This is cheating a little bit, because I actually took this picture a few weeks ago (it was my Christmas card picture), but since we're introducing ourselves, I wanted to include this. This is Becca and Ryan, my 10 yr old DD and 15 yr old DS. They're great kids, and I'm so happy to be their mom!
Funny story about this picture - I took this in a field next to a car dealership. It's right off a farm-to-market road heading out of town. We were out there about 30 minutes, and I got some great shots leaning against some trees and what not. When we started to leave, a man in a pickup truck that had been parked at the dealership office started driving through the field toward us, and I worried a little bit thinking maybe it was someone from the dealership that was not wanting us to be out there (it's all one big piece of property). Anyway, he drives up and says "If you guys want to take pictures out there, that's fine - but you need to know all those trees are covered in poison ivy so be careful!" I had no idea! I called my husband who's an EMT and he said "Don't you know what poison ivy looks like?" Obviously NOT! Anyway, we rushed home, and I got the kids and myself in a quick shower, washed all our clothes, wiped down the car and everything. Then I uploaded my pics so that I could compare pictures of the ivy to pictures online, and sure enough - it was poison ivy! Luckily, we all had on long sleeves and pants, so we didn't break out!
Since it's been awhile, I don't remember all the settings. I know that I shot this in AV mode at f5.6, ISO 400, but I don't remember the ss. Then I converted to b&w in PSE2, (before I got PSE4). Let me know what you think, I'd love some CC. Thanks for looking!
But there is water in the picture! I haven't had a chance to try to take pictures with this week's "water" theme, so here's a shot that I took back in December, and one that I played with during the Orton frenzy! I know the water's a bit blown out, but let me know what you think. CC appreciated!
These are some pictures I took a couple of days ago, all in auto mode with my 75-300mm lens. This is an older office building in a nearby city that has some odd architectural details. On the 2nd picture, you can see that the window is outlined with swastika and sun cross images. At the very top of the window is a yin and yang symbol. Around the corner (3rd picture), you can see an Indian in headress sculpture, those are all along the top of the building. I've tried to find some history on the building, but really haven't found much other than it was built in the early 1920's. This is in a North Texas city with roots in ranching and oil, so I don't really think it's a Nazi connection! I realize these pictures aren't very good technically, but I think it's an interesting subject! Thanks for looking! 
This is cheating a little bit, because I actually took this picture a few weeks ago (it was my Christmas card picture), but since we're introducing ourselves, I wanted to include this. This is Becca and Ryan, my 10 yr old DD and 15 yr old DS. They're great kids, and I'm so happy to be their mom!
Yikes! I'm never in front of the camera! I really need to make a conscious effort to be in more pictures - I'm conspicuously absent in most of my scrapbook pages! My DH, Mike, took this picture for me, but I set it up for him. AV mode, aperture 5.0, shutter speed 1/80, ISO 800 (it's a little grainy). I did a little bit of cropping in PSE4, bu it's pretty much SOOC. 
