day fifty nine

Okay, to make up for not posting yesterday's picture on time, I'll make today another two-fer, even though it isn't Tuesday!

First, we have Liam waking up from his afternoon nap to see his daddy, and is absolutely thrilled:

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/200 sec, ISO 400

 
Next, here he is making faces at me through our (rather dirty, I guess the powerwasher missed the door, lol) glass front door.  I was taking pictures of my other white flowering tree, and discovered that Liam would make for the better shot.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/320 sec, ISO 100

Okay, Internet, hopefully these are suitable reparations!

day fifty eight

Good news - I'm home, and Spring arrived while I was gone!

Bad news - I forgot to click "Publish" last night!  Internet, you can grant me a small reprieve, right?  I did take this picture as soon as I got home at twilight.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/50 sec, ISO 800

These are blossoms on my pear tree in the front yard.  I have blooms everywhere, all of my trees are white, and pink and white flowers are adorning some bushes.  Will post more in today's post!

day fifty seven

Today was, by far, the best day out of this trip to NY.  I spent time with my mother's father's side of the family (which is easily populated by my most awesome family members), and finally had the opportunity to meet Liam's newest cousin, Jason.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/320 sec, ISO 400

I love capturing moments like these.  I took several great (to me) shots today, but this particular one had to be the choice of the day.  It makes me so sad that these two (and myself and Jason's mom Samantha) are 800 miles away from each other normally, but I am hoping to coax this gorgeous family to come visit the land of sunshine and spring/fall beach weather.

Oh!  This shot is SOOC, which made me very happy!

day fifty six

I caught this shot while driving on route 9D through what I believe was Putnam County, NY.  It was snowing, and it was through a car window, but for someone who really misses picturesque New England architecture under snow cover, I had to take what I could get.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/500 sec, ISO 400

I still hope that when Bill and I retire, we end up with a house in a quaint little town in the northeast.  And I promise I will hire someone to shovel the driveway when it snows for seven weeks straight, sweetie :)

day fifty five

A disclaimer:  I did not take this picture.  My entire immediate family came over to meet Liam, some for the first time, and while I did take some pictures earlier today, I set my camera to aperture priority mode and let some people take a few candids.  My sister Erica took this picture of me and Liam, and I love it since I have so few pictures of the two of us, and there was no posing.  I was singing "Where is Thumbkin?" which always grabs his attention.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, aperture priority mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/60 sec, ISO 800

Great times were had by all, I got to meet my not-quite-two-week-old niece, Flora, and now I am ready for bed.  Glad I managed to get this picture up in time (though I did call Bill first, he takes priority over my blog <3 ) and now it's time for sleep!  I hope that I hear more from Erica and Anthony in the future :)

day fifty four

Liam and I made the switch to grandparent set #2 today, and he was very happy to spend some time with his young uncles.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/640 sec, ISO 400

There have been some technical difficulties, notably not being able to connect to my mother's wireless network with the Photoshop laptop, and then not being able to find my phone's charger which would enable me to use my phone as a USB device to transfer the blog photo to my netbook, which can connect.  After much grumbling and griping to Bill, I stormed upstairs, and my stepfather conjured up my mother's phone charger, which is compatible with my phone.  So, yay for not missing a blog day, even though the world was working against me today!

day fifty three

Further proof that my son is in love with himself.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/100 sec, ISO 800

day fifty two

Hello, six inches of snow!  *wave dejectedly at my husband in SC, where it is 80 degrees*

So, we're snowbound today.  This did not deter my mother + crew from stopping by to say hello to Liam, and fun was had by all. 

I actually had a GREAT shot today of Liam, but the, um, "prop" needed some adjusting.  It was completely unplanned, but I think I will try and stage it tomorrow, it was such a cute concept.  Anyway, you're not getting a picture of the snow, Internet, Bill would much rather see a picture of his son.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/1000 sec, ISO 400

"Dad?  Dad?  Dad!"  I will be hearing this at 3am, I suspect.

day fifty one

Liam didn't sleep much over the past 24 hours, so another short post.  We visited Mahopac today, where a cousin of Bill's threw herself a lovely birthday party.  We socialized, and I ogled the view outside her back deck, where people were ice fishing and sledding on the lake.

Yes, I did post pictures of gorgeous flowers in near 70 degree weather not two days ago.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/2500 sec, ISO 100

I hope I can get another picture of this view later this year, if we visit in the fall - absolutely stunning.

day fifty

Sorry day fifty, though you are a milestone day (and my son's eleventh month birthday), you will not be receiving a nice long post.  I am beyond beat.  Liam, however, was not.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/80 sec, ISO 800

Not particularly thrilled with the grainy turnout, I think I need to tweak my laptop Photoshop settings, ugh.  This will not happen tonight.  Goodnight all.

day forty nine

I need to pack, so this post will be of the short and sweet variety.  Simply put...

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/1250 sec, ISO 100

...why the heck am I going to NYC in February when I can stay home in the near-70 degree weather and ogle my flowers?

Yeah, I don't know either.

Editing my post to add one more picture... maybe looking at these will cheer me up in the bleary northern weather.

day forty eight

Back to our regular scheduled Thursday cake decorating!  No cake this week, we decided it was time to play with gum paste and fondant.  For the record, gum paste + fondant = a sticky, yet dry, mess.  It was not fun.  Michelle and I swore up and down that we will avoid the stuff in the future, I think we both secretly considered chucking the gum paste and using modeling clay instead, and finally decided that today would be our first and final attempt at using this stuff to sculpt the frog, who will headline the cake.  I think he turned out rather cute.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/100 sec, ISO 200

We spent WAY more time doing this than we anticipated, so I snapped this picture before it dried - his skin should be a tad less blotchy when he makes his cake debut.  With two women working almost nonstop on him, it took us roughly... 3 hours.  Yeah, he better keep his act together till mid-March in Michelle's fridge.

It's bokeh'd out, but next to him is a rather lovely gum paste lily.  We will be playing around with these, and lilypads, in two weeks!

day forty seven

I brought my camera to our playdate today, snapped around thirty pictures, and there's maybe only three tops that I like.  I really like the composition of this one, not so much the blown highlights, but honestly I don't feel they are too bad considering they aren't on someone's face, but through a bright glass door.  I will admit that for a moment it made me think of our kids greeting a brightly shining UFO while Annabelle occupied herself with examining the floor, or possibly a shoe.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/160 sec, ISO 200

This picture would have been much better if I didn't cut off Annabelle's fabulous legs (she beats Liam in height by a few inches though she is a month younger), but I plead to you, O Internet, forgive me because I am not quite used to using this lens!  If you've been following this blog, you would know that most of my shots with my kit lens (now sitting and moping in a corner, singing ...all by myself....) were taken at 18mm.  I rarely used the max focal length of 55mm, so I need to get used to composing pictures from what seems like the other end of the house.  I'll get there, I promise.

day forty six

Whew - I almost forgot to make my blog post today.  However, I did remember to take pictures - how could I not, with this awesome lens (love you, sweetie!).

When Bill came home from work and Liam decided to wake up from his afternoon nap, we took a walk to the nearby, newly renovated park in our development.  Being newly renovated, it was pretty crowded, and while I am not antisocial I did not want to have Liam get trampled on while he figured out just what wood chips were.  Instead, we walked to the baseball field, where we were soon treated with a father and his two young sons practicing ball.  Liam was entranced with the "game," though not quite enough to get him to crawl on this stuff called grass.  He wouldn't even crawl to his father, which shows off his (inherited from mom) stubborn streak, though he did spend some time considering it.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/160 sec, ISO 100

I played around with this one in Photoshop a bit, to make it a bit more vintage-looking.  Honestly, with all the kids playing outside, a dad playing baseball with his sons, and happy people sitting around chatting at the picnic tables, it reminded me a bit of older times, so this photo is a tribute to the feeling of this afternoon.

day forty five

Let Day Forty Five be henceforth known as... awesome.

My husband craftily set up my gift before he left for work this morning.  I, being preoccupied with preparing Valentine's Day goodies for him, did not notice it till an hour ago.

On my camera was a NEW LENS.  Oh Em Gee.  He did really well, and in honor of this, today will be another two-fer.

Using Nikon 50mm f1.4G, manual mode, f/1.4, shutter speed 1/400 sec, ISO 200

I can tell I will have oh-so-much fun with this lens.  And also wish my formal living room was a tad bigger because WOW, I need to stand across the room.

day forty four

Bill and I felt that Liam would enjoy playing in the backyard infinitely more if he had a pair of soft-soled shoes, so we picked up a pair today, then let him loose outside.  After playing with our outdoor cat, Spooky, he made a beeline for the nearest bush to investigate.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/60 sec, ISO 200

It was wonderful to be able to follow him around, exploring the littlest things like acorn caps (had to make sure those didn't end up in his mouth) and sticker balls (I'm a bit shocked he didn't drop it immediately), and without fear brave the wide, unfamiliar world.  I was on the ground a lot myself, and I suspect he felt that the backyard was immense, but he didn't fear it.  He isn't one of these children (yet) that dislikes the feel of grass on bare skin, and took great pleasure in choosing leaves to hold up to the sky and see their dark silhouette.  Absolutely wonderful.

day forty three

Another beautiful day in Charleston, and we did our best to spend most of it outdoors - we treated ourselves to some great sushi for lunch (and Liam enjoyed looking at the indoor waterfall/koi pond), picked up a few more decorations for his upcoming birthday festivities, sampled some paint for our upcoming house painting (I hope I settle on a shade of white soon), and went out for a walk in our neighborhood.

I took this picture down by the pool and playground.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/60 sec, ISO 100

I absolutely love this picture.  I'm glad I chose to render it in black and white, and it really shows the resemblance of father and son <3

day forty two

Today I brought my camera to my Friday group.  It's held at a local hospital, and is a support (or for me, socializing) group for breastfeeding moms.  All of the girls and babies from our Wednesday meetups are here, plus more, and good times are had by all.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/200 sec, ISO 1600

Liam reminded me of an old school heart throb in this shot, which is cute since we had a little Valentine party at the group today.  Therefore, I gave good ol' black and white a shot (which also helps out some of the noise from shooting in low light in ISO 1600).  My apologies for some limb cutoffs here, though I deserve some props for holding my camera steady while my son used me as a climbing wall!

day forty one

I almost screwed up, and procrastinated taking a picture in the daytime today.  It was already losing light fast in my house, so I rushed outside into my rather unimpressive winter garden.  I do have a really nice japanese maple that I will take a picture of soon, but I wanted to save that for another day. 

I live in the South yet hail from the North, and my Facebook wall has been completely bombarded with everyone griping about snow.  They are completely justified, and I am really hoping I don't get hit with a storm on my trip up north in a few weeks.  Anyway, taking a picture of my yard would probably elicit remarks along the lines of, "Pffft!  You can see the ground!" but nothing more than that.

However, these have been poking up in my flowerbeds for the past few weeks, haha!

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/60 sec, ISO 800

I don't even know what sort of bulbs these will be.  Daffodils?  Tulips?  I should have taken better notice last year, since I wasn't the person who planted them, however, my stomach was the size of a large watermelon, and I didn't notice much in front of me, including my own feet no matter how hard I tried.  I'm grateful I didn't stampede over them.

Also, northerners, notice the leaves?  Sure, sure, you have to plow snow a couple of times, but we've been raking leaves since October... and they're still here.  And they're not even pretty leaves - they have an unattractive shape, and go from green straight to brown.  Some are still up in the trees, mocking me, and will not fall till the new buds finally force them off the branches.  I will be raking in the spring.  So, pffft!

day forty

Today Liam and I ventured out to our weekly Wednesday playgroup.  I think both of us were really looking forward to this, since January was the month of sick babies, and we all stayed home.  My friend Mary Ann usually hosts, and there was a huge turnout today.

Liam was being his normal latchy self, but soon discovered one of his favorite things - a glass door.  Liam, Mary Ann's daughter Annabelle, and Jessica's daughter Jordie decided it would be a wonderful thing to investigate - which secretly made me happy, since there is fantastic lighting at the door.

I have some adorable pictures of the two girls, but they will be on Facebook only, since I neglected to ask their moms if I could post them on my blog (including a scandalous one where Annabelle was checking out my son's considerable derriere, it's cute and in good taste Bill, in case you are reading this at work, haha!) so just Liam it is.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/60 sec, ISO 800

And there is the sad proof that my child still needs a binky in public places, sigh.

Edit: Okay, I try not to edit posts unless I do something ridiculous, like add a zero to my shutter speed or something, but Annabelle's mom JUST said I could post her pic, so here it is!  Maybe posting two pictures today will give me a day off in the future?  :p

She is just too flippin adorable for words!  And incidentally, these two young ladies were so, SO happy to smile for my camera.  I hope this particular fondness rubs off on my son, who usually requires a minimum of fifty shots per day.

day thirty nine

It felt like a brisk autumn day, so I ventured outside...   Yes, I said autumn.  Sixty degrees, and I'm still raking up leaves.  Anyway, we had a bit of rain this week, and I have been wanting to take a picture of the birdbath that is the centerpiece of our mossy side yard - it's way too shaded to grow grass, so it embraces what it can.  I dearly wished for it to embrace a vegetable and herb garden, bit it was not meant to be.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/250 sec, ISO 100

The lighting in this part of the yard is very dappled, and while I believe the composition was good, the colors were rather blah.  I ended up using Boost and Lovely & Ethereal actions from PW's set, and think it came out rather pretty - I like how the greater contrast emphasizes the cracks and blemishes on the birdbath.

day thirty eight

I finally got around to taking Liam's valentine picture today - even got them printed, and put in the mail. 

Since I also received a fairly large box of 18mo - 2T clothing as well, not much else got done today, so here's that picture!

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/60 sec, ISO 800

day thirty seven

It's a beautiful Charleston day outside, and I decided to take a picture of one of our front yard trees.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 45mm, manual mode, f/5.3, shutter speed 1/1250 sec, ISO 100

day thirty six

Another busy day, but I followed through and took a picture while it was still light outside.

I'm beginning to think that Liam spends too much time watching the cats, who in turn spend all day watching the squirrels outside our picture window.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/60 sec, ISO 800

I am very pleased with the sharpness SOOC in this picture.  I was following Liam around the room, however, and ended up forgetting to check for correct exposure when he approached the window, hence the shutter speed.  I'm shocked it came out as crisp as it did with 1/60 though!

day thirty five

Day thirty five will not be known as "Best picture of the year," that's for sure.  I really, really need to stop procrastinating during the day, even though Fridays happen to be fairly busy around here.

So, here's some brownies - Ghirardelli, dark chocolate, with chocolate chips, if you want to know.  They look, and taste, a lot better than what you will see here.  I will go off to hang my head in shame now... with a brownie.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/60 sec, ISO 800

This picture totally doesn't do justice to my soapstone countertops, either. 

day thirty four

Liam did not seem particularly thrilled with much of anything today.  Even this crazy ball my mother bought him failed to keep his attention.  I think he was giving Nature a nasty look, demanding to know where yesterday's 75 degree F weather went.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/100 sec, ISO 800

Meh, he's adorable even when he shoots nasty looks :)

day thirty three

Oh, how I love thee, Photoshop actions.  I've been reading up on actions the past few days, and happily downloaded some pre-written actions from The Pioneer Woman.  After a gorgeous eye tutorial, I came up with the picture below.  My son also has a noticeable, self-inflicted gash on his nose, which I mostly removed in Camera Raw.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/80 sec, ISO 800

I am a very, very happy photoshop user!  Now to improve my composition, which will be my challenge this week.  This will involve me clearing the floor of random plastic bags (which I should do anyway) and cats.

day thirty two

Bill decided he would like to play around with the camera today!  While he did get a very slow shutter speed, considering that he was holding the camera, I still think it was a sweet shot.

Using kit lens 18-55mm at 18mm, manual mode, f/3.5, shutter speed 1/8 sec, ISO 800

Liam had only one nap today, so by 6pm, this was his condition.  I had gone out to get my hair cut, so my job upon arriving home was to rock him for a little while.  Don't worry, he woke up in time to express his displeasure with dinner :p