A Photog Blog

Focus, Focus, Focus

2011-02-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

So I had a moment to breath today for the first time in awhile, and one of DPS's posts couldn't have been more timely. It was about using focal points more effectively in photography. This is definitely an area I feel like my photog skills could use some drastic help in. Here are a few of the tips and also a few examples of my lack luster photos in need of some focal point practice.

Tips for using focal points more effectinvely:

Position: use rule of thirds, or look to place your camera in a prominent place to capture the best focal point you're trying to convey.

Focus: Learn to use Depth of Field to blur out other aspects in front of or behind your focal point.

Blur: If you want to get tricky you can play with slower shutter speeds to blur surrounding objects. This works well if your object or its background isn't moving.

Size: Making your focal point larger is not the only way to make it more promiment, but it certainly helps.

Color: Using contrasting colors can also be a way of setting your interest point apart from its surroundings

Shape: Similary contrasting shapes and textures can make your object standout, especially patterns that are repeated around an object.

Here are a few examples. I have gotten a teeny tiny better at making focal point a priority in my photos, as I hope you can tell from these horrible, not so good and maybe a tiny bit better examples.

Eek this one could us some major help in focusing on those delish turtle bites.

While the flowers may look a little droopy and sad,

the focus of the pic still draws you into them and the table setting in general.

This is a photo where I purposely focused on the pumpkin

on the right to capture the scaley and textured details.

Time Lapse Photography

2011-02-04T10:47:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd share this inspiring time lapse video of NYC I recently came across. For those of you who don't know what time lapse is (and don't kid yourself, I kind of had to Google it too to refresh my memory), it's essentially when you shoot images continuously at a specified interval and then make a movie out of it. It is a VERY time consuming process. With that said, I hope it gives you a deep appreciate for the video below. ONE DAY, I hope to have the patience, talent and knowledge (and time!) to create something as fantastic as this....i.e. probably a long, long time from now!!

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/inspiring-new-york-timelapse-video?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DigitalPhotographySchool+%28Digital+Photography+School%29

HELLO 2011!

2011-01-31T10:51:00.000-08:00

Well hello 2011....where in the world did 2010 go? This girl has been BAD, BAD, BAD about posting - shame on me! Just wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive! I still have a few 2010 photos updates to post - a few pics from a fabulous wedding we went to in Napa and some holiday pics with the fam. Also, closing the loop on a few 2010 goals that may or may never have been achieved. Woopsy! 2011 is the year to improve my photography....so as it always starts out right? :)

Oh Christmas Card....

2010-11-30T11:11:00.000-08:00

I contemplated maybe not doing a holiday card this year for pure lack of creativity. I didn't have a cute pic of Ryan and I, we don't have precious children that make holiday cards sparkle with cuteness no matter what they're doing in the photo, among many other lame excuses.

I decided though to embark on a little holiday card photo shoot adventure with our dearly beloved yellow labrador, Mr. Wyatt. While he was wiggling and avoiding me just enough to not be able to capture the perfect shot, toward the end I have to admit I think he was enjoying it. The amusement with mommy snapping the camera at him though wasn't enough to get him to look at me and make a cute "holiday card material" face.

Yesterday I was disappointedly browsing through the photo shoot pics and decided to play around with one in Photoshop. After several hours of tweaking and editing, I accidentally stumbled upon a final product that I have to admit I was kind of excited about. I hestitantly showed ryan, because I knew if he didn't like it, it might diminish my chances for a 2010 holiday card. O.k. I exaggerate a bit...let's be real here, guys don't really have a say in these matters! :) Anyways, he was kind of impressed and agreed we could order them. Woohoo!! Below is the final product. This was all by pure chance and luck that I was even able to come to this somewhat acceptable rendition of our 2010 holiday card. I'll post instructions on my post-processing steps soon. It may take me awhile to remember exactly what I did. :)

BEFORE

AFTER

Others from the photo shoot - hehe I love all of his holiday outfit changes :)

Seriously mom, get the camera away from...

DPS Weekly Assignment - Repititions and Patterns

2010-11-30T10:03:00.000-08:00

So as some of you may remember from older posts, one of my fave photography resources is Digital Photography School. They send out a daily newsletter with info on products, post proscessing (editing), various photographing tips on tons of different subject matters, etc. They have a weekly assignment and I ALWAYS say I'm going to do it for practice. AND, of course, I never do. This week though the subject is "Repitition and Patterns" and I had a photo I took over the weekend that I thought would be fun to post to the weekly assignments forum. Not to be confused with any sort of contest, because this gal's photos are not ready for anything along those lines. But it's fun just to post pics, view other posts and maybe even get some feedback and tips on my photos.

Sooo...FINALLY, I submitted a pic. It was a crisp fall Thanksgiving Day when I took this so it gives me a fun fuzzy reminder that fall is in the air. Which is my absolute favorite time of year. You can check out comments and other posts for the DPS Weekly Assignment at: http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/digital-photography-assignments/139928-assignment-repetition-patterns-nov-17-dec-1-a.html.

Baptismal Affair

2010-11-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

Hooray for double blog posts for the Meserve family! I had the priviledge of attending AND being their psuedo "photographer" for darling Carter Meserve's Baptism over the weekend. A huge thank you to Kaylen for letting me capture such a sweet moment in their precious baby boy's life, and practice my photography skills all at the same time.

I rented a lens for the baptism and was thoroughly impressed, not necessarily with my photos, but with the ease of the lens, the local shop I rented is from and the lens they picked out for me. I'll add a post soon on all the lens deets soon. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the precious Meserve family!

The Meserve Fam

The Baptism Ceremony

Annie helps out during the ceremony

Godparents, Ryan Parker and Annie Salem (of The Now Stylebook) and The Meserves

The Meserves with Monsignor Zimmerman

The Meserves and McCurrys

Kaylen and Annie and an I'm over this Carter :)

It's a Boy!

2010-11-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love a fabulous baby shower with decadent treats (homemade cupcakes at that!), ohhhs and ahhhs over super precious baby gear and gadgets and lots of fun girlie chatter? I sure do! Here are some pics from my friend Kaylen's baby shower. Congrats to all of the fabulous hostesses who helped throw Baby Carter a shower prior to his arrival.

Most fabulous mantle ever - I love the understated and chic decor the girls put together

The hostesses with Kaylen and the amazing Tiffany's present they got for
Baby Carter.

The theme of the shower was Tiffany's and was tied in

by the adorable gift and teal hanging paper bouquets

Kaylen with Hostesses Annie and Katy

Bebo and Amy

Amy and Kaylen's Sweet Grandmother

Peter Lik Landscape Photographer

2010-11-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

While strolling the Lahaina art galleries in Maui this summer, I came across my FAVE new landscape photographer, Peter Lik. I could spend hours in his cozy yet breathtaking gallery analyzing every focal, dimensional, color and balance detail in his photographs. Peter is an Australian photographer with a true gift for capturing beauty in our natural surroundings in a creative and inspiring way. Being an astute businessman, it was difficult to find his images online, but here are a few to give you an idea of his style. I'm obsessed....I mean these don't even look like real places!

More Hawaii Pics - last ones!

2010-09-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

Here are a last few Hawaii pics as promised to some of you who asked for them. So sorry for the LONG hiatus as well. I've been traveling like a crazy woman for work, and a little for fun too! Now that the weather is fab and my bags are unpacked until 2011, I promise to post new photo updates so stay tuned!

my sweet hubby!

ahh the Kuaui beach - I so miss it!

A sweet dad and his little boy taking a walk at sunset

our heli ride

Ryan

Hawaii - Part II

2010-09-11T06:00:00.001-07:00

Without further ado, below are some photos from Hawaii. My beginner photog skills couldn't come close to capturing the beauty of the two amazing islands we visited (Kauai and Maui), but hope you can use a little imagination to envision this paradise of a place. This is a random collection of photos from our different activities, places we visited and hotels (which were AMAZING). There are still so many more photos to edit, so stay tuned for more.

Welcome Kauai.

We were lucky enough to land at Lihue Airport and make the 40-minute drive to Princeville as the sun set. What a breathtaking drive through winding roads, cliffs and the most curious assortment of plants, trees and flowers. Because it receives a great deal of rain, Kauai is able to sustain many different kinds of plants. Below are a few snapshots of our drive to Princeville.

These Aspen-like trees stand tall against the blue sky and are complimented by many, many other kinds of beautiful tall trees.

Welcome to Princeville!! What a perfect welcoming into Princeville, a semi-private collection of homes and resorts.

One of the best and worst parts of traveling West is jet lag will get the best of you at night, but it lends for some bright and early mornings leaving plenty of time for fun adventures, activities or pool-side drinking (yes please!). I did a sunrise photo shoot the first morning which was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Makai Golf Course

Just a few random pics from my big day riding in a golf cart. Who says you can't have fun on a golf course even if you're not golfing. :)

This was a mystical little path that I found intriguing...hey I was riding in a golf cart with nothing to do...wouldn't this seem intriguing to you too? :)

I decided to practice my macro (close up) photography. This was kind of a fun random shot!

And look at these cute little guys! Ducks, geese and chicken roam freely on Kauai.

Welcome to Maui.

My absolute favorite part of Maui was the hotel. The Wailea Four Seasons is AHHmazing. Besides the celeb spotting and delish meals we indulged in, the property is just incredibly relaxing and over the top.

Tiki torches decorate the property and each evening there's a hula torch lighting ceremony. A male and female hula dancer perform a ritual to light the torches. Unfortunately we missed it both nights, but we heard it was definitely worth grabbing a drink at the open-air lobby bar and watching.

The fabulous Four Seasons pool - I just love this place!

Hawaii - Part I

2010-09-02T18:01:00.000-07:00

Aloha!! Ha I'm such a nerd. I just couldn't help myself. We just got back from a 10-day vacation in Hawaii. What an AMAZING trip! We visited the islands of Kauai and Maui. Kauai was by far the most breathtaking place I've ever visited. I couldn't imagine a more beautiful place. The island was a combination of giant lush mountains, monstrous orange canyons and brilliant blue-water beaches. It felt like Ireland, Fiji and the Grand Canyon in one INCREDIBLE island.

Each afternoon, momentary rain showers blew in leaving behind the most striking and brilliant rainbows imaginable. It almost felt like you could reach out and touch them. I have to admit, this trip exceeded my expectations in a very weird way! Needless to say, it was a fabulous place to practice my photography skills.

In preparation of our trip, I rented a wide-angle lens from borrowlenses.com. After researching landscape photography and pros and cons between telephoto and wide-angle lenses, I opted for the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8. It had impeccable reviews and essentially legendary status in the wide angle category. With a price tag of nearly $2,000, borrowing a lens before you make this kind of purchase is a fabulous idea (not that I could afford this bad boy anyways!). Not to mention, Borrow Lenses made it such a convenient and pleasant experience. I highly recommend lens rental.

The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G Ed AF-S

For the non-photog readers, the wide angle lens aims to provide a larger depth of field than a standard lens (i.e. "kit lens" - the introductory lens that comes with your camera). The larger depth of field means more sharpness and detail you can capture from corner to corner. This is a recommeded lens for landscape photography since you are usually trying to capture every detail in the photo. For instance, if you're taking a beach snapshot you probably want to capture rays of sun, the texture of sand, and the brilliance of the water. Where if you were taking a picture of a person, likely you want the attention to be drawn to the person and not necessarily background details (street lamps, a neighbor in the yard, a dog in a park, a fire hydrant, etc.). Of course there are many different ways to do this, and this is just a very elementary explanation.

Since I’m a newbie, I'm shouldn't be giving photog tips so check out my fave photo resource DPS for great articles on landscape photography. Here is a very basic landscape article: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/photographing-the-perfect-landscape.

Back to the Hawaii trip! I came home with nearly 1,000 photos. One thing about a photography hobby is there is A LOT more to it than just a fun snappy snap papparazzi sounding cam. It's way more difficult than taking photos with a point and shoot (at least for me it is :). It requires me to stop before each photo and think about the light, clouds, colors, focal point, depth of field and so on. Which also means a lot more editing when you get home from your relaxing vacay.

I have a boatload to learn about all this photog funness! So.....you’ll have to come back soon for pics of Hawaii....only so many fun hobby hours in a day. :) Here are just a few teaser snapshots though.

Cliffs overlooking the Na Pali Coast taken from a helicopter ride.

This pic still needs help but I just love the colors

so I wanted to give you a sneak preview.

The Waimea Canyons in Kauai, Hawaii.

I'm making updates to this one to - just a little pre-editing peak!

2010-08-09T20:13:00.000-07:00

A few mornings ago we woke up to let our little fur ball out and found the most beautiful, warm sunny morning imaginable. It seemed our happy-go-lucky yellow lab was also enjoying the perfect morning as he dawned his ear-to-ear smile. I just couldn't help myself, so I grabbed my camera to take advantage of such a sweet morning moment.

Here are some pics of our little puppy Wyatt...o.k. well he's not a puppy anymore, but he will always be his mommy's little boy. :) It's tickling to see these curious little animals develop such distinct personalities. Wyatt is quite the curious, gregarious and lovable companion. We can't imagine our lives without him.

While my photography as always still needs improvement, I did learn that natural morning light can lend for the perfect mood when trying to capture intimate, tranquil and natural portraiture shots. Fortunately and unfortunately, I caught these by chance, but I will definitely remember this for all future portrait photo shoots!

Precious Little Sweet "P"

2010-07-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ryan and I participated in the most incredibly special event of the year. We witnessed the sweetest little man ever, Patrick McKittrick Jr., get baptized. What a precious little sweet "P" and a very, very special honor it was to be a part of such a beautiful moment in not only baby Patrick's life, but our dearest friends Sarah (from Bless This Nest) and Patrick Sr. To top of it off, we were also Baby Patrick's godparents. What a fun weekend and event to be a part of!! Being a first-time godparent, it was an incredibly special honor that I will take seriously every day of my life. I will hold Baby Patrick in my prayers always and hope for a wonderful, safe and happy life for him.

Here are some snapshots of the sweetest, most precious little baby ever. Entertainingly enough, at four months old he is the biggest ham in front of the camera - great job mommy Sarah for teaching your little one the bestest lessons ever - always smile and look adorable in your pics. Haha!!

Sweet Baby Patrick at his Baptism.

Ryan, Patrick Sr. and little Patrick.

Ryan adoring his sweet godson. Too precious!

Beautiful mommy Sarah and little PMac.

Patrick Jr. posing with Patrick Sr. What a sweet photo. I love Baby Patrick's

tiny hand grasping onto his daddy.

BEST gift of the day - a "Future President of the United States" t-shirt...too cute!

Look at Sarah's face, she's the cutest thing on this planet.

C’est la vie

2010-07-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

With a heavy heart, I want to take this post to honor my late grandfather, Marcelino Borges. On June 18, 2010, he passed away. While very much different than the unepxected loss of Marcel and Zach, it was nevertheless a humbling and heavy experience.

I was lucky enough to make a trip to visit him a few weeks earlier. My grandfather was diagnosed with cancer in February, and after a successful and almost painless chemo treatment, things somehow took a turn for the worst. My amazing husband urged me to visit him, and he even agreed to drop everything and come along with me for a 24-hour trip to NYC.

While we can never expect to be priviledged enough to know when God will take us for himself, it was comforting to feel that my grandfather somehow knew his days were few. While my mother and I briefly stepped out of the hospital room, Ryan left to console my sick grandfather, who whispered in his earshot "C’est la vie. It is my time and I am ready." My grandfather was always a better Spanish speaker than English, but he delighted in tossing his limited French vocabulary into stories and jokes spicing them up with his heavy Cuban accent.

On the day he passed he had been taken home and was in his favorite chair surround by his dearest loved ones, my mom, aunt and cousin Lissette. He motioned the sign of the cross and peacefully closed his eyes.

If I could choose to live a life like anyone, I would choose to live mine like my grandfather's. I will miss him dearly and hope that his generosity, diplomacy, love and respect for all will be remembered always and passed down to our family members who were never able to meet a man who left such immense impressions on so many. Here are some special pics of my grandfather.

Grandpa in his younger days.

Grandpa with my mom and aunt Francis, who we call Tita.

My grandparents and me.

My grandfather, Marcel and me in California.

Me and grandpa in New Jersey.

Me giving grandpa a kiss.

Grandpa, Ryan and I at my cousin Lissette's wedding.

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez

2010-06-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, "Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez," meaning let the good times roll, is a well-known Cajun phrase celebrating the "joie de vivre" (joy of living) attitude that pervades southern Louisiana. Ryan and I recently ventured to New Orleans (or better known as Nola) to visit my good friend Allison and her hubby Sanders, and attend Jazz Fest.

Ryan and I decided to take the early flight in that Friday morning, so we could have time just the two of us to do touristy things that I can only imagine Al and Sanders get a little tired of with all the visitors they graciously entertain. Upon arrival, Al kindly chauffeured us from the airport to the French Quarter. She and Sanders, along with their precious Jack Russell Harvey, were the best hosts ever. They were incredibly accommodating, entertaining and hospitable, making it such a perfect trip.

When Al dropped us off on Decatur Street, you can take one guess where our first stop was. Yep, Cafe du Monde! I could eat beignets every day of the week (yum I LOVE beignets!).

We walked around the French Quarter and luckily I was able to snap some pics of the cathedral and other fun passerby, art, and eccelctic scenes before it started pouring. Regardless of the torrential downpour, visitors and locals alike continued their Friday afternoon festivites, as did we! We walked around staying as dry as possible and snapping pics of the amazing (and very old) architecture.

I can never get enough of cities like New Orleans where you can look at the 100+ year old buildings and imagine life long ago; so much different than today, but in many ways, very much the same. Ryan and I got married in Charleston and that was one of my favorite parts about the historical city. You can almost find yourself pretending to be a Southern belle with a hoop skirt gown and ringlet curls surrounded by horse-drawn carriages and men with top hats. Haha so much different than the gladiator sandals, skinny jeans and aviator sunglasses I was sporting.

We had such a fabulous time on our trip! Without further ado, here are some of my pics from Nola. My photog skills are still a major work in progress, but it's a fun journey getting there.

Food Photography Techniques and Tips

2010-05-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

So I've made some leeway on my goals. I'll be posting April's goal results soon (shutter speed and capturing movement). I also have some NYC and FL beach pics to share soon too!

In the meantime though, I came across a really fun food photography post on my fave photog blogs, Digital Photography School. The article inspired me to have my own food photo shoot, which was sooo much fun!! Since I love baking, it was a blast to combine my two fave things (baking and photography of course!). I made my hubby's favorite dessert, key lime pie. See my two favorite pics from the food shoot below.

Here's the first one without the pretty garnishes.

Here's one with some great natural light flooding in from the kitchen windows.

There's a glare above the plate that one day I'll hopefully know how to fix, but I thought I'd share since it has a good side view of the yummy crust.

I absorbed a great deal from the DSP post, and I also learned through the practice shoot that natural lighting seemed to be the most effective for capturing the natural colors and texture of the food making it more life-like and appealing. Mmmm I love desserts and photogprahy! The article is posted below in case you get inspired to do your own food photo shoot.

Food Photography Techniques and Tips

Today food photographer Jonathan Pollack shares some wonderful food photography tips (and some positively mouth watering photos. Also check out our previous Food Photography Tips.

The food photography techniques in this post are ones that I use in photos I take for both a local food magazine and my wife’s cupcake blog. I’ve broken these techniques down into a few areas that give some ideas and suggestions to help you photograph and showcase your food.

Styling Your Food for Photography
I’ve never had the luxury of working with a food stylist; if you aren’t well-known, you will most likely take on this role yourself. While I lack the massive collection of props that a professional stylist would own, I do have at my disposal some place settings, backgrounds, and typically some degree of control over how food is presented. I don’t tend to use stand-ins or other tricks to get the results that I want, but remember that those are available if you need them. Whether I am at home or out shooting at restaurants, I am always challenged to use my on-hand supplies and creativity to create the right mood and draw the viewer in without distracting them. Getting started in styling food is not as difficult as you might think:

- Place solid or simple patterned papers (available at a scrapbooking store) as a background.

- Figure out what works and does not work in terms of contrast and similarity.

- Also, make sure that you have enough paper to completely cover the entire field of view.

Make-A-Wish

2010-05-10T07:13:00.000-07:00

Second times a charm! This past weekend we were invited by our fabulous friends Katy and Kyle to a charity event function, with live auctioning included! This time, though, we made it out with no surprise auction bidding. :)

The Make-A-Wish foundation did a tremendous job with the charity ball, incorporating wish kids who performed and livened up the ball with their sweet faces and enthusiastic performances. We had such a great time dressing up, being with our friends and celebrating all of the precious children who are hanging in there with such immense strength and grace. Wish I would have been able to bring the Big Fancy with me into the ball, but unfortunately it was too big of a beast to lug around with a long gown on. Here are a few pics of our fabulous night.

Our bestest friends, Katy and Kyle Miller

Sarah and Mike, most adorable couple ever!

Christa and Chad, ummm stunning duo!

Annie The Photographer - always takes THE BEST pics EVER!!

Blog Schmog

2010-04-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

So sorry for the shoddy blog...i promised a makeover and you have seen none. Also, those teeny, tiny, mini photos in the canton blog were kinda hard to see. I promise, this tech-challenged girl will figure out all of this technology stuff and maybe even learn how to post large file photos on my bloggy blog without it taking the better half of a million years - stayed tuned!

Goals and Objectives

2010-03-30T11:03:00.001-07:00

ZZZZZzzzzz is anyone falling asleep by the title of the post already or what? Me too. BUT, often times it seems difficult to achieve things whether it be professional, personal, fitness, saving money, volunteering, running a marathon, etc. We find ourselves so incredibly busy and focused on way too many "goals and objectives" that it's easy to give up on the ones we really WANT to accomplish in lieu of having to take care of ones that we HAVE to (i.e. work, paying bills, etc.).

One of the best ways I've made myself accountable for the things I say I will accomplish is to lay out my goals baby step by baby step. This way when I accomplish a mini goal I feel good about myself and it feels worth putting the extra time, hard work and sacrifices into accomplishing whatever it is I want to.

So now that I have everyone nice and sleepy from our lovely talk about goals, here are a few of my photography goals. Each weekend comes and goes and it seems I always have good intention to go out and shoot, but Monday morning rolls around WAY too quickly and somehow I never get the chance to do my photos sessions. So here are some goals that will me stay accountable of my overall goal - improve my photography skills:

April: Practice stopping motion. Sometimes you see photos of a waterfall and the water is streaming and blurred together. Then you'll see another where the waterfall is stopped and you can see the detail in each and every water droplet. This is accomplished by changing your shutter speed. My April goal is to work on stopping action and blurring it together for different artistic purposes. I'll keep you posted and hopefully share some pics with you soon!

May: Practice long exposure shots - both night and day. Sometimes you can opt to have your camera aperture (the opening where the light comes in) stay open for an extended period of time and capture different kinds of photos. Essentially it will blur together all of the motions that occurred within that timeframe. For example, if you leave an aperture open long enough during a night shot of traffic, you will see all of the cars blurred together. At least I think it does...? We shall find out!

June: Photoshop Editing - more and more I learn that immaculate photography unfortunately does not exist without post processing/editing. There are still many, many elements that go into creating a great photo - composition, subject, lighting, etc. However, the exceptional popping of colors or great angles are usually cropped and edited in during photo processing. Hopefully in June I'll have time to dive into the different Photoshop tools.

July: Printing and Framing - what good are great photos if you don't know how or where to print and frame them. Apparently there is more than just my usual CVS and Target trips for quick prints and a cute black frame. Supposedly there are several different professional and commercial printing labs in Dallas and online that can help process and print your photos. There are also different kinds of printing techniques and papers - metallic, finishes, etc. Wow so much to learn!

There are just a few of my goals. Hopefully, I will stick to them - we shall see friends!

Treasures

2010-03-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, on a beautiful Saturday morning, a few girlfriends and I spontaneously decided to make the most of the the perfect day.

My fabulous and fun friends Debbie, Jamye and Katie packed the car and

headed east. With high hopes of finding treasures and maybe a golden retriever puppy, Deb Deb we know you wanted to bring one home sooo badly, we headed to Canton's First Mondays. We weren't sure whether to call it an antique shop, flea market, swap meet or even the likes of a Texas-sized state fair. This jewel of a place included corn dogs, homemade ice cream, antiques, funky crafts and home decor and even an entire animal lot FULL of the cutest little puppies - every shape, size and kind you could ever imagine.

Here are a few pics from our fun trip. I still have a lot of work to do with my day time photography. A special thanks to the crazy lady with the star-shaped sun glasses who wailed, "NO PHOTOS ALLOWED HUN!" I still snuck a few. :

Night Moves

2010-03-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Last week our photog class took a field trip downtown - hooray I love field trips! No permission slip required on this one :) Man I miss those days. We trekked it down to the Founder's Square, what most of you probably know better as the Red Court House. We had a great time learning about night photography. Who knew there were soooo... many different ways to take a photo at night. It was a great time and thanks to Teresa, I learned a few fun tricks and tips. Here are a few pics I captured. Not great, but definitely a work in progress from the PHOTO FAIL!

Also, thanks to my great friend John Tagle, one of my fellow nerd photog buddies, who helped edit my downtown cottage pic. His version is now my blog header! WOW photoshop is a whole other beast. Baby steps. Thanks again John!

Back to school

2010-02-27T15:46:00.000-08:00

So I'm taking a FANTASTIC photog class at SMU. My teacher Teresa Rafidi rocks! I have taken a few photog classes in Dallas, back in my point and shoot days of course. Most have been mediocre at best.

What I learned most from my other classes is with a little time and patience you can teach yourself anything by reading and researching books, mags, articles, etc. In fact, I started out with (I can't believe I'm admitting to this - SO nerdy), but the Digital Photography for Dummies book. To be honest, it was actually one of the easiest and most explanatory photog books I've found.

However, I decided with the new Big Fancy that maybe it would be a good idea to have someone actually show me how to put my knowledge to use. I'm sure my new fab photog teacher Teresa can help me connect the dots and finally use my countless hours of research and reading about cameras, photography, ISO, Appeture, Shutter Speed, Focus, etc.

I've already learned so many great things from my first class. Keep your fingers crossed! Hopefully, I'll have some great photos to share soon!

To the highest bidder...

2010-02-03T07:55:00.000-08:00

Even though this happened quite sometime ago, I think you'll enjoy the story.

Our special friends Katy and Kyle Miller invited us to a Special Olympic charity ball in October 2008.

The night started off great – cocktails at the Schlitt house, fun pics on the staircase (who doesn’t love to revisit their proms days!), and a carpool over to the Hilton Anatole.

Upon arrival we circled the silent auction items bidding on things here and there. Ryan close behind warning me not to spend too much on gourmet food baskets and spa packages. I obligingly backed away from the goods and headed to the bar…..

After mingling, silent bidding and a few glasses of wine, we headed to our table for dinner and a live auction. To humor the table I told Ryan I as going to raise my hand and bid on something just for fun – I mean who hasn’t had that impulse? EXCEPT most people usually restrain themselves….I on the other hand....proceeded to raise my hand and bid on something. I put ALL blame on my evil twin sister, Cabernet Sauvignon, shame on her! Well, little did my spontaneous hand and I know...we were not only the highest bidder, but also the ONLY bidder. Going once, going twice, three times….anyone, anyone…Bueller??? SOLD….to the highest bidder (aka the red head with her hand raised getting a SCORNFUL look from her husband =).

Here we are making light of the night. I really do have the best husband ever!

Needless to say we ended up with a trip to Disney which we donated back to the organization. I promised the hubby that I would sacrifice anything to make up for my silly deed. Our deal resulted in no “fancy cam” for Liza. Hence, my photography hobby was put to a MAJOR halt.

God has his mysterious way of working though. Almost an entire year later, upon returning from my brother’s funeral with heavy hearts and unimaginable sadness, we received an e-mail from our friend Kyle.

He passed along the thank you note below from Janet Smith on behalf of the prize winner, Robert Greene. Our hearts were filled with joy knowing that my careless bidding brought a lifetime of joy to a very special boy.

From: Janet Smith
Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2009 5:14 PM
To: Kyle Miller
Cc: Meredith Bebee; David Miller (dmiller@encapinvestments.com)
Subject: Special Olympics

Dear Miller Family Foundation,

I wanted to share these pictures and short note with you. This is from the athlete who was awarded the trip to Disneyland.

"We made our trip to Disneyland and had a great time. This was Robert's first time to fly. He did great going over because he could see the ground all the way. Coming back was another story as we had turbulence and clouds that I thought was beautiful. He was very much on edge because he couldn't see the ground. He had fun taking pictures with the characters and their was plenty of slow rides to take. He got a kick out of the Celebration Parade, it included the characters that were at Disneyland, even a few that I was not familiar with. When we went shopping he had to make choices, but came home with some stuffed animals that he had been looking for and a few we have not seen. We could not have ask for better weather. First time using the Super Shuttle, everything went smooth. Hotel accommodations were great every body was very friendly. I am attaching some pictures. We are still after a picture with Chip and Dale. The firework show was spectacular."

Please forward this on to the gentleman who gave Robert the package.

Thank you Miller family for making a difference in the life of Robert Greene.

Janet

Janet Smith
Special Olympics Texas
Senior Development Director
Major Gifts/Planned Giving

A photo affair

2010-01-21T10:07:00.000-08:00

I’m not exactly sure when the pivotal moment of my love for photography occurred, but I can trace it back to a few experiences. I love photographs and always have since I can remember. Each time I go home, mom and I somehow end up at the kitchen table with old photo albums strewn everywhere and I always sneakily snake a few keepsakes to take home with me to Dallas. I have fabulous pics of my mother’s childhood in New York equipped with fancy dresses, patent leather mary janes, and beautiful coats - always identically matching with her twin sister!

Check it out…mom, aunt Francis (who we call “Tita” or as my German Irish husband pronounces it “Deed-ah”), grandma Borges, and grandma’s brothers.

I also have photos of my father growing up in Cuba. My favorite being one of him dressed like a cowboy at two years old. Apparently the John Wayne cowboy craze was quite popular in Cuba in the 1950s. Who would have thought?

Ever since meeting our AMAZING wedding photographer, Tracy Turpen, who is one of the most talented individuals I've ever met, I have had a slight obsession with wanting to be a good photographer. Tracy is inspiring and immensely talented.

She captured one of the most special moments in mine and Ryan's life. Not only because I was marrying an amazing man, or because the day was picture-perfect and magical (which all definitely were!), but mostly because my husband and I will be able to look back at the last time both of our families would ever spend together again. In the past year and half, Ryan and I lost our younger brothers, Zach and Marcel. We will forever cherish the snapshots Tracy captured of Zach’s brotherly admiration as he gazed at Ryan on the alter, Marcel’s genuine, hilarious, and heart felt freestyle and many other of our most cherished last moments with our brothers.

Here’s a great pic of Marcel and Zach from the wedding.

A night filled with so much love, energy and spirit will forever live in our hearts and on our walls to share with our children, friends, family and anyone else who may walk into our lives.

This is what I hope to eventually create and share with others (I still have a long way to go!).