 1/400, ISO 400 75-300 mm lens. CC always welcome! Thanks!

My hubby!


This is Mike, my hubby of nearly 18 years. We were outside watching a storm come in (so I'm sort of on-topic...) and I noticed that he had some great catchlights in his eyes! He's got VERY dark brown eyes, so I was anxious to capture them - catchlights are something I've been trying to work on. He looks a little scruffy, he's regrowing his beard after not having it for over a year, so I'll have to post another picture when it's in full. Anyway, settings were Av mode, f/16, ss 1/60, ISO 400, 28-90 lens. CC always welcome, thanks for looking!

Stormy Skies



I admit it- I'm a weather freak! My dream vacation would be to go tornado chasing! When we have a severe thunderstorm headed our way, my family's in the bathroom with the weather radio, and I'm in the yard watching the clouds roll in! And even though I've lived in Tornado Alley all my life, I've never seen a funnel cloud in real life. I would LOVE to get a picture of one! My husband thinks I'm crazy. These pictures are not technically correct by any means, but I thought they were some cool looking clouds. This is a thunderstorm that came through our area last night. Any other storm lovers out there? Thanks for looking!

OKC Bombing Memorial



Oklahoma City is one of my favorite places for a quick weekend trip - there are so many things to do and lots of interesting things to see! These are a couple of pictures I took this last weekend. If you ever have the opportunity to visit the memorial and museum, you should definitely go. It is so well done, very moving without being maudlin. My first photo is of the Survivor Tree and the Reflecting Pool. The second is of some of the chairs in the Field of Empty Chairs. Each chair represents a life lost in the bombing, with the smaller chairs being for the children that were killed in the daycare. It's a very powerful image to see it in person.
Settings for these were AV mode, f/5.6, ss 1/1000, ISO 400, 18-55 lens. I applied the Orton Technique on both in PSE4. CC always welcome! Thanks for looking!

One of the reasons I haven't been posting


I haven't hardly posted at all lately, one of the reasons is I've been working on some Senior pics that I took for my nephew. Going to a very large school, he's only allowed a few tickets for graduation, so he only ordered a few invitations. We decided to do some photo announcements for him. This is my first attempt at something like this, please let me know what you think!! I did several different ones, this is the one that he liked the best. It's pretty simple, I didn't want to "over-embellish" it. The text is a little hard to read at this size, but it's easier on a larger size. I added a drop shadow to it to make it stand out a little more. CC always welcome! Thanks!

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