Claire and Allison

My daughter Claire turned two this past weekend and my niece Allison turned one. Their birthdays are a day apart. Here are a few of the pictures I was able to get of them.

 I also had my older daughter, Azure jump in for a cousin picture.

Belated Friday photo of the week

This past weekend was a busy one starting with my daughter Claire's birthday party on Friday. It was a lot of fun. We had a mickey mouse picnic lunch in the front yard. One of the girls, Holland, refused to let me take her picture. Every time I pointed the camera in her direction, she turned her back to me and put her head down. I decided to be sneaky and held the camera at waist length and every time she was in front of me I snapped a picture. This picture is one of my favorites.

Jason and Juliet

On Saturday I had the privilege of taking pictures of  Jason and Juliet. They happen to go to the daycare that I work at. Their birthdays are coming up and their grandma wanted pictures of them. It was a very warm and sunny day and the kids had fun running around the park.

By the end of the hour, they were tired of pictures and decided they had had enough. Even their pouting was cute!

Friday- photo of the week

My girls love to pick flowers. And while they were picking and smelling and decorating their play dishes with flowers I took a few snapshots. I really love this picture of Claire.

Water

I have always admired water drop photographs. If done correctly, they can come out amazing. I decided to try my hand at it. Although I had no idea what I was doing, I looked up a few tutorials and tried to imitate what they did. So here is my first try at water drops.

 

Family Reunion

On Saturday I was able to meet up with some of my husbands family. There was a cousin just my daughter's age and I was glad that all the girls were able to get along. I was able to get a picture of each of them in between playing and eating. They certainly were not still enough to get more than that!

Friday- Photo of the week

It is always important to get a picture of your smile when you lose a tooth or two.

Nature

First off, I will tell you that I hardly ever do nature. I suck at it. I'm much more interested in capturing the expressions of people's faces. Nature is hard for me because I can't really see the "face" of nature- it's a different perspective than people.
This week I was able to go out with my friend Amy and take a few nature pictures at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Gardens in Claremont. Amy has a photography project and we wanted to be sure and include a few nature pictures in her portfolio. We spent the afternoon walking around and finding interesting plants and trees to capture. Here are a few that I was able to take in between Amy's pictures. It was a great afternoon and I had a lot of fun. Thanks Amy!

La Verne Fire Dept

Today at my daughters preschool, they were learning about fire safety and they were able to get the fire dept to bring a truck and do a presentation. I believe one of the parents works with the fire dept and pulled some strings. Along with all the kids pictures inside and outside the classroom, I was able to get a few of the truck.

Me- Friday photo of the week

I don't normally like taking pictures. I consider myself flawed in so many ways. There are many things that I don't like about my appearance that I try to ignore, including all the "won't ever go away" acne or the "forever" triple chin. These are the main reasons that I stay behind the camera- to capture the beauty I see elsewhere but inside me.
Just recently, I had my hair cut and colored. And since I had no pictures of myself with this new style, I handed the camera to my three year old and let her be the photographer, which she loves. She was able to get a couple decent pictures of me.
I wouldn't have posted this picture, but I do want to point out that a three year old took this picture. She has had no training and she had no idea what she was doing. I showed her the button to push and away she went. Many people tell me I have such great talent and they don't when it comes to taking pictures. While I have a good eye and have had training, I disagree. Anyone can take a good picture as long as they keep practicing. Talent is no good if you don't put it to use.  Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not. But you learn.
Anyone can take a good picture. Even a three year old.

Playing the Piano

One thing about my girls is that they love music and instruments. Most people would say that it is a family trait. We recently acquired a piano from a friend and the girls just love to sit and play made up songs. I love that they have an interest in it and that someday they may enjoy their lessons.

My Previous Work

When I was beginning as a student, I was working with only film. I didn't have a digital camera at the time. A lot of my film pictures were badly scanned and not in the best quality, but I decided to post a few of my favorites.