2.11.13 - crazy kid

I love my Hay - some how she managed to pull off this look:

2.10 - Day after celebration

Day after celebration.

Yesterday was my middles 5th birthday.  One of the gifts her grandma gave her was a bag of coins.  I think this was her favorite gift of all. The kids spent all morning counting the money, stacking, knocking them down. Who knew $5 of coins would provide so much entertainment! 

 She finally found something to try and stack the coins against so she could build them higher without them falling.

 I love the seriousness on her face.  Then after she insisted on cleaning.  So - who am I to question that :)

2/6/13 - Flash

So tonight I wanted to play. I busted out the flash - set it up on the stand with the umbrella.  At first I was trying to get the kids in a certain place, then I realized why not bring the flash to where they wanted to sit. So I had time to play.  I have a lot to learn about my flash, but it was fun to play tonight.

Here is my SOOC:

1/160 Sec @ f/2.5, ISO 250 with my 50mm - Flash set up to the right of her at about 1/8th power

I ran Florabella - Colorplay - Subtle Color - B/W 

Back to Blogging

It's been a real long time, and needless to say - we have been through a lot.  I am still working up the nerve to blog about it.

But - in the mean time, I want to blog more. I want to be able to look back and see what my kids did each day - and watch my photography grow.  I have been doing a project 365 for over a year now - ok, I would be going into my 2nd 365, where I take a picture a day.  I want to start blogging them.

This one was a few days ago - but I love:

Here is my SOOC:
1/250 sec @ f/2.0, ISO 5000

And my edit. I think it looks better with less toys :) I ran a Florabella Action - LOVE HER!  It was from her ColorPlay set - Subtle Color - used the B/W, with minor tweaks.  Then of course I cloned out and fixed my playroom floor :)

I just got a new camera (Nikon D700), and realized I didn't read the manual - it's slightly different than the D7000.  And I found the settings I wanted. I was very excited!

Boy's Bedroom Makeover

My little man turned 3 and I wanted to update his room!

I was inspired by the storage from Kate over at Outnumbered with her toy room makeover.  Didn't she do an amazing job!

I used the following plans from Ana White - there was the Open Base and then the cubbies.

Here is a bad before - I forgot to take a before - before I started painting.

Then I got painting:

Then I finished the closet:

Here is the before.

Then I added the closet:

I added a few signs that I made with my cricut.

Then I got all the boards cut - and then painted....

Then I put it all together!

They each have the cubbies storage inside.

He has a little reading nook - I made the shelfs too - guess from who - yup - Ana White - I just made them shorter to fit.

 I made the step stool from Ana White's plans here:

I made all three sighs.  The Truck, Bus and Car, the Star Wars and the Alphabet.  I spelled out M-I-K-E-Y in orange.

I have to say - I am super proud of his room! The investment for the closet was around $120, I had paint on hand.  The investment for the storage for the toys was about $220 - that included the bins, sheets of plywood (I used cabinet grade plywood - I wanted it to last), wainscoting, the totes, hinges, and knobs.  It took a little over a week - I painted it before it was assembled, and sanded in-between each coat of primer and paint.

So let's take a look again at the Before and Afters:

 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

This one is for my good friend Carrie - she informed me that there is about 100 days till Christmas and she wants to be able to take some tree pictures.

So I looked back through my December 2011 pics and thought I would share some of the exposures.  I have learned a lot since then, they are far from perfect - but - they work for me.  The biggest recommendation I have is to practice!!!

This one was my first attempt in November 2011.  It was hand held so a bit shaky, focused on the tree  vs. Mikey.  I tried to expose to the right of the tree I think.

1/25 sec at f/1.8, ISO 640

A tad bit underexposed - but - hey - I like it!

1/100 Sec @ f.2.2, ISO 6400

1/100 sec at f/2.2, ISO 4000

1/80 sec at f/2.2, ISO 4000

Because my aperture was at 2.2 there was no bursts in the lights.

 1/80 sec at f/2.2, ISO 4000

Brianna - exposed off her face: 

1/80 sec at f/2.2, ISO 4000

Hay hanging ornaments. Exposed off her face. 

1/100 sec at f/2.0, ISO 4000

The higher the aperture the more the burst: 10.0 sec at f/22, ISO 320

0.5 sec at f/22, ISO 3200

 

Playing - I have lots to learn on outdoor: 10.0 sec at f/22, ISO 1000.  The shutter speed was super slow to make up for the higher aperture to try and get some sparkle. 

Christmas Morning: 1/100 sec at f/2.2, ISO 6400

And this one is for you Carrie!!!  An old image - but relevant for tonight!!

1/4 sec @ f/2.0 ISO 100 - I was going for a lower ISO for a crisper image - and took this on the tripod.