Photo Challenge, Day 26: Close-up

I love this watch that I got for Mark as a gift when he became a dad for the first time. It's his favorite and I think even more so because of the special meaning behind it. Do I get extra points for some bokeh in the background?

Photo Challenge, Day 25: Something Pink

Not the earrings that came on this card, but a nice match, nonetheless.

Photo Challenge, Day 24: Animal

Ari's best friend, Miss Mousie (I know, really creative), a gift from her Aunt B. This little guy is so soft, I had to buy one for friends having babies as well.

Photo Challenge, Day 23: Sunflare

Had to use an old photo for this one, as I have had no sun+free-time-to-shoot moments for days. I love this photo, completely unretouched.

Photo Challenge, Day 22: Hands

My favorite little hands these days. Little but capable of so much destruction;)

Photo Challenge, Day 21: Faceless self-portrait

I took this photo at the dock on a pond near a playground we always head to in the warm months. It was only about 60 degrees, but the sun made the wood warm and great to sit on.

Photo Challenge, Day 20: Bokeh

So, before this challenge, I had no idea what bokeh meant, much less how to create it. It refers to an intentional blurring or gradation created in a photo. It took me a week to get it to the point where I felt comfortable finding the right subjects and taking the photo. This hydrant is near the train tracks near our house. Our car and the tracks are in the background; I saw the color of the hydrant and had to shoot it!

Photo Challenge, Day 19: Something Orange

I love that 75% of our decorations are orange. A convenient shot.

Photo Challenge, Day 18: My Shoes

Loved to death...and now I have to pack them away for the winter. Sigh...

Photo Challenge, Day 17: Technology

Practicing for day 20, I took this shot of my BF (some people call him my husband) while out running errands after the kids hit the hay. I may have gotten the Redbox DVD back late because of it...rats.

Photo Challenge, Day 16: Long Exposure

LOVE long exposure photos! I've never shot them before and had so much fun. My favorite kinds of photos of this type are the nighttime shots, with car/city lights, or sparklers, etc. A single bright source of light, motion over many seconds captured in one. Here's my indoor, iPod version, a message to my husband:)

Photo Challenge, Day 15: Silhouette

My (somewhat) willing model, Mark, helped me create a backlit silhouette against one of the just-laundered, but not taken to their cabinet yet, sheets. I tried a number of different light sources, but liked this one the best.

Photo Challenge, Day 14: Eyes

Or eye. Mine, tired, but at least with a little mascara...

Photo Challenge, Day 13: Yourself with 13 Things

I'm a pillow addict. I need more couches, chairs, beds, benches, etc to hold them. This is a swath of my collection. Oh, and did I mention that I love color and wild patterns...?

Photo Challenge, Day 12: Sunset

I missed sunset the night I was supposed to do this post, and then realized that there's nowhere high in Wheaton that I have access to anyway. So, the upstairs of our house will have to do. Love the pinks on nights like this!

Photo Challenge, Day 11: Something Blue

If you're a parent, you understand the fury this scenario can spark. In the middle of re-diapering a squirming, screaming, incredibly strong 1-year old, I get to the point of affixing the last flap and...rrrrrrrip! ARGH! This is my something blue.

Photo Challenge, Day 10: Childhood Memory

This is one of my favorite ones so far. I thought I didn't have anything here that was a memento of my childhood, but realized that my mom just gave Dane a jelly jar of marbles. It was so fun to think about how I used to treasure these, choosing them more like jewels than like game pieces. I kept my in a purple velvet pouch with satin drawstring that never stayed closed. My favorite one was the one right on top, a clear, iridescent shooter, with just a hint of yellow that reminded me of the moon.

Before editing:

After editing:

Photo Challenge, Day 9: Someone I Love

This is my love, Aria. At a year old, she's one of the happiest babies I've ever seen, so it's really funny to us when she pulls out her serious face. I was working on the f-stop in this one, and haven't gotten it right yet. But I love this photo never-the-less; the light was so pretty that afternoon.

Photo Challenge, Day 8: A Bad Habit

My main vice...sugar. Lots of it. I'm addicted these days. I loved taking this photo, using outdoor light, and getting the tiny shadow on the individual crystals. While cleaning this up, I may or may not have just licked the remainder off the board.

Photo Challenge, Day 7: Fruit

Still don't love this picture...couldn't capture how pretty the sprayed-silver pumpkins were with all our yellow leaves and the oddly-summery sunlight the last few days.

Update: Editing is a good thing...

Photo Challenge, Day 6: From A Low Angle

My husband and I got back from a birthday trip (alone!), to find that our son had gotten Dad this balloon to celebrate. He might not realize that when you get gifts for others, THEY should be the ones that like them:)

Photo Challenge, Day 5:From a High Angle

If you're from WI, you may recognize the iconic design of this chair. It's a miniature from my parents, to help me remember my alma mater. Many an afternoon/evening were spent in one of these, playing cards, watching bands, drinking a beer. Good memories!

Photo Challenge, Day 4: Something Green

This is a new toy we just got for...well, possibly Mark and I, but the colors are amazing. I used our newish Elph Power Shot because I wanted the spot focus, which I don't think I have the right lens for on our EOS.

Photo Challenge, Day 3: Clouds

This is my attempt at making lemonade without lemons...it was the clearest day in the world here today. Not a single cloud all day. Still tonight, nothing. So, my fix: take a photo of the picture over our bed. The photo above is of a photo my sister took, enlarged, edited and gave us as a gift. I've always loved it, and I know I'm stealing a bit, but it's a fun way to pay tribute to her:)

Photo Challenge, Day 2: What I Wore Today

First things first, my beautiful, 4-ish year old wedding rings, some rockin' studs from White House | Black Market, a scarf from my lovely sis, a Calvin Klein 3/4-sleeve tunic, and black Gap jeggings. Perfect for a 68-degree fall day including church and kids and small group. Then at 4, our way back to church, we realized Mark was wearing a polo the exact color of the scarf. Not cool to be matchy to your spouse in his book;)

To get this photo, I worked on learning how the shutter speed and F value affected the shot. I still don't perfectly understand how they work together, but it was great to feel like I'm starting to get some of the basics down.

Photo Challenge, Day 1: Self-portrait

Today was the first day of the photo challenge, and let me tell you, I've been thinking about it since I signed up. Since I have no experience doing this, I didn't know if I should be literal or if it was about creativity, or skill (of which I have almost none). So, I'll give you a couple of photos. Thanks for looking!

This is me at my most alive...I was doing a chalk drawing as part of the Loop Alliance GoDoGOOD celebration downtown this weekend. We were down for Mark's birthday and it was so refreshing to be in the sun, creating art, watching people, being free!

This is my more serious, straight-up portrait. Our house is pretty dark, so I found a little light by the front door and took this shot. It ended up somewhat underexposed, and hence a little grainy after editing, but I still like it. It's how I feel about life right now. Turning my face toward the light.