Mac Family

Gosh, I love these!

Newborn photos! I believe newborn photos are the most important in that first year of life. So many people skip them. Photographers skip the awkward stage (3-5 months). Photos are typically done at the newborn stage, around 6 months, and again around a year. You will be seeing some newborn photos on here for sure in 2009! I cannot wait!

Meanwhile, you have to check these beautiful newborn photos. Holly is one of the people who conducted the photography workshop I attended last summer in Salt Lake City. Man, is she ever talented! The lighting is amazing, and just look at that precious little baby. They only curl up like that in the first 10 days or so of life. 

Check out both of her posts. I especially love the second one. What a cute idea! These are the most beautiful photos I have seen this week!

***We had a horrible weekend, but I will have to come back later and write about that. I spent half the weekend in the hospital. Not fun! 

Matt, Liz, and Madeline

A story that has touched the world. I have known of their story for a long time. Sorry I have never posted a link to them.

This is a sad, but beautiful story.

I also wanted to share something new in the photography world. Photographers pairing with videographers to make the most beautiful, touching pieces of art and records of true life I have ever seen. This is the story of a dad and his precious little girl who just turned one; it is also the story of Liz, mom of that little girl and wife to Matt...who never lived long enough to hold her new baby girl. It is an emotional blog!

This type of session is not cheap, but it is priceless in the end. $1500 and up to hire the talent to create something like this.

Just scroll down to see the incredible video. Notice the difference in photos and video clips (real life). Post processing makes such a huge difference in the final images. There is so much to learn. Some people believe "it is the camera." Not in this digital age.

http://www.mattlogelin.com/

Next, go here:

http://gleephotography.blogspot.com/2009/03/title-happy-birthday.html

You will see beautiful professional photography that captures the essence of this little girl and her Daddy. Amazing work.

So much beauty and love captured here.

Update on life

The last two days, I have had some bursts of energy...at long last! Last night, I stayed up until midnight (yes, on a school night) cleaning and finishing three loads of laundry!

I am trying to get this house in order again after my long-term illness. Oh, how I love an immaculate house! I am not there yet.

I have photos to frame...the ones Sara Anthony took of us, which turned out so beautiful! And some of my own photos.

Am I a horrible person for saying that it took all of my will power not to go off on the frame guy at Hobby Lobby tonight? Grrrrr...

I may not be getting my photos framed there, after all. It is so hard to find frames. It is taking me months. This is why I love the gallery wrapped canvases so much. No framing needed! Framing can get expensive.

My next stop will be IKEA, although they have only odd-sized frames it seems. Slowly, but surely, I will get our final photos up!

As far as my health goes, my "junkie" veins have healed from all of the IVs. No more bruises and no more blood clots. I had blood work done today. I will get the results in about a week. I never want to say too much on here until I know more. Time will tell...

Tomorrow night we will be taking Addie to her preschool orientation and registration. We are sending her to the school where we teach, mostly because our daycare person is in this town, and she will be taking her little boy there.

Addie is so excited for school! Reilly and Addie play school together all of the time. Addie has a Barbie backpack that she calls her "pa-pack". She will not leave the house without her "pa-pack and my purses." Notice the plural there. This little girl comes with a lot of stuff! I really need to do a post all about her. Her and her "boy voice." She has the deepest voice, not at all like a little girl. She is a spunky, fun, wild child!

Yesterday, Reilly got in trouble for something around here (I do not remember what), and Addie looked up at me and said, "I'm not being sassy!" I am not sure where she learned that word! We have two chatterboxes in this house, but they are girls, after all!

Both girls are signed up for swimming lessons in April. It is my goal to get them actually swimming on their own this summer...at least Reilly! Reilly believes she already knows how to swim...

I will soon be signing Addie up for gymnastics for the whole summer. I believe that she will love it and that she will be good at it, too! That will run once a week, all summer.

We need to find another activity for Reilly. She cannot join soccer since she did not play in the fall (which I think is stupid). She does have her ballet recital coming up in May, though. That ought to be one of the cutest things ever! She is getting so big!

Reilly will start kindergarten in the fall. I am excited for her. She loves school and learning so much. She is also becoming quite the little artist!

I will post some fun photos of the girls soon. I seem to be getting better as time goes on, but I am just taking it one step at a time.

To end, it is Dave's birthday on Friday. I have a couple of fun little things planned for him. I do not think we will go for dinner yet. I am not feeling up to a big night out quite yet. We are actually talking about going to IKEA together over break. Dave has never been there, and I am wanting to do some decorating, since I have not done any such thing for two years!

That is it with us.

What about you?

The Tooth Fairy: Part 2

We woke Reilly up the morning after she had placed her tooth under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy. She was pretty sleepy, but after a few moments, she looked under her pillow and found a note and a dollar from the Tooth Fairy!

She was amazed by the note. It said, "I [heart] U." This is what Reilly always writes to me on the pictures she draws for me.

After holding her dollar bill in silence for several seconds and just observing it, she finally stated, "I thought I was going to get $100."

Dave and I both did not expect that to be her response! What a smart little girl, huh? If the Tooth Fairy left that kind of money, I think both Dave and I would be knocking out and leaving our own teeth under our pillows to get some extra cash! Ha, ha!

Well, today was the BIG DAY!

The Tooth Fairy will be coming tonight while Reilly sleeps. What is the rate, anyway? A dollar a tooth? Two dollars a tooth?

I overheard Reilly tell Addie this morning, "I hope my tooth falls out so I can make a wish under my pillow." Later (at 1:28 p.m. to be exact; I looked at the clock), Reilly exclaimed, "My tooth fell out!" She had pulled it out all on her own. [Glad I did not have to do it!}

Reilly thinks it is the neatest thing and cannot wait for the Tooth Fairy to come. Dave accidentally called the Tooth Fairy a "he", and Reilly questioned/corrected him: "He? The Tooth Fairy is a SHE." If it is true that the teeth fall out in the order they appear, then we are in trouble for photos this summer. Numbers 3 and 4 are her two top teeth!

It might be the summer of the *goofy* (but of course cute) smile! Here she is checking herself out in the mirror. I still cannot believe it!

My big girl!

 

...more old pictures (from 2 years ago)

I am trying to find some pictures of Reilly swinging last summer that I LOVE, but I cannot find them in any of my folders. Sometimes I try to be a little too organized while naming my folders (being too specific, then forgetting!) when I should just keep to the dates!

I am finding a bunch of old photos, though, that I have never posted. This is really showing me how much I have learned in the past couple of years. "Progress, not perfection" is what I say. Here are some more random photos...while my search continues.

I do like this first one.

 

In the one below, I love the composition and how I feel like I am right there with her, but I really blew out the details on her right side of her dress by blowing out the highlights. Overexposure can be a problem, especially when the subject wears white.

   

 

Below are Grandpa, Reilly, and the dogs. Reilly loves to help Grandpa out. This summer, I hope he takes her fishing!

 

Reilly is definitely a very sweet little girl. She will cuddle with everybody in the family!

 

Below is an imperfect photo of my parents I took two summers ago at the beach. I never even showed it to them because I was so mad at myself for shooting wide open on this one. My mom is sharp, but my dad is not. I am very picky! I rarely shoot wide open now with my fast lenses! "You live, and you learn" is what I always say!

 

With my influences, both of my girls LOVE going to the beach! It is one of our favorite things to do, and I cannot wait until summer!

 

Reilly's hair was so pretty two summers ago! It is almost this long again! We are letting it grow long right now!

 

     

 

The final one is a point and shoot one of Reilly. Yeah, that crappy Kodak Easy Share camera we purchased two summers ago that did not even last a year...that we barely used.

I cannot stand the grain/noise in the point and shoot pictures. I like the convenience of having a point and shoot for little snapshots, but I am debating whether I want to buy another one and deal with the grain at low ISOs...or just deal with carrying my 5D...

This is a cute picture of Reilly, though!

More old pictures...

I have so much work to do today...but I thought I would post a few more old pictures before I tackled my big old "to-do" list.

These were taken last fall when I took the girls to the pumpkin patch. It was such a dreary, overcast day! Flat lighting for pictures! Not my preference! Cute (and funny), nonetheless!

 

We picked out an assortment of apples, but I did not know my apples very well! When we were done, I think I gave them the baking apples to eat...at first! Oops! Like I bake!

     

Much better!      

 

 

       

   

No, I did not tell her to fold her hands in her lap. Do people really do that? I like natural. There will be more current photos soon!

My "to-do" list for the day:

1. Edit the underclassmen and faculty pages for the yearbook (online). These are the minimum number of pages I must edit by tomorrow.

2. Lesson Plans - by Tuesday

3. Finalize the first 5 pages of the girls' 2008 photo album! It will be around 23-25 pages, and it will be a very unique book this year. This is my fun project!

4. Reprint my 2007 album (my lab kept the first copy)...order and get it back soon! I need it for a design workshop I am teaching on April 13!

5. Order Dave's birthday present. His birthday is this Friday!

6. Start a few more spreads in the girls' 2008 album. Finalize the pages later. There are so many little details with these albums!

7. Go through all the new clothes I bought for the girls yesterday, and figure out what needs to be returned (what does not fit). We shopped at Target and Old Navy yesterday. Old Navy has much cuter stuff right now!

8. Rejoice in the fact that after this week, there will only be 30-something days left of school! That always motivates me!

9. Grade some papers...at least for the one class period I brought home.

10. Be with my girls! They are at Grandma's house right now for a few hours...just like every Sunday! I cannot wait until summer!

Big news at our house!

The biggest news I have to share is that the Tooth Fairy is on the way to our house! Reilly is about to lose her first tooth!

Today Reilly and I went out and about for a few hours, and while we were driving, she informed me that she had a loose tooth. Of course, I did not believe she was serious.

Sure enough, as she stated in her own words, "It is about to fall out!" She then showed me her wiggly tooth. It was very wiggly!

Reilly got her two bottom teeth right when she turned 4 months old. They say the earlier you get them, the earlier they fall out.

From the research I have done, she is in the normal range...the early side of normal. Just the other day a mom on the photography forum posted how her 5 year-old son just lost his first tooth. Now my 4 year-old daughter is about to lose hers!

Crazy!

And I really wanted her to still have her teeth for her 5 year-old photos this summer! Oh, well.

And...Reilly already knows about the Tooth Fairy! She told me she learned about the Tooth Fairy after watching a movie.

***ETA: I will have to take a bunch of photos when she does lose her tooth. I still cannot believe it. There will be more photos on a regular basis after tomorrow. I think (if Addie is not still sick tomorrow) that the girls and I will be off to do something very fun tomorrow afternoon. I am feeling better...not back to normal yet, but I am functioning!

FHS Kids!

Our school had a winter assembly (many weeks ago). I just starting going through some of the photos last week. I have not made my way through all of them (too tired), but here are a few that show the fun they had at their Snowcoming assembly.

I am figuring out how to take better pictures in a gymnasium setting: white balance issues (most gyms are so yellow!), the lighting (ugghhh...), using my Speedlite (flash)... Still working on those action photos, though. I have some time before my girls start being full time athletes. That is when I will get serious about action photography.

Until then...here are my attempts... I LOVE capturing in-the-moment shots and true emotion. It is so fun! The kids have not seen these yet (and I still have many more to go through...).

 

   

 

   

 

The one below is my favorite one. I like the moment, and I also like how the colors turned out...and the crowd behind the action.

 

 

I photographed many other students and parts of the assembly, but I have been way too tired to go through all of the pictures.

Some day...

A REAL blog entry...old photos {revisited}

I am trying to get back into the swing of things. This past week was the first time in many, many weeks that I opened Photoshop. I used to live in PS daily! It has been nice to take a break.

I was even afraid I had forgotten everything I had spent the past 3 years learning! I have been going through some old photos, jumping around, working a little bit on this project and that project, learning more about PS...watching the program crash on me...

What is new? Ha, ha!

I have decided to make a photo book of Adilyn's birth. It is almost her 3rd birthday, and although I created a REAL scrapbook (I hate scrapbooking!) of Reilly's birth (it took me 2 years to do it!), I never did anything with Addie's pictures from the hospital.

The pictures are not anything great. I started learning photography after Addie was born (I was sick and tired of taking such crappy pictures...and knew I had to learn something). I am just going to order a photo book through Shutterfly (one of my least favorite places for anything photo-related). But like I have said, the pictures are not the greatest. I was just a mom taking pictures (with help from Dad). Since they are not the best, I am not going with the best printer out there. Shutterfly will work just fine for this project; and it will only cost me $30.

It will be an 8 X 8 book, and it will take me the next 1-2 weeks to go through all the photos, do some photo editing to attempt to make them look better (ha, ha!)...then arrange them all in an appropriate order/presentation (organize them throughout the book and choose the templates for each spread) in Shutterfly's limited template options.

I am so used to creating from scratch, so this is actually hard for me to have to conform and not have too many options!

It will be good for me. And good for Addie to finally have her baby book done. I am excited to get it back and see it.

Meanwhile, I went through some old photos and found some I thought I would post on here and share with you all. I even found one I loved...that will get printed at the pro. lab!

Below is Addie at just 4 months old. I know I have posted this one before. It is not a perfect photo. I was just beginning to learn photography in the summer of 2006. I had her on the garage floor, on my denim jacket. I just love her expression in this one.

 

Next is one of Reilly taken on Easter of 2006. She is not even 2 years-old in this one. I just found this one today. Never knew I had it! Addie was almost born!

 

Next one: Far from perfect, but I love the moment. Addie is just a baby, and Reilly is showing her some big sister love!

 

Below: Just a snapshot of my girls! I remember this warm spring day out on the deck!

 

Remember Addie's crib photos? I wish I would have known more about photography back then. A custom white balance would have helped tremendously with this one. Look at the wall color. It is actually a really pretty lavender color. I was probably a little too lazy to do a custom white balance, too. The things we learn along the way...

 

The one below of Addie has never been posted. My friend Kristin helped me take some pictures of Addie when she was right around a year old, but I never felt they were good enough to post on the blog. Now I know more and do not care if you see some of my old pictures!

Check out her preppy dress from the Gap!

 

This one below of Addie by the tree is my favorite one of the day. It was taken right around the time she turned a year old. The exposure is perfect, and I love the colors after post-processing it. I had forgotten the series of photos I took of Addie outside by the tree. I wanted to record her smallness at this stage of life. Now I am ordering it as an 8 X 12 (I do not want to have to crop it at all; plus, I love the shape of the 8 X 12 size) on styrene board...then displaying it on our mantle!

This one is a keeper!

 

The day we celebrated Addie's 2nd birthday with cupcakes. Here are Reilly and Addie just goofing off at the bar in our kitchen. I love Addie's eyes!

 

Then there is one of Reilly at Addie's actual 2nd birthday party. I have got to figure out something fun for Addie's 3rd birthday (no party, just family fun). April 25 is the BIG DAY!

 

To end, here is a quick snapshot of Addie in the car last summer. We had just gotten done hanging out at the beach (which both girls cannot WAIT to do again this year), and then the girls enjoyed a little Blue Moon ice cream...with sprinkles! Don't you love her face?

 

I have more entries to post this weekend. Stay tuned. I am feeling a little bit tired, and I have a bad cold, but I will be back to share more soon!

I also need to take some new photos! I have not touched my camera for many weeks! I was too sick! I will take some this weekend.

Thanks for looking!