Sunset. {365 - Day 4}

This is the view from the window over my kitchen sink.  Every night we are treated to beautiful sunsets, perfectly framed in our window.  Our house is a 1960's brick ranch with a walk out basement, so our kitchen is really on the second floor.  With 35 hardwood trees on our property, it's like being in a treehouse.  We love it, except during leaf raking and tree banding season.  (Charlotteans, you know how much fun tree banding is.) 

Tonight's sunset was beautiful - the clouds looked like they were on fire.  I must admit, I usually just catch glimpses of it while cooking dinner, but tonight I stood and watched so I could capture this photo.   I even pulled a chair over for my daughter so she could stand up and see it too.  Sometimes it's awfully nice just to stop what you're doing and see the beauty right outside your window.


Day 4 {Canon 7D}

Brrr. {365 - Day 3}

Can I first say holy cow it was cold out today in Charlotte!  I headed out to a dentist appointment this morning and nearly froze waiting for the car to heat up.  Thank goodness for heated seats.  The frigid temperature squashed any hope of taking my daughter Sarah Beth to the park today, so we were stuck inside to entertain ourselves.

She has a dozen new toys from Christmas, but today she pulled out the old alphabet blocks to play one of her favorite games - Build and Destroy.  She may be one of the only 2 year olds at the playground who yells "Destroy!!" when she crushes her sandcastle.  Pretty humorous.  Anyway, I snagged this shot while she was in the "build" phase.  Notice the deep concentration.

Day 3 {Canon 7D with lots o' Photoshop}

I had to even her skin out a little because 5 minutes before this she whacked her head on the bedframe as she was reaching for her blocks.  There was crying.  I happened to be videotaping as she did this, and thought it would be funny to show her the video of her whacking her head.  The lower lip pout appeared and she started crying all over again.  She did not find it so funny, apparently.  Oops.

Thanks Bradley Davis. {365 - Day 2}

My husband and I made a pact this year that we are going to get ourselves exercising regularly, and that each day, at least ONE of us will get an hour of exercise.  Today was my day.  I've been meaning to rejoin the Y but hadn't gotten around to it yet, so I braved the cold and hit the Greenway that goes by the Trader Joe's shopping pavilion.  I couldn't find my headphones and I'm one of those people that can't exercise without music, so I stopped in at Staples to grab some cheap headphones along with some CD labels and printer ink that I desperately needed.

I ran back to the car to stash everything in the trunk and open up my headphones, when low and behold I encountered the packaging from hell.  The packaging for these $5 headphones could seriously have withstood nuclear attack.  Talk about overkill.  I stood at the back of my car fighting the plastic for at least 5 minutes while waving off a dozen cars stopping to stalk my coveted parking space in front of Trader Joe's.  Finally, I gave up and got my husband's army knife out of the glove box and stabbed the thing to death until it opened.

Not a good start to my first walk of 2012.  Already discouraged, I plugged them into my iPhone and headed for the greenway.  After about 5 minutes I realized the stupid headphones were annoying the crud out of my ears and giving me a headache.  After all that work!  I was supremely frustrated and about to quit my walk altogether, when I saw this quote engraved in the pavement.  I decided it should be my Day 2 photo since it inspired me to have a more positive attitude for the rest of the day.


Day 2 {iPhone with a touch of Photoshop}

The quote is attributed to Bradley W. Davis; his name is hidden by the shadow of the lamp post.  I don't know who that is, but I appreciated the positivity today!

Happy New Year! {365 - Day 1}

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!  Seeing how quickly 2011 slipped by, I am inspired to savor  2012 and capture a little moment of each day with my own 365 project.  I've seen others do this but never thought I could commit to taking a photo every single day.  My husband gave me a great gift, however, that will help me with this goal - a cute little point and shoot camera that is small enough to carry in my pocket.

While I love my "big girl" camera, I can't lug it around with me everywhere I go.  In fact, I have a rule that I never have my camera and my daughter out alone with me at the same time - too much responsibility and potential for disaster, so having a small camera that won't cost me a huge deductible on my insurance if damaged will be a great tool for my 365.

The plan is to post my photo project here.  I may group some together, but by the end of the year, I should have a daily photo journal of 2012 and will be a stronger photographer too!  So here's my first entry:

Day 1  {iPhone "Hipstamatic" App}

My sassy Baby New Year after a morning bath posing in her diaper and Mommy's old clear acrylic beaded necklace. 

Wishing everyone a wonderful new year full of possibilities, adventure, good health and happiness!

Don't Forget Your Camera.

The best snapshots to capture are the real, unscripted, messy moments that happen every day.  As a photographer, you think I'd always have my camera at the ready, but sadly this is not true.  It's a hard decision to step out of being in the moment in order to photograph it.  I am so guilty of thinking "wow I wish I had a picture of this" but not following through and grabbing the camera.  I keep my "big girl" camera downstairs in my basement office where it's safe from curious toddler hands, but not very convenient as we do most of our living upstairs.

This weekend we had an impromptu visit from Grandma and Grandpa, and we baked about a zillion chocolate chip cookies.  My daughter Sarah Beth wanted to help, of course.  She donned her new apron and got to work mixing a concoction of flour, baking soda, and salt on a plate (and on the counter and on the chair and on the floor.)  She was having so much fun making a mess with Grandma, that I finally got my camera from downstairs and snapped off a few shots of the bakers.

They're not technically perfect, the light isn't great and there's random stuff in the background, but I love them and I bet Grandma will treasure them even more.  This holiday season as you gather with family and friends, don't forget to capture a few photos of sweet little memories like this.  You'll be glad you did!

"More cookies please, Grandma!"

Emma Helen and Beth

Before Thanksgiving, I had the chance to photograph my friend Beth and her beautiful daughter Emma Helen.  Beth and I were sorority sisters and roommates in college and I still don't believe we're old enough to have kids, but apparently, the 90's are long gone and we're all grown up now.  :-)

We had a fun afternoon at the park, and the light was just lovely.  Almost as lovely as these two ladies.

Emma Helen's favorite class is Drama, so we headed to the stage, naturally.

Miming "Girl Behind a Window"

"Girl Opening a Window"

Zane and Camden.

I was so excited to photograph Zane's family again!  I first met them last year when Zane was two.  Now he is a big three year old and has a precious baby sister!  Miss Camden was as sweet as she could be with big toothy smiles at her brother's silliness.  The family photos are top secret, but Mom and Dad allowed me to share a few of these for the blog.