Connie Hemmer Photo of the Day (POTD)

Time is ticking.... for pickin'

2012-02-12T22:00:00.000-06:00

Breaking some rules today by putting this clock almost dead center. I picked this clock out of a house that was going to be burned down. I can't wait for warmer days so I can go pickin' again.

Want some techie information today?

I took this photo by placing a side table by the patio door. Placed a white foam board behind the clock and another on the side opposite the door. The white helps reflect the light. Then the sun shine was very bright and that's not pretty so I pulled the sheer curtains but in my house they are patterned so that was worse. I then placed a white diffuser in front of the curtain to break the shadows the light would still come through but not be as bright. I could have opened the curtains and just used the diffuser but I was lazy and already sitting on the floor. :) You can make a diffuser out of sheer white fabric hanging over the curtain rod.

I included a photo so you could see what I did..... well in this photo I was doing something else that was flat so I needed the light to bounce on the top of it so the white board is positioned differently on the right. You can see the pattern of my curtains on the diffuser.

Weird and Low

2012-02-09T21:46:00.000-06:00

The story I'm about to tell you is weird, low and somewhat disgusting. Last week at the gym I walked into the locker room after our work out. This was the very first time in almost 2 years at the gym that I got warm, I don't want to say sweaty because I don't think I can call it sweating but I got my body temperature up to where I would call it moist. I can drink water like a camel after class and today was no exception, I guzzled the water before I hit the shower. After I shut the water off I could still hear the girl who was in the locker room which was weird because she was almost dressed before I went in there. As I walked out of the shower room she was in her street clothes again and just leaving. I thought that was strange but didn't have another thought about it. So I grab for my water again and it's gone, I looked everywhere and there was no water bottle anywhere. I immediately checked the rest of my stuff and everything was still there, thank goodness. I finished getting ready for work and walked out into the lobby thinking I might have left it out there. No water bottle out there but there was a little pink princess water bottle sitting on the table that wasn't there before. I talked with the staff and just warned them so maybe they could get the word out that your items might not be as safe as you think. How low of someone to steal your water bottle while your in the shower and then how weird to steal someone else's water bottle in the first place.

So this week while in the shower I hear the girl talking. Excellent I hurry to get done but she was too fast and already in the gym. One of the staff members was in the locker room with me while I was getting ready for work and asked me about it and if I knew who did it. I explained that she was in the gym as we speak. When the staff girl left the locker room she comes flying back in and says "Connie this girl has a red water bottle is it yours?" I peek my head out the door and say "yep that's mine" as she is proudly walking around in the gym swinging it on her fingers. So now the staff gal confronts her and explains that a member lost her red aluminum water bottle and ask if she happen to find it. Her answer "Nope I bought this one".

I really don't want it back and if she thought she needed it that bad she can have it. I was grateful that she didn't steal anything else from me.

So this morning as I'm walking into the locker room after my workout I push the door in and she is right there pulling it open. I scared her and she jumped back a little and I immediately said "oh I'm sorry" and looked right down at her hand holding a clear plastic water bottle. I didn't say anything but just smiled and laughed a bit. When I was leaving the receptionist says "hey Connie we got your water bottle back, she left it in the locker room that same day we questioned her". Now this is gross, she steals it, drinks out of it after I had it and then returns it to me thinking I want to use it again. No thanks.

I took it into work just to throw it in the dumpster but took a quick shot of it so you could see how tempting it would be to steal....... Oh yeah isn't it awesome? Even the guy down the hall can't stop looking at it......

One more problem the gym has found with this whole ordeal. They were looking into this girl to find out how they should handle it and they found out that she is not a member of the gym. She hasn't ever paid....... how can people do this stuff and be able to sleep at night.

Miss Elly

2012-02-08T21:32:00.000-06:00

I love you Elly and you are a beautiful little girl.

More Young Grandma Hemmer Look Alikes

2012-02-07T21:40:00.000-06:00

When I took the pictures of my girls dressed like Grandma Hemmer I wanted to also get pictures of the other granddaughters. Shawna came over the other night for hers. Grandma loves the ones of my girls and I'm sure she will want them all as I get them so she can show off her granddaughters and great granddaughters. It helps when all your granddaughters are beautiful.

Here is her comparison photo. I don't know Shawna you might not look as much like Grandma as Shannon does but you're a close 2nd.

Flowers through the end of a tube

2012-02-06T21:44:00.000-06:00

I've been absent for a few days but don't worry it's been very busy here and I'll share my projects in the works soon enough.

Here's a quick shot of the Valentine Flowers I had from the kids. When you were a kid do you remember looking through a paper towel holder to look at things. Well I did that all the time so when I emptied the roll I took the tube and placed it on the end of my lens. The tube made the edges black and shadowed.

Real Valentine Pictures

2012-02-01T21:39:00.000-06:00

Today I will show you the Valentine pictures I had in my head and was so excited to do. Envisioned a fort made of blankets, candy, cupcakes, flowers, chocolate, lots of fun books to read and 4 very excited children ready to play fort and eat sweets. Well this is how it really went.

Elly is too tall to fit in the fort sitting up so I tell her to lay on her belly, of course Mallory copies everything El does so she lays on her belly too, Garrett lays on his belly too which okay that works. Now let's get Max in there... We scoot the girls apart and Garrett get pinned between El and the table leg and starts to cry, he is now sad and can't get out, Max is not happy being in the fort but we keep ignoring him thinking he might get happy. Garret does recover from the tears but he's now not happy. The girls are very good and just keep smiling through it all because they know they can have treats if they are good. So we got one in a series of 30 that is kinda okay.

So let's have treats and get Max out of the dark fort. Max is a big boy now but he still has to have is little boy treats.... no sweets for him yet. Garrett did sit up but not Mally she is not about to sit up unless Elly sits up and she can't sit up because she's too tall for the table. Mally also needed to eat everything Elly ate in the same order as Elly and at the same time.

I think they had fun and hopefully they will remember when they got to make a fort at Grandma's and eat treats.

2012-01-31T21:52:00.002-06:00

Last year for Valentines Day I got all 3 of the grandkids together for a photo and wanted to continue this tradition every year. It's not a busy holiday and it's nice to compare how the kids have grown in that year. Here is last years Valentine's photo. 2011

to·geth·er/təˈgeT͟Hər

With or in proximity to another person or people: "they stood together".

Okay if you think this is easy guess again. We have one very cooperative 8 year old that has some patience for photos when there are bribes involved.

Miss El

I took lots more photos of El that you will see in a later post. She might not like getting her picture taken but she rocks that camera.

Then Miss El and her pal Mallory

Mallory is 2.5 and is starting to warm up in front of the camera. She did this little tip of her head and I couldn't get her to stop. When we told her to sit pretty and smile her head just tipped.

She also knows treats are involved.

Mr Maxwell is just darn cute but a momma's boy so that is why we are half turned around...... looking for where momma disappeared to. If she would stand by me he would cry because he could see her and she wasn't holding him. Maxwell is 9 months already..... {tears}

Now Max's hair not only sticks straight up it's so long that it curls back

Getting Mallory and Max together was challenging. Mallory didn't want to sit by Max and Max still wanted his mommy. We only got one and that took a little merge of two photos.

Garrett is 3 and not liking this picture taking stuff anymore. He likes to play trucks and go outside but all these girls and their girly ideas are too much for him. Here is Mr G-Man deciding to do it his way.

And another one of G-Man's ideas.

I actually kinda love them and how they capture what Garrett is all about right now. You have to remember every stage of their life, they will grow out of it faster than I want them to.

El and Garrett together

And this year we have 4..... El sat in the same spot, Mallory sat on top of her, Garrett played trucks (in his hand) diving in every couple seconds and Maxwell decided it was time to play "so big".

The definition of together {"With or in proximity to another person or people" }

It does not say anything about all sitting nicely smiling. My Grandchildren together is just like this photo show you..... children being who they are at the time they are in the life and nothing could be sweeter to me than this photo of all my grandchildren together.

I'm sorry

2012-01-24T22:09:00.000-06:00

I'm very, very sorry that yesterday I said I wanted something to jump out at me. First the deer and now today this.....

Do you know what that is?

Well let me tell you..... John was putting up a new light in our bedroom today and he calls me at work to say "do you still want me to put up the light if there is a dead animal in it?"

Me - "What??? dead animals, what, where, when, how, why?"

John - "There's a dead animal in the light"

Me - "What is is?"

John - "I think it's a frog"

Me - "I had a frog in my bedroom..... are you kidding me?"

John - "No it's not in the bedroom it's in the NEW light"

Me - "Where was that box, how did he get in there"

John - "I'm thinking he came from China, the box was sealed up tight"

Me - "Okay I'm grossed out and might not want that light in my room"

Well in case you wanted a closer look at our Chinese Frog here he is.

Isn't that just disgusting? I think his second toe is longer than his big toe...... DISGUSTING!! And they have a little curl to them :)

Winter Friends

2012-01-23T20:55:00.000-06:00

We got fresh snow this morning covering the outdoors and reminded us how beautiful winter really is. After work we drove around the woods (should be walking but my heated seat is so much more comfortable than being cold). We caught just a quick glimpse of momma deer and her fawn, I didn't have much time to set the camera (in manual mode last set for open field lighting), click and they were gone. I would have loved to have the branches out from in front of their faces but I guess that just makes it more natural. Now I'm hooked.... we might be out driving the trails every night.

Love that they are both looking so straight on and continuing to hide from us.

2012 for me is all about shooting something I haven't done before or a different perspective from the things I have shot before. Hence the reason my camera was still set for open fields, everything I seen in the woods I've already done. Just before we seen the deer John said "nothing worth taking a picture of?" I said "I've done it all already, I'm waiting for something different to jump out at me". They may have jump further into the woods instead of in front of me but this was exactly what I was waiting for.

Thinking this way will help me to expand my creativity and continuing to learn from my mistakes. You rarely make mistakes if you do the same thing over and over again...... Believe me I can make plenty of mistakes so it could be an interesting year, we'll see if I conquer the challenge or my camera goes flying across the room some day.

Sunset from the east

2012-01-22T18:55:00.000-06:00

When the sun sets you shouldn't always look in that direction..... turn around and look to the east, the colors are amazing.

Cold Winter Weekends

2012-01-21T16:47:00.000-06:00

We've had a cold snap and this year we are not used to that. When possible it's time to hibernate until we can move those temperatures to the positive numbers.

Kids in the Snow

2012-01-18T20:50:00.000-06:00

Just a couple of the kids playing in the snow. Then I played with a few textures giving them a dreamy dirty look.

Grandma Hemmers Look a-likes..... or not

2012-01-15T21:34:00.000-06:00

I took Shannon's picture to compare to Grandma Hemmer's from this post {click here}

So what do you think?

That was so much fun we decided to take Lynn's picture the same way even though she is all Emmerich and then Elly got in there and so did Mallory. Here are my 4 girls and Grandma. They all have the same beautiful eyes, same eyebrows and all have the same thin lips except for Mally. Shannon and Mally have the same face shape and Lynn and Elly have the same face shape. I think they all make pretty cute little Russian girls, can't you just see them strolling through the streets in their long black coats.

Here are some more fun shots to share. And for a bit of a techie comment they were all taken with natural light. I placed them directly left of the patio door with another window to their left. This lit up the right side of their face with a soft light from the left. I placed a reflector at their waist directing more light to bounce up onto the front of their face. The reflector also creates great catchlights in the bottom of their eyes and the window to the left also created small catchlights which helps them sparkle.

Here's my Shannon

My Lynn

My Elly Girl

And Miss Mallory

I had to share another Miss Mallory just because it is soooooo cute. We didn't think she would do this for us but she put on the big coat and really played along. She moved as I was taking it so it's blurring but I don't care, it's her. She has the cutest little lips ever and here she is pouting to be done.

Bunny Hunters

2012-01-14T22:34:00.000-06:00

Last weekend Elly and Garrett spent the night and spent hours on Sunday outside hunting a bunny. They seen a glimpse of him back by the garden shed and were hot on his trail. They tracked him everywhere, they crawled under things, moved stuff, and even walked through the neighbors fields. They came in the house and begged me to come out and move the wood pile since he was under there. Well I didn't and they had to go home without catching the bunny.

Today Mr Bunny was out again

and the hunters came back, but again had to go home without catching a bunny. They want that bunny really bad.

More Sunsets before the storm

2012-01-11T21:36:00.000-06:00

We are expecting a winter storm for the next two days so I thought I'd share two of the sunset photos from the other night. Kinda like the calm before the storm. Where we live there is like this amazing hill, it's not like a normal hill but just a slow gradual incline that you would never know is there unless you know to look for it. One day we walked to the top of the incline in the neighbors field to see how different it looks from the top vs what we see at the bottom. It's so cool up there, someday I need to live at the top which is only like a stone's throw away :)

Another incredible view is watching the sunset from one point and then driving about a quarter mile and watching it again. Someday I'll walk to the top again and take my camera. There's a cool rock pile up there too..... that's another reason I need to live there.

I haven't shared any techy camera stuff lately and I know there are a few fans out there and if you don't like it just look at the photos, I'm okay with that too.

Here is an example of what your manual settings can capture for you.

The two photos were taken right after one another, with the second in-between to change shutter speed.

ISO 800 - getting pretty dark out and high f/stop so I needed light

f/32 - wanting the image to be sharp from front to back and also wanting the rays visible from the sun

Shutter speed - 1/200 letting in more light

This is the correct exposure and was what the sky looked like at the time.

Just for fun let's make this look all dramatic

ISO 800 - same as above

f/32 - same

Shutter speed - 1/4000 letting in less light

Beautiful January Weather

2012-01-10T21:05:00.000-06:00

We have been having some amazing warm weather this winter. Today it was in the 40's and the sun was so bright and warm. I'm sure it's going to change but for right now I'll soak it all up. I do love the snow so it's a bit of a love/hate relationship that I have with the bare ugly ground. If I want warm temps I'm gonna see ugliness for a while. So the challenge is to find something pretty enough to photograph during this January thaw.

Sunset again

2012-01-09T20:10:00.000-06:00

The sunsets have been so pretty lately I just can't resist.

New York Photo 1944

2012-01-08T21:50:00.001-06:00

Let's go back about a month ago..... we went to visit John's parents and Grandma couldn't find her reindeer that I made for her 20 some years ago. She loved those reindeer and had them on her table every Christmas since. Well this year they are gone.... now they have moved about 5 times and they always came with them but for some reason she can't find them. So John and her ripped the apartment apart trying to find them. They aren't small and their apartment is so they should be that hard to find. Well during one of the closet purging's I found this packet of old pictures and started to look through it. Grandma said if I find anything I want just tell her..... well I found this photo of her from 1944 when she visited New York and loved it. I love the rusted metal frame, I love the old look of the photo, I love the composition of the photo being in the lower left corner and what I love most is how our Shannon looks so much like Grandma. I see Shannon all over this photo. So now this photo is mine and I have it displayed in the house. We didn't find her reindeer but I found a treasure.

So yesterday I was determined to have Grandma duplicate this photo with me. Grandma can't remember much about it but she thinks it was a booth that you paid like 10 cents for the one photo and it was in New York when she visited in 1944 when she was about 20 years old.... that about it. We googled the information from the back and this was a booth that was famous for taking photos for the girls to send over to the sweethearts that were serving in WWII.

So here is our quick rendition of the 1944 photo in 2012. (67 years later)

Here they are side by side, for your comparisons. Now my next mission is to get Shannon into the same pose and maybe even Shawna. If anyone could be John's little sister, especially with a hat on..... it would be Shawna. :)

Grandpa and Grandma Hemmer

2012-01-07T20:51:00.001-06:00

John's mom and dad are tipping the 80's on the high side and unfortunately every bug they get it's harder and harder to bounce back. Grandpa has had a rough couple of weeks and spent some time in the hospital. He got released this weekend and his sisters were here for a visit from Iowa. The two in the back are John's cousins and they brought the two ladies in front here from Iowa to visit their brother. They are saints...... let me say it again..... Those two in the back are saints and have a ticket straight to heaven. Making the trip from Iowa on such a short notice for themselves to visit their uncle is a wonderful thing to do, but then to offer to bring their aunts with is purely sainthood.

We went over to snap a few pictures and to spend time with them. Now let me tell you they all wanted this picture taken but when it came right down to it there wasn't enough room in the apartment to fit them all in comfortable so someone had to tell them they had to walk down to the community room..... Well David was the one to break the news. They didn't complain too much for the walk but when I snapped one picture they said "okay we're done" Ummmmmm did someone forget to tell them I don't take one picture? I did force myself to only take about 20. I kept telling Grandpa to smile..... he says he was but that's not a smile. Grandma looks so cute sitting over there on the right. She's had a bit of a vacation while Grandpa was in the hospital.... shhhhh don't tell Grandpa.

Those hands are years of family blood.

We went out to the hunting shack after this and I taught them a new dice game, it was quite the process but they had fun and even wanted to play again. Grandma went for a Jeep ride around the woods with John. Ed and I had to practically lift her into the seat with the help of a step ladder and then Ed and I closed the door, waved good-bye and told John - Good luck we might not get her out of there!! Grandpa went around the woods with Ken in his truck, they loved that ride, it's been about 3 years since they've seen their trails and the back side of the woods. Lots of memories for them in that 80.

Just in case you're wondering..... we did get Grandma out of the Jeep :)

Sunset Bokeh

2012-01-06T21:52:00.000-06:00

I haven't taken a picture of the sunset for awhile so tonight it was more than amazing so I popped out onto the deck and got the same pictures I have taken a gazzillion times before. Wanting to get a photo that I haven't done before just wasn't happening.... I've got them all. Why is it that sunsets can be so amazing but when taking photos of them they all look the same. I was about to be happy with what I got but then I decided I wasn't going in until I had something different and something that I liked. Since I love a challenge that is all I needed..... I put my lens into manual focus, started to look through it with my own focus and that's all it took.....sunset bokeh.

Crazy Haunted House

2012-01-04T22:03:00.000-06:00

This fall I didn't get a chance to clean above my kitchen cabinets and it's been driving me crazy. I just haven't had the time to do that type of cleaning but when I look up there I know it needs to be done soon. So on Christmas I was having a conversation with a couple sister-in-laws and the subject came up. I'm not sure why but I said out loud that mine were in desperate need of cleaning. My one sister-in-law gave me a good tip and I'm not sure why I didn't think of this but I am for sure going to do it. She puts newspaper above the cabinets so she can just pull them down and there is less scrubbing of that greasy sticky dirty crap that happens above the stove.

fast forward a few days...... John and I are watching TV and I'm working away on the computer and "crash" happens in the kitchen. We both go out to investigate and thinking it was going to be a Christmas ornament that I had taped above the sink it wasn't. It was the cover from my Fiesta-wear creamer. All my Fiesta-wear is above the cupboards because they are so pretty (well not right now since they need to be washed). How in the world did that cover pop off that creamer and fall over the side of the cupboard with no one in the room? It didn't break so I picked it up and the next night washed it up but didn't put it back up since I needed to wash the others soon.

fast forward to last night...... John and I went to bed and have to walk by the cabinets to get to the bathroom so we know everything was fine when we went to bed. Adam came home later and set his lunchbox on the counter in the same spot that he does every night. Nothing was different then either. So I get up this morning (not a gym morning, thank goodness) and there is a note on the counter.

"Connie something spilled all over the counter and floor, I think it's the Olive Oil..... I think" then Adam got up and "it's all over my lunchbox". So okay those boys looked over the mess just enough to tell me about it but sure enough it's still all there.

So the Cleaner and CSI that I am I clean up the mess on the counter, put Adam's lunchbox in the sink and start to clean up the floor. Thinking..... this isn't greasy it can't be olive oil and why would the olive oil leak from a glass bottle. So as I'm wiping it up I notice it dripping from above..... just like blood dripping on CSI (that's what went through my head.... I know I watch too many CSI shows). So I look up and it's dripping off the counter yet but nothing is up there.... so what should a CSI do now? Smell it.....Taste it!!! Yep so I smelled and tasted whatever was dripping from my cupboards to the counter onto the floor and running to the basement steps. It didn't smell or taste like anything I was still stumped. But boy was it sticky.

Okay I need to take a shower and get to work so since it's kinda cleaned up I'll finish when I get home.

Nope I can't leave it so I start more investigation because whatever is happening is coming from above and I'm not sure it's done. On the bottom shelf was baking supplies like chocolate chips, marshmallows, nuts..... nothing leaking there. On the second shelf is the flour, sugars, oatmeal, jello.... those are all dry items so I didn't touch them. Then for some reason I look up and see a dark spot that I can hardly reach but I stretch to put my finger on it and it's wet. So I get me a chair and peer over the top shelf to find a puddle but what is it coming from because there is nothing but tin cans of pie filling, juices, cake mixes. Well the can of Grapefruit juice blew out both sides of the can and punctured a tiny hole in the bottom. I'm not sure how this happened or why it happened but whomever threw my sugar lid over the side of the cupboard must have thought I would make the time to clean up there but when I ignore it even longer they went to drastic measures to make me clean. So cleaning tonight is what we did but not only the top of the cupboard but inside, wall, floors, all those dry ingredient boxes and bags were covered with wetness...... everything. That stuff was sticky and all over.

This pic has nothing to do with it but it's pretty and what we did tonight wasn't pretty.

FAMILY has company

2012-01-03T21:13:00.001-06:00

One of my Christmas gifts was a print of our family picture. Well it wasn't really a gift but it came the day before Christmas so I feel like it was a present from ME. I ordered our family pic in a humongo size for the dining room wall. The FAMILY decal has been there with nothing under it for over a year. One thing we should all do is have prints made when we get our photos taken. I don't care if you don't like your hair or you weigh an extra 20lbs more than you want to, Maxwell is sleeping, Garrett isn't smiling, or Mallory isn't looking directly at the camera...... All those things are real and our family is real. This is who we are there is no fluff put into them, no photoshopping to make me look plastic, no swapping heads with one that Garrett was smiling, this is keeping it real, this is us. Get your family picture printed in a humongo size and hang it up. I love it and look at it everyday when I walk in the door. I put it in this old beat up frame for now but I'm not sure it's going to stay in that one or if the frame will stay that color but right now it gets it up on the wall for me to enjoy everyday.

2012 Goals

2012-01-02T20:29:00.000-06:00

On Christmas when we went through our old photos it was so much fun seeing not only who was the main subject of the photo but also the surroundings. We laughed so hard at the hairstyles, clothes, and home decor. And I'm sure you can relate that when you have old photos it's so much fun to find one of yourself. I know it's painful to see them but it's still fun, so the goal for 2012 is to get myself on the other side of my camera a little more often. So before we headed out for our New Years Party I had John snap a picture of me. I'm wearing what was suppose to be Adam's ugly Christmas sweater, after I got home and he refused to wear it I thought it looked like something I might be able to pull off with the right shirt. I love those outfits that cost under $3.... I'm sure in years when we look back on these I'll cringe and wonder what I was thinking but right now the Argyle sweaters are everywhere.

Loving my little snuggly Maxwell. He's getting teeth and his momma was needing a break and it's hard to believe but he was letting her.

Two Thousand Twelve

2012-01-01T19:53:00.000-06:00

The new year should be the start of new beginnings, new goals, new resolutions, and just plain enjoying the life that you have been given.

Our New Years was celebrated on Hwy 29 in a snow storm going 35 mph. When the clock hit 12:00 John says "Happy New Year" and I say "Happy New Year, I'm not giving you a kiss until we are off these roads" How romantic huh? At least we seen midnight, and 1, and 2 since the apron needed shoveling and there were cut-out cookies to eat.

Here is my drink of choice that night since we were so away from home with the possibility of snow.

Shot of wine with 7-up in a fun glass.

New Years Eve

2011-12-31T23:35:00.000-06:00

Where will you be when the clock strikes midnight and welcomes in two thousand twelve?

We had a party at Lynn and Jesse's so I jazzed up these fun glasses so we could ring in the new year with style.

Old Sheet Music

2011-12-29T21:51:00.000-06:00

During Christmas this year we looked through old pictures, Gayle made us each our own bag of photos that were of us or our family. They were so funny to look through, the hairstyles and clothes that we wore.... what was wrong with us? Then we got into old tavern pictures, there is as big a box from the tavern as there is from the family. There were ball tournament pics of us sitting there with playpens, strollers, blankets, every toy the kids probably owned just to keep them busy all day.... all weekend while we watched the games and helped with the beer stand. We made beer can top chains (remember the ones that you pulled off), drank upside down shots, played neon beer sign guitars, danced, sang..... we did just about everything and we did that every weekend. I remember just having Lynn, no money but we saved our change so we could go out to the bar and spend our entire Sunday there. I grew up in the bar so that was no big deal to me to have children hanging out in the bar, eating both meals there and playing in the parking lot or horseshoe pits. Don't judge me...... my kids turned out just fine. That was where our family was, they weren't at home so to be with mom, dad, brothers, sisters, cousins, uncles, aunts.... you were at the bar. You would think our little girls needed to nap during that long day.... what do you think those pool tables are for.

There were many pictures of my mom during her crazy days as a bartender. She didn't drink much but she joined in with all the craziness that happened there just fine. The pictures of my dad seemed to be a pattern that we all noticed and commented about. He was always right in the middle of what was going on. He was the one dancing the hardest, laughing the most, always had a girl or two or three on his arm, playing his stump fiddle, and just having fun. He never aged with all the years of photos, my dad still looks the same, must have been all the fun he had over the years that kept him young. Bar life certainly isn't for me anymore. I can't imagine taking my grandkids to the bar to hang out for a day or worse yet an entire weekend. Bar life sounds fun but it's a lot of work, my mom and dad worked hard.... and played hard and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Farm kid I was not but I could handle that bar life just fine. I could waitress up a storm, make drinks in my sleep, drink dad's shots when he lost in a dice game and bullshit with the best of them old bar flys. And that's when I was 13 :)

How I got off on that story is crazy because today's photo has nothing to do with that..... after we got done with the photos we looked through Granny and Grandma's old piano music. It is so old that the paper just crumbles. There is some from 1940 and older in that box. Well since it's so old you certainly can't use it to play piano so I took some to recycle into something we can preserve for at least a few more hundred years. I have lots of plans but may have to wait for warmer summer weather for those projects but this one was quick and simple. Here are a couple of bracelets that I made from the sheet music. They are really cute with the right stylish outfit and I know where they came from so that makes it even better.

Ornaments

2011-12-28T21:55:00.000-06:00

Every year the kids get a new ornament for their tree and I take their picture with it. Someday they will have all their ornaments and a book with all their pictures in it. The challenge is finding all those years with the many computers that I have gone through over the years.... Elly even has film days, oh boy I have my work cut out for me. Probably easier for me to start now vs later..... winter project.

I made a book for John's mom and dad for Christmas of the Hemmer Ugly Christmas Sweater Party and they loved it. Grandma called tonight and said she had the pages worn out already.

Maxwell 8 months old

Mallory - 2 1/2 years old

Garrett - 3 years old

Elly - 8 years old

Grandkids on Christmas Eve

2011-12-27T21:03:00.000-06:00

Elly and Garrett have come over to visit so much before the holidays that one day without them it's too quiet. Miss El has certainly grew up to be quite the little lady this last year. She loves to read just like her mother, her nose is always in a book. She could care less about clothes and sometimes when she dresses herself looks like quite the little rag-a-muffin but the cutest rag-a-muffin I know. She doesn't like her hair messed with and hates when I comb it. This year for her Christmas concert I bought her fancy ponytail holders and told her I wanted them in or I wasn't coming..... if she came out on stage without her hair up I was leaving.... Grandpa yelled at me and told El I would be there no matter what. Well she had her hair up with her special ponytail holders and her Great Grandmothers Santa earrings, she was the cutest singer there (wink, wink)....... and she made the local paper, a really close up picture and the caption of being all decked out for Christmas. See Elly Grandma is pretty smart :) She might not like clothes but she loves.... loves.... loves shoes. If she would ask for anything it would be boots, shoes and sandals in every color. I got her new boots for Christmas that match Grandma's, of course.

Mr G-man is growing so fast I can't even remember him being little like Max. He is starting to not be such a momma's boy and loving his Grandma and even somedays his Grandpa. He is all boy with his tractors, legos, cars, legos, trailers, legos, blocks, legos. He is Adam's twin. He is the main reason for visiting often, he begs for his Grandma and when he's here he's such a busy little guy digging through all Adam's legos that I think that was his mission and just uses Grandma. He'll take walks out to the garage in the dark by himself just to hang out with Grandpa..... Grandpa really likes that. He's still loving his "my Kellwe" and talks about her often, since he has a late birthday he'll be with her a couple more years so hopefully she loves her "my Garwett" as much as he loves her. He's holding the tractor she gave him and oh boy when we couldn't find it when it was time to leave we had to tear the house apart.

Here are my Miss El and Mr Garrett-man on Christmas Eve

Mallory and Max are quite the opposite and the same as Elly and Garrett. Mally also hates her hair being touched and has her nose in a book all the time. Now when she ask you to read her a book she has to have one too and reads her own. I'm not sure if she listens to me read but when I stop she'll let me know I'm not done. She's very fashionable when momma dresses her but when she is home or playing in the yard she is another cute little rag-a-muffin. She hates shoes or socks, barefoot is how you will find her summer or winter. She is a mini-Lynn in looks and her actions, it's hard for me not remember my days with Lynn being this age when she's around. All the other grandkids have their own looks and don't resemble my kids except for her. I asked Mally if I could take her pictures and she told me "no" so I said..... since I know she loves cookies..... "I'll give you a cookie if you let me" So she did and I gave her a cookie. I'm thinking I'm pretty smart until after every pictures that night she wanted a cookie and fruit snacks to get her eye drop medicine. She is her mother with that sweet tooth.

Maxwell..... Mr Max..... Mad Max.... I love this little boy and it's hard to believe he'll be 1 in 4 months. It seems like just yesterday we were waiting for his appearance as Lovey (remember his name was going to be Lovey) He's starting to sit up and play so nice but when he wants his momma watch out. On Christmas Day he sat so well by Grandpa and played for the longest time (of course Grandpa reminds me daily since then that he loved his Grandpa). When I seen him last week if finally dawned on me who he looks like. He looks like my brother Randy's son Beau... which looks like Randy.... which looks like an Emmerich. He is just plain cute and you can't help but snuggle him (if he'll let you). Sunday everyone had to feel his cubby little legs, they are just tempting to squeeze. Looks like he'll be a barefoot kid too. I know Lynn and Jesse call him Max most of the time but to me so far he is a Maxwell.

Here is Miss Mallory and Mr Maxwell on Christmas Eve

Sneak Peek

2011-12-26T20:40:00.000-06:00

This little princess came over before the holidays for a few newborn pics. She is so tiny and did not give into the sleeping mode we wished for. Here she was just comfy in her fuzzy blankets and I pushed those eyelids down just long enough for one click of the camera. Push, click, push, click, push..... She wasn't feeling very well this morning, she was a little fussy the night before and mom even thought about canceling but she did fine. If that was crabby this momma's got it made.

She needed her blankie on her since she wasn't feeling very well. We needed to do whatever she wanted and she wanted her blankie!!

I played around with some textures tonight.

Big brother was so good waiting for his baby sister to get comfortable.... he calls her "my baby" and was constantly giving her little kisses.

One more with her Christmas outfit on.

Advent Day 25

2011-12-25T20:21:00.000-06:00

Our pride and joy.

They all looked so cute but it's hot in Grandma's house so Garrett has already stripped off his nice shirt. They did not ask once to open presents and they got out the old toys and played for a long time. They are just happy and excited to be together that presents didn't even matter. They did have fun opening them later but not as much fun as Grandma and Grandpa as they watched their children be parents and share in their excitement during this special time.

Merry Christmas to Everyone and may the New Year bring you peace, good health and joy.

Advent Day 24

2011-12-24T20:18:00.000-06:00

As Miss El would say

"it's time Grandma, it's time for Christmas"

Spent all day in the kitchen again but it's smells wonderful in here and looks even better.

Advent Day 23

2011-12-23T20:11:00.000-06:00

All the gifts are bought and wrapped, preparing food for our parties, and the house is getting ready for family.

Advent Day 22

2011-12-22T20:08:00.000-06:00

Our family started here....

Advent Day 21

2011-12-21T22:00:00.000-06:00

Since I was on a vintage kick I decided to vintage these up a bit with a little bokeh from the tree.

Dreaming of a White Christmas..... Sneak Peek

2011-12-21T21:58:00.000-06:00

This baby girl was back to see me for her 9 month pictures. She was so cute all dressed in white with her pink striped leggins and those cute little toes.

She always reminds me of an antique little girl from those old photos so I aged this one a bit.... love it!!

She looks so different without her white sweater and hat. Here's a nice toothy grin.

She wanted my necklace in the worst way so she got to wear it for a few but it was much more fun when it sparkled around my neck and she wanted to grab it.

Another one in a vintage look.

Family Sneak Peek

2011-12-20T22:06:00.000-06:00

I have to make this quick because it's late and I know this mom and dad are excited to see their peeks.

Such a cute little boy and he looks so grown up already. He's only 4 months but looks just like a handsome little man. His height takes after dad and he looks just like mom.

Love that he is looking at me while they are trying to get him situated.

Like Father, like son.

He loved his momma and her kisses. When he got tired of pictures his frowns turned into smiles with one momma kiss.

Thank you all for spending the morning with me, your little man is seriously a little cutie.

Advent Day 20

2011-12-20T21:59:00.000-06:00

Shannon brought me two decorations that her and the kids did over the weekend. She is becoming quite the little crafter girl. I know she doesn't want this to happen because then she would have to be like her mother, aunts, grandmother, great grandmother...... and many generations she does not even know. This just happens and we have to create beautiful things and share them with others.

Thank you Shannon, Miss El and Garrett - I Love Them

Lynn texted me on Sunday night

Lynn - "If I'm making cut outs with the kids does that mean I'm all grown up?

Me - "Yes"

Lynn - "If Jesse is in the garage while I'm doing this, does that mean I married my dad?"

Me - "You can officially call yourself your mother"

She really did marry her dad and she really is me - lucky kids..... hee hee hee

Advent Day 19

2011-12-19T21:45:00.000-06:00

This family is growing..... hard to believe it started with three socks. Lynn, Shannon and Adam have the ugliest socks..... but that's what we could afford back then. It's such a reminder every year when I pull these out that we made it..... we are a family that is still together and growing. The priest that married us told us on our wedding day that we'd be divorced in 6 months and he didn't know why he was wasting his time. If only he could see us now!!

Advent Day 18

2011-12-18T21:21:00.003-06:00

WOW I'm caught up, now if I can just make it through this week.

Advent Day 17

2011-12-17T20:56:00.001-06:00

Ever try to take pictures in front of a window and just get black inside but nice color outside? If you can shoot in manual mode and understand metering try this. Stand in front of the window place your focus point on something outside or in my case below I placed my focus point on the outer edges of the star. and meter for correct exposure. Take the photo. Even though you are focusing on something in the house you will have good exposure for outside and black/dark inside.

Now go right up to the items in front of the window, place your focus point onto the items (in my case the green mirror) and expose for correct exposure, don't take the picture. Now back up again and focus again in my case on the edges of the star. DO NOT CHANGE THE EXPOSURE, it will appear way over on the right (+) side but that's okay. Take the picture. Now what you exposed for will be correct but the outside is totally blown out.

Now....... when you're taking pictures on Christmas morning and the kids are opening their gifts in front of the patio door with the bright morning sunshine this is not the time to try it.

My first photo I exposed in the middle of getting the correct exposure for the outside and inside which resulted in color for both items.

Advent Day 16

2011-12-16T20:48:00.001-06:00

The red velvet deer and little house are from my Grandma Emmerich. I remember as a kid peeling the velvet off things like this...... it was so much fun, kinda like peeling sunburn or labels off my beer bottles. If you've ever had a drink with me my beer bottles are squeaky clean by the time I'm done drinking it. I have all I can do not to peel the velvet from this little deer. It's hurry up get it in it's place and don't touch it again.

Advent Day 15

2011-12-15T00:13:00.001-06:00

They didn't want any lights on except the tree, I guess you can't help but fall asleep while snuggling Grandmas Christmas animals and watching Christmas shows on TV.

Advent Day 14

2011-12-14T00:00:00.001-06:00

The tree is up!!

Don't let the advent day 14 fool you into thinking I had by tree up early. I don't know what I was thinking by putting myself up to this challenge during this busy time of year. I've been crazily trying to get everyones orders done and getting my own orders completed to not even have time to think about adding more photos so today (18th) I am back dating to make it look good. :)

John and I were out in the garage setting it in the stand and my throat is already itching and I'm rubbing my face and he says........ "you're already allergic, why don't we buy a fake tree"?

Because I can't..... as I sit here tonight itching my throat, sneezing, red face, runny nose..... maybe fake is the way to go for us.

It gets better the longer it's in here but then when it starts to dry out it starts all over again. I have about 5-7 days of no allergies with it and we've figured out how to make them land on Christmas.

I have a pretty plain tree but I like it like that. White and silver ornaments, red and copper bulbs, white lights and dried hydrangeas. Some year I'll buy new ornaments and change it up but for now it looks like my style.

No flash just the lights of the tree. The inside of the tree just glows with the led bulbs. The dark edges are from the branches closer to the lens that are not in focus and lit up by the lights.

Advent Day 13

2011-12-13T23:33:00.000-06:00

Holiday Bokeh

If you haven't ever achieved bokeh from Christmas lights you have to try it. It is so fun and addicting that you'll fill up those memory cards just messing around with it.

Here is my favorite from this location. Why a pear? I don't know I just like it. Could it be the partridge knocked it out of the pear tree?

The next 2 photos are shot with the same settings as the one above but you'll notice a huge difference and I'll try to explain why and how I achieve this dreamy bokeh (colored bubbles in background).

I used my favorite fixed lens 50mm f1.4

This lens is on my camera 99% of the time, if you have some Christmas cash and want a fun lens try, the 50mm f1.8 it's only about $100 and worth every penny but I warn you after you give that a try you'll be wanting the 50mm f1.4 which is a little over $300. The $100 lens is just that a cheaper version but so fun. Then in my case you'll be wanting the 50mm L f1.2 (Merry Christmas to me??)

The settings on my camera are

ISO - 800 (late afternoon in a dark kitchen)

Shutter Speed - 1/30 (okay to hand hold with the 50mm lens but needs practice)

Aperture - f1.4

Stood back away for the cupboard and focused on the pear. As you can see there are many items in focus that are on the same plane as the pear but behind the pear is in focus also. The lights are lit and pretty but no bokeh on this shot.

Settings are the same for everything. I just moved closer (you have to move your feet with a fixed lens..... no zoom). Now the pear is in focus and the jars are pretty focused but the basket and lights are starting to blur and produce bokeh.

Now if you go back up to the first photo you'll notice I pulled the pear closer to my lens and that is all that is in focus and you get dreamy bokeh.

Family Peek

2011-12-13T21:18:00.000-06:00

Sometimes as much as we prepare the small children for getting their pictures taken and to promise them ice cream or going to Grandmas when they are done they will surprise you with whatever they want to do. Miss M came over to my house very excited to get her pictures taken and then she became shy and didn't want anything to do with it.

This is how we started out, Miss M is just quiet and not willing to smile but we can deal with that. I can break her shell and get some smiles out of her. The most important thing to do is let them be comfortable and if they don't want to smile, they don't have to.

Daddy can fix this, if she can just sit by daddy she will bring on some smiles....... that's what I thought anyway but Miss M had different plans for me. But who wouldn't want this family photo documenting daddy's little girl.

I promised to show her the pictures on the back of the camera and with that she's actually moving a little further away from daddy's chest, no smiles but she is starting to talk to me.

We almost called it good, the worst thing to do is make taking their photos an event that will scar them for all their future photos. We tried to get Miss M to sit by herself but she wasn't going for any of that, until we brought out puppy and elmo. We got some smiles..... hiding behind puppy but her eyes are smiling.

Now she has become my friend smiling big smiles.

These are smiles you get after serving fruit snacks. Lots of red ones right Miss M?

Miss M had plenty of good smiles for me and some beautiful family photos but having those shy sad little eyes in the beginning is priceless.

Advent Day 12

2011-12-12T21:35:00.000-06:00

Today is Shannon's day. She did a good job mix and matching the kids to ugly them up. Miss El wore snowmen jingle slippers, striped elf socks, plaid skirt, rudolph sweater with jingle bells on the sleeves and a rudolph mask. She was just plain cute and that sweater was a Woolrich brand so she'll get lots more use out of that this winter. Pull of the jingle bells and rudolph's nose and she's good to go. G-Man was a mixed up mess that was very hard to look at. Spongebob jammie pants, crazy santa shirt, Christmas socks, two jingle bell bracelets on his ankles and reindeer horn headband. Shan had a Christmas red shirt and a lovely denim vest with patchwork Christmas decor. She is looking so good lately I have to look twice because I don't recognize her right away. So proud of her, it's really hard work to lose weight and she is winning the battle and I don't see her stopping anytime soon. She is on a mission!!

Advent Day 11

2011-12-11T21:49:00.000-06:00

I know I said I would take a photo everyday of Advent but it was my rule and you know me...... I can break my own rules. I wanted the photobooth pics of the kids in my Advent book so Lynn is the oldest so she gets to have her's first.

Nice family photo don't you think? Jesse's sweater is too small and the only real mens "Christmas" sweater that we found. Mally had a reindeer sewn on her sweater that someone didn't finish and then took it to the thrift store..... who did they think was going to buy that? Me! She had candy cane pants and Christmas socks.

I wish you could see Lynn's whole outfit, her socks were great, they were striped elf sock with bells. She is wearing a lovely ice skating bear sweater with a plaid skirt which is not ugly on her. Max is sporting reindeer jammies and of course they are not ugly but finding ugly for kids is impossible. I love his deer in the headlight look as he chews on a snowflake.

Advent Day 10

2011-12-10T21:04:00.001-06:00

Today was the Hemmer Family Christmas. John and I had our photo taken since we were in our best Christmas outfits. I noticed I forgot to remove Max's nuk from my belt..... dang that so clashes with my outfit.

We all had a great day. Mom and Dad Hemmer just sat and watched their crazy kids, grandkids, and great grandkids play games and get their photos taken. Mom said to me twice how she loved it and in her words "look what we started". The party was an Ugly Christmas Sweater requirement. I think I might go into withdrawals not visiting the local consignment and thrift stores during my lunch and after work. I started to feel like a regular looking for treasures to complete the details.

Our party was at the hunting cabin so we were gone from late morning until 10:30pm, on our way home when we turned onto our road I felt something was wrong, it was a sick-sense that I quickly passed off. I never, never listen to the answer machine, I don't even look at it. John always does that, there could be a message for a week and I'd never see the light blinking. Well for some reason as we were laughing about the good times and hideous sweaters everyone had I noticed the light blinking and I pushed the button. My sister Starla had called to tell me Grandma had died today. My laughs quickly turned into tears. I felt bad celebrating all day when my family was dealing with heavy hearts. The guilt was over whelming at that moment, I felt like the worst granddaughter ever. My grandma has had a long life and is now able to see 3 of her own children and Grandpa again. I went to bed and cried not only for my Grandma but also cried tears again like the day I lost my mom. Those memories came back like it was yesterday, my grandma and grandpa kneeling by my mothers bedside weeping as their oldest child fights for her life and we all knew it was a losing battle. I will never forget standing at that bed and I blurted out of the blue "I love you mom" (that is something we just never said) and my Grandma says "she knows that". She did know that but I wanted to hear myself say it.

We had such a great day with family and had so many laughs, you never know when a loved one is going to be called home to Jesus. Treasure every day like it's your last and blurt out "I LOVE YOU" even if they already know it.

I love you Grandma and give my mom a big hug for me and tell her I miss her terribly.

Advent Day 9

2011-12-09T21:12:00.000-06:00

Something very ugly is happening around here..... You'll have to wait to fine out what, but isn't my new carpet gorgeous even with all the ugly on it?

Advent Day 8

2011-12-08T22:45:00.001-06:00

The sofa table is all pics of the grandkids. This little snowman helps to display the new wallet of all of them together.

Advent Day 7

2011-12-07T21:53:00.000-06:00

I got one santa mug from my Grandma and I've collected a few over the years to go along with it. Every year I try to display them differently and in a fun sort of way. This year I stacked four of them into a vase with some old ornaments.

Techie camera stuff - This was shot with the overhead livingroom light and the diningroom light, no flash since there was enough front and overhead light. You can see the two lights in the bulbs, the gold one at the very top and the blue one on the bottom right you can see the fan blades moving making a star pattern. There is a orange glow middle right from our pellet stove, that is the only back lighting which can make for horrible color if you let it. (more on that below) I used an f1.2 and a ISO of 1600, my shutter speed was 1/25 which is too slow to hand hold but I braced myself against the couch and took a deep breath. I could have upped my ISO to move that shutter up to at least 1/50 or get out my tripod but let's just say I was lazy and went for it.

Here is what I mean by the pellet stove orange glow. This is the photo taken in Auto White Balance.

This is the photo taken in Tungsten Lighting. This is your normal light bulbs so this should have been a perfect match, but not with that pellet stove adding a glow.

Here I did a Custom White Balance. Meaning I programed my camera to tell it what white looked like under this lighting condition.

You can see the glow of the pellet stove in all 3 photos and you can see how that color changes as well as the color of the bulbs and especially the white. The only photo that is white is the bottom one where I told it what white was. Auto White Balance is pretty close but the white still isn't white. When I learned how to program my camera for Custom White Balance it was the coolest thing I learned and the easiest thing to do. Just don't forget to take it out of Custom when your done or the next time you pick up your camera for that once in a lifetime photo it will be ruined with horrible color.

If you are interested in learning how to Custom White Balance let me know I'd be glad to teach you.

Advent Day 6

2011-12-06T22:03:00.000-06:00

Advent Day 5

2011-12-05T21:28:00.000-06:00

My girlfriend knows me very well. She brought me a Christmas gift early so I'd have something to take a picture of during the month. I'll get around to the decorations soon...... yeah soon..... soon, really?

I took these with natural light. It was the end of the day and there wasn't much light coming through the windows so I opened my front door and held a piece of white paper under the spoons to direct the light up which is why you see the lite spot to the left of the spoons. With this method it allowed me enough light to brighten them up and get the photo with no flash. All this while standing on one foot, left arm above my head, eyes crossed and eating an Aunt Sally cookie..... hee hee hee

Advent Day 4

2011-12-04T20:39:00.000-06:00

I called John on my way home from taking pictures and

I said "grab your boots let's go out to the woods"

he says "ok"

I say "what are you doing"

he says "waiting for you to come home"

I say "then what"

he says "I guess going out to the woods"

I say "yeah, that's a fabulous idea, k bye"

What a beautiful day to spend outside. Here is my shot of the cabin, all natural light shot at f2.7, gotta love cloudy days for outside photos, the colors don't get washed out from the sunshine.

This river wasn't in our woods, I stopped along the road and took it. While I was standing on the bridge a truck was coming and all I could see was the slush flying off his tires heading in my direction... jump off the bridge or put your back into it????? Neither one seemed like a good idea. Thank goodness he must have seen the look on my face and slowed down before he got to me.

The Snow Family Sneak Peek

2011-12-04T19:42:00.000-06:00

Last year I took pictures for this family in the freezing cold. We had the first snow and it was only a dusting but we thought it was so pretty for pictures. Well today the snow family picked the best day ever for outside family pictures. We got dumped on and the snow just hung on everything. We started out in the cabin just chillin with the boys and letting them get comfortable. I love this shot of the tickle monster in action. I'm not sure who's feet are who's in the mix.

Last year the boys were in the long underwear looking for santa out the window. This year they were looking for papa and birdies, I love the natural light spilling in on them as they chill by the window.

A shot from the loft

Here's our outside adventure, it was warm and the snow is perfect for a Winter Wonderland.

Love how I capture both of them kissing the boys.

I turned it into a black and white and it reminded me of a "That Girl" look

What's a "That Girl Look" you ask...... I don't know it reminded me of that show "That Girl"...... so I enhanced it a bit, not sure if I like it but it was worth showing you.

The boys climbed into the big barrel but their fingers were freezing and they were done. Grandma had promised them chocolate if they did good so we heading back into the cabin for some treats.

Such a beautiful morning and perfect timing for those family photos. Everyone should book a winter session, it is so worth it with natures beauty all around you.

Christmas Photos Sneak Peek

2011-12-03T23:02:00.001-06:00

These beautiful girls and their adorable little brother were so fun to photograph. The girls had so much energy and were so helpful for me and their mom.

Their mom started working at my old job on my last week there. I think we could have gotten into a bit of trouble if I would have stayed. And such a small world..... they live in the house that my brother's family grew too big for so he added a 2nd story. It's a beautiful house and the 2nd story is now the girls space.

When taking the group shots we had to take some with each girl holding Mr L, they really love their little brother.

We did some fun Christmas card photos but those will have to be kept a secret for now. Thank you girls for being such good helpers and continue to spoil that little brother, he seems to like it.

Advent Day 3

2011-12-03T22:01:00.000-06:00

Today we had the most beautiful snow storm, it was warm with big flakes and nice packing snowman snow. We ventured out of the house for a burger, stop at the in-laws and back home. When we got back home I tossed a snowball over the truck and smacked John without even knowing where I was throwing it. hee hee hee good thing he puts up with my reindeer games. He's shoving the patio and I'm wandering around outside with my camera.

I used my flash so I could light up the close snowflakes and kept my ISO at 6400 (as high as it can go), my shutter speed I kept as low as I could hand hold for my 50mm lens which here it is set at 1/40, and my fstop at 1.4 to get enough light in the camera to see through the darkness and capture the lit up porch which is about 60 feet away from me. My flash was also pointing straight ahead since I didn't have to worry about anything being directly in front of me, except of course the snow that was falling.

For some reason one photo just isn't enough for me anymore. This was in the back garden with the same setting as above but the flash pointed at the ground to bounce back up onto the chairs, fence and tree. With the white snow it really bounced and didn't take much to light objects up that are also white. This photo is begging me to sit there with a fire in the pit, drinking hot chocolate, and just enjoy the snowfall.

Advent Day 2

2011-12-02T22:23:00.000-06:00

Miss Mallory and Mr Max came over tonight so I had a little help getting my day two advent photo. My camera doesn't have a built in pop-up flash so I have an external speedlite that I learn more each time I use it. For this photo I bounced the flash off the window to Mally's right which is perfect for lighting her face and great catchlights in her eyes. Of course this beautiful little girl doesn't take a bad picture.

Mally says some of the cutest things, she acts like she is 5 not 2.5. I got a perfume sample in the mail and while opening it to smell it I got some on my fingers. John says "what's it smell like" so I let him smell my fingers, then Mally says "what's it smell like Grandma" so I let her smell my fingers. She says "oh grandma that's disgusting"

Lynn and Jesse had a meeting at the bank which they explained to her when they left. They were gone for a couple hours and after they got back she was playing and reading books and out of the blue she climbs up on Lynn's lap, looks her right in the eyes and says "how did it go at the bank mom?" Such a girl she is and just because we all need to see her entire cute little face here's another pic for you.

I promised her chocolate if she helped me and was a good girl. Usually after I take pictures of her she wants to see them on the back of the camera so I turn the camera around to show her and she says "can I have my chocolate now" She is her mothers daughter!!

Advent Day 1

2011-12-01T21:37:00.000-06:00

I know I haven't been very good at posting every day like this blog is suppose to be so I'm setting myself up for another challenge to hopefully help me get back into taking a photo of the day (POTD). Today starts the Advent Calendar so why not have a POTD Advent Calendar, genius huh? Not really but I try.

Each day I will try to take a photo of something Christmas or Wintery to count down the 24 days to Christmas. The only thing Christmas in my house right now is a gift that was given to me a few weeks ago and how perfect is this to start the Advent Photo Calendar. I did have this little Christmas bulb stuck in the bottom of a vase so he came out to help Christmas up the photo.

I better get my decorations out or this is going to be a tough challenge. Usually I get them out on Dec 20th and put them away on the 26th...... Can we say Grinch? Not really just not a fan of decorating, I like simple non-clutter. I should really get rid of the 5 totes of decorations that never leave my garage.

If you'd like to join me in the challenge please do so, the fastest way to learn your camera is to take lots of pictures. I think at the end I'll make a coffee table book to remember my count down every year. Have I talked you into it yet?

Long Weekend - Over :(

2011-11-27T20:04:00.000-06:00

Hunting season has come and gone already. I look forward to it as much as the guys do. I have many projects that I need to start, finish and then also just enjoy the "me" time while the boys were out hunting. We won't go into details but my "me" time was slim this year, however I did get to spend almost everyday with at least one or all of the grandchildren which makes up for it. I got many things marked off my list and even got a few fun craft projects done.

We spent Thanksgiving at the Hunting Cabin with all the kids and some of the Hemmers. It was a great time watching the kids play, they really love it out there. There was way too much food and everything was delicious. Tomorrow at the gym I'll be feeling those mashed potatoes and pumpkin bars..... chocolate chip cookies, Old Fashions, cheesy corn...... I did eat carrots, celery, grapes and cucumbers too. :)

Good thing we took this photo before the feast.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving

Baby Boy who thinks he's boss

2011-11-21T22:02:00.000-06:00

This little boy tried to show his momma that he was boss by peeing on her and spitting up so she had to change herself and him before they even got to my house. Then he continued to show me he was boss by not cooperating with anything that I wanted him to do. He was not about to go to sleep and miss anything so we struggled with him trying to make him comfortable. He had other plans, his plans included wiggling, snorting, grunting, but he never fussed. He was warm, his tummy was full, his diaper was clean and he hated being naked so we kept a blanket on him but still no settling down. He was boss and didn't want us to think differently. I only took about 10 pictures in the first hour...... he was the boss.

Then after some snuggle time and me giving into his ways we finally got a sleepy baby.

But not sleepy enough to do whatever I wanted he was still the boss if I tried any funny stuff.

He reminds me of the sleeping children in the Twas the Night Before Christmas, all snuggled with visions of sugar plums dancing in his head.

This sweet little boy is the newest addition to the Emmerich family so snuggling with him was extra special. I think he was just letting me know we needed to spend time together.

Sister Sneak Peak

2011-11-20T22:11:00.000-06:00

Saturday I helped someone to sneak in a few photos of the sisters to surprise their Mom and Dad for Christmas. These girls were so excited for this day to come and yet they had no idea what was happening. The middle girl has an interest in photography so she is constantly talking about taking photos and stealing the camera every moment she can. When they found out I was coming over she squealed with delight and excitement. I gave her homework to work on before I came and that was to find 5 poses that she wanted to do with her sisters and before she could be given the homework she was already done. She picked out all their clothes..... well most of the clothes were hers so they shared.

The young photographer is the girl on the right in the pink, she totally ate the camera up on the other side too. Of course all the girls did great.

We went outside to take a few of her shots and if it wasn't freezing out we might have been there an hour or so longer. :) This girl loves being in front of the camera as much as she does behind it. The older sister and little sister didn't mind it either.

Loving those big brown eyes sipping her hot chocolate after a cold walk outside.

Want some?

Love this one, it shows how much they were enjoying their treat after a cold shoot.

I'm thinking mom and dad will be needing to clean off some wall space for a few new photos of 3 beautiful girls. Mom and Dad don't go on the internet so sssssshhhhhhhhhh don't tell them till after Christmas.

Next time we'll take a walk with our cameras for a photography lesson, I would love that. There is something about teaching a inspiring photographer a few things about getting their camera out of auto mode and into the world of Manual.

We are never done learning, everyone has something to teach.

Garrett the Tool Boy

2011-11-17T21:28:00.000-06:00

Garrett-Man had his 3 year photos taken in the most natural Garrett look ever. If you go over to his house he's wearing his safety goggles pretending to use his tools on anything he can find. I'm not sure where he gets his love for carpentry tools but Grandma is hoping it continues. I could really use a carpenter that would do anything for his grandma and maybe, just maybe he'll have a love for junk too. A girl can dream right?

There's my Garrett-Man with his big ole' smile. After we were done and he was given the 10 minute warning I said "wanna snuggle with grandma until you have to go?" and he hopped right up into my arms and we snuggled on the couch. He is my snuggler but you have to be able to snuggle in burst cuz he's a mover too.

He sat up on this chair, which I found on one of my adventures for FREE, and told me a story about the new baby at daycare. I really love taking photos of my own grandkids because it gives me time with just them. Usually they are all together or in groups of two so when it's one on one it's a special time for them with Grandma.

And during our time together I tried to teach him how to make fish lips. This is as close as we got... gotta love a monkey boy with fish lips.

He's also getting to be Grandpa's little boy, he'll follow Grandpa everywhere. They have already had a couple of adventures out to the hunting shack (without mommy) and that's amazing and doesn't happen with anyone. Momma is a little sad that it's happening but Grandpa is lovin' it.

Love you my little G-Man.

Sports Family Sneak Peek

2011-11-16T21:48:00.000-06:00

We are back to normal around here and it's time for more sneak peeks. This family likes their sports and running from one practice to another and trying to attend all the games is lots of hard work and dedication from everyone with lots of cold sandwich suppers and take out pizza.

They really do get along this well, I didn't have to bribe at all. I really had to work for true smiles and not because there weren't any....... their smiles are too big.

The little guy had the biggest smile and his eyes would squeeze shut so trying to keep them open with a true smile took a little game of..... "serious" or the "ABC game". "No smiles I want serious faces....." and I'd get this. It makes me giggle still to look at them. They would be doing great and I'd put the camera up to my face and they would giggle.

My favorite

Love this one too.

Finished

2011-11-13T18:57:00.000-06:00

The floor is finished and I am lost for words. They are so beautiful and I so don't deserve them. I walked into the house on Thursday night and just stood there for about 5 minutes circling around in amazement and they were only 1/2 done.

Friday they finished and again I was stunned when walking in the house. We still have quite a bit of stuff to do yet to finish this project but we're on the downward slide. Friday night we spent cleaning and sitting on the floor admiring it. I waited until Saturday morning to take some photos so you could see them in natural light.

Trim is going in next and then new countertops.

After a long morning of these boys helping us move everything back inside Shawna had them playing a minute to win it game. They are trying to get a cracker from their forehead into their mouth without using their hands. They were so funny..... Adam won and Brad came in 2nd but I think using his shoulder and sweatshirt is called cheating. John and Skyler just ended up with me having to sweep again.

Randomness

2011-11-09T21:13:00.000-06:00

On more than one occasion my father has said "your blog is kinda boring for me lately" well dad my life is not boring, it's somewhat crazy, hence the boringness you're seeing lately. I know you like to see pictures of me and the kids and you like to read stories of what is happening around here. I'll get back to that soon I promise. Love you dad and I love that you read my blog. :)

As I was painting today I had many random thoughts so let's see if you all think I'm a dork.

Kenny Chesney is hot - even without his hat. I love that guy

I scrubbed my floor on my hands and knees yesterday just because I didn't want the tile guys to see a dirty floor.

I want to hang a sign in my closet "dear tile guys..... I know this closet needs to be painted and I'll do that after your done I just didn't have time to get it done before you came. Please don't judge me by my scuffed up walls in there. I can't see them when all my junk is shoved in here. Love the home owner"

Why did Lynn laugh at me last night when I said I was going to paint behind the stove and refrigerator because now that they are gone it's bugging me?

Is there anything wrong with having your frig in the bathroom? Last night we couldn't get it out the door so I said "let's put it in the bathroom" they guys almost wet themselves...... it's in the garage by some miracle and a scuffed up door. Thanks now I have to re-paint that...... I'll wait until you bring it back in. I didn't think there was anything wrong with packing your lunch while peeing.

Why am I such a dork? Yesterday we had customers and during a meeting when I'm running the presentation on the laptop a co-worker is whispering to me (trying not to interrupt the customer's conversation). He says "Connie pull up the twins" Me {looking at him like..... are you kidding me and then looking down at my shirt} "what?" {in a slight whisper with frowned eyebrows} Him "pull up the Minnesota Twins presentation" Me - {getting all red in the face because my mind was not thinking baseball or presentation} "okay". Sometimes those things just hit your brain the wrong way!!

Okay so I'll stop embarrassing myself and show you what I did today.

I painted my laundry room. I went to the paint store whom I trust totally. I went with a "let's paint a safe color" attitude. A safe color to me is a light gray, well I came home with a aqua. I am not a pastel person at all and I love aqua and I've been introducing it into my home with candles, plates, jars, pillows but they have all been the bright dark aqua. This aqua is a light pale aqua...... okay so I'll trust her and see what happens. It matches the plum colored walls from the kitchen and entranceway.

My first thought was "oh boy what am I doing" then it turned into "I want to take pictures in here" and now I love it. Can't wait to add the details. Not much plum hitting it here but you can see the contrast and the metal tile hanging on the door also has aqua in it.

In the laundry room looking out to the plum entrance.

Of course I have an aqua bag that hangs there and holds the summertime lotions, bug spray and can coolers. I guess I can switch it to our gloves and hats now.

Here is what it looks like in here........ these lawn chairs and barstool is the only thing in the main floor of our house. I'm getting almost done with this. Hopefully it's over soon.

No stove or frig started the going out to eat diet but there is no time so we had cheese and sausage with wine.

John has been spending a lot of time at the hunting shack..... I wonder why?

Happy 3rd Birthday G-Man

2011-11-06T20:22:00.000-06:00

Mr G-Man turned 3 on the 1st so we celebrated today with his Owl cupcakes and presents. He walks in the door and says "Happy Birthday Me". He brought along Owl cupcakes and they drove him crazy. He had to have them on the table so he could look directly at them. It was awhile before we were going to eat so he just sat there and stared at them. Shan is a germ-a-phobi so that drove her crazy that he was breathing on everyone else's cupcake. So grandma put his very own Owl on his very own plate...... that was bad news too because then he thought he could eat it.

We finally finished eating, way to long of a process for a new 3 year old. So we lit the 3 candles and sang Happy Birthday to him. This is what he did the whole time.... he is not taking his eyes off that Owl. G-Man takes after his pretty mommy...... red cheeks in a toasty warm house.

Then it was finally time to blow out the candles. Brace yourself with both hands and blow!!!!

And then FINALLY eat them. That is all he wanted, after that he was as good as gold.

Such a cute little boy with those red cheeks, we love our little Garrett. Today was also our 29th Wedding Anniversary and couldn't have been more special sharing it with all the kids. Even with a ripped up house we made the best of it and only got 1 child stuck frozen on a tack strip. Only 1 more week!!

Not looking very pretty in here

2011-10-31T21:09:00.000-05:00

It's not been looking very pretty here and it seems to be just getting worse. I should have known when this project started that it was going to be a long process. It took me 2 weeks of picking up samples, dropping them off, hating everything, picking up more, not liking them either, picking up more.... okay maybe, calling nieces, daughters and sisters to stop and look, dropping them off, going back for a "are you sure" and then ending up with the my first choice.

Every weekend we find one more thing to repair and then tear apart another one. We started with replacing the carpet which turned into replacing the vinyl which means the entire main floor of our house is torn apart. Well except the bathroom which I could venture into that room and name a bizzillion things we need to replace but that's for another time.

Here is how we are living, well we moved the couch, chair and pellet stove back in for now but that's it. I pulled staples from the middle of the floor so we wouldn't step on them and after 1 hour I was done with the middle. There is still a row of them around the outside of the room to pull yet.

We don't have to pull up the linoleum they are just going over the top (thank goodness) so everything is thrown in there for now while we prep the livingroom, steps and hallway. When they start laying the flooring it will be 2 days to lay it,1 day to grout and another day for the carpet. All appliances and everything else will have to be moved into the garage. I'm really torn up about not being able to make suppers during that time...... hahahahaha I already have a list of suppers we can have (chips and salsa, popcorn, oreo's and for a special treat gum).

When we moved into this house there was a railing with big chunky columns on the open staircase. Yeah well we ripped them out and haven't looked back....... until the other night. Here is our conversation

Me - So John if a guy wanted to put a railing and chunky columns on the stairs would a guy do it before or after the carpet? (guys always talk in the "if a guy wanted to" slang so I thought I'd throw that in to help my case)

John - {staring at the TV and never blinked} Doesn't matter we're not doing it

Me - WHAT? You didn't even think about it and I was just talking if a guy wanted to

Me - So would it be before or after?

John - Doesn't matter it ain't happening

Me - Remember when we moved in and there was a railing with a chunky column just like we put in the rest of the house?

John - Yeah so?

Me - Well let's put it back to the original, just like restoring an old historic building

John - No

Me - Whatever happened to those columns?

John - I don't know and I don't care

Me - So what if I wanted this done what would I have to do?

John - Call a carpenter

Me - Okay!!

One more project to add to the list of just replacing the carpet.

See all those spots on the steps? Those are all staples that I either leaned on with my knee, hand, stepped on with my foot or sat on while I was painting the edges that may or may not be covered with the new carpet. I said "ouch" "SOB" and "dammit" so many times that I was afraid to drink water thinking I might leak.

This weekend I painted the kitchen entry door which lead to new trim which lead to replacing all the trim in the kitchen and laundry room....... yep we are only replacing the carpet!!

Baby Fever Sneak Peek

2011-10-30T21:42:00.000-05:00

If this baby girl doesn't give you "baby fever" I don't know what will. She is perfect in every way, right along with her pumpkin hat for this fall season.

She is a frog for Halloween

She knows her fashion, what girl doesn't like Old Navy?

And all she does is sleep which is perfect.

More sleeping.....

And more sleeping....

Senior Sneak Peek

2011-10-28T22:47:00.000-05:00

Another Senior Sneak Peek for tonight. We had a little trouble getting his puppy dog to sit still after being kenneled up all day. He was wild and running in the wide open spaces. We did get a few and this one is certainly my favorite.

We certainly had a few cancellations before finally getting these done and I hope it was worth the wait. We still had a rainy day but at least all the open wounds were cleared up. :) BOYS, they are so rough.

Family Sneak Peek

2011-10-27T21:31:00.000-05:00

I met a family at their home for some family photos. As much as the weather tried to stop us we got through them. When I arrived it was cold and windy and we needed a serious wind break. Gayle walked me around the property and I found lots of fun areas but with the wind we had to narrow the locations down. The first space I seen was the covered area under the hayloft. When we were kids we called that the thrash floor so I say "ohhhh the thrash floor will work perfect for lighting and wind break" Gayle says "what's a thrash floor"? Okay so everyone doesn't call it that? I felt kinda silly but I think this area has a new name for this family. Of course I couldn't resist taking photos of the cows.

The thrash floor :)

Trying to watch for hair flying and moving a cow into the right location for a photo was somewhat difficult. Love him peeking around the fence.

My absolute favorite of the day, if I lived on a hobby farm and this was my family I'd have to enlarge into a 16x20 and hanging in the entrance of my home.

Thank you all for bringing back the memories I have of living on a hobby farm.

Senior Sneak Peek

2011-10-26T20:23:00.000-05:00

This young lady wanted her Senior photos in a leaf pile. That's it pretty simple but with a beautiful face like this we had to do more than a leaf pile.

It was a cold windy day so the Castle Jacket was a great idea.

Same photo as above I just "wintered" it up a bit

I could have stopped here since she's a natural in the outdoors but we did a few indoors just because. She was rockin' the camera there too.

Family Sneak Peek

2011-10-25T21:12:00.000-05:00

One of those very cold and hurricane wind storm days this family was all together. There are out of town members that do not make it home very often so hurricane or not this was going to happen. And it did..... indoors. Sometimes it's not all about the location but rather the memories that you can have when everyone is together.

I'm not sure what I said or did but I got genuine natural smiles from everyone. I'm sure I looked or sounded like a dork but hey you have to do what you have to do.

Gotta love a photo like this.

It was hard for me to pick out a couple sneak peeks since there were so many groupings so I shut my eyes and clicked.....

Sisters Sneak Peak

2011-10-24T21:21:00.000-05:00

I know I'm way behind in the sneak peaks, life has gotten terribly busy and I'm slowly finding my way out so thank you all for being so patient. Not only am I up busy at work and taking photos we're also very busy trying to clean up the gardens for winter and preparing the entire main level of our home for new flooring. I have emptied the house (shoved everything we own into closets, bedrooms and garages). Torn out all the old flooring and in the process of pulling 1 million, 32 thousand, 6 hundred and 52 staples from the floor. If you happen to hear a "ouch with a bloody scream" about 4am that is John hitting a tack strip on his way down the steps, if it's at 5am that's me hitting a tack strip and at 5:30am..... Adam hitting the tack strip...... we have to leave them in and they are on 3 sides of the steps and there are about 200 staples per step....by the time the flooring is installed it's going to be a bloody stained stairway, just in time for Halloween. It's not a pretty site around here. I've taken photos of the entire process so far but these sisters are more important.

Changed this one of the family into an old antique look just for fun.

Miss Paige needed a break so big sister read her a story (my favorite)

Miss Paige by herself, such a cutie. Love those dark brown eyes.

Miss Kelsey chilling the only way she knows how. She planned her photos by herself and this is what she wanted. I had a hard time getting her to look up from her book but once she did "snap" and she was back to reading.

One quick shot of mom and dad. Wow aren't they stunning?

Senior Sneak Peek

2011-10-23T20:49:00.000-05:00

During a misty cool afternoon Cody and his beautiful girlfriend (wink, wink my niece) drove to town for some Senior photos.

Cody is an artist musician who let his creativity shine through these photos. Cody and Kiana performed a concert for the family during our Fathers Day weekend, they are so good together.

This is the Cody I know, put his guitar in his lap and he suddenly relaxes.

Love the artistic side of these photos

Miss El's School Pictures

2011-10-19T21:12:00.000-05:00

Miss El even has to wait for her sneak peeks. She came over for school pictures, she is in 3rd grade this year..... WOW... where is the time going? She has such a carefree fun attitude, she loves coming over by Grandma's house and really loves spending the night. Doesn't matter what day of the week or what time she comes here her question before she leaves is always the same. "Grandma {as she snuggles really close} can I spend the night...... please?" Her and I got to spend time together taking her pictures and I let her in charge of everything. She could stand however she wanted, smile if she wanted and she would even tell me how to take the pictures. She really only wanted one outfit but mom made her bring a couple more choices.

Wearing her cute owl necklace. This family has been owl crazy lately.

Here is her one outfit that she wanted. This is the dress that I bought her when we went school shopping. This dress cannot be worn outside grandma's house, mom says "NO". Grandma says she looks so darn cute in it, but agrees with mom. She's a little girl and needs to stay a little girl for as long as we can keep her one.

This photo is certainly Grandma's favorite, this is her look. I think she was trying to convince me to be done so we could go play a game.

A special collage for my little girl in her dress she absolutely LOVES.

We interrupt this marathon to bring you......

2011-10-18T20:50:00.000-05:00

My crazy family.

I have been giving you a Marathon of Sneak Peeks and still have many more to come but this post cannot wait. This is my crazy family and they will hunt me down and say nasty things about me and to me if I don't get these pics downloaded and sent to them. That's just how they are, anyone feel bad for me? Don't worry I'm used to it and I'm sometimes the ring leader :)

First let me tell you that none of them WANT their picture taken, none of them hurry to the location, none of them stop talking long enough to get in order..... But my dad said he wanted a photo of all of us because it's been years since we have all been in the same building. {poor other people in this building, I'm really sorry you had to put up with this crazy family}. Anyway we finally rounded up the troop, took attendance {yep we have to take attendance to make sure everyone is there}, everyone just lines up in order of birth {Dad and Joanne.....Sharon, Starla, Danny, Gayle, Wally, Rusty, DiAnn, Connie, Randy, Brian and Terry} and then the poor person who we chose to take the pictures was Shannon.

Don't ever try to pose us or make us look normal. We can't do it, there are too many of us and we all have to keep talking and all of us want to be the leader.... this family is a group of strong extraverts and it has no introverts, no followers, and no quiet people.

At first we are all kinda bored waiting for everyone to get in order. If we're not moving or talking we might as well be sleeping.

Then some lose interest and others start to leave...

Then Shannon finally gets us all looking and being kinda normal....

Then there's "big eyes"...... Gayle we said big eyes not close your eyes!! Everyone always said that Randy and I look alike...... I see it here, I finally see it!!! I guess we have to make big eyes and have our mouth hanging open to look alike but maybe that's how others always see us. {just a note..... in case you don't know which one is me or Randy just pick out two people cuz we all look alike}

We all have long fingers just like our mother did so we show the "jazz hands".

Now it's time for the Out-laws to get into the photo but that hallway wasn't going to work. We all gathered around. Shannon had enough so now Lynn got to stand on top of a bar stool to get us all in.

See how we all just settle down when our spouses are around. :)

Okay maybe not. There are 23 of us and if we could get all the generations of grandkids in there would be 53 more, now that's why we meet at a bowling alley.

What a fun time we had and my dad just soaks this all up. He loves every minute of it and you can just see how proud he is when we're all together. I love being a part of a big family and can't imagine it any other way.

Our mother is looking down on this crew saying "oh you crazy kids".

Miss M's is 1 year old - Sneak Peek

2011-10-17T20:43:00.000-05:00

It was such an honor to spend time with this family and being able to watch their little girl grow. She is now 1 year old and continues to rock the camera. Dad and Mom own their own farm and the places we explored for Miss M's 1 year photos were so unique. We placed her on old rusty tractors, in fun old dusty trucks and on just about every garden bench in the yard but she would not sit on this tire so Mom tried to make her more comfortable with it. I'm sure in a few years she will be climbing all over these tires. :)

Miss M and her mommy sitting on the porch of their new home.

Miss M is a girl of many smiles but as soon as we went to the farm and got out the calf that was named after Miss M she became serious and the calf wanted to snuggle.

Here is mom and Miss M walking calf M back into the barn.

Miss M is not walking yet but while we were chatting on the porch she decides to walk across the porch. I happen to still have my camera on me and snapped a few. I love that she is holding a flower that her little cousin gave her and her pants are too long so it's hard to walk and the shadow behind her.......perfect.

Dad was working but happen to come in from the fields for a minute so we snapped a photo of all three of them. Some people want to wait until they look their best but we really should capture the photos of who we really are. This is one photo that represents a very hard working daddy who loves his wife and little girl more than anything.

I have taken photos for 3 other sisters and one of the sisters lives in the old farm house so she brought out some of the photos that she had framed. I will admit this brought me to tears, I have frozen time for these families and the photos framed in these beautiful tin and wood frames are gorgeous.

Another Senior Sneak Peek

2011-10-13T22:04:00.000-05:00

Another great Senior session with some pretty fantastic photos. I talked with Collin before his session and he wasn't real excited about having Senior photos taken. I think for him it was just a matter of "having" to do it. Well he's a natural and there wasn't much coaching that needed to be done.

I've told Collin he looks like his mother, but I see a lot of his dad in him too.

Collin will be joining the Marines when he finishes High School. We tried to work his Marine flag in a couple different ways.

After we were done he says "that wasn't so bad". I love it!

My favorite family

2011-10-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

We had a family baby shower this last weekend and it was Shannon's birthday so I decided it was time again for a big family photo. I didn't care if anyone was posed, smiling, looking at the camera and they didn't even have to smell good. I just wanted us all in the same photo. So after weeks of preparing the boys that this was going to happen the day finally came and now I'm not sure why I would ever put other families through this. Taking a family photo is hard work and I'm not talking the actual time in front or behind the camera I'm talking prep time with many people in the house taking showers, changing clothes, needed to eat, wanting a snack, I need a juicebox, where's my shoes, I can't find my belt, grandma can you paint my nails, why do I have to wear this, Adam you're taking a shower, I gotta go potty, Grandpa I want a four wheeler ride.....

Wow I'm not sure how we pulled this off but here are the photos

in what we like........ everyday us, at our favorite summer hangout.

The hunting shack was too beautiful to pass up with the backlighting so we did some more photos, even though I told them I only wanted one location. I lied!!

One thing harder than getting everyone to look at the person taking the photo is getting everyone to look at a camera on a tripod with no one standing there. I keep telling the kids to look pretty while clicking the remote. This family is getting big, the last time we had a family photo taken I had a 16x20 made and when it came in the mail it made me cry. Then I knew it wasn't just me cuz when John got home and seen it on the table he had tears in his eyes too. This is us, all of us and it couldn't be more wonderful.

Crazy kids, I might not have gotten them all to agree to sitting down but at least they are all in one spot.

Once again Shan you had gorgeous weather for you birthday. Hard to believe we had 2 inches of snow the year you were born. Happy Birthday Sweetheart.

Beautiful Baby Girl K

2011-10-10T20:37:00.000-05:00

This little girl was so cute, her skin was so smooth and soft and she has a dark complexion like her daddy. Those beautiful dark eyes and dark hair along with some pretty good smiles.

How about a close up so you can see for yourself how beautiful her skin is...... I stole a few snuggles in between photos. No stranger anxiety with this little girl.

I thought she looked like one of those old photos that they painted on film so I did my best to repeat that look.

The neighbor was throwing away an old cabinet and John was going to haul it to the woods for him but stopped at home to see if I wanted it first. {he only claims to call my stuff junk, secretly he really likes it}. I didn't have a use for the cabinet but couldn't resist taking the drawers in two different fun colors. The next night this little girl came over and I just had to try it out. Loving the pink and green!!

One more outfit change and Miss K did her best at sitting by herself for a couple minutes.

Senior Sneak Peek

2011-10-09T21:49:00.000-05:00

Ryan was back for outdoor photos. The weather has been just beautiful the last 2 weekends which helps to get all these outdoor fall sessions done without having to cancel. Busy, busy, busy!!

A little fall color just for Ryan's mom.

Ryan loves his baseball so of course we have to visit the dugout.

Week Two Posing Plan

2011-10-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

Week two is all about planning a posing guide. There are so many tips for posing and paying attention to the magazine ads, billboards, and other places of advertisements. Those places are the experts in the field and paying attention to every detail has certainly helped. This Senior girl did a great job listening to the posing that helps to make the human body look more natural, how to lose 10 pounds in one simple shift, and most importantly how to be herself.

This is the very first photo that I took after explaining the "do's" and "try to stay away from's".

She loves her sunsets so the night before I timed my locations, wrote them down and created a minute by minute plan. Since my husband and son, Adam, knew of my time study I get a text message from Adam at one minute earlier than my plan "you better get here" just as we're rounding the driveway.

Darn kid.... what didn't he understand about a time study? LOL

We had to keep telling her that the sunset was beautiful since she didn't get to watch it.

The last stop was in a flat hayfield with the orange sun glowing behind her..... Gorgeous!! and her mom found a four leaf clover while she was standing there. Who finds a four leaf clover in the middle of a field when it's getting dark??? I guess we call that "Good Luck". We took photos of Britt with her clover just so she could flatten it and frame it with her photo.

Thank you Britt for spending your Sunday with me.

Fall Family Sneak Peek

2011-10-03T21:52:00.000-05:00

This weekend was beautiful for weather and color which means a huge bonus to all those that had their photo sessions booked in advance. Every year you can almost count on this weekend to be peak color so mark your calendars for next year if you want this beautiful background for your next family photos. I started out with this beautiful family, they wanted fun casual shots to showcase who they are.

They did a great job of wearing clothes that aren't the same color but they all compliment each other and look great in a grouping. If you want the photos to look casual dress your family like you would if you were going on a family hiking trip. Everyone will look and appear more casual. Dressing in layers is also a great look for fall photos.

The kids were laughing and talking but the sun was so bright in this area..... I still love the look of them interacting and having fun.

And of course all mom's like the shot with the kids walking away by themselves. I can't resist them either, they usually end up on my favorites. Having a 16x20 like this would last a long time up on your wall.

I didn't get very far in these photos and I already have lots of favorites but this next one I'm loving.

Thank you for sharing this beautiful morning with me.

Sleeping outside

2011-10-02T21:47:00.000-05:00

September 29th 2011..... my mom would have been 80 today. 80...... I can't even imagine that. In my mind she'll always be 61 and I'll never have the vision of her getting older. So to honor mom's 80th birthday my sisters and I went to the bar after work and had a Manhattan. That was mom drink of choice, she wasn't a big drinker but when she had a drink there was no messing around with fu-fu sissy drinks. The bartender whips one up, we all take a sip..... we have her add cherry juice......another sip...... we have her add bitters......... now it's a Man-fashion......another sip....... add a splash of 7-up...... another sip........... Let's pass this around the bar and share with everyone else. We tried, we really tried.

Happy Birthday Mom

After the couple drinks with my sisters I have date night with John. We shared some supper and listened to an amazing singer. His name is Brad Emanuel and it you ever get a chance to see him it's a must. We listened to him until 1:30am. So now with 1/4 of a Man-fashion and a few 64's in me we head for home. I drove so I put the key in the door, unlocked it, gave it a pull and nothing. I unlocked it again, I must have had more to drink than I thought, nope door doesn't open. Of course John thinks I'm doing it wrong (like I haven't ever unlocked the house door before) so he tries, nope doesn't work for him either. Well the deadbolt is locked, Adam got home before us and is so used to being the last one home that he dead-bolted the door. Now in case you didn't know, years ago we got broken into while we were sleeping so when our doors are locked that's it, you aren't getting in unless you break a door or window. Waking up to a robber walking around in your house, coming up your stairs is enough to scare you forever. So there is John and I standing in the garage freezing and I'm crabby and he's giggling. Really John.... giggling? Where is my husband, my husband doesn't giggle about things like this. I have to pee really bad, I'm tried and cold. I call Adam's cell phone.... nothing.... I call the house phone..... nothing.... I text Adam..... nothing..... I call him again.... nothing..... I beg him on the answering machine to wake up and let us in..... nothing.

John - "I guess we have to sleep in the garage"

Me - "What?, really?, but I have to pee"

John - "unless you want to sleep outside, we aren't getting in"

Me - "But I have to pee"

John - "you'll have to pee outside"

Me - "OMG"

We get into the garage and there is my craftroom upstairs that has turned into John hunting room that has a futon with the mattress not on it. The mattress is in the other room and I'm too tired to put it on the futon so I drag that heavy beast to the room and put it on the floor. Now for blankets, I have 1 quilt that is from when I was like 5. John and I have to share this thin little quilt and no pillows. Oh and did I mention there is no heat up there. John says we could sleep downstairs where the heat is but we'd have to sleep in lawn chairs. He turns the heat on anyway hoping that it would rise and turns the lights off..... it's pitch black up there and I'm still trying to get the bed ready to sleep in. He comes with a tiny little flashlight that he found in his truck. We both lay down and then since I'm so mad I get the giggles, I can't stop and we laugh for about 10 minutes. Thank goodness we could get into the garage, sleep happens but I'm not sure how since my teeth were chattering so loud. I wake up at 4:45, my normal getting up time and I have to pee so bad that I again have to go outside. By now I am frozen and so is John but we have another hour to go. We finally hear Adam start his truck and we are scrambling to run for the house. I get a text from Adam.....

I'm sorry :-(

Now how could I be mad at that?

Our house never felt so good, our bed was never that comfortable and the blankets were never that warm. I am getting that room set up for sleeping along with plenty of blankets and pillows, you never know when this will happen again.

Fall Wonder

2011-09-28T20:47:00.000-05:00

Family Peek

2011-09-27T21:53:00.000-05:00

Another rainy day for photos so we opted for inside the home. This little Miss is so cute, she has those high pig tail and those perfect little lips and skin. Her grandma came over as the smile maker. As soon as she walked in the door they started to chase and play. Grandma was certainly the smile maker, this little girl LOVES her grandma.

She did take a break to snap a few photos, Love this little stern look.

Little Miss knows this book all too well. I'm thinking Mom and Dad read to her often.

Daddy and her share apples in the backyard. She has to get a really big bite. It was cold but the rain had stopped for a short time so we took advantage of it.

More Packer fans here.

The front door says everything about you. This is where you welcome your friends and family, this is where you greet total strangers. This is what people see as they drive by your home.... the front door is your way to bring your inside personality to the outside.... why not capture it to remember this moment forever.

By the time we got her cute little hat and jacket on she was D.O.N.E. with photos but this one was still cute with mom's new mums.

Planning Homework #1

2011-09-26T21:21:00.000-05:00

My photo session this weekend was used as a homework assignment. My homework was to find a new location and plan (on paper) a shooting guide. I settled on a location that I’ve been to often but tried to find something different that I was overlooking. The only reason I didn't go somewhere else totally new is due to the weatherman calling for rain, rain, rain so I knew I had to find locations that would work for shelter from the mist/downpours that might happen as well. Another challenge that presented itself was the fact that a Packer fan was involved in the session so time was a huge factor. I couldn’t find a location that involved a TV so I needed to get him done and back home before kickoff. My planning came in extremely well for this situation. He was probably home, changed into his lucky shirt and cracking a beer before the game started. All of that with a pretty fabulous family resulted in some pretty fabulous photos.

These images are a few of my favorites.

This location looks a little rough but I kinda like the small porch with it's rustic look. I could do without the air conditioner. This family does so well with falling right into place. The kids are very active and huge explorers of new surrounding but when they are called over they know right what to do and they do it fast so they can get back to exploring.

I love this brick building with the white front but to get the view I wanted the family is really small but I kinda like it that way.

Another location from a view I don't usually shoot. The early fall look is perfect with the river in the back.

This time the kids continued to explore and Miss Ella noticed an otter swimming in the water. I love this one because it shows the true personality of the 3 younger children, mom is also looking away because she always acknowledges what they find and then will continue to request what she needs.

All locations were hit between rain (downpour) showers but as soon as we let dad loose the rain started and forced us under bridges and inside.

Baby Shower Photobooth

2011-09-25T21:56:00.000-05:00

This weekend I had a baby shower photobooth. Of course I can't just use a plain ole' backdrop so I decided to hang the baby's gifts. Now that's screams little baby boy!!

The new mommy and daddy had to start us off. They took Dorothy and Gary with them for comfort. They all did very well and the line started to form.

Grandma and Grandpa also got in on the action.

I'm not sure I would leave the new baby with his uncles just yet, and daddy is prepared for those stinky diapers.

The other grandparents got in on some action with Big Brother Preston.

My brother Brian brought along his quite new girlfriend....... from this look I'm not sure she thinks too much of our humor. Sorry Brian, I'm sure she loved it even though you {forgot} didn't mention there would be photos at the party. :)

Sara is so little and her belly is tiny, she only has a month and a half left. Sara you are way cute and I can't wait to meet your son. Oh, Marcus you are cute too.

All these fun photos plus about 300 more will go into the baby scrapbook for tons of laughter in the years to come. This baby will know everyone that was at his shower and the good time we had in capturing this special day.