Photo Thursdays -- Family Photos: Jamie

Because it seems impossible for me to get things posted in a reasonable time otherwise, I'm going to try and make myself somewhat of a schedule.  Obviously there is nothing that could top Crafty Tuesdays, but I'm going to aim for "photo thursdays" as a way to try and post some of the bazillion photos I have waiting.  We'll see how long it lasts...until at least February perhaps?

Due to time limitations, I didn't get as many family sessions in during the fall as I had originally hoped, but I did manage to squeeze in a few.  This is Jamie and her trio of handsome men...

Photography Time!

Because life has been so crazy lately, one of the things that I haven't had/made much time for lately is photography. I absolutely love it, but I have a hard time finding time in my schedule to do many photo sessions. :(

But the fall is a popular time for family pictures, and I absolutely LOVE fall photo shoots, so I was thrilled that I could find some time for a few this month.

First was the adorable Marshall family. Because the winter was so cold here last year, and then the summer and fall were so unusually warm, the leaves have not changed to the vibrant colors that they normally do. Even still, I thought that these turned out pretty well!














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Addictions

Hi, I'm Maggie, and I am an addict. 

Addicted to what, you ask?  Lots of things!  But here are a few of my latest addictions:

Pinterest.  At first I didn't understand what it was.  But one night when I couldn't sleep, I poked around a bit.  And I haven't stopped since.  There are so many things to look at!  And pin!  And...well, you get the picture.  But seriously...I love it!

Applique Forum.  I have made no secret about the love I have of my embroidery machine.  It's probably one of my favorite things I've gotten over the last year or so.  I find sewing relaxing, and I just love the finished products.  I read about a new forum for applique on Applique Cafe, so I decided to check it out.  It's been, hands down, one of my favorite things about the internet.  The ladies are so crafty and wise.  And the free designs available each month are amazing!

Diet Coke.  Okay, so that's not really new.  But I still love it. 

Presets Heaven.  Which, as the name implies, is heaven.  I am not all that great at using lightroom yet -- I will use it to sort my photos, but most of my editing is still done in photoshop.  But I just discovered this website, FULL of presets for lightroom.  Which are awesome.  And will hopefully make editing go faster, especially as it gets closer to fall, which is by far the time I do the most photoshoots. 

So tell me, what addictions have you been feeding lately?  Please, tell me I'm not the only one...

Calling All Photographers

So I seem to have fallen into yet another 'career' of sorts. Photography. Which, don't get me wrong, I LOVE.

It appears that if you take nice pictures for someone, everyone they know will then ask you to do the same. Go figure, right?

So my question is this: for those of you who take pictures for people, what do you use as your photo host? Flickr? Smug Mug? Nothing at all?

I'm all ears for recommendations...

Friday Favorites

I know, I know, everyone talks about their favorite things on fridays.

So I'm going to too.

And right now? I love this: http://milasdaydreams.blogspot.com

Have you seen it? Because if you haven't, you should. It's creative...and more than that, ADORABLE!

*****
In other news, this appears to be my 500th post. Who would have thought that after that many that I could still come up with random and mostly useless things to say?

Yeah, on second thought I'm not that surprised either...

Happy Friday!

Some Families Just Have Good Genes...

Because really...could this family be any more adorable?!







I know -- it kind of makes you sick, doesn't it? It would make me hate them for being so adorable...except I work with Lacey and she is just about the sweetest thing ever.

Which makes it impossible to hate her...even if she is gorgeous...

Making Time

After what feels like the blink of an eye, school started again today. And it wasn't any of the 'just review the syllabus on the first day' thing either...it was eight LONG hours. Which, after only a couple of hours of sleep, seemed to last FOREVER.

Of course I should probably mention that the lack of sleep was totally my own doing. And totally worth it. But it still means that it's barely after 8 pm and now I am counting down the minutes until I can hit the sack tonight.

Even though summer was over in the blink of an eye for goodness sake rather abbreviated, when I think back on it I did manage to fill it with quite a bit. There was lots (and LOTS) of working...July ended up being a record breaking month for # of deliveries, and we wrapped up with 361. My coworkers are definitely amazing. I also took a summer elective -- sign language for health care providers -- which turned out to be a great class. I even went on vacation! I just got back and haven't sorted any of my pictures yet, but it was nice to get away for a few days.

And...I have been taking some pictures. I have a few coworkers who had previously asked me to take some pictures of them and their sweet kiddos...and I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with how they have been turning out. These are a few from Joey turning one...I can't believe how much has changed and that its already been a whole year!

Best Shot Monday

Well looky here...it appears that I haven't, in fact, fallen into a black hole... And not only did I remember that I have a blog, I also remembered that I have a camera! That I love! And that is much more fun to use than just to look at!

Wordless Wednesday: Play Ball!

And that's a winner!

Wordless Wednesday

Project 365

In 2008 I did Project 365...and I loved it. I have had most of that year put into various coffee table books, and I just love being able to look back over the year and remember things.

I started off doing it in 2009, but couldn't quite seem to keep up. So I quit about halfway through and just forgot about it.

This year Cara has been doing her project 365, and it has reminded me how much I miss doing it. Even if I don't get it all put together right away, I really want to be able to look back and remember what these days are like -- especially since I can hardly remember how the day started once it's over!

So, even though it's March, I'm starting again. A week at a time, so even if I miss a day it shouldn't be too obvious...

Cara -- thank you a million times over for inspiring me to get back into the project 365 game...and for telling me how to do those fantastic collages! You're the best!

The Little Things

I LOVE Christmas. I love the whole season - the decorations, the cards, the gifts, the parties, the celebrations, the hustle and bustle...I look forward to it every year.

Since no one seems to give out calendars to newborns, we're a 24/7 operation. Which includes holidays - and this year, Christmas Eve was mine. My mom still has a hard time grasping the concept of why everyone needs to take their turn working holidays, but that's a different story.

It might not sound like fun, working on Christmas Eve - and during a blizzard no less - while everyone else is celebrating with their families. But fun or not, yesterday being at work was exactly where I was supposed to be.

Her 90 minutes were spent with her family, making her know just how very loved and cherished and beautiful she was. And that deserves to be preserved and remembered. Given the combination of the weather and the holidays, there wasn't an actual photographer available.

But since I was working, my schedule was wide open.

There are other places that might have been more fun than work on Christmas Eve, but I'm still pretty sure that I was exactly where I was meant to be.

I hope that your holidays are filled with love, laughter, family, friends, and that the season shines for you in a million small and beautiful ways...Merry Christmas!

Best Shot Monday - Taking A Closer Look

For the last several months, I have been in total awe of everyone's amazing macro shots. (I would go back and link to them, but it is currently 4 AM and I am just too tired) So for Christmas this year, I asked for a macro lens of my very own. And since I was a good girl last year, Santa left one under my Christmas tree.

I am still figuring out how to make it do the things I want, but I have to say...I am loving the ability to take a closer look at things...

For a closer look at some amazing shots, see what everyone else has to share at Tracey's!

A Plea for Help

As I have mentioned on occasion, Photoshop is totally my boyfriend. But I have a problem that even my boyfriend Photoshop can't help me with.



Do you see the lines in the middle of the shot where the color just isn't quite right?

Or how about in this shot?



I'm not sure what is causing them. They don't show up on the LCD screen, when I review my shots on the camera. But somewhere between the camera and the computer, some of my shots are being destroyed by these annoying lines.

If anyone has any suggestions to fix this, I am all ears. Help!

Best Shot Monday - Success!

Ever since Bennett's second birthday, I have been trying to find a time to take some frame-able shots of him for his 'annual' photo. And while I take a lot of pictures, I hadn't come up with anything I was totally in love with.

Most of the problem lies in the fact that Bennett is at that special age where, when asked to smile, he gives you any number of goofy faces. So the only way to get a quality shot was to have an extra adult on hand, so that there would be someone to tickle wrangle encourage an actual smile.

So last week Sarah (and of course Jacob and Ben) joined us for a lovely trip to the Arboretum, where I managed to get a couple of shots that I was really happy with. You seriously have to love good luck!

Tracey is still on vacation, so the lovely and talented Melody is hosting Best Shot Monday again this week -- be sure to check it out!

As Requested: Photo Details

Kimberly asked in the comments, and a few others have emailed me and asked for the specifics on this shot, so here you go:

Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec.
f/1.8
50mm
ISO 800

And in the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that I was on my way home in the midst of a tornado warning, and had the camera out in an attempt to get a good shot of a rather impressive cloud line in the distance. This shot was taken haphazardly on the highway - I just held the camera up and shot out the windshield - and I really like how it turned out. So there you have it - the details of my lucky shot!

Meet My New Boyfriend...Photoshop

I would like to introduce you to my new boyfriend. His name is Photoshop. And I love him. A lot.

I know that everyone else has been using photoshop forever (I don't mind sharing my boyfriend) but I was slow to get with the program. Mostly because I am way behind the times always pressed for time. And because I am usually pretty happy with the shots I get SOOC.

And ultimately because I have an archaic version of Photoshop. But since I am not going to fork over the arm and leg the expense for a brand spankin' new version, I just didn't do much with it. But I decided that perhaps this was the equivalent of being a whiney child, so I figured it couldn't hurt to try and figure it out.

And you know what?

I love my new boyfriend Photoshop.

Before/After: