So long 2008... Hello 2009!!!

wow. It seems like 2008 just zoomed right on by while I wasn't looking. I can't say I'm sad to see it come to an end though. It was a tough year. I spent way too much of it as a single mom, missing my traveling husband. I'm cautiously optomistic for 2009. Who knows if he'll travel as much... who knows if I'll snap & get committed to the padded room... who knows if the children will stage a coup... but I'm going to hope for the best. ;)

As 2008 came to an end, I decided this was the perfect time to start fresh. I couldn't let another year pass without giving myself a great big shove towards doing what I love. So, as the new year approached, I purchased a domain name, launched a website, filed for a business license, ordered business cards, set up accounts with professional printers, worked on my portfolio and now... FINALLY... I am stepping out in the world as "Dorothy Larson Photography"!!!! I've still got lots of work to do, but it feels great to really put some time & commitment into my photography. Now I just have to earn enough to pay for all of the equipment I want!!! :)

If ya want to check it out, here's the link: http://www.dorothylarsonphotography.com/ But expect some changes daily for a while. I am still figuring out what look I want and what information I want on the site. Be patient, k?

Feb 9...

More snow... but this time it was late at night... around 10:30pm... and I was playing with the external flash. :) All 3 photos were taken with random settings while using the flash.

Dewayne's footprints on the front sidewalk... he went out to his car & came back for the window scraper. :)

This is the view from our front steps out towards the street. We're angled on a corner. The street lamps were making this weird glow. Usually that's a white looking light. No idea what was making it look kind of red.

This is the smaller tree in our backyard. The snow was clinging to every branch & it looked pretty cool. I like the way it contrasts with the dark background... which is just the night sky!

Cold...

January 23...

Noah's first snowball... first of many...

Just look at that innocent face. Isn't he adorable??

... and right after that sweet smile, the little snot smacked me right in the head with that stupid snowball. *sigh* Gotta love having boys!!! The camera had to go in my ski jacket pocket to keep dry because the snowball war kicked in to high gear!!

And for the record... I WON!!!!!

*note: I used Andrew's new little point-n-shoot Sony camera for today's photos. Much easier to play in the snow with a teeny tiny camera!

Jan 22

Jan 21

{holding a spot so I can add my photo later}

Jan 20

{holding a spot so I can add my photo later}

Jan 19

{holding a spot so I can add my photo later}

ABC's & 123's

January 18...

I love word art and I've been noticing words and individual letters a lot lately. I want to get a photo of every letter of the alphabet and numbers 0 through 9. So... here's A.

Surprise...

January 17...

Woke up to a nice little surprise this morning!!

surprise [ser-prahyz, suh-] -–verb (used with object)
1. to strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment, as through unexpectedness: Her beauty surprised me. 2. to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly: We surprised the children raiding the cookie jar.

Drastic...

January 16...

There was more than one photo today. :)

Before:

After:

drastic [dras-tik] –adjective 1. acting with force or violence; violent. 2. extremely severe or extensive: a drastic tax-reduction measure.

And if you're interested... here's all the "in-between" pics too.

Emotional...

January 15... (several photos!)

Today is the day. We all got up super early (4am to be exact) and had breakfast together... but I think at least 2 of the boys was eating while still asleep. ;) I took Tom to the squadron and snapped a few photos. Here he is being a goofball when I told him to strike a pose for Amy because she thinks he's hawt in that flight suit... hahahaaaaa

And one last look at the important stuff before flying... flight updates & email from the boss... and apparently an email from Chris with a video of military guys rapping in the desert is "important" too. ;)Said our good-byes and he headed to the plane... while I went home to grouchy, sleep-deprived kids!

He departed here about 7:30am...

Commitment...

January 14...

After seeing Amy's photo for January 13th, I really wanted to try to photograph my ring. When Tom took his ring off & put it on his dresser, I couldn't help myself. Although I have 4 months to get the photo, I snapped this one the night before he left. He can't wear it when he flies so it spends quite a bit of time on the dresser. :)

I hope you don't mind that I copied your idea Ames!!!

Luck...

January 13...

I wanted to photograph Tom's boots on the black background... and while I was playing with this set up, Noah decided it looked pretty fun. I got some decent shots of the boots... then Noah stepped in...
And something about his solemn expression with the boots in the blurred background just really caught my eye. I wish he was more in focus, but he would NOT be still. This was as good as it was gonna get.
Sometimes photography is all about the luck. I don't think I could have gotten this photo if I'd tried to pose him.

Countdown...

January 12...

Noah's calendar... marking off the days till Daddy leaves in blue... then we'll mark the off the days till Daddy returns in red. :)

This is a photo of the calendar on the wall but Noah uses my Photoshop to mark the X's every day!!! :) He loooooooooves to edit the photo every day. heehee

Cocoa...

January 11...

Daily indulgence... in my favorite Starbucks mug. :)

Cozy...

January 10...

My new fuzzy, pink Crocs!

cozy [koh-zee] -adjective 1. snugly warm and comfortable: a cozy little house.

Real...

January 9...

My hubby is getting ready to deploy again. He spent the day getting some of his things ready to pack... including his uniforms... the brown ones. Makes it very real.





real [ree-uhl, reel] -adjective. 1. true; not merely ostensible, nominal, or apparent: the real reason for an act. 2. existing or occurring as fact; actual rather than imaginary, ideal, or fictitious: a story taken from real life. 3. being an actual thing; having objective existence; not imaginary: The events you will see in the film are real and not just made up. 4. being actually such; not merely so-called: a real victory.

Ball...

January 8...


ball [bawl] -noun. 1. a spherical or approximately spherical body or shape; sphere: He rolled the piece of paper into a ball. 2. a round or roundish body, of various sizes and materials, either hollow or solid, for use in games, as baseball, football, tennis, or golf. 3. a game played with a ball, esp. baseball: The boys are out playing ball.

Build...

January 7...


build [bild] -verb. 1. to construct (esp. something complex) by assembling and joining parts or materials: to build a house. 2. to establish, increase, or strengthen (often fol. by up): to build a business; to build up one's hopes. 3. to mold, form, or create: to build boys into men.

Owl...

January 6...

owl [aul] -noun 1. a type of bird that flies at night and feeds on small birds and animals.


This is my owl shirt! Everytime I wear it I think of Monica!!! It's a really comfy, stretchy thermal material with a felt leaf near the bottom hem. I need to find a long sleeved shirt that I can wear under it while it's cold!

And even if I had make-up on, I still wouldn't have taken a full self-portrait today. :)

Technical stuff: Canon Rebel XT, 18-55mm lens, 430EX flash... f./5.6, ss 100, ISO 100, 55mm focal length, bounced flash using mirror for self-portrait.

Box...

January 5...

box [boks] -noun. 1. a container, case, or receptacle, usually rectangular, of wood, metal, cardboard, etc., and often with a lid or removable cover.

It's pretty typical for my kid.... buy him a $50 toy & he'll play with the box for hours while the toy sits on the floor. :) In this case it was the box for his new booster seat... but he played in the box until I forced him to go get a bath. Oh, and did ya notice the nice clean fingernails?! heehee... He had been outside for a few hours before this photo. "Someone" was supposed to be helping Dad rake leaves... but I think he did more to scatter leaves than rake them.

.

Technical stuff: Canon Rebel XT, 85mm lens, 430EX flash... f./4.0, ss 200, ISO 100, bounced flash... both photos!

Dedicated...

January 4...

ded·i·cat·ed [ded-i-key-tid] –adjective 1. wholly committed to something, as to an ideal, political cause, or personal goal: a dedicated artist.

This is a photo of a wooden C-130 model of the plane my husband deployed on last year. It's scale and very realistic. He had it made after he returned home. It sits on top of our entertainment center with a wooden F-15... the plane he worked on before he started flying on C-130's.

The "dedication" comes from my husband, Tom, serving in the United States Air Force. He loves what he does and it's obvious when he talks about it. He has such a dedication to his fellow flight crew members, his squadron, the country. I am so proud of him.

Technical stuff: Canon Rebel XT, 85mm lens, 430EX external flash... f./1.8, ss 200, ISO 100, bounced flash.

Pose...

January 3...

pose [pohz] -noun 1. a bodily attitude or posture: Her pose had a note of defiance in it. 2. the act or period of posing, as for a picture.

(although "cheesy" or "annoyed" would probably go a little better with his attitude today!)

Technical stuff: Canon Rebel XT, 85mm lens, external flash... f./4.0, ss 200, ISO 100, bounced flash... and one little boy that just wanted me to go away! :)

Faith...

January 2nd...

And starting today, I'm going to use one descriptive word, along with the definition, for each of my photos. This was the idea of a very talented photographer & crafter at ScrapFreak.com (thanks for the idea Chickie!!) and I hope I do it justice!

Faith [feyth] -noun. - the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.

technical stuff: Canon dRebel XT camera w/ 85mm lens & 430EX flash ... manual settings: f/1.8, ss 1/200, ISO 100, bounced flash.

2008: a year of photos

a new year, a new beginning...

I started last year with good intentions. I loved the idea of taking a photo every day so I joined the challenge on a message board & started out with lots of enthusiasm. It made me think about my photos and gave me some ideas for trying new things... but life got in the way. Sadly, photography wasn't high on the list of priorities around here. I let my 'photo a day' slowly dwindle down to 'photo a month' then stopped all together before I even made it to the summer.

So... here we are at the beginning of another year... and I'm going to give it another shot. I have the same enthusiasm but this year I'm going to make photography more of a priority. I want to take more than one photo a day (because, honestly I've never been able to take just ONE photo of anything!) and to work on specific skills. I want to see an improvement by the end of this year and that requires dedication and perserverance.

I will do this. I will do this. I will do this. I will do this.

Let's get this party started!!!

These are two of my boys... the oldest and the youngest... putting together a K'nex car! Dewayne has NO chance when Noah looks at him with those big eyes & asks his brother to play with him. heehee

1 down... 365 to go. :) Can't forget about Leap Year!!!

Photo A Day ~ 13 Dec 07

... and my baby is FIVE!!!

Photo A Year - :)

It's been a while since I've updated. Life... with 4 boys & a traveling husband... seems to get in the way of my blogging time. :) I've made a promise to myself to put my photography and my blogging higher up on the priority list in 2008 so hopefully there will be more consistent updates.

For now, I'll add one photo from a recent maternity shoot... I just love this shot. The shoes belonged to my youngest son who will be 5 in just a few days! I thought they made a great prop for a maternity shoot against the black backdrop!

Shooting info: Canon Digital Rebel XT, lens 18-55mm kit lens, 50mm focal length, ss 1/30, f/5.6, ISO 100. Minimal post-processing to crop, watermark, add frame & resize for web. No editing of actual photo image.

Photo A Day ~ 13 June

Our youngest at the park... taking a break & enjoying the warm, dry day! It's been raining more than it's been sunny so we're all having a bit of cabin fever! The minute it dries up, we run out to the backyard!

I love this next photo... even if it's blown out on the side of his face. It was so bright out, not much I could do to avoid it without running back in the house for more equipment. :) I'm hoping he'll humor me and recreate this shot another time... when the sun is cooperative!

Photo A Day ~ 17 May

Today is my oldest son's 17th birthday... it just doesn't seem real. :)

Canon dRebel XT, 50mm f1.8 lens... ss 125, f4.0, ISO 200

Photo A Day ~ 17 Apr

When we first arrived at the base here in Japan, it was early in the morning on a Sunday. Most people were sleeping but we were still on U.S. time. We didn't want to wake anyone on our contact list so my husband walked down the street to the little convenience store and purchased some snacks, drinks, milk, etc... and these noodle dishes. They are microwave meals... and we had NO idea how to cook them because the packaging was all in Japanese! Thankfully there was a maintenance worker in the building of our temporary apartment that helped us with the instructions... and these are some of our favorite snacks now!

Canon dRebel XT, 30mm f1.4 lens

ss 200, f/1.4, ISO 800, SOOC except resize for web

Photo A Day ~ 16 Apr

Life with a 4-year-old is never dull! ;)

I was trying to photograph something on my black backdrop today... but my little goofball kept getting right in the middle of the action! I gave up on the photo shoot and played with him instead. He kept giggling and covering his face... and I didn't worry about settings or being technically correct... but it was fun anyway! He's good at reminding me to take the time to laugh and be silly!

Here are 3 of the "results" of our silliness... I really wish I'd changed the aperture & gotten the focus on more of his face, especially both eyes, in that last one... but just trying to hold the camera without it shaking while I was laughing was difficult enough. See, he was posing for that one! "Don't make me laugh. I want to be SERIOUS. Mom, stop laughing and take my picture." He's such a little character!

All were taken with Canon dRebel XT, Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens...

1 & 2: ss 320, f/1.4, ISO 800

3: ss 160, f/ 1.4, ISO 800

Photo A Day ~ 15 Apr

There is a very strange tree in my backyard. It has really deep red leaves and when it's cold or rainy the leaves sorta droop down like they are all folded up to keep warm. On sunny days, the leaves are all spread out. It's my favorite tree around here!

Today it was raining and I stood on my backporch and zoomed in on the leaves to catch the water drops... and it shows how the leaves are very jagged and pointy.

Canon dRebel XT, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS lens

ss 40, f/5.6, ISO 800, focal length 190mm, rainy afternoon

Photo A Day ~ 13 Apr

I have a whole rainbow of these colored goblets... and they caught my eye this morning as I walked by the china cabinet. I love the bubbles in them... and I love that I have 8 different colors of them too! Maybe next time I'll line them all up & show the whole rainbow but today I just loved the dark blue & light blue ones!

Canon dRebel XT, 50mm f1.8 lens, ss 3200, f4.0, iso 200... taken in front of my large kitchen window with mid-day overcast sky. The background is the sky.

I also like that I can see the reflection of the trees & grass outside my window in the stem part of the glass! Just glad it didn't pick up the reflection of the contruction fence across the street!

Photo A Day ~ 10 Apr

And after a busy afternoon at the park... THIS is what happens!

He was watching tv while I finished dinner... yeah... he was OUT as soon as he stopped moving! I just love how he arranged the pillows so he could be REALLY comfy! heehee

Canon dRebel XT, 50mm f1.8 lens, iso 1600, ss 40, f1.8

Photo A Day ~ 9 Apr

Since my hubby was most likely going to be out of town for a little while, he spent the afternoon playing with Noah at the park behind our house. Got a few fun shots of the little monster before he started giving me the hateful look! ;)

That boy loves the slide!

Canon dRebel XT & 50mm f1.8 lens

Slide: ss 1000, f1.8, ISO 100

Playground: ss 2000, f1.8, ISO 100

Photo A Day ~ 7 Apr

More shots of the trees when I was out taking pics of the stop sign. These are the trees lining the street coming to my house. This street runs behind my house actually... I live on a corner lot & the back/side yard is that wall you saw in a previous POTD.

I moved here just after sakura season last year... missed this amazing view by just a week or two... and I keep looking at all of the trees as I drive. They are peaceful to me. I love how the trees cover the street... a full canopy of white blooms!

Photo A Day ~ 6 Apr

This is the stop sign at the intersection very close to my yard... not sure why, but I just loved this view with the trees blooming in the background! I was sitting on the ground, leaning WAY back to get just the angle I wanted. :) These gray, overcast days are KILLING my photography!!!

Canon dRebel XT, 50mm f1.8, SOOC, resized for web

ss 800, f5.0, ISO 200

Photo A Day ~ 5 Apr

Spring is here!! And it's Sakura season in Japan!! Cherry Blossoms are blooming everywhere! This little pink tree is in my yard... and the white blooms are lining the whole street on the way to my house. The trees with white blooms & wall is the view out my back door. I wish they'd hurry up & finish the paint job so it's all the beige color!

Both taken with Canon dRebel XT, 50mm f1.8, SOOC, resize for web:
Pink blossoms: ss 160, f4.0, ISO 100
White blossoms: ss 640, f5.0, ISO 200

By the way, I also took photos of these trees in the winter... all bare & gloomy looking. Now they are alive with blooms... so many blooms that it looks like it's snowing!!

Photo A Day ~ 4 Apr

Just the boys being goofy & wrestling on the couch! Noah giggled so much I thought he was about to pass out! :) Canon dRebel XT, 50mm f1.8, ss 20, f1.8, ISO 800, SOOC/resize for web

Photo A Day ~ 2 Apr

I'm trying to get caught up on some photos I've taken over the last few weeks. There may be SEVERAL posts per day coming up! :)

This is a detail shot of my son's class ring while he was dressed for a formal banquet. I rarely get to see my skater in a bow tie so I made sure to get a few shots! This is actually one of my favorites! I'm going to be taking some "senior" shots of him in the next week or two so hopefully I can get more of his ring with other backgrounds!

Canon dRebel XT, 50mm/f1.8 lens...

ss 320, f1.8, ISO 800...

slightly sharpened and resized for web.

Photo A Day ~ 18 Mar

This photo proves that equipment and training only gets ya so far... the right opportunity has a LOT to do with what you can capture! My husband flies near Mount Fuji almost daily... and this is what he got with my 5mp Sony point-n-shoot back in December, on his way to his deployment... and better yet, this was shot through the front window of a military cargo plane! Look closely at the bottom half of the image. Those zig zag lines are the hiking trails going up the side of Mount Fuji. In August, he climbed to the very top with a group of friends. In December, you can only see a portion of the trail. We'll visit this amazing place again next summer... when it's not all covered in white! :)
This image is SOOC... resized & added watermark. I didn't take this photo, but I am SO proud of him for it! The small image doesn't do it justice! I couldn't resist giving him a little spot on my photo blog to show it off!

Photo A Day ~ 13 Mar

This cross belonged to my husband's grandmother. It's the only thing I have of hers with us here in Japan and it is precious to me. She was a strong woman, widowed very young with two children, and lived on her own until she was in her mid 90's. She passed away this past November at the age of 98. I walk by this cross every day and I am reminded of her. And her memory inspires me.

Canon dRebel XT, 50mm f1.8 lens

ss 1/10, f4.0, ISO 400

natural light, SOOC, resized for web

Photo A Day ~ 11 Mar

These two photos were actually taken on March 1st, but this was the first opportunity I've had to blog them. This was about an hour after my husband got home from his deployment. He was showing Noah some pictures of his trip on the laptop but Noah was more interested in playing with Daddy & his new watch!



Tom hides when I get the camera, but that night he couldn't stop smiling & didn't even turn away when I was taking pictures. :)


Both photos: ss 1/20, f. 1.8, ISO 800, taken with Canon dRebel XT, 50mm 1.8 lens... SOOC/resized for web.

GET YOUR FREAK ON!!!!

I am SO SO SO excited for my friend Monica! She is starting her own scrapbooking website, online store and message board... and it's about to be revealed! She is awesome and I can't wait to help her build it to the awesome site I know she is capable of running! Here's a link... ScrapFreak ... it just went LIVE! :)

Oh, and I just have to say that I am proud to be part of !!!!!

heeheehee!!!

Congrats Monica! It's awesome so far!!! Thanks for including me in your adventure!

Photo A Day ~ 4 March

Experimenting with exposure!

I'm taking an online photography course... and along with this week's assignment, there was also a mini lesson on exposure compensation. Here are my 3 shots while experimenting with exposures... taking 3 shots of the same object, with exposures of -1, 0, +1. The subject is nothing exciting... just a bowl of apples on my dining room table... but it's very obvious the exposure changed! Loving this class and it's only the first week!!!! :)

Taken with Canon dRebel XT, 50mm f1.8 lens... around 3pm, with kitchen/dining room lighting.

Photo1: ss 1/100, f1.8, ISO 1600 Photo2: ss 1/50, f1.8, ISO 1600 Photo3: ss 1/25, f1.8, ISO 1600 Resized for web & slightly sharpened.

Photo A Day ~ 26 Feb

Wow... I'm actually following the weekly theme for the POTD Challenge?! Shocking!!!

This is me... and my new hair... which tells a LOT about me!! This is a self-portrait in the kids' bathroom mirror (excuse the bright colored tropical frog shower curtain in the background!)... taken to show my friend Amy that the new color & highlights really did cover all of my gray!! ;) It's shorter than I wanted, but it'll grow back!!! I'm happy enough with the color to ignore the length!
Oh... and in this shot you can see the new battery grip on my camera. LOVIN' it so far! It's great for portrait shots.

Photo A Day ~ 24 Feb

While playing with my camera today, I actually got one serious one of my 4-year-old while he was on the floor in the kitchen! I had to snap pretty quickly with that one... he wasn't still very long! He's usually a total goofball & making funny faces when I get the camera so I just love this even if it isn't very sharp.

The picture is way too soft... but I was limited on time here! I do like the catchlights... and I will remember this for a more "cooperative time" and get better focus!

.

And more of the goodies from my hubby... He sent the boys these hats with their names on them. Noah was being a goofball today so I snapped a few pictures of him with the hat... who knew a washing machine would make a good white backdrop?!

*sigh* My kid the goofball! He made ALL sorts of faces!!! The hat is a good prop for him!

Photo A Day ~ 23 Feb

Just skipping all those other dates for now. I'll post them when I have time! :)


So... back to today's photo! I got a package from my hubby. He thought it would be fun to share a few of the products that he gets at his deployed location!


Sprite, Pepsi and Mountain Dew! It says the name in English on the other side of the cans!

It's kind of difficult to see the writing on the Snickers candy bar, but the ingredients are in English and some other language... possibly Arabic. *shrug*

I'm not sure of the camera settings... I didn't even look before posting them to be honest... because I used my brand-spankin' new external flash. I was playing with bouncing the flash & some of the photos with better focus weren't exactly the best light. Oh well... it's fun to play & learn!!! :)

wow... I'm SO behind with posting photos!

Well, I should probably get caught up and post the photos I've taken since the 26th. I've been snapping away... but haven't taken the time to post anything. It has been a wild couple of weeks. I hurt my back in mid-January, had my 35th birthday on the 24th, lots of meetings and activities, had a sinus headache for days... and haven't slept a consecutive 7 hours since December. The huge dark circles under my eyes can prove it! ;)

And I've decided that this is the year I'm going to really get serious and learn as much as I can about photography. I searched high and low, read all sorts of websites and blogs, looking for a photography course that I thought would work for me. There are huge schools that would be great... just not very me. I've found one that I really want to try... now, if there is an opening is another matter entirely!!!

I also ordered some photo goodies (external flash, battery grip, diffuser... just to name a few) and I can't wait to play with them and learn more and more and more!!!! It's been a very long time since I've been this excited about learning something new. I have always loved photography, and now I want to really learn photography. It helps that my hubby is just as excited. He's always supportive, but for him to say he's proud of me... yeah... that sure makes me smile!!

Photo A Day ~ 26 Jan

I didn't plan on posting a photo for the 26th, since I didn't really take any picture with the challenge in mind. I snapped this quick picture late at night just to send to Daddy to show off Noah's artwork!

After dinner & bath, Noah (just turned 4) was coloring & having a snack before bedtime. He "found" my post-it notes and proceeded to write on every single sheet... all 150 of them! He was SO proud of himself because he put two together so it would be big enough for him to write his name. He can usually write his name if I help him along a little, but he did this all on his own. Ignore the awful PS work! It was really dark & had a bad shadow covering up part of his name so I did a very quick edit... cloned some to get rid of the shadow, sharpened it a bit and lightened it too. I should really just try getting another photo of it, but I'm kinda lazy tonight!

I'm hoping to get out & find some interesting things to photograph for the challenge this week... now that I'm feeling much better. (I hurt my back about 2 weeks ago so I've been limited on where/when I can get out & shoot... but I'm moving much faster now.) :)

Photo A Day ~ 25 Jan

My youngest woke up in a bad mood this morning and he was really whiny all day today. I couldn't get anything done around the house. He wanted my full attention & would whine or cry... for no reason. This went on most of the day... until I started playing with the timer on my camera!!! These pictures are awful... I had on no make-up, was still wearing my jammies, and they are dark and SO out of focus... but taking them made him smile... which made my life MUCH easier today!
It took us a few tries to get positioned right for the shot... and after about three shots, he decided making goofy faces was kinda fun!

As soon as I put away the camera and tried to do anything around the house, he got really really whiny again... so no other photos for me today.

I almost forgot to mention what my hubby said about these photos... I emailed them to him (I try to email him pics every day while he's deployed) and his response was: "OH MY GOSH... he looks more and more like you every day". That's saying a lot since we all thought he looked just like his Daddy from day one. :)

Photo A Day ~ 24 Jan

I think my kid loves the computer almost as much as I do! He was watching international cartoons online while I was on the phone... and this is how I found him after the call!

Canon dRebel XT, 50mm 1.8, ss 1/13, f 1.8, ISO 400... SOOC/resized for web viewing.

I could have played with the settings a little bit to improve the photo, but I just went with the quickest settings I could possibly use before he fell off the chair!!! :)

Photo A Day ~ 23 Jan

My child is totally obsessed with letters. He discovered the center of our newspaper today. Since most of our news is military and international stuff, we have this center section that gives little news highlights from all over the US by state. It has a map of the US and in large letters it says "American Roundup". My kid is 4. He read American (roundup was a little tricky so he didn't get that one). I squealed with joy... then grabbed the camera!!! Total "Proud Mommy Moment"!!

Canon dRebel XT, 50mm 1.8, ss 1/25, f 1.8, ISO 400, SOOC
But, honestly... I didn't even look at the settings!

Photo A Day ~ 22 Jan

(be back to post the pic)

Photo A Day ~ 21 Jan

I figured since I haven't been following the challenge calendar, I would make an effort to get caught up. I guess I've been too busy playing with the manual settings & learning new things to find specific things to shoot!

So... here's a little bit of my life... my scrap space!

Living in military housing never allows for a real scrap room so I always steal a closet for my space. This area is the near the front entry of my house... the foyer alcove area... in what used to be the coat/storage closet. The brown line on the wall is where the closet doors were... so I guess I stole a little more than just the closet! I took the closet doors down and made an L shaped desk out of my Store-in-Style cubes! I still need to finish making the curtain that will hide it all away, but for now, I love my little scrap space!

(No need to cc... it's just a quick snapshot on auto... and really bad lighting!)

Photo A Day ~ 20 Jan

Random goofiness! My youngest son was having the BEST time being goofy and watching his reflection on the bowl of my Kitchenaid stand mixer. He was especially fascinated by the way his arm looked when it was close to the bowl! And he thought it was pretty great to see my camera in the reflection too!

Nothing technically correct about this photo at all... just a quick snap with my 50mm since that's what I had on the camera at the time!

Photo A Day ~ 19 Jan

Well, there are two photos today... because I'm still playing with my 50mm lens! I took some photos to show my husband how I changed the living room furniture around, then I started working on "focus". Decided the Japanese lamp from last night was a good object to use for my practice so I positioned myself so there was a background object... and started shooting & adjusting!

I took about 35 shots, and got pretty consistent with focusing on the object I *wanted* to be in focus... some near objects, some far objects. I can't even begin to explain how much this challenge has encouraged me to learn more about my camera...

Image #1: Focus on near object, blur background...

Image #2: Focus on far object, blur foreground...

Both images shot with Canon dRebel XT, 50mm/1.8 lens,

ss 1/8, f 2.2, ISO 400, auto WB, SOOC (resized image for viewing)

Photo A Day ~ 18 Jan

I was sitting at my dining room table tonight, reading some photo info online, and decided to play with my camera a little bit... problem was... I was too lazy to actually get up & go to a room with better lighting or more interesting stuff to photograph! ;)

So... here's a tilted view of a Japanese lamp & picture frame on the table behind my leather sofa. That's me & my hubby in that photo! (*Note to self: dust sofa table. HA!)

Canon dRebel XT, Canon 50mm/1.8 lens, image is SOOC...

ss 1/15, f 1.8, ISO 400

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And these were totally random manual settings since I was just adjusting & shooting... learning by doing... :) I was just playing with my 50mm 1.8 lens basically because I'm so not used to shooting with a prime. I forget that my feet actually work sometimes!!! I want the lens to get me closer... I'm either spoiled by zooms or lazy!

Photo A Day ~ 17 Jan

(I'll be back to post my POTD here!)

Photo A Day ~ 16 Jan

(I'll be back to post my POTD here!)

Photo A Day ~ 15 Jan

This week's Photo A Day Challenge is all about showing our hometown... so here's a little piece of where I live. It's not my real "hometown"... but then again... home is where the Air Force sends us! So, I guess the Tokyo area is home for now...

Passed this while out shopping. I was walking down a sidewalk... sort of off the beaten path... on my way back to the train station when I saw this driveway entry. It was a private home, and I have NO idea what the sign says, but I thought it was pretty cool looking! :) The area is very urban, tall buildings on the opposite side of the street, and then there was this entry. The houses behind the entry were bigger than most in the area and the garden area was immaculately kept. The most amazing home I've seen in that area... but I was too chicken to poke my head through to get a better photo of it! ha!

ss 1/200, f 8.0, ISO 400 (cropped & resized for uploading)

Photo A Day ~ 14 Jan

Aren't they pretty?! Flowers from the hubby... (used auto setting... because I had a 4-year-old that insisted on "helping" me take the picture!)

Photo A Day ~ 13 Jan

I took some random shots around the house today but the lightening was horrible and nothing was worth showing... so I'm gonna cheat! I started working on a photo from July. I love this shot of my son wearing one of Daddy's old flight helmets! I think it still needs a little something, but I'm just not sure how or what to do to it now. I'm posting the original and the PSE4 version... any suggestions, help, ideas?

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ORIGINAL PHOTO:

Canon dRebel XT, kit lens, auto setting; ss 1/60, f 5.6, ISO 400

PSE4 EDITED PHOTO: lightened & sharpened...

I'm no expert with PSE4... so I did what I know... anything beyond that will require some really good instructions! ;)

Photo A Day ~ 12 Jan

My 16-year-old is a skateboarding fanatic. He loves it and has gotten damn good at it too! It is fun to try out my photo skill and lenses on him! This shot was one of about 400 I took of him on the street by our house. I don't know why... but of all of the photos... this one just sorta jumped out at me.

Canon dRebel XT, lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM;

ss 1/320, f 5.0, ISO 400, SOOC

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And this next photo makes me laugh... because as this was snapped, I was screaming like a girl and trying to avoid being hit by his skateboard!! ;) I took a series of shots of him on that rail you see in the background and he nearly fell. The skateboard shot towards me and evidentally it was pretty funny to my kid!

(this was taken on the sports setting... the last shot in a series of 4 photos)

Photo A Day ~ 11 Jan

Just a quick shot of my goofball 4-year-old trying his best to mess up my bed within minutes of me making it!

Canon dRebel XT, kit lens

ss 1/60, f 5.0, ISO 400, SOOC

Photo A Day ~ 10 Jan

We took my parents to the airport Wednesday... and while they were getting checked in the boys grabbed some McDonald's. I rarely have the chance to get them all in one candid photo. It's amazing to see those three together... they are just SO different!

Canon dRebel XT, kit lens - ss 1/30, f 5.6, ISO 400,

PSE4: brightened a little and cropped to cut out some other airport dwellers!

Taking Mom and Dad to the airport was really hard... but it was a nice trip. Originally I had planned to go alone to take them to Narita... right up to the time to leave! I could tell my parents didn't want to say good-bye to the boys and then ride a bus for 2 hours to get to the airport. I also didn't want to ride home by myself after saying good-bye to them at the airport. Less than an hour before we had to catch the shuttle bus to Narita Airport, I made a quick trip over to the transportation office and purchased tickets for the three boys!

Having my parents here helped me so much with Tom's deployment. I had their visit to look forward to when he left, and it was wonderful to see them with the boys. Noah had an amazing time playing with Grammy and Papa! I miss them already... and now all I can do is count down the days until Tom comes home. I mean, I'm ok... there's just nothing big coming up to keep my mind off of it. The everyday stuff keeps me busy, but when the kids are in bed and the house is quiet...

Photo A Day ~ 9 Jan

My parents leave tomorrow so I took my mom out for some last minute shopping today. On the way back home my mom wanted to stop off and get some pictures of some stuff on the base. I stopped at the round-about circle so my mom could get some photos of the plane in the middle... and I read the memorial granite slab near it for the very first time! It is a memorial to John F. Kennedy put up by the Japanese workers of Yokota Air Base in 1983. As I was looking through the camera, I noticed I could see my reflection... and I just thought it was kinda cool!

Canon dRebel XT, kit lens, ss 1/80, f. 9.0, ISO 400

Photo A Day ~ 8 Jan

MOM'S WALKING TOUR... Mom and I went shopping today. We walked all over Fussa... the town just outside Yokota Air Base. We bought some stuff at the ¥ shop. It's basically like a Dollar Tree store because ¥100 (100 yen) is close to $1.00 and almost everything in the shop costs ¥100. It's a pretty fun store. Three floors of all sorts of little stuff... storage, kitchen gadgets, dishes, pet supplies, candy, snacks, decorative stuff for the house... and we couldn't read any of the labels!


I took Mom to eat at a restaurant that my husband took me too a few months ago. Ya have to pick your meal from the pictures on the menu and just hope it's what you think is in the picture!!! ;) When we were walking back I took these pictures of the big road sign & Mom in front of a cute little statue. I didn't carry my camera today so I used her little Kodak point-n-shoot camera. And since her camera is set to her date/time in Florida, it still said 1/7/07 at 2:30pm on January 8th here!

Photo A Day ~ 7 Jan

There are times when being on the other side of the world will catch up to me on these posts for the challenge! Well, today is one of those days!!! It is nearly 2:30am on January 7th. I just got home from a military "after-holiday" party... and I'm going to count this as my 7th Photo A Day because it's technically the 7th for me!!

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My husband's unit had a lot of people traveling or deployed in December so we all decided to postpone the annual party until January. It was GREAT! I had a really good time, despite being there without my own husband because he isn't home from his deployment yet. These people are so amazing. I feel like part of a seriously big family when I'm with them! I was having such a good time, I only took a few pictures. This one is by far my favorite! The goofballs in this photo are all friends of ours. I just love 'em to pieces! They were quite the entertaining group! ;) We are SO not the party crowd... but these guys are so much fun to be around!

dRebel XT, kit lens, ss 1/60, f. 4.0, ISO 400,

(auto fix red eyes on one person with PSE4)

Photo A Day ~ 6 Jan

Having my parents visit us here in Japan has been amazing... mainly because I love seeing them with my boys! I've missed that more than I thought. Yesterday my dad and Andrew (13) decided to start putting this puzzle together that Andrew got for Christmas. They were chatting & goofing around the whole time. I'm surprised they still have all the pieces! Well... after about 2 hours, Andrew took a break & started playing PS2... but Papa kept at it! HOURS into this puzzle, he finally recruited my mom to help! The man was obsessed!!! I know this shot is a little blurry and dark... but I love it anyway! (ok, actually, it's the only one out of 30 that wasn't nearly black or REALLY blurry since I kept turning that dial on my camera to see what it would do! ;) heehee)

dRebel XT, kit lens

ss 1/13, f. 5.6, ISO 1600

Photo A Day ~ 5 Jan

I'm going to warn you now... there are SIX photos for today... but I just couldn't decide! They all said something different to me. I spent about 45 minutes in a little park near my house, snapping photos of the two foo dog statues near the entrance. The background wasn't exactly photo-worthy so I concentrated on getting close shots of the statues at angles that didn't show the icky apartment buildings in the photo. I'll post medium size pictures instead of the larger ones... just so they aren't too much for one day! :) Sorry for the overload of photos! I promise I'll get better at making a decision!

ss 1/320, f. 5.6, ISO 400

ss 1/160, f. 5.6, ISO 400

ss 1/320, f. 5.6, ISO 400

ss 1/200, f. 5.6, ISO 400

ss 1/320, f. 5.6, ISO 400

ss 1/160, f. 5.0, ISO 400

(The Japanese sign on the pedestal says "Yuko Park"!)

*all photos posted today are SOOC... no editing or adjustments.

Photo A Day ~ 4 Jan

I wasn't sure I'd get a photo in for today... unless it was another lucky shot in my kitchen tonight! ;) Then, as my dad was grilling steaks on the back patio, he commented on the moon... and my little brain went "TADA! Photo A Day shot"! I grabbed my camera & switched to my 70-300mm lens... then stood out in my back yard... snapping pics of the moon & some with those skeletal trees in the moon's light... all the while my hands were freezing!!!

Oh, and I made two discoveries tonight.... 1) my new green tweed coat was definitely worth the price and 2) my tripod is broken. :( I will be going shopping tomorrow for a replacement. The base exchange doesn't have a tripod so I will have to go off the base. (yay!) ;)

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE...

YOU CAN SEE SOME PRETTY COOL AREAS OF THE MOON!

Canon dRebel XT, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens
ss 1/800, f. 7.1, ISO 400, Focal Length 300.0,
cropped in PSE4 to show closer detail, no other adjustments made to image!

And this one... well, I just thought it was kinda cool looking! :)
Canon dRebel XT, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens
ss 1/500, f. 8.0, ISO 400, Focal Length 300.0,
cropped a tiny bit to center image.

And a quick "THANK YOU!!" to DKDee & **Mogley** of 2Peas... This challenge has really got me thinking about my photography. I took 55 shots of the moon tonight with all sorts of manual settings... just kept playing with them to see what affect it had on the image. My family is pretty sure I've lost my mind!!! heehee ;)

Photo A Day ~ 3 Jan

Today was the typical day at our house... a little cleaning, laundry, went grocery shopping, mailed a package at the post office... and then it was time to cook dinner... and, as always, there was Noah right in the middle of the kitchen, spelling names and words with the Fridge Phonics magnet letters while I tried to cook!

dRebel XT, kit lens, kitchen lighting at night,

ss 1/30, f. 5.6, ISO 800,

cropped with PSE4 to get rid of blank white of fridge on the left side of the photo.

Photo A Day ~ 2 Jan

Photo A Day ~ Day 2!

My youngest son was on the back porch with my mom and I couldn't resist the opportunity for some great photos! I just love this one of him peeking through the slats on the porch fence railing. Peek-a-boo turned into quite a game! :) It was also a great time to play with the settings on my camera! I kept adjusting all the manual settings & shooting! The manual stuff is starting to make sense to me!

dRebel XT, kit lens, outside, mid-afternoon, overcast sky; ss 1/100; f 7.0; iso 800

And again, I couldn't just choose one! This shot was taken right after the one above. Same settings. But, on this one, I tried my hand at a little Photoshop work! To the right of his head, right above the fence, was a dark spot from something on my back porch. It was really distracting, poking up from behind the fence, so I "cloned" it out. :)

Photo A Day ~ 1 Jan

I'm not really sure how I should be posting my 'Photo A Day Challenge'... and since I'm just a tad ahead of everyone in the States, I'm just gonna wing it! ;)

I am obsessed with the trees of Japan... and most recently, the trees in my backyard! They were beautiful, lush green trees when we arrived in late April. Everyone said we just narrowly missed the Cherry Blossoms. I've watched these amazing trees transform from those full of leaves to these skeletons... and I am still obsessed!

ss 1/100, f 7.1, iso 400

Yes, I know it's photo of the day... not photos... but I couldn't decide which one I liked best! The roots of the skeletal trees are just as fascinating to me. There's something very peaceful about their finger-like roots sticking up out of the ground... seeing part of the network that keeps these huge trees alive.

ss 1/60, f 5.6, iso 400

January *PINK* Challenge!

As a mom of four boys, it's difficult to find pink items at my house! The January Color Challenge came at the perfect time because I have a small white Christmas tree decorated predominantly PINK! It's my girly contribution to the holiday decor! ;)

I grabbed a few of the pink glass ornaments and started snapping. I used the kit lens (18-55mm) and shot with the built-in flash & then without flash... and these were my favorite two! I'm convinced any good photos I get are purely accidental! I just recently got brave enough to shoot without the auto setting... and I know very little about all the bells & whistles on my dRebelXT!


ss 1/60, f 5.6, iso 400 (built-in flash)


ss 1/4, f 5.6, iso 400 (no flash)


As always, comments/criticism/advice welcome!

Just getting started!

It took me about 3 hours to decide on a name for my new blog. I wanted to use a Japanese word since that's where I am living right now, but I wasn't sure which word to use. Finally, I decided on a word that means "photograph". Seems fitting! :)

Now... just waiting on January 1st for the 2007 Photography Challenge to start!! You can check out the challenge blog here: http://photographychallenge.blogspot.com and the challenge chat on the photography message board at Two Peas In A Bucket: http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/mb.asp?cmd=list&forum_id=21 I'm excited for the challenge to start! I'm excited to learn and improve my photographs!

And while I was thinking of the challenge & improving my photographs, I decided to look back through some recent ones. I think these are a few of my favorites. It amazes me that a few were just happy accidents... with no set-up, no thought... just snapping & finding that one great shot when I download them to my laptop!

Soccer star!


Vertical View - Space Needle in Seattle:


Fresh Picked Strawberries:


A Daddy Moment - watching the planes:

Any and all CC is greatly appreciated!