365 Project - Day 91 / Familien-Fotoshooting für Neugeborene Ludwigshafen Speyer

Another busy day with family and trying to get some editing done. Since I didn't take a picture today again and have only been working on editing, I'm just going to post a slide show to the my flickr album where the edited pictures are being placed and tomorrow I plan to take a few pictures again (I have a new lens I'm looking forward to test!)



on some of the pictures there are a few different edits of the same picture. Enjoy!

365 Project - Day 90

Since we had company today and I've been busy, I will post more pictures of the photo shoot yesterday as today's picture. She's so cute anyways, she needs more than one day worth of being presented!

and just a little hint of another little girl that will be shown in some pictures if you check my flickr album in a few days:

365 Project - Day 89 my first newborn photo shoot

I just got home from my very first newborn shoot! How fun and exciting!!!

Today's picture is a sneak preview from the shoot today. I'll be posting more from this little cutie!!

(same picture with a sepia edit)

365 Project - Day 88

Today I got my set of macro filters in the mail.

I could not resist putting all four of them on my 50 mm lens and just test them out!

365 Project - Day 87

Today's pictures reflect a bit on how my day has gone.

I am excited to be doing my first newborn shoot on Thursday! I am so happy to have this opportunity but am also quite nervous about it and want to be prepared as good as I can be.

I wanted to haul out Niklas's "baby" to practice a bit on and to test out some props and different things.

 

I think the pictures speak for themselves how much success I had with that idea!

The one thing it confirmed for me was that it really is the best idea NOT to bring Niklas with to the shoot on Thursday!!

 

Luckily his big brother is home and will be taking care of him!

365 Project - Day 86

The thing that goes the farthest
Toward making life worth while,
That costs the least and does the most,
Is just a pleasant smile.

I ♥ Faces! Week 42: “Halloween Dress-Up” Photo Challenge!

"Dress up the kiddos or your spouse and start snapping away! 

It's "Halloween Dress-Up" week here at I ♥ Faces!"

Since we don't celebrate Halloween every year here in Germany (it's not celebrated as big in Germany as in North America), and no one in my family has costumes for this year so it looks like this is one of the years that we won't be celebrating, I will post a picture I took last year of Niklas with my p&s (casio exilim):

Here is my little pumpkin with his other pumpkin friends

enjoying the fall sun and having fun tasting a few leaves!

You can check out the other great entries at I ♥ Faces: http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

365 Project - Day 85

 

The Many Ways to Catch a Garden Thief:
Fairy Tale of the Smithy Riechert
On the east side of the Dardesheim mountain there is a place called Gnome-Berg where the fields are especially rich and fertile. These acres were once owned by a smithy by the name of Riechert, who planted a crop of peas there. He noticed that when the peas hung on their vine and were the most ripe and succulent, they were soon all picked. To catch the pea-thief, Riechert built a little hut in his field and watched over his crop night and day. During the night, he did not detect any change, but in the morning he saw that despite his watch, the entire field had been robbed of peas. His wasted efforts annoyed him to no end and so he decided to plow under the entire crop. When dawn broke, Smithy Riechert began his work. But he had barely plowed under half his field when he heard wretched crying. Looking down to find the source, he saw a gnome lying under the pea stalks on the ground. His skull had been bashed by the threshing blade and he was now visible because his haze or fog cap had been knocked from his head. The gnome got up quickly and fled back into the mountain.

Postscript

In fairy tale lore, gnomes are invisible because they wear a Tarnkappe or Nebelkappe (cap conferring invisibility). Nebel means fog or mist in German and connotes confusion or cloudy and muddled thinking. Gnomes love gardens and the acres they visit are always lush and bountiful. Even though they pinch the produce, it is very beneficial to have garden gnomes as regular visitors and very unlucky to drive them away. A wise farmer woos the gnomes and does what he can to keep them happy.

story credit: FairyTaleChannel.org

I ♥ Faces! Fix-It Friday

I'm a bit late this week, but I still wanted to give it a try!

This week's Fix-It Friday original picture:

My fix:

What an adorable little boy!

Working in Photoshop 7, I duplicated the layer and put it into screen mode which lightened it up a lot. I erased the areas that got too light through screen mode and then merged the two layers. I repeated this process. Then I made another duplicate layer and put a gaussian blur on it. I made it into a layer mask and painted the background as well as areas of his skin with the blur to smooth out the pixeled look from lightening it. After merging the layers and making a duplicate layer of the end result again, I did a "radiant" filter from VirtualPhotographer and then reduced the opacity to 20% and then flattened the image. I did a rotated crop on the final picture.

To see other Fix-It Friday solutions, head on over to I ♥ Face: http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/search/label/Fix-It%20Fridays

Day 84

Light Conquers Darkness

If you’re in a darkened room,
And a small candle is lit,
The darkness retreats away
From light the candle emits

If two rooms are side-by-side,
One is dark, the other, bright,
And a door opens between,
The dark is conquered by light!

So when your life seems dark,
Just remember this law:
Light always conquers darkness!
Soon the darkness will withdraw,
And your heart will become bright,
As it is filled with the light.

by Benjamin Graber

365 Project - Day 83

Tears are words the heart cant say.

365 Project - Day 82

Crêpes in Strasbourg

Niklas had to check the crêpes out.

Chocolate on it!! Niklas loves chocolate!

hmmmmmm, yummy!

  

ok, why is my plate empty already?

Crêpes in Strasbourg are SOOOOOOO yummy!!

 

 Here is a slideshow showing more pictures of our day trip to Strasbourg:

365 Project - Day 81

 Strasbourg Cathedral

The French poet and playwright Paul Claudel called the Gothic church a

"pinky-red angel hovering over the city."

Goethe declared that it to be

"composed of a thousand harmonizing details" and

"like the most sublime, wide-spreading tree of God, proclaiming the glory of the Lord."

We spent a beautiful day in Strasbourg today and since it is so late now, I will post a couple of impressions of the Strasbourg Cathedral and post more pictures of our day tomorrow.

365 Project - Day 80 Photo Shoot with Chris

My First (planned) Photo Shoot!

Today Christopher allowed me to use him as my model and practice a photo shoot! Thank you, Christopher! I took a number of pictures of him together with his guitar. It was a great learning experience for me and a fun shoot as well. A beautiful day and my son playing guitar and singing as I took his picture!!

Here is a slide show showing the 11 pictures that I have posted from today's shoot. You can also see them in my photography album (just go to the tab on top of the blog)! 
 

(If you click on the funny arrow box on the bottom right, the slide show will open up to full screen. Just click on it again when it should go back smaller!)

365 Project - Day 79

We've been going for a lot of walks lately with Niklas. I just LOVE the fall when the sun shines, the air is crisp and I feel overwhelmed with the beauty of the fall colors! I can hardly move for wanting to take pictures every step I take!

Niklas loves to run in the fields and splash through any mud puddle he can find. He's definitely an outdoor kid!

I took a few more pictures on our walk today. If you're interested in seeing them, they're in my photography album (a link to the album is on the top of the blog, or you can see them in the embedded slide show on the upper left of the blog. Click the link under the slideshow if you'd like to see the slideshow in full screen!)

365 Project - Day 78

New layout!

As you've probably noticed, my blog has a new look! It also has a new internet address, so please take note of it and change the link in your favourites if you have it saved there.

And now for today's picture:

This picture of Brianna was taken today as the sun was setting. I love how it reflects in her eyes as she watches it. I took a number of beautiful shots of her today, this is the only one that I have permission to display.

If you want to see a few more pictures from today, just take a look in my flickr album! And another new feature that I've added to the blog is the slideshow of my flickr album (upper left). You can either watch it in small version to see the latest pictures or click the link underneath for full screen version. (just click the "back" arrow on your broswer bar to get back to the blog).

365 Viewpoints - Day 77

Today's picture is a picture of my son's guitar. I took this picture yesterday, after my son played a song for me that he had composed the music to, played the guitar to, and then sang. What amazed me is how he was able to record this song so that it sounds like more than one person is singing in places and also more than one guitar is being played. He has a program on his computer that allows him to record him playing one instrument and then record again on top of that as he plays another and use the same technique for singing so that he can sing harmony to his own songs! WOW! My mommy's heart is beating proudly!

Here is the video he made to the recording of his song:

365 Project - Day 76

Santa in October?!

Santa in October?!

Santa in October?!

Santa in October?!

Santa in October?!
Santa in October?!
Santa in October?!
Santa in October?!
Santa in October?!

"...Why doesn't Santa belong at this time of year? ... Does it have to be December only? Can you feel the happiness around you?

I ask all of these questions because it stirs in me a feeling that Joy and Happiness and the feelings of goodwill towards others belongs for only a short time in the hearts and minds of many people. Once the festive season is over we pause and sigh and get back to the daily grind of life as it slowly and painfully trudges towards another season of happiness and goodwill. What happens in between? Do we have an off switch or a closet where we can hang those things and dust them off once a year?

Why do many people think that the feelings of Christmas only belong AT Christmas?

Maybe if we sat silently in a comfy quiet place for a while with our feet up and our eyes closed we could concentrate on what it feels like at Christmas. Regain the spirit!

...

Let's stop and think and start each day as if it were Christmas. Let's have the joy and peace and happiness and goodwill to all men that surrounds the earth for a short time each year.

Or.... is Christmas just about what we receive? Those who truly know and have the spirit of Christmas already know that true happiness is in the giving!!

Let's make everyday just like Christmas. ..."

(taken from Santa's Blog, "Every Day Should be Christmas")