Saturday, May 16, 2015

My buddy, Buddy...

May 14, 2015
14/365

Still working on the photo class...Buddy is a good subject as he'll hold a pose much longer than Henry at 2-1/2.  This week we're working on composition- rule of thirds, limb chop (or NOT), horizons, and clutter clearing.  It's really hard managing to get ALL of the elements I've learned into one picture.  In this picture of Buddy I definitely got the catch lights in his eyes and the rule of thirds by cropping to place him in one of the intersections, but this is the best picture I got and there is definitely clutter behind the sofa that distracts.  :::sigh:::


I asked Jim to remove the screens that were behind the wicker couch and tried again...


Much better but, as you'll see below on the original, it needed help from Lightroom!  One thing I have discovered from taking photography classes is that there is no such thing as an unedited photo anymore.  Everyone edits their pictures to make them look better from professional photographers removing blemishes to Instagram lovers who add filters.  My preference is natural but a bit better.  More like I wish I had taken it to start with.  The differences between Buddy I and Buddy II are mostly cropping/composition with a touch of exposure lightening.  That made his eyes look a touch greener, which was a good thing!  Remember friends...when taking pictures crop tool is your friend!






Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Hose 22

May 12, 2015
12/365

Tonight we had a lovely evening with Adam and Heather to celebrate Mother's Day at Hose 22 on Stutson Street in Rochester, NY.  What an awesome building!  After dinner we  went upstairs to see where the firemen's lockers were (all old oak and gorgeous), the beautiful brass poles (although they would not let us slide down), tin ceilings, and lots of firehouse memorabilia.  We all had a great time.  





Monday, May 11, 2015

Tulip

May 11, 2015
11/365

Borrowed a macro lens from Meredith...ahhh....so beautiful!  This shot is SOC... f 3.8, 1/100, ISO 200.


Mother's Day

May 10, 2015
10/365

We had such a wonderful time celebrating with the kids today.  Michael cooked an amazing dinner and we had lots of time to talk and just be together.  It was wonderful.  Oh...I took quite a few pictures!

Megan and Henry


Sally, Michael and Melissa


Heather, Olivia and Diego




Meredith and me...


Adam and me...






Sunday, May 10, 2015

Flowers for Mommy

May 8, 2015

Today Henry and I made a special craft...a bouquet of flowers for Mommy for Mother's Day on Sunday.  Now Henry is 2-1/2 and 2 year olds are not known for their cooperativeness.  Some days it goes better than others...today was the day!  I asked him to put his hand on a piece of pink paper so I could drawn around it and make a "special present for Mommy."  He plopped his hand right down...5 times!!!  I curled the ends of the petals, fashioned pipe cleaners into stems and stamen, taped the petals to the stem and stuck then in a vase.  One pink bow later it was done and he was very proud to have a gift for Mommy.  Happy Mother's Day Megan!!!



Happy Meal Toys

May 9, 2015
9/365

For years and years I collected Happy Meal toys.  Some I just saved after the kids were done playing with them, some I specifically went to McDonalds and bought because I was pretty obsessed with them!  I'm a toy momma...  I have always loved toys and have saved oodles of the kid's toys from back in the day- Fisher Price Little People (the REAL ones...), Micro Machines, Legos, Star Wars figures, Polly Pocket, Care Bears, and many more.  Yesterday Henry got a Happy Meal Changeables out of the toy box and was fascinated by it.  I knew I had more so I hunted them down, cleaned them up, and now they are ready for Monday when we will once again "play toys."


I did not pay for my kids to go to college on the proceeds of my Happy Meal toy collection, but making Henry (and the future littles!) smile is much more fun anyway!