Who's running this show, anyway?

There's nothing like practice to improve any skill.  Fortunately, I have a couple of friends who are either having babies or know someone who just had a baby which makes for GREAT practice!

On Tuesday, I had an opportunity to visit little Miss Chelsea - a July newborn, soooooo tiny and sweet and adorable.  She ran the show which I'm quickly learning is the only way to go.  When she needed a break, we took a break.  It worked out perfectly.

Here's a snippet of our 'practice session' from Tuesday...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE shots of those cute little feet...

And that sweet little smile...

What a wonderful big brother Jack is already...

Thank you once again, Carmen, for opening up your home to me!  And thanks also to Tina - we make a great team!

Strike a pose...

I had the opportunity to snaps some pix of our little neighbor, Gianna, before her dance recital this past Saturday and it was SO much fun!  This girl really knows how to work it! 

She's a blast to take photos of because she LOVES the camera and the camera LOVES her!

Bloom of the Laurel...

I had the pleasure of spending some time with my friend Heather on Saturday.  She grew up in rural Montoursville and let me tell you, it made for a wonderful backdrop for our photos!  Our goal was to capture the beauty not only of her baby bump but also the beauty of the mountain laurel since its window for blooming was coming to an end.  Funny thing - I grew up in Wellsboro, home of the "Laurel Festival", and I really have no recollection of seeing much laurel!

Very soon now, this basket will hold a baby instead of mountain laurel and the father's baby shoes!  ;-)

Practice make perfect...

Friday, I had the opportunity to do a little more practice photography with Olivia.  She was the best little model ever - if only my skills were on point, I'd have plenty more photos to share with you (I guess that's why they call it practice!).  By the way, YES, Olivia's eyes are really that blue - they're absolutely beautiful!

Modeling is sooooooooooooooooo exhausting...

I really need to work on these skills before the stork delivers Heather's little girl next month!

Only 2 more months...

and Baby Way will make her appearance!  Can't wait to meet her - I'm sure she'll be just as photogenic as her beautiful mommy!  Thanks Heather for allowing me to be part of this exciting experience with you and gain valuable photography practice along the way!

Flower child...

I had another visitor yesterday while "Mr. Smiley" was here getting his photos taken...Miss Annaliese, our little neighbor.  Annaliese popped over to say hello so I decided to snap a few pix of her while she was here.  I quickly snapped a couple of shots before she got away.  She loves rocks, flowers, butterflies and all things nature...sitting for pictures, no so much!

Mr. Smiley...

Today I had the pleasure of visiting with Nolan for some photog practice.  He's such a great sport and smiles quite easily at just about anything!  He even got a few kisses from his new pal Quincy!

 

 

 

 

The last photo was at the very end of his visit and boy was he exhausted - not sure who was more tired...Nolan or ME?!

Too cute for words...

More documentation...

Today was another beautiful day (80 degrees) which made for some great weather for taking more photos of the flowers in March...for "documentation" purposes. ;-)  Fortunately, I wasn't attacked by the two birds that randomly decided to fly into the very spot where I was taking photos - they were engaged in a pretty big feather battle.  I let out such a loud war-hoop that I'm surprised the neighbors didn't come running.  Dang birds!

I decided to ditch some of the artistic flare that I used on the photos from yesterday and just keep it a little more simple.  In addition, these photos were taken at 8:00 a.m. this morning which made for really nice lighting.  Simple is good!

I really like this photo with the dew still on the leaves!

If you look closely at this, you can actually see some

cobwebs between the leaves!

Love, love, love this one!

Tim-Buck-Too...

I know that EVERYONE does the flower thing when they get a new camera or they're new to photography but I'm here to tell you that I'm NOT part of that crowd!  ;-)  I am, however, part of the crowd who likes to document the flowers in bloom in MARCH... in Pennsylvania, no less!  The same PA where we normally would see piles of snirt (snow that looks more like dirt than snow), we have beautiful buds and blossoms on every flowering bush from here to Tim-Buck-Too!

Just so we're clear, the following photos are provided as "documentation" but if you find other value in them, that's fine too!  ;-)

Happy Early Spring Everyone!

Practice, practice, practice...

I think I had as much practice taking photos during our visit with Owen (and his parents) on Sunday as he did with playing softball, football and even riding his motorcycle!  He has plenty of energy - something I wish I could bottle up and take home with me! (Talk about a handsome kiddo!!)

Thanks for being such a great sport, Owen, while I acted like the crazy paparazzi! 

The Rock...

Today was SO exceptionally warm (temps in the 70s) that I bugged my neighbor, Jenny, to see if I could "borrow" her daughter, Annaliese, to practice taking some photos.  Here is a snippet of some of the shots I was able to capture before this busy little three year old ran as far away as she could get from me and my camera!

The last one of "The Rock" is my favorite - I love that she wasn't 'posed' (she wasn't a big fan of posing, she had much better things to do, like play on the swing set!).

They say that practice makes perfect!  I'm not sure who they are but I do know that I LOVE to practice! ;-)  Thanks Jenny and Annaliese!

Saturday "Sitting" (of sorts)...

I was extremely fortunate this past Saturday to "practice" more photography skills on my very dear friend, Heather.  She is pregnant and wanted a way to document her pregnancy - something I jumped at the opportunity to help her with!

It's a win, win situation - she gets a cd of images out of the deal and I (hopefully) develop some skills and some sense of style throughout the process.  Here is a little peak of one shot using a variety of photo finishing techniques...

(Photo taken using 18-55mm lens.  My 50mm JUST arrived yesterday - can't wait to test it out!)

Thank you Heather for the time you spent with me on Saturday; for your patience with me throughout the day; for your willingness to allow me to share this photo here on my Quincy blog and most of all for allowing me the blessing of being part of such a truly amazing event in your life!  I can't wait to take baby photos in July! (Thanks also to Bob for helping guide me with my settings...over the phone, no less!)

Ok friends, let me know your thoughts...bring on the critiques (but be nice!).  :-)

Photo Hiatas for Quincy...

Last Friday, January 6th, was absolutely G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S. here in Central PA (temps in the 50s) so I thought I'd take advantage of the warm weather and venture outside to practice some photography (and give poor Q a break from me sticking my lens in his face all the time).  I challenged myself to use the aperture priority setting on my camera and I'm really glad I did because I had so much fun even though I wasn't sure what my pictures would look like in the end.

Here's a preview (you can click on each image to enlarge the image if you want)...

The last picture may just be our Christmas card next year!  Think how neat it would look with some snow on the branches (thanks Jenny for letting me photograph your flower pot and tree!).  So far, I'm having a blast with my camera and can't wait for my 50mm lens to arrive!

Looking forward to sharing more photo adventures so stay tuned! ;-)