My Adam

Sweet. lovable, funny, social, and independent

That's my bean!

This kids lives and breathes legos.  Oh my word.  He's up first thing building.  When he goes to bed I have to pry them out of his grip.  I'm not sure whether to bless the makers of legos or curse them. 

Depends on whether my feet survive the land mines or not.

Other things he likes:  Soccer, space, books, rocket ships, making pancakes, space, planes, rocket ships, cutting paper into shapes, space shuttles, coloring, and (did I mention?) anything to do with space.  Oh.  And talking.  All.  The.  Time.  And the volume button appears to be stuck on maximum!  

I love his energy, I really do.  I wish I had half of it!  

And I wish I knew where the volume button is hiding!

He's a real lady killer.  He says he has a million girlfriends.  We're in biiiig trouble...  

He is so sweet and loving.  He's famous for his "great big humongous Adam hugs."  You need to see a chiropractor after each one, but they're definitely worth it.  He says all the time, "Mommy, I love you.  I was going to say something else, but I forgot what I was going to say."  

I think what he says instead is just perfect.

My Julia

Silly, shy, caring, funny, determined, and strong.

That's my girl!!!

If I can get her to take her nose out of a book for more than two minutes, she likes playing teacher with her brother--most of the time.  I'm pretty sure that one of the main reasons he's taking Kindergarten so well is because of his big sister.  When she's not teaching him calculus (ha!), she likes playing with her dolls, cooking, and crafting.  Among other things.  


She has always been a bit of a prickly puss, but finally is keen on a few more hugs.  I'll take 'em!

I admire how she recognizes when she needs to improve and works on it.  I can count on her to choose the right when the chips are down--even if everyone else does something different.  She cares about being a good person.  Yeah, she's a little girl so she's a drama queen and we have many  moments when I think, "WHY is this such a big deal??"  But when it's important, she doesn't let disappointment get her down, and that's something at her age.


She informed me today that as well as being a mom (which she has always wanted to be) she is going to be a scientist-inventor when she grows up.  She's going to be a busy lady!


Maybe she'll invent a way that the house will clean itself.  

 I still can't believe I was able to take some photos of her.  Getting any type of keeper photo of my kids is a miracle.  They won't take direction--at least from me.  Any other moms out there with the same problem?  Maybe we can trade.  I'll take photos of yours if you take some of mine!

Plush Puppy

What can I say?

She's one patient doggy.

Easter Table

It's pretty sad that the only photos I have of Easter this year are of the table. None of the walk the kids took with Grandma to find things that represent the Easter story.  None of our friends who were with us.

Just these three of the table.

*face palm*

Yup.  We can all thank Pinterest for our Easter table.

Easter silhouettes:  Beth at Hungry Happenings

Basket printable:  Melissa at "I Still Love You."

Tinted devilled eggs:  Laura at "Real Mom's Kitchen."

**Edit:  A friend of mine, who knows my wacky sense of humor, thought I was joking and that I hadn't actually made these things, just got the ideas from Pinterest and posted them here as a giggle.  But no.  Although I appreciate that as being a funny idea, and may have to use it in the future, I DID actually make these things.  This WAS our Easter table.  And I'm quite willing to crow and gain whatever temporary glory I can for it!  I just thought I should share the glory with the ladies who came up with the ideas in the first place and posted such easy to follow tutorials that these things worked out as they were supposed to.  Alas, I'm not much of an innovator or designer or imaginative figure-er outer.  What I AM, though, is an implementor.  Of other folks' brilliant ideas.  Without them, I am nothing.

Backing up a bit.

I'm a bit behind!  Here's what I made for supper on April Fool's day.

Mmmnn!  Chocolate strawberry pie!

The kids so so excited to have dessert for dinner.

And then realized it was shepherd's pie, with a bit of chocolate and molasses in the meat to make it chocolatey and food coloring in the milk before adding to the spuds.

Bummer.

But one kiddle doesn't like potatoes much and the other isn't keen on ground beef, and both ate without a word of complaint.  Win!

Then I short sheeted their beds and felt more than well with the world.

mwahaha...

Restoration

I'm going to say this right up front:  I'm no expert on photo restoration.  But Vic asked me if I'd see what I could do with some old photos that he had scanned, and I said that although I couldn't make any guarantees, I'd do what I could.  More than likely many of you looking at this will shake your heads, since you might be more adept at this type of thing, and I'm seriously just winging it!  If so, could you comment with some tips on how to go about this?  I'm predominantly in Lightroom, with a bit of cloning in PSE.  Frankly, I find anything to do with PSE frustrating, I can't seem to use the selection tools easily and I end wanting to pull my hair out when what I want to have happen DOESN'T.  And so many of you find it so easy that I'm wondering what is wrong with me! LOL  I need a PSE intervention.  What I need, probably, is CS5 for more ease of control--but that's not happening any time soon, I'm afraid.

Most are little snapshots that are extremely out of focus, so I just bumped the contrast and cleaned up a few marks on the faces, since I really can't spend hours and hours on these.  

But this photo was gorgeous, so I spent a bit more time on it.

Unfortunately, since I really don't know what I'm doing with this type of thing, the photo looks somewhat soft, but if you could zoom into the face, you'll see a great deal of improvement in it, since it originally looked as if a piece of sandpaper had been scrubbed over the photo.

I'm going to go back and see about fixing that softness and bumping up the blacks, also work on that patch of white in the bottom left.  In the meantime, especially for the family, you can at least see what I'm attempting to do!

Heart and Soul

Recently I was able to participate in a photography workshop with the renowned Sandy Puc'.  She said this, and it really struck me.

"We don't just take pictures, we capture art.  Inside of this image is the magic.  It is my heart and my soul..."

I love it.   

That's exactly what it is.  We're not selling paper.  We're selling art.  We're selling ourselves and our time and our talent.  A successful (and fiesty!) photographer said that when she has someone say, "Why can I get an 8 x 10 print from the machine for $1.99 and you charge $150 (yes--that's right!!), she says, "Would you like a $1.99 print?  I'll get you one."  And she goes to the back, gets a blank 8 x 10 piece of photo paper, and hands it to them!  Her talent ON the piece of paper is what the client is paying for.  I don't think I'd have the noive do that--but she made her point!  

These days anyone can purchase a good dSLR camera.  However, a custom photographer not only has a good camera.  They know how to make the human form look its best.  They understand lighting.  They understand posing and grouping people in a manner pleasing to the eye.  They understand the technical aspects of photography and how to maximize their equipment--they switch off auto! They're constantly working and learning to develop their craft and creativity.  They know how to work with people to make them comfortable in front of the lens.  They give their individual time and attention.  They have experience using post processing editing tools to reduce blemishes and make clients look their best.  They use technology to create fine art pieces from the images by working with colour, textures, overlays and more.  They use a quality lab so portraits are printed on the best paper and mounted to ensure durability and beauty for years to come.

Yes, going to a custom photographer gives you a completely different experience than going to a chain.   

Does a chain  studio go out with you to a cool location like an old train?  

Then spent the time adjusting the colour and texture  to make a work of art?

I came across this blog post that puts it into words way better than I can.  The writer says it beautifully, and I hope anyone who has questions about cost will read it. There are a number of photographers in this economically depressed area, and we're aware of the limited financial means in this town.  It's like walking a tightrope to determine how to meet costs to stay in business with what is happening economically here while not undermining what photographers do as artists.  As such, photographers here are not nearly charging the international standard for photographers---not even close.  As for myself, when I reviewed my pricing this week I realized that I'm charging just what I need to to make what I do worthwhile and still cover the costs of equipment, software, time, lab, travel, and the other expenses associated with running a small business, not to mention what my talent and skills are worth.  I certainly don't come remotely close to charging $150 for an 8 x 10!! 


I'm passionate about what I do.  I love it!  It gives me joy.  But if I'm going to do this, I have to guarantee a certain return to keep going and growing and sharing what I love with others.  There are amazing photographers here, and it saddens me that people would think that the phenomenal, artistic work of a custom photographer is only worth $1.99.  It saddens me even  more to think that perhaps due to their own insecurities and/or negative feedback regarding pricing that some photographers might think their talent and time and experience is worth less than it really is.  It saddens me to know of photographers no longer doing what they love to the extent that they could be because they've either devalued themselves or have been devalued by the perceptions others.  

So--remember that when you hire a custom photographer (ie. not a studio department store chain and not Uncle Joe who happens to have an expensive camera), you're hiring someone who is going to give you their undivided attention, their talent, their knowledge, their individual style, and hours of their time to work with your portraits to make them unique and beautiful.  

Indeed, custom portraiture IS a work of (he)art!