365 Project - Day 121

Why God Made Little Boys

God made the world out of His dreams

Of magic mountains, oceans and streams,

Prairies and plans and wooded land,

Then paused and thought “I need someone to stand

On top of mountains, to conquer the seas,

Explore the plains and climb the trees.

Someone to start out small and to grow,

Sturdy, strong as a tree…” And so,

He created boys, full of spirit and fun,

To explore and conquer, to romp and run.

With dirty faces and banged up chins,

With courageous hearts and boyish grins.

When He had completed the task He’d begun

        He surely said “A job well done”.   

 

http://www.babysite.org/babysite/sidene/poems3.htm 

365 Project - Day 120

Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt,
Bald kommt die frohe, selige Zeit.
Weihnacht, Weihnacht ist nicht mehr weit.

"Many Germans celebrate the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas with a lighted Advent wreath; every Sunday in December, a new candle on the wreath is lit, and many families sing Christmas carols and eat cookies or a piece of "Stollen", a traditional German Christmas cake.

The Advent wreath was "invented" by Johann Hinrich Wichern, a German pastor, who founded an orphanage in Hamburg in 1833.

During the weeks leading up to Christmas, the children would ask him daily if Christmas had arrived. To make the wait easier, Wichern came up with his magical Christmas countdown, and he made his first Advent wreath out of an old cartwheel and small candles."
http://gogermany.about.com/od/historyandculture/tp/germanchristmastraditions.htm

365 Project - Day 119

My Family

After 10 days of at least one of us being sick, it was great to get outside again (even if it was raining!) and I even managed to get everyone together for a quick family picture!

this was a few moments before the "official" picture:

365 Project - Day 118

After a 15 year break, I decided to dig out my knitting needles and start knitting a few little props for my baby foto shoots. Being sick was actually a good opportunity to see if I still knew how to knit!

It all started with me seeing cute baby pictures with a knitted "cocoon". I really wanted one, but soon realised that while they are being sold in North America for baby photography, they have not yet reached Germany (not that I could find anyways!).  So I decided to see how difficult and time consuming it would be to knit it myself. I bought myself a pattern and am waiting for the knitting needles to arrive that I need for knitting it and being the impatient person I am, I decided to start knitting to practice up. So now I have a little light airy blanket and a little hat with ears. I want to knit the cocoon in the same wool I used for the hat... when the needles finally arrive!

Will be taking a break for a few days.

Due to sickness, I'll be taking a break from my 365 Photo Project for a few days.

I hope to be up and taking pictures again soon!

Day 114: I ♥ Faces! Week 46 - "Sun Flare" Photo Challenge

"We are enamored with sun flare in photos...it's one of our very favorite things!

Each photo entry this week should have sun flare in it and a face. :) Since we are all about faces here at I ♥ Faces, at least part of a face must be clearly visible in your entry."

While I was taking pictures of my son, he happened to move his head a bit and suddenly the sun shone through. Although, it was an accidental shot, I love the way the rays enveloped his face and made the whole picture look so dreamy and romantic.

To see more great entries, be sure to visit I ♥ Faces at http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

365 Project - Day 113

Since we're all sick today, I am adding a picture taken from one of our walks last week. I think I love all the little wild flowers that sprout and grow with whatever little bit of sunshine and warmth they can find. Everything is brown and dried up with winter fast approaching, and yet this picture feels like "spring" to me and this little flower is busy blooming and not caring that it's actually almost winter!

365 Project - Day 112

On our daily walks, we come across so many different types of tractors. This one is Niklas's favourite at the moment. It's just a little tiny one, tucked away in an open barn. It's seat has an old blanket on it, and in some places rope or bungie rope are holding parts of it together. He loves sitting on it making "broom brooooOOM" noises as drives along the imaginary fields of his mind.

365 Project - Day 111

It was such a beautiful day today! Much more like spring, than fall. But, fall is obviously here and busy preparing for winter to arrive soon. Instead of greens, there is a lot of gold and red. The one thing that really makes it feel like fall/winter to me when we take our walks, are the endless rows of water pipes that the farmers have taken off their fields for the winter months. These pipes are now stacked up beside the little field roads that Niklas and I take our daily walks along.

365 Project - Day 110

I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I'm not afraid to look behind them.

(Elizabeth Taylor)

365 Project - Day 109

"I am... a mushroom; On whom the dew of heaven drops now and then" 

(John Ford)

365 Project - Day 108 fantasy picture

Today's picture is another fantasy picture.

This one is fresh out of photoshop and on it's way via hotmail to this sweet little girl! Enjoy!!

365 Project - Day 107 fantasy picture

What grows in the garden, so lovely and rare?
Roses and Dahlias and people grow there.
-   From the TV show A Gardener's Diary

I ♥ Faces! Week 43: WEEK 45 - November 16th - "Autumn Beauty"

This week's challenge is all about capturing a photo of a person surrounded by the beautiful colors of autumn.

Here is my entry this week:

My kids and I were out for a walk on a typical fall day. It was windy, but beautiful outside.
This is my daughter. I love how the wind was playing with her hair as we walked.

Check out the other entries at I ♥ Faces: http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/2009/11/week-45-photo-challenge-autumn-beauty.html

365 Project - Day 106

ENJOY the simple things in life!

365 Project - Day 105

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!

If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it!

So, if you're happy and you know it, CLAP YOUR HANDS!!!!!

365 Project - Day 104 - Fotoshooting Baby Kleinkind Fotograf Ludwigshafen Speyer

I did take lots of pictures today, but I am not allowed to show any of them right now. (shhhhhh it's a secret!)

Since those pictures can't be shown, I will post this picture:

 (don't you just love baby feet!)

and a slideshow showing the pictures of the edits I've done so far on the photo shoot from yesterday. Enjoy!



and the link to the album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantasiaphotos/sets/72157622788218754/

365 Project - Day 103 - Fotoshooting Baby Kleinkind Ludwigshafen Speyer

Today I had a photo shoot with this little sweetheart with her big brother and mommy! This is just a very short sneak preview. Keep your eyes open for another post dedicated to this fun shoot!

365 Project - Day 102

365 Project - Day 101

♥ My Family ♥

Yesterday we set up my new softbox and tried to take a family picture. It went ok, but we need practice! We tried to figure out a way to get Niklas to look at the camera even though no one was standing by the camera. We set up a phone to ring right by the camera with the hope he'd look there and smile. As the phone started ringing, he did look there but a second later he was also trying to jump off my lap to go get to the phone! We'll have to keep thinking of ideas on this one! If anyone has tips how to keep a toddler sitting still, smiling nicely and looking at the camera while no one is by the camera, PLEASE be kind enough to leave them here as a comment!

4 edits of the same picture:

365 Project - Day 100

I got a new softbox today and of course had to test it out! I'm pretty happy with the lighting, although it still does not beat natural lighting. But, with fall/winter fully here and lots of dark grey days with hardly any light getting in through the windows, this is a great help! It came just in time for my next baby/toddler photo shoot coming up on Thursday!

365 Project - Day 99 - Menno Cup!

Yesterday I got to be the photographer at the Menno Cup!

The Kohlhof Kickers were this years Menno Cup winners for a record breaking third year in a row!

If you're interested in reading more about the Menno Cup (I hope you can read/understand German) here is a link: http://der-mennocup.de/

and here is a slide show showing pictures of the other teams as well as a few impressions of the day:

365 Project - Day 98

I have such a weakness for brownie dough.....

and guess who else does!

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm yummmmmmmmmy!!!!

365 Project - Day 97

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.

Ronald. E. Osborn

I ♥ Faces! Fix-It Friday

We got such a pretty girl to work with this week!

Here is the original picture:

 and here is my fix:

There wasn't too much I did to fix it up. I rotated it and brightened it up a bit using curves then did a seperate curves layer for her eyes just to make them even more brighter. Added a flattery layer from VirtualPhotagrapher at 30% opacity and used a big soft eraser brush to erase it from the middle of her face. I love how the sky is being reflected in her eyes!!

and then I decided to just give it a bit of a frame:

to see more great "fixes" be sure to visit I ♥ Faces: http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

365 Project - Day 96

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change,
courage to change
the things I can
and the wisdom
to know the difference.

Author Reinhold Niebuhr

365 Project - Day 95

I couldn't resist doing another macro picture for today. I loved how the sky is reflected in the big water drop on the bottom left petal and I was surprised to see a little fly snuck into the picture in the upper right corner!

365 Project - Day 94 Macro Delight

Today I was testing out my macro filters for my 50 mm lens and doing an informal test comparison. I love these macro filters and love the soft feeling they give to the picture! If you're interested in seeing all the test shots from today, just go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantasiaphotos/sets/72157622600667633/ or take a look at the slide show from this album:
*I just noticed that the information about which lens I used and what I did with the picture is not showing on the slide show so if you do want to know which lens/filter(s) were being used for the picture, you will have to go to the link of the album I posted above.*


Just had to add an extra for today yet! Here is an edit I did on one of the pictures following a tutorial from  I ♥ Faces " In the Fairy Garden" http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/2009/10/inspiration-in-fairy-garden.html

I ♥ Faces! Week 43: WEEK 43 - November 2nd - "Balloons"

This weeks's photo challenge theme at I ♥ Faces is "Balloons". 

This is a picture of Niklas taken last year on his first birthday. We had decorated the house with balloons and the first fun thing he experienced on his birthday was the joy and excitement of batting the balloons that were hanging around.

More great entires can be seen at: I ♥ Faces http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

365 Project - Day 93

Finger Painting

Gooey and messy, our slippery fingers drip.

Don't step on dad's long shirt; you might trip!

What these pictures are, I haven't a clue:

Blogs of red and splashes of blue,

A swirl of yellow, some purple dots,

Big black squares with orange spots.

No need to be careful, or stay in the lines.

No need to read them, they're not signs.

Use all the colors, every single one.

You'll have a finger painting when you're done!

(by Peg Connelly)