nancypants365

New SP

2009-07-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

What's it called when it's not really a self-portrait but your 5-year-old shutterbug takes the shot? He still loves using the camera. We had it out because he effectively documented Lily's first haircut (at 5 months of age) since I had to hold her.
It's interesting to see myself through his eyes.

Summertime

2009-07-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

I miss this project and this blog and all of your projects and talking to you all!
I'm alive though. Kids. Family. House. Fairs. Parties. Playdates. Blogs.

Chasing my tail

2009-06-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

All day. Every day.
I miss this blog and I miss this project.
In the past month or so, I've learned how to custom-code a blog for wordpress and taken on a ton of paying projects. I love it. But I'm not finishing one project before moving on to another which means I have like 7 or 8 things going at once. Chasing my tail.
I'm taking more pics this week.
I learned that picasa will do a slideshow with music and video.
I attempted a day in the life and now I want to try it again. It was fun and I learned a lot. I think I really enjoy a photojournalistic approach over portraits. But I think a lot of MWAC's say that.
I'm trying to learn about skin tones. It totally overwhelms me and bogs me down but I want to get it.
Here's snap from today:

lunchboxes

2009-05-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

The kids start a summer program on Tuesday and wow, who'd have thought that lunchboxes would be so exciting? I don't remember the last thing he got that he played with this much!

This little play area has such great light, I need to take more shots there!

Japanese Garden

2009-05-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ooooh, fantastic location!
Too chilly today and my kids weren't feeling the camera but it's going to be a super location. I think it's used for wedding shots a lot:

Seems like I'm hitting the most harsh sun of the day and then struggling with exposure in the shade. Argh!

Summer

2009-05-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

has kind of officially started for us since preschool is out. Found a park that will be fun to shoot at when the light is right:

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:05:00.001-07:00

is totally overrated and I successfully kept my expectations low enough so as not to be disappointed. We had a nice day. Not wonderful or amazing or even great. Just nice which is better than disappointing or miserable.
Pictures in jammies and sweatpants are also better than strained smiles and stressful "cheese" pictures:

12 weeks!

2009-05-06T21:09:00.001-07:00

I've been taking more pics...now I need to get back into the habit of posting one every day!!

11 weeks

2009-04-29T19:36:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a site for a photog friend that makes cloth diapers. They're insanely perfect and adorable: babysweetbottoms She sent me a few "testers" that she's seriously giving away for $8 at this point so I tried to get a few of Lily in them:

p & s

2009-04-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

I had my beloved point & shoot with me today for the big soccer debut but this is my favorite from our little picnic after the game. I need to get back into posting daily shots and need to not feel like everything has to be so much of a work of art or learning experience. So get ready for some snapshots and fun actions. This is from OTSS, the Carnival set (Strawberry Ice Cream).

8 weeks

2009-04-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

Slowly but surely we're emerging from the newborn cocoon. Did I mention slowly?

Pretty In Pink

2009-04-07T20:19:00.000-07:00

Ah, the birthday-slash-Easter dress. Quite the favorite attire these days:

It's clickable to view the rest of the set.
Someday I'll figure out what day I'm on...but first I have to know what day of the week it is....

OPS Meetup!

2009-04-05T19:22:00.000-07:00

I have two favorites from the meetup.
The first is Heather's 11 y/o son. He was a really cool kid and so sweet. I can only hope my kids are so great when they're that age:

and Heather's brother and niece:

6 weeks

2009-03-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

I'm sucking at the daily pics...need to pick that back up!
I have 6 week pics today though:

Lake Michigan

2009-03-21T20:27:00.000-07:00

We ventured up to see the lake today and I'm so so so excited to have a beach to shoot at this summer. I need to practice up on full-sun shooting though!

Crazy Aunt Sue

2009-03-17T11:31:00.000-07:00

My friend Sue came for a visit and we had a ball!
I've started using soft light layers to add contrast and haven't perfected it yet but love the look:

And if you want to see the others: Flickr Set

One Month Old

2009-03-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

Took a few quick shots in the swing today since that's where she's getting her best sleep these days. It's where she is now and Brian is asleep on the couch so I can try to sneak in some time in the real bed so I have to be quick here...

Outside!

2009-03-05T17:49:00.001-08:00

We got to go outside and play today! And it's supposed to be 50 or better into next week:

Genius

2009-03-01T19:57:00.001-08:00

And today I am a photographic genius. In my own little world, I am a photographic genius, just for today. I finally got some shots of the baby that I'm happy with!

Announcements!

2009-02-24T17:06:00.000-08:00

Ack! I need help! I DID finally take some pics today and am trying to edit them but I just can't wrap my mind around it. Please take a drive-by my flickr photostream and give me some input on what you see for the baby announcements. I'm lost!

5th Birthday!

2009-02-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

Just to keep things interesting, we celebrated a 5th birthday this week. We invited the kids from preschool and had it at Burger King. It went great! Here's just one from yesterday:

and one from the day we went to the park...I went into labor that night!

and my current perfectly imperfect shot of Lily so far:

One week!

2009-02-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

Just a picasa link for now!
http://picasaweb.google.com/nancy.lary/Lily?authkey=4_eJdSkOkiM#

Lily

2009-02-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

"Aawww...look at all that hair!!"

Welcome, Lily!

2009-02-11T18:20:00.001-08:00

She's here! Born at 2:07am on February 11! All is well...except I forgot the USB cord to download pics. I'll update again tomorrow.

110/365

2009-02-10T15:47:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful day so we headed for the park. Not raining but umbrellas are fun in the wind too:

109/365

2009-02-09T18:14:00.000-08:00

Big kid in his bunk bed...he loves it!

108/365

2009-02-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

We're still trying to enjoy our freedom so the big kid got the trip out with mama today. When we got in the car to go to Target, he said, "Uummm, I've never had cookies at Panera....".

He can't even stop talking long enough to take a picture:

106/365

2009-02-06T19:19:00.000-08:00

Just girls at Panera today:

with The Nana:

103/365

2009-02-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

The reflector came today! So yeah; I didn't even wipe faces after supper before plopping down on the living room floor:

I had the kit lens on for a quick lesson for Brian too. Just a few more things checked off the list..any day now, baby!

100/365

2009-01-31T14:58:00.001-08:00

YAY 100 Days!!!
I did some more Valentine pics today. This time in my bedroom and used the flash a little:

99/365

2009-01-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

I tried to focus and practice a little today but it just wasn't happening. I want to use the kit lens at the hospital but I just don't get along with it!

96/365

2009-01-27T17:55:00.000-08:00

Snuck in a meetup with another April06 mom today. It totally wiped me out but so very worth it!

95/365

2009-01-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

Monster princess!

Yellow cast maybe? At least it's color :P
Saturday night before the Notre Dame/UCONN game:

92/365

2009-01-23T19:33:00.000-08:00

So we've been putting off celebrating my birthday b/c my gift hadn't arrived yet after being rerouted when we decided to move like thieves in the night. It finally came today! And he brings this in:

They're my old clubs but it's a new bag and club cover things. I'm thrilled to have it and he was super-proud to give it. Not exactly something I can run out and use...any time in the next 6 months to a year though!

91/365

2009-01-23T02:38:00.000-08:00

End of the evening effort tonight! I even settled for the eyelash shots since I couldn't even get eye contact:

That's the sweet conversion (again) with a mocha overlay.
An attempt at color but I just couldn't get it right:

Just for fun, I ran Coffee Shop's Powder Room on my newly pedicured feet. I was trying to go frugal and remove the polish on my toenails this morning but...well, it just wasn't feasible so I let the pros take care of it (at the nail salon in WalMart):

89/365

2009-01-21T11:20:00.000-08:00

I just...she just....
And today, we added sparkly red pigtail holders to the getup b/c of course she had to wear it again.
*sigh*

Ran OTSS Vintage Sweet action on this one. And I totally left the mess in the background to make up for the princess bed shot!

88/365

2009-01-19T18:43:00.000-08:00

Pink:

87/365

2009-01-18T17:32:00.000-08:00

This, my dear photography friends, was not a good day. I barely slept last night and didn't get a bit of rest today between church and kids and grocery shopping and kids and...trying to get ready for a baby. I decided I'd indulge my nesting urge a little and set up the pack 'n play with the bassinet thingy which is where we'd planning on the baby sleeping as long as she was in our room. Alas...only 3 of the 4 poles necessary for the bassinet attachment made it to Indiana. I'm not sure where the 4th might be. It's one of those things I've looked at several times, even before moving and started to think, "Now I see three...doesn't that thing need fou...." and on to the next thought I'd go. But here we are. No place for the baby to sleep.
We're all four going to my 8:30am baby appointment and we're all four going to spend at least the rest of the morning shopping for alternatives; probably for the little gal that's currently hogging the crib mattress on her floor. Baby will likely get the crib in her room while big sister scores with a princess toddler bed or something equally tacky but fun.
Here I am, in my darkest nesting moment with my gut hanging out, my messy room, dirty mirror and 3 out of 4 poles:

On the lighter side, I totally need to update my blog list! If you're another 365'er that reads but I don't have listed, please leave a comment and I'll add you tomorrow!!

86/365

2009-01-17T18:24:00.000-08:00

I tried monochrome on my camera today and maybe I just don't know any better but I liked it just fine! Then Catie explained how to use a soft light layer with the high pass filter run on it and I liked it a lot! I gave this a light blue overlay as well; it seems more noticeable on the web than it looks to me in PS:

I just bounced the speedlite off the wall behind me and kind of like that you can kind of see my outline like you would if she was outside looking towards the sun.

85/365

2009-01-16T18:05:00.000-08:00

This was a day that the ol' 365 "made" me get the camera out and since I waited until the end of the day, I "had" to use the flash. It's bounced off the plastic covering over the insulation in the basement. We were trying to run them down by letting them ride their bikes down there before wrestling them into bed. This guy had to stop and make a face at me after every lap. I brightened his eyes (they were pretty beady without) just by dodging the iris/pupil area and ran the Itty Bitty Over Expose Vintagy Wow Action:

Reflector, oh reflector, where for art thou?

83/365

2009-01-14T17:41:00.000-08:00

Gave some Valentine's shots a try since we got the super-great heart suckers at Target today:

but I think I'm going to print it at 11 x 14 to add to my collection of two b&w 11 x 14's:

82/365

2009-01-13T18:03:00.000-08:00

Ah, back on track!
This was a rough morning. I made the common mistake of putting too much on my 'to-do' list and not allowing enough flexibility for the kids' antics. The little guy woke up in a fairly demanding mood so we were on the fast track to disaster anyway. The low point was probably when he dumped out a huge trash sack full of dirty clothes (including wet towels) that we'd moved with us so they were really gross. After being warned to just leave it the heck alone, he coaxed his sister into crawling into it with him (it was a huge contractor-type bag). So not only did I have to discipline him for not listening (for the umpteenth time), I had to really come down hard on both of them about the safety issue. And yes, I quickly removed the grody bag while they were in time out! And then he turns around and totally redeems himself with dressing up with his sister and reading her a story:

Nothing interesting about the shot though!

Eyes

2009-01-12T20:03:00.000-08:00

I tried bouncing the flash off a window today. I've heard good and bad things about it & I'm not sure why I tried a window with a shade on it other than it was just convenient! It gave me a decent catchlight though so I feel like it's worth continuing to work on. I also ran an OTSS Cashmere action on it for fun:

Another orphan post...

2009-01-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

...but I'm doing well to even be on the computer these days!
I took some pics for a friend that makes the capes & tutus for her to use on her website. Of course the full-body shots aren't my strength so they're kind of 'eh' plus I kept the focus right in the center so they're...not perfect.
Here's my favorite though. Posting b&w AND color. I forced myself to PP the color version before I converted!
color-

b&w-

and the slideshow of the rest:

First Indiana Post!

2009-01-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

I barely know what the date it is, let alone what number this is in my 365 so this is my orphan post with a scraggly shot I took today. This rental has amazing natural light though! These places are kind of built for retirees so I think this little 'toy area' is actually meant to be a porch...even though it's inside & right off the kitchen!
When I first started on OPS, I couldn't figure out what 'muddy' meant in reference to black & white conversions but wow, I see it now!

70/365

2009-01-01T19:21:00.000-08:00

Went for New Year's card shots tonight:

68/365

2008-12-30T21:13:00.000-08:00

Not a great day around here. Very busy and things just didn't go my way. So you're getting a shot that a friend took and I played with:

color:

67/365

2008-12-29T20:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to me!
My parents sent me flowers and I went all wild and crazy with both a square crop and close up:

I took pics specifically for this project yesterday with the intent of practicing with the 580. I tried a few with the Sto-Fen and just don't like it as well. I complained about the skylight effect but it just dulls everything down to the point I'm not sure what I'm doing (even moreso than without it). I put a giant white coloring book up beside him in an attempt to get some catchlights (hello, amazon.com, I need a reflector!):

Christmas

2008-12-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

I got gift cards from Amazon.com for Christmas and was able to swing a 580EXII for Christmas. I mostly just bounced off the ceiling for our Christmas pics which seems to give this skylight effect but I was so happy it arrived in time!
It was a great Christmas, for real. My dad gave my big kid a Lionel Polar Express train and it made for the quintessential Christmas moment. I hope the recipient remembers it as along as the giver and the observers:

59/365

2008-12-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

Another snow shot. Winter went from novel to miserable in one day. We got about 8" of fluffy snow at about 20 degrees on Thursday. Then a few more inches yesterday paired with 40 mph winds and windchills around 40 below. My weatherbug thing tells me it's -2 which is the 'warmest' it's been in 24 hours. We might hit 10 by Christmas. Blech!
Out my front door yesterday:

Fun in the snow on Friday:

56/365

2008-12-17T22:48:00.000-08:00

Oh.My.Goodness.
So.
I've been busy doing Christmas cards. I've just done a few this year but they've been extremely customized. Lots of revisions. But here are the first three that came in. The last one is Tess' beautiful photography!:

And the best news we've had in a while, not only are swimming lessons over but the little guy did great! Thursday, 12/11/2008:

Skip to Sunday, 12/14/2008, where suddenly we find ourselves in South Bend, Indiana contemplating a transfer to a new location:

Then home Monday in time for the big preschool program:

And today, 12/17/2008, we get a Secret Santa gift just as I had the kids dressed in their Christmas outfits for an attempt at some shots for the 2009 family calendar:

48/365

2008-12-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

Let's start with Saturday...we made pretty ornaments:

And Sunday we got the tree:

Monday, I was dissed as the tooth-brushing assistant in favor of the big brother!

And today, for Eric, I took a shot out our back door. Just wait; it will be whiter in a few weeks!

44/365

2008-12-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

I had to count on my fingers to get the number. 44 is close enough!
I was a fun mom for about 20 minutes today as we used window markers (love those things!) to draw a Christmas tree and presents on one of our sliding glass doors.

and a bonus because the expression cracks me up:

Playing catch-up...

2008-12-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

Sure, I missed a few days in there but I've really been making the effort to put thought into a picture every day over traveling, Thanksgiving and a last-minute effort to get in my 30 hours of continuing education for my Occupational Therapy license.
Let's begin with 11/26/2008; I stayed up late to complete the Handwriting Without Tears Level I National Certification application. Seriously a ton of work but worth 8 hours of continuing education that I for sure needed (and needed the chocolate after all that work!):

Then 11/27/2008; just proof that I got my camera out. And I guess evidence that my daughter is 'that kid' with the chapped face from licking and sucking on her lips:

11/28/2008; Are we the only family that has to take a series of pictures of the table before enjoying a meal? Really? Just us? Hm.

Next day; 11/29/2008. My parent's house has good light, that's for sure. And here's my greedy, obnoxious little son with a beanie baby. Our dear friend Evelyn passed away earlier in the week and what's the first thing this kid did when we went to see her widower in the nursing home? "Ooh, Rudolph, can I keep him?" He stole a beanie baby from a grieving man. And my mom stooped so low as to paint his nose red with fingernail polish. I took the shot for Carl in an effort to act like I think it's as cute as everyone else does:

Enjoying the light:

No words:

On 11/29/2008; Family that tailgates together:

Skip to yesterday's Christmas program; 12/3/2008. I barely take this kid to day care so she didn't know the songs but really; they're 2. She behaved better than the rest of the kids stomping and jumping on the stage:

And hello tonight! A night alone in a hotel. Most of it was spent working on yet another continuing eduction home study course but that's done and after the workshop I'm attending tomorrow, I'll be set to renew my license next week!

Phew!

33/365

2008-11-24T18:13:00.001-08:00

I really thought I wanted to see this in color but I just couldn't resist seeing it in b&w:

She was leaning over so her hair was all hanging down funny but a 11 x 14 crop seems to have helped that. I do like the color too:

32/365

2008-11-23T22:45:00.000-08:00

You know the family shoot from a while back? I wasn't pleased with it but mom totally loves the shots and she loves this really dark b&w shot. She's using it on their cards and wants prints of it. I'm so happy that she's happy but wow. Just wow.
No new pic today, just the fruit of my labors in working like crazy to get this light enough to use:

31/365

2008-11-22T22:15:00.000-08:00

Oh the toenails! I'm not sure who makes a bigger deal about the painting toenails, the kid or the dad. I've chastised him out of praising her for wearing nightgowns (instead of jammies) and dresses (instead of pants) but I'll let him have the toenails.

Makes me think a little of Elli's Sharpie incident though ;)
I know there's a cast; is it red or yellow or both?

30/365

2008-11-21T22:03:00.000-08:00

Back to the golden arches for a shot of the other kid. She just wasn't feeling well, had to take the sippy cup in, had to have milk in it. Sipping and twiddling the hair. Still pretty cute:

29/365
Attended a wonderful singing performance at the mall of the 4 y/o day care class. No decent shots of the star and one very flashy and over-burned shot of daddy and daughter. I think my favorite thing here is my over-burning led to a significant reversal in the hair-loss process:

28/365

2008-11-19T20:09:00.000-08:00

I got my hair cut today and for the first time in months it looked so cute! So I tried to snap a few in my new found love of unconventional natural light but it turns out either my car is too little or my arms are too short; maybe both.

27/365

2008-11-18T19:03:00.000-08:00

11.18.2008
I realized that my tendency to take my kids out to eat out of convenience actually affords the opportunity for good natural light! My buddy here earned the right to choose where we ate lunch after swimming lessons today by helping me clean baseboards. I had to explain it to him but I think we'll be able to get the rest of the house done with me just supervising. He loves to clean and he loves to have control so it was a win-win for him!

25/365

2008-11-17T20:58:00.001-08:00

and 26/365
I tried snapping a few of a spontaneous hug last night before we left for dinner but there just wasn't enough light but I couldn't just let it go. No editing. It was more the moment than the image:

So right before bed, I had to snap another one as I realized when I went to get my vitamin that my toes are disappearing:

Goodbye toes, see you in February.
So nothing today. First day without a shot. So I'm counting this post as two days because I'm not ready to skip a day just yet!

24/365

2008-11-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

11.15.2008
Looking around, uninspired, husband's away for the night, on my own with the kids...very thankful for their recent rekindled interest in everything Little People. This bus offers up to an hour of entertainment for either kid (but never at the same time of course). Sometimes the kids get dispersed throughout the first floor and carefully picked up at their homes, greeted warmly by the bus driver, "Good afternoon, Myra!" then dropped back off after a busy day (we say day but hello, it's 2 1/2 hours) at preschool. Love the bus, especially since it can't honk or sing now that the batteries are dead:

23/365

2008-11-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

Friday's post. The 'actual' PB shoot for my friend! Not only did I shoot in RAW and like it but it was a great learning experience overall; good and bad. This is one of my favorites of the little girl:

2008-11-13T12:59:00.000-08:00

I know what you're thinking. "Mm-hmm, what's the 'story' behind this not-so-great shot?" Well I'll tell you. I shot in RAW! I wanted to try it before I attempted it with the family pictures tomorrow. I kind of dig how it opens in photoshop and I was quite relieved to see that picasa will view the RAW files. And I can officially add 'indoor swimming pool' to my list of Worst Places To Attempt Taking Photos list. Wowza.

22/365

2008-11-12T17:45:00.000-08:00

My goal for February: Two kids that can dress themselves.
It happened today, that's for sure!

21/365

2008-11-11T19:43:00.000-08:00

Really just a terrible image but mostly a comment on winter setting in.
Rain and ice all day. Snow tonight. Up to 4 inches.
This is the first year I've used the fireplace and it seems like I have it on all the time. Now that both kids are old enough to stay away from it (unless I make them sit by it for a picture), I can really enjoy it.

20/365

2008-11-10T20:27:00.000-08:00

NMK.
Not my kid!
I'm doing a PB family shoot (really my first ever...ack!) on Friday and my friend let me come over to scope things out today. It would have been better to go in cold, I'm so worried about it now! So the best thing about this shot? It's NOT MY KID!

19/365

2008-11-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

And 18/365 and 17/365

Friday:
Took a few as I was pulling out of the driveway with Ellie as she was in full Diva Mode. As soon as I drop Bradyn off, she wants to be in his seat, she wants to choose a new DVD, it's all about her and she knows it! Friday she just had to had to had to have a cookie!

Saturday:
The snow. The boots. Kids too cold to stand still!

Sunday:
I tried using a 'paper diffuser' over my on-board flash and wasn't impressed at all with the results. And for some reason, had a harder time with focus when using it. That was my objective today, to see how the paper used but when I opened this image, I tried the "over expose vintagy wow" from Itty Bitty Actions and just had to post it without further messing.

16/365

2008-11-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

The end of fall. The end of color. The end of even considering opening the door to snap a shot!
It's supposed to snow the next few days. I keep thinking I should take some shots of our 'view' here in Iowa since there's a chance we'll end up being transferred soon or at least in the next year. So that's what I see out my back door. Iowa. There are windmills you can't really distinguish but they're there. We see them out every window in our house. Brian has a 20 minute drive to work and I bet there's not an inch of his trip that he doesn't have a view of a field full of them either!

15/365

2008-11-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

11.5.2008
The 4 y/o photographer in action. There are lots of technical issues with this picture but I'm looking at it in this positive light:
1)the graininess is a good thing for the b&w
2)me being the only thing in focus is good for this purpose
3)I'd have never had him take pics of just the two of us otherwise
He shot this at ISO200, f2.0 (which I'd have increased but oh well) in Av mode.

14/365

2008-11-04T17:56:00.000-08:00

11.4.2008
Election Day!

The Harvest Yule Log. I bought this candle last year. I burn it when Brian's working long hours during harvest. We've had a decent day but I usually want to turn myself off around 6pm so that's when it gets hard around here when I'm home alone with the kids night after night. Then the evening drags on and on.
Someday this candle will burn out and someday harvest will end!

13/365

2008-11-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

11.3.2008
If I had realized this was the 13th picture, that would have been the perfect excuse to skip it tonight. What a long day. Out about about. Working. Picking up. Dropping off. Groceries. Oy.
So at 11pm I was really grasping for an excuse to just skip it. Everyone's in bed asleep. So I decided to do a sleepy shot. I've been wanting to see what settings I needed to change to get my ISO above 1600 and I think I got it based on a thread on OPS. I had to delve back into the world of manual shooting which has previously made me feel like a bumbling fool (so I've been in Av for over a month) including manual focus (er, so the back slats of the crib are nice and crisp) so there are positives here! So I feel like I got a crappy shot but I did move forward a little bit!

12/365

2008-11-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

I think for now that it's occurring to me that forcing myself to take a few shots every day, even when I'm not feeling in the mood is really turning out to be a good thing.
On days like today when I don't get any shots worth getting excited about, I can play around with and get to know the actions I have saved. This is OTSS's Perfect B&W. I like the Sweet Conversion so much that this is a nice little change with the tint.

11/365

2008-11-01T15:31:00.000-07:00

Aha! Caught up!
Took the little Tiger fan for a walk today. We've walked this trail to take pics a few times so I wanted to try something different. This isn't the greatest ever but I laid down on my back and shot up at him. He thought it was bizarre but it's something I'll totally try it again!

10/365

2008-11-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!
We were on the run all day and I barely took any pictures. But here's one of Willy Wonka!

9/365

2008-10-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

Self-portraits. It's supposed to be self-portraits. So far I've taken...zero self-portraits. But my four-year-old does pretty well. We had the ISO jacked way up and a pretty slow shutter speed. He totally gets the 'just push the button a tiny bit' thing to focus. And he knows to look after taking a few to see if they're 'clear' or 'fuzzy'. I'm guessing he'll do most of the shots of me but it's fun...until little sister wants to try. Not so much.

8/365

2008-10-29T20:28:00.000-07:00

10.29.2008

It was almost 60degrees today so we went outside to paint two of our pumpkins. There was a lot of "What does red and purple make?" questions. End the end, we just had two very colorful pumpkins and a mess.

7/365

2008-10-28T18:26:00.000-07:00

10.28.2008

Sick of looking at my kids? I sure am. I'd really like to get my lens on some other faces! So I went for a backside today. We went to a little hometown pumpkin "patch" but no one was around so we just wandered for a bit and took a few shots. Came home pumpkinless. I used an OTSS action on this, love her b&w conversions!

2fer

2008-10-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

Sure not to be the last 2fer post, here's Sunday and Monday...
Here we have my kids' reaction to the first Iowa snow. There had been wind advisories all day and suddenly it was snowing. The kind of snow that is blown so hard it goes completely horizontal. It was immediately deemed a blizzard ... so all on their own they barricaded the front door! Have I really over dramatized the Iowa winters so badly that they think we need to batten down the hatches at the first glimpse of snow?

And today's shot is from a quickie after-dinner run outside to get some pre-Halloween shots of the costumes before we're so into the candy that their eyes can't focus well enough to even look at the camera. Both of them were asking for coats, to which I replied, "That's what Halloween is about in Iowa...". Okay, maybe the blizzard thing really is my fault:

4/365

2008-10-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

10.25.2008

When I first started 'getting into' photography, I loved getting my kids by this window for shots and now it's kind of an 'eh' place. But I still love getting good shots of their great eyelashes!

3/365

2008-10-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

The Ring of Fat. The Fat Ring.
I put on the pregnant ring today.
When I was pregnant with Bradyn, I went out and splurged on a really pretty band and lost it within weeks because I bought it so big. I went a month or two without a ring at all, terrified that they'd have to cut my regular ring off because my fingers were bound to get so swollen and fat. Then Brian bought me this band for Christmas (or was it my birthday?). There are times he really pulls out some sentimentality and thoughtfulness and that was one of those times.
So I wore it with Ellie was well. I look for it in those early newborn pics of both kids and I'm happy I'll have it on (if I don't lose it...) with this one too!

2/365

2008-10-23T21:16:00.001-07:00

10.23.2008

Not a bad view.

1/365

2008-10-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

A picture a day for a year. A year that will involve a busy holiday season, the arrival of a 3rd kid and her first 7 months or so. The idea behind a 365 project is that you take a self-portrait every day. I'm going to bend the rules every day and just focus on getting one picture of something interesting, creative, humorous, cute or whatever each day. I'll post them all to flickr and stick posts in here from time to time.
This is part photography, part learning, part documentation & part just fun. I imagine it will be part pain in the ass too but whatever, most things are.
Today. Bradyn got to use the big camera and he did amazingly well. It was so dark in our little studio that I had to turn all the lights on and let him shoot in Av mode on the settings I would have used. This requires actually focusing on the subject and he nailed it probably as many times as I would have. Photography prodigy perhaps? Or maybe it's just not all that hard.