Gift From the Heart: Day 8 | {Joy of Love}

ok..so I'm behind again.
Hubby and I both got sick, so everything except baby boy has come to a hault.

For day 8, the topic was a gift from the heart.  As soon as I read the lesson, I knew that I wanted to photograph my engagement ring.
I love this ring.  I especially love the fact that I was completely surprised by it.  We didn't browse jewelry shops, I didn't show him this ring, he went out and picked it all on his own.  He knows me so well.
That means so much to me.  It also means that he wanted me to be with him forever and be the mother of his children and if that is not a gift from the heart, I don't know what is!

Nikon D60
aperture: f/6.3
exposure: 1/15
focal length: 55mm
ISO: 400

Thanks for looking!

Generations: Day 7 | {Joy of Love}

Again...I'm behind!
But I don't want to give up on this project...so I'm posting either way in hopes that I will catch up this weekend!

For day seven the topic was "Generations".
We all got together on Sunday, so I snapped this photo of baby boy and my mom.
He is her third grandchild...all boys!!

This isn't a technically perfect photo...but I thought it was sweet and it's perfect in my eyes!

Thank you for looking!!

Who They Love: Day 6 | {The Joy of Love}

Wooo..I am waaaay behind!
Getting ready to do some back to back posting.

The assignment for day six was dedicated to who they love.
We had to document our subject with their loved one.  I was in luck for this topic since we all would be getting together to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday and cheer for our Steelers (sadly, we lost, but it's ok...there is always next season!)
For this special event, my husband's brother and wife came into town from Milwaukee!  It was awesome to have them here and for baby boy to get to see them again.  I hate that he doesn't get to see them that much, since they live so far away! 
He really does love them! (yes, Jason, he loves you! eventhough sometimes he cries when you hold him :(, he'll get over that, promise!)
So I captured some photos of them together for this assignment.
In the first photo I even captured my adorable nephew, Rocco.  He's the one peeking in between baby boy and uncle Jason.  Lucas hearts Rocco and I am so excited they are buddies!  Can't wait til baby is a little bigger so that they can really rough house! (I might be taking that last statement back at a later date)
So on to the photos....




Nikon D60
aperture: f/1.8
focal length: 35mm
exposure: 1/80
ISO: 800
shot in aperture priority



Nikon D60
aperture: f/1.8
focal length: 35mm
exposure: 1/30
ISO: 800
shot in aperture priority









 

We miss you Aunt Julie and Uncle Jason!  come back soon!!

Thanks for looking!!



What You Love to Hate: Day 5 | {Joy of Love}

Day five's assignment is "What You Love to Hate".
I thought about this one hard....sure, things annoy me, but I didn't know how I was going to capture with my camera.

So this morning I saw my husband playing with his new phone....wait, rewind,  I bought him this phone for Christmas (so this is kind of my fault, I guess).  But, the man had a phone from 1998 (OK...a little exaggeration on my part, but his phone WAS older than 5 years)...he would not get rid of it, the phone would drop calls, not keep a charge...it was a mess!
So for Christmas, I bought him a fancy new smartphone...and man, oh, man, he is loving it!...maybe a little too much...

He ignores me (hey, I've got important things to say!), and ignores everything around him.

As I took this photo he was sitting on the ground in front of baby boy's high chair so concentrated on what ever he was doing on that thing.

So that's it...I love that he has a new phone that actually works, but I hate that he is now obsessed with it

He totally thinks I'm a hypocrite, though, since I barely took my eyes off of my iPhone when I first got it ;) 

Thanks for looking!!




Camera: Nikon D60
aperture: f/1.8
focal length: 35mm
ISO: 800
exposure: 1/50
shot in aperture priority







What They Wear: Day 4 | {The Joy of Love}

Well, here I am, only day 4 and already running behind!  oops!
So I'm playing catch up today!

Day four's assignment was to capture what your loved ones wear.
I started off by taking pictures of baby boy with his footie pj's on...but then I changed it up.
We took him to his first hockey game last night (he did awesome!), and he sported his Steelers gear trying to get ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday.

I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to capture what he wears and what he will be wearing for the rest of his life, every football season Sunday (or Monday, or sometimes Thursday) for the rest of his life...if he knows what's good for him ;)

Camera: Nikon D60
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 35mm
ISO: 800
Exposure: 1/100
Shot in aperture priority mode



Captured another thing he wears in this photo:  his binkie :)

Camera: Nikon D60
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 35mm
ISO: 200
Exposure: 1/160
Shot in aperture priority mode



I'll be back later today with the Day 5 assignment! (hopefully!)

Thanks for looking!!

{I Heart Faces | Fix it Friday}

This is my second attempt at I Heart Faces Fix it Friday.

This is not my photo, they provide you with a photo every Friday and you get to edit it any way that you want.  It's fun and you get to sharpen your editing skills.

All of my edits were done with Photoshop Elements 8.

Here is the SOOC (straight out of camera) image that they gave us to work with:

This is my first edit:

For this edit I opened up the photo in Camera Raw.  I moved the temp to -18, tint -48, exposure +10, brightness +25, clarity +15.  Everything else was unadjusted.  I also adjusted the white balance and cropped and tilted the image in Camera Raw.

In Photoshop Elements I ussed Everyday Element's action called Diffuse Hot Spots and Paint the Moon's Jubilee Action.  I also used My 4 Hens color pop on her CUTE pj's and eye sharpening for her eyes.

Here is my second edit, I decided to do a black & white, too:

For this image, I used My 4 Hen's Lilac B&W action (love that action!)

Thank you so much for looking!





Then and Now: Day 3 | {The Joy of Love}

Third day of my class and the topic is then and now.

I decided on a picture of my baby boy.  He will be one this month! and I know I have said before...but I can't believe it!
Mainly, I can't belive that I will have a one year old! geez....where did time go??

Anyways, he was in the bath tonight and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to compare a "now" bathtime picture with one of the ones from a few months ago.
Man, how things have changed!  We used to bathe him on the kitchen counter....And I thought I would always have to do that!
There is no way I could do that now!  The boy is heavy :)

Also, I am including some camera data with this lesson for any of those interested.

Thanks for looking! and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's lesson.






Camera info for "then" photo:
Camera: Nikon D60
Aperture: f/6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/15
Focal Length: 38mm
ISO: 1600
Shot in aperture priority

Camera info for "now" photo:
Camera: Nikon D60
Aperture: f/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/40
Focal Length: 35mm
ISO: 800
Shot in aperture priority






How They Look: Day 2 | {The Joy of Love}

Phew...I made it through the second day! This is going to be tough!  Just not enough hours in the day...but I must say that it is FUN!

For this assignment we had to capture how our loved ones looked.  It could be how they look when they wake up, when they go to work, a facial expression...so many options!

I decided to capture my husband and how he looks while trying to wind-down by reading a book before bed.  He is reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything.  From what I have heard this book was written just for him.  It has all the sciency (is that a word?...who knows!) that he loves.  He was a natural science major in college :).

So here are my photos for today.  Can't wait til tomorrow! 

What They Do: Day 1 | {The Joy of Love}

I decided to join the Joy of Love class offered by Willette.  This class is free of charge (awesome!).  It's a 28-day class that she is offering during the month of February.  If you participate you will receive daily e-mails with the assignment and some tutorials included in the daily lesson.  I am so excited about this, since it will give me a reason to take my camera out every single day and document the ones I love.
Oh yeah, that is the catch, your subject has to be someone you love, wether it is your spouse, child, mother, pet, etc.

For this first assignment I chose to photograph my baby boy.  He will be one this month and I can't believe how fast time has flown by! 
This is what he does every night after his dinner.  I ask him if he wants some "snackies" (rice puffs) and he gets all excited and chows them down.  Usually more than one at a time!

So here it is!  If you are interested, check back daily for my posts :)
Thanks for looking!

(please excuse the placing of my photo...couldn't get it to line up correctly...oh well!)