Meredyth

This was shortly after I got my new camera and I was very excited
about taking pics of my nieces and nephew. This was Meredyth's "photo session!"



It was hard to keep her still!



I was very happy with these two pics - I think they really show Meredyth's personality.
Shelly was less happy. I guess I still have work to do on my portraits!

Update, finally!

I haven't updated this in forever! But I have been taking pictures. Here are a few from our chasing of the cows this fall.

Woodland Cemetery

When I got my last camera I happened to be in the neighborhood of Woodland Cemetery and stopped there to take pics. I came away with a nice shot of the city. For those of you not from the Dayton area, Woodland is where the Wright Brothers, Erma Bombeck, and some local celebrities are buried. It is also absolutely beautiful. So I had to go up there last weekend to take some pics. I think I got some good shots.

This is my recreation of my earlier shot.





I just liked the light in this shot.





I like the contrast in this one - the cold stone against the bright leaves and the sky.





I thought this memorial was just beautiful.





An awesome piece of trim on a memorial.

New Camera and Cake

I got a new camera! It is a Canon Rebel XS. I am learning how to use it . . . quite slowly actually. Anyhow - during the learning process I have been taking lots of pictures of cake. I know that is weird, but it gives me some practice with exposure, and ISO, etc. I have been making cake because my friend Stacey at work has been taking a cake class and she has inspired me. The funny thing is that I don't really like cake all that much (at least not enough to eat a WHOLE cake) so I make it and then give it to other people. :) The first one went to Mom and Dad and the second one went to work. Aahh well, at least they served their purpose, right?

This one was with my old Kodak digital.



With the new Canon - this was what was left after my get-together the other night.
I took it to work - it was really a big cake!



Besides being a big cake, it was also pretty good. I used Mom's recipe
for Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake. When I took it to work today the
reviews were good!

Pumpkin Patch

Shelly, Tracey, Jackie, Carmella, Meredyth and I went to the Pumpkin Patch this weekend. It was a great place to take pictures, if a bit chilly. Too bad I didn't have my new camera yet! Here are a few of my favorite. These aren't perfect quality because they were more action shots, but I liked them anyway.

Posing!



More poses



Hayride



Meredyth



Carmella



Pretty!



The contrast of Mel's coat with the pumpkins was nice.

SUNFLOWERS!

I have heard from several people lately about the sunflower field over by Yankee and Lyons, so I went to check it out today. WOW! Talk about gorgeous. I may have a cheap point-and-shoot, but I don't know that it mattered on a beautiful day like today and with something as wonderful as this field of sunflowers.

Yeah! A good bee shot! :)



This one is just nice - notice the lone stalk of corn in the back.



A close-up! This is how you get good bee shots -
you wait until fall when they are so slow they are almost dead,
and then you shoot! :)



This makes me think of my students' class pictures -
99% of the class is following the rules but there is always that joker in the back
waving at the camera! (Do you see the one I mean?)



I am a sucker for a monarch!
You should have seen them all flying around in the field today!



And here's another. I wanted to snap this one because there was a bee and a butterfly on the same flower, but look what happened when I took the picture. Do you see what I see?



YES! I got an actual bee IN FLIGHT! :) I was pretty excited!

Wedding Photos

It's been awhile since I posted anything because I have been busy with school starting and Tracey and Matt's wedding. Here are a few of my favorite from the wedding.

Getting Ready - I like this picture because it is so informal.
There are SO many posed pics on a wedding day.
Shelly is looking on and so is Tracey's new niece.
Also the quote above the mirror is "Life is about the moments that
take our breath away" which is kind of fitting for
a wedding day!



I think this is my new all-time favorite of Carmella.
I switched it to black and white during editing and softened the edges just a bit.



Or maybe this one is? I love the way she looks a little thoughtful in this.
And the colors are gorgeous! That Lucke family knows how to garden! :)



But then again... I had to mess with it! What do you think? Which is best?
This one looks cool too.

Hands, Feet, Fingers and Toes

The latest challenge that I worked on was Hands, Feet, Fingers and Toes. It just so happened that I read about it right before Cooper's baptism, which was a perfect time to take pictures!


Cooper's tootsies in his christening gown - a Horstman family heirloom



This is the only hand or finger shot I was able to get.
It is funny how babies don't like to pose!?!
The angle is odd because Cooper is actually holding one of my hands. The other hand is Mom's.



This was my favorite shot of the day. It is Cooper's tiny toes all clenched up tight. I am a little annoyed though that it is blurry.

ABC, 123 and Bees

A few weeks ago I started to check out Two Peas Photography which has a weekly challenge section. It is really interesting! So below is my picture for "ABC and 123" as well as a few of my pics from my everlasting obsession with trying to take a good photo of a bee. I don't know why this bugs me (pun intended :) ) but I have been working at it for a while! These aren't that great so I will keep trying!

This is my idea of 1,2,3. It is a Peace rose that you will probably see
in lots of other pictures! And what looks like lovely dew on the leaves
is actually Immunox because the crazy roses have black spot!
Black spot is my enemy! :)



Ok, so I got the bee's butt...now to get the rest of him!



Aha! Now he has a buddy! Unfortunately, I did not get a good shot on this day.



This is the best I have done so far. But no worries, I will keep trying!

Back to School

These pictures were taken in the courtyard at my school as I was preparing my classroom for the students.

This is a gazing ball at work - it turned out well



Actual waterlilies



Pink waterlily

Busy

So I have been very busy lately with work stuff and trying to get ready for Back to School. However the other day I noticed a little tutorial on how to use the color splash feature on PhotoBucket and I was hooked. So here are a few colorsplashed pics along with some other randoms!

Queen Anne's Lace - I think this might also be called wild carrot(?).



A color-splashed tulip (this is one that I have previously posted as full color).



This one is a bit more dramatic!



This was my best effort at color splashing. I am still a beginner.
It is easy to spend lots of time doing it though!



A very cool statue at the Fraze Pavilion (down the street from my house).



Some of the fountains at the Fraze



Close-up!

More Springtime

In the same vein as my last post - I have more spring flowers to make me forget that summer is just about over.

A bleeding heart - what a poetic name!



I think this is a White Giant iris - I was trying to show the detail of the veins on the falls
(that is fancy iris terminology for the bottom petals) and the fuzzy stuff
(I don't know what that is called).



This is a Byzantine glad. The reason I planted it is that it is perennial,
unlike most glads, and I am a lazy gardener! :)