The view through my lens...

By now, I'm sure you know that I'm smitten with my new camera.  Whenever I do a practice session, it's very important for me to share the resulting photos with my volunteer subjects (thank you volunteers!).

As a result, I decided to open a SmugMug account to do just that.  SM offers the following features, just to name a few:

• Unlimited photo uploads
• Max photo size is a HUGE 50MB
• Absolutely NO ads or spam
• Privacy protection for images AND galleries
• Simple, easy-to-use photo sharing capabilities
• Super easy site customization

The way I see it is that every photographer had to start somewhere and every photographer was a newbie at one time or another.  I may not ever become a "professional" but I will most certainly put forth the effort to be the best photographer I can be - even if I remain a passionate "hobbyist"!  I figure once I become really good at what I do, I'll probably be too old and decrepit to do it professionally anyway! ;-)

When you have time, cruise on over to SmugMug and check out the view through my lens.

Feedback is always welcome.

Our Bentley has finally arrived...

Well, not really our Bentley and no, it's he's not the kind of Bentley you drive!  :-)

This is Bentley...

Bentley belongs to our friend Alli who introduced us to our breeder, Robin, just about a year ago.  Alli has waited for the perfect time to get her own little furry friend and she finally picked this little guy up from her breeder in NY state two weeks ago.  He's 14 weeks old and SO tiny and cute, weighing just about 3 lbs - thats half the size of Quincy!  He's probably going to remain a tiny little thing since his parents are fairly small AND he doesn't have the tell-tale signs of a big dog in the making...the paws!

Time will tell.

Bentley and Quincy had a really fun play date on Saturday...

Here are a couple of the photos of B from his very first photo shoot (such a pro, isn't he?!)...

This is our friend Alli.  Isn't she just beautiful!?  They're both incredibly photogenic!  B was so extremely tired after playing with Q that he couldn't hold his eyes open.  He was such a good sport while we tried do to our little photo shoot! 

Can't wait for another play-date!

Stormchaser...

Last Thursday, we had some surprise visitors...my mom, her friend Jody and my sister (no, she's not my twin!).  They stayed just long enough for Quincy to perform some of his usual tricks for Jody who is a big fan of Schnauzer's (I think she's a fan of Yorkies now too!).  Jody was the treat-holder that day so you know that Quincy was performing all kinds of tricks for her since he'll do just about anything for a treat!

I need to work on some new tricks - any suggestions (other than folding clothes, mom!)??

It's hard to believe that we went from this BEAUTIFUL, hot, sunny day...

To this, unbelievable storm within just a couple of hours...

 

I was armed with my camera, ready to get some great storm photos.

You'd think I was a storm chaser but I'm not really!

Well, maybe secretively.

That was the storm from Thursday.  Unfortunately, it has been a summer filled with unpredictable weather in just about every corner of the US.  Just two short days later and there was a severe storm that hit Williamsport SO hard there were flash floods. Fortunately, we did not get hit with that torrential downpour!!  We did, however, receive a shower but nothing like what they received.

In fact, this was the view out our back door after the shower passed through here...

Really amazing...it was my first rainbow with my new camera.  

So cool!

I think I'll go chase a storm now.  ;-)

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!

A hair stylist in the making...

Today was the day I've looked forward to for the past week!  I have pledged to teach myself how to groom Quincy with something other than a cheap pair of scissors and today my new grooming kit arrived!!  Woo-hoo!

Here's my shiny new 2 speed, somewhat lightweight clipper set with three blades (LOVE #7 so far).  Wow, these things worked like a charm - cutting through his hair just as smoothly as I had hoped! I like to keep Q trimmed as short as possible during the summer, minus the hair on his face and legs but it's $40 bucks a pop. I've periodically trimmed him with a cheap pair of scissors but there's nothing like a nice trim from a good set of clippers.  

Q's new 'do' sort of reminds me of a mini Schnauzer.

Hmmm, I wonder what you get when you mix the two breeds??

A Schnorkie? 

Sorry, I digress.

See what you think of my first time out using my new clippers...

In case you're wondering, I did leave a little "skirt" and this time around I really only focused on his upper body and tail area.  Q wasn't real thrilled as evidenced by his sporadic nipping at the clippers.  I tried to remedy that by getting some of his favorite treats and it seemed to help him relax a little.

This is Q showing that he's 'on duty' - barking at the neighbors.

I'm confident that Q will get used to me being the groomer just like I'm sure I'll improve each time I trim his hair.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the results!

For as long as I can remember, I've said that had I been physically able to do so, I would've been a hair stylist...guess there's no time like the present.

Project 'website rebuild'...

As you may remember from a previous post, our friend Robin is a HUGE fan of Yorkies.  Not only does she have a heart for Yorkies but she also dedicates her time to running a little store attached to her home in Hughesville where she sells anything from pet supplies to jams and jellies and many things in between!  Robin also does alterations and is very crafty at making just about anything you can think of.

After I got to know Robin, I boldly offered to "help" overhaul her existing website with the understanding that I am NO professional but I thought that I could help make it a little more appealing. Robin jumped at the chance to have some help with her site and after MANY months of research trying to find the right platform for her goods, we settled on a site through MagentoGo.  I am thrilled to finally have it up and running so if you have time to take a peek, please do so: RobinsStitches.com. There are still some modifications that I'd love to do to the site one of these days but for now, at least she's able to easily process orders.

This was a great project to put my photography skills to use - about 95% of the images on the site, are images that I took and edited.  (No, the Yorkie on the landing page is NOT Quincy but sure does look like him when he was a pup!)

Have fun checking out her site (maybe even ordering) and please let us know if you see any issues with it!  ;-)

Cute factor - off the charts!

I had a short visit from my little buddy, Nolan, earlier in the month so I just HAD to grab my camera and snap away.  I don't think I've ever seen an infant smile as much as this little guy...he's SO much fun to photograph. 

I don't really have a dedicated space to do photos so we placed my $15 beanbag from Walmart on the spare bed and tossed a blanket over it for the mini-shoot.  I was backed up as far as I could go against the wall trying to shoot these photos - I wish I would've had just a tad bit more room but hey, we were just wingin' it!  Sometimes, you just have to go with it.

Warning: cute factor: 10!

You know that Quincy just HAD to be part of the shoot.  He absolutely LOVED Nolan as you can see from the kisses below! 

Didn't I warn you?  This guy is just the cutest little thing around!

HIS perfect timing...

So by now, I'm sure you've heard/read all about my little 'episode' in the hospital.  In case you've been following my posts, you also know that since January, I've been practicing my photography skills on my dear (pregnant) friend, Heather whose delivery date was July 5th.  Our plan all along was that I would take my camera to the hospital and snap some photos of the new baby which seemed pretty reasonable...until the dreaded and unexpected GI bleed that threw us all for a loop!

Ironically, Heather and I ended up in the hospital at the exact same time!!  Little Beatrix made her appearance into the world during the wee hours of the morning on Monday, July 9th, 2012.  By the next morning (Tuesday), I was feeling a whole lot better - so much so, that I requested that Bob bring my camera to the hospital so I could pay Heather and Beatrix a little visit (hospital gown and all).

I am still so shocked and amazed at God's hand in all of this - seriously, what are the chances of us being patients at the same hospital, at the exact same time AND me feeling well enough from my sickness to actually get photos of Beatrix at only ONE day old?!

This is one of my favorite photos from our mini-shoot.  It will be the only one posted in honor of the protective new daddy's wishes!  ;-)

I feel so blessed to have captured Heather's pregnancy as I have since January and I know that I've gained valuable experience along the way as well.  It's truly amazing to me to see how God placed the two of us together at this perfect time!

Playin' catch-up...

Whew, seems like f.o.r.e.v.e.r. since I've been caught up on my posts with all the excitement going on around here.  I had a really fun time taking some practice photos of my dear friend, Tina, and her family that I've been meaning to post for a couple of weeks now.  Here's a snippet of some of the fun we had...

Thanks Tina, Barry, Karly and Brady - I had a blast with you guys! Looking forward to next time!  :-)

It's all about the tools...

Isn't that the truth, especially when you're talking about "hand-shoveling" 10+ ton of stone!  Seriously, have you SEEN 10 ton of stone lately??  Hand-shoveling it really wasn't my idea of a great way to start Bob's vaca or any other day, for that matter but that WAS dear hubby's plan...until I stuck my nose into his biz.  It was time to make some calls to see if we I could turn this project into a 20 minute deal instead of a 3 day, back-breaking deal!  That's how we women roll, or at least this LW (little woman)...sometimes we just have to take matters into our own hands.  :-)

Hmmmm, Mr. Shovel vs. Mr. Kubota (it's a no-brainer to me, what do you think?!)...

A little here...

and a little there (check out his wheelie-bar, ie., his bucket)...

and you have THIS...

I think we may add a few creeping junipers someday just for some color.  

LOVE IT, thank you so much, Chris!!  You saved the day, maybe actually two or three; and Bob's back too!