Thursday, July 31, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Preview for Tania
Yesterday I shot engagement photos for Tania and Scott. Despite sorta gloomy overcast weather, we walked around the gorgeous grounds of the Crown Plaza Ravinia and got some good ones.
Here's a first look from their session...
Here's a first look from their session...
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Levi turns 5
Friday the family got together at my sister's house to celebrate my nephew Levi's 5th birthday. This year he really wanted a Transformer cake. So he got a sheet cake from Publix, with a transformer Ironman on it. (Notice the two-birds-with-one-stone approach: cake AND present in one!)
Due to the (unsurprising) mental blank that occurred to Aunt Nina at the grocery store, there were no birthday candles. So Paula improvised with some household candles...luckily, there were 5 of them. Levi didn't seem to care--he was just eager to get past the singing and all so he could get his hands on Ironman.
Or should I say his hands and his tongue! To his credit, he began by politely wiping the icing off with his fingers...I'm the one that egged him on to lick the icing off.
Caleb very animatedly telling one of his stories. Don't remember what it was about, but he was waving his spoon to punctuate his point.
Ironman took the opportunity to partake of the cake and ice cream....
before it was time for him to transform into airplane form. WHO KNEW that was going to be so hard to figure out!? The direction sheet showed how to transform the figure from a plan to Ironman, but not the reverse, so I started at the last step and tried to reverse engineer the process. After getting a few parts folded or twisted into place, I was totally stymied and gave up. This is guy stuff, so I sent him to Papa. I think the look on my Dad's face says it all:
(He was probably thinking, "Back in my day we whittled toy guns out of sticks. Much simpler!)
Then my sister took a turn. Come to find out, she opened the package and transformed the plane to Ironman so he could go on the cake. Having already fiddled with it once, and with the vast experience she's gained due to 3 boys and 6 years experience dealing with these types of toys, I thought she'd have it in mere minutes.
Not so much.
Little Bit wanted to go out of doors, and frankly, needed the outlet, so I took him outside. His abso-most-favorite thing in the whole world right now is his phone. Or any phone he can lay his little paws on. But the current yellow plastic one, rarely, if ever, leaves his hand.
When we came back inside, I am sorry to report that Ironman was STILL in superfigure, not plane, form. I had been outside with Ian for at least 20-30 minutes, and at this point the toy had been handled by me, Paula, and Dad. Three adults had been unable to successfully figure it out! Now Caleb had jumped in and was trying to do it. [The irony of this, to me, is that in another 24 hours or so Levi will probably have it down pat and be able to make his Ironman figure alternate between superdude and plane in seconds, like an army recruit trained to break down and reassemble an AK-47.]
We went ahead with the other gifts. Mom and I suppressed a groan at the realization that THEIR gift was yet another toy that transforms, a Star Wars figure that alternates between Emperial fighter and Darth Vader.
He also got a dinosaur puppet, technically from Aunt Nina but courtesy of my friend Dana, who gave me several bags of things for Paula and the boys. I set the dino aside to be a present.
It didn't take long for an epic battle to occur between the latest additons to the boy universe. Kinda like Mothra versus Ironman.
It wasn't pretty.
There's a tree between Paula's yard and her neighbor's that is bending over from the weight of all the apples on it's branches. They're tart, crisp, really good apples, so we went out there and filled up a few bags.
And Ian "helped," of course, ever present phone in hand. That involved throwing the blemish-free apples on the ground with the bad ones as soon as we picked them, giving his Grammy a heart attack by falling off the ladder, and repeatedly stretching for the ones completely beyond his reach. But then he carried the bag over his shoulder like a trouper, and it was SO cute. It was a good day.
Due to the (unsurprising) mental blank that occurred to Aunt Nina at the grocery store, there were no birthday candles. So Paula improvised with some household candles...luckily, there were 5 of them. Levi didn't seem to care--he was just eager to get past the singing and all so he could get his hands on Ironman.
Or should I say his hands and his tongue! To his credit, he began by politely wiping the icing off with his fingers...I'm the one that egged him on to lick the icing off.
Caleb very animatedly telling one of his stories. Don't remember what it was about, but he was waving his spoon to punctuate his point.
Ironman took the opportunity to partake of the cake and ice cream....
before it was time for him to transform into airplane form. WHO KNEW that was going to be so hard to figure out!? The direction sheet showed how to transform the figure from a plan to Ironman, but not the reverse, so I started at the last step and tried to reverse engineer the process. After getting a few parts folded or twisted into place, I was totally stymied and gave up. This is guy stuff, so I sent him to Papa. I think the look on my Dad's face says it all:
(He was probably thinking, "Back in my day we whittled toy guns out of sticks. Much simpler!)
Then my sister took a turn. Come to find out, she opened the package and transformed the plane to Ironman so he could go on the cake. Having already fiddled with it once, and with the vast experience she's gained due to 3 boys and 6 years experience dealing with these types of toys, I thought she'd have it in mere minutes.
Not so much.
Little Bit wanted to go out of doors, and frankly, needed the outlet, so I took him outside. His abso-most-favorite thing in the whole world right now is his phone. Or any phone he can lay his little paws on. But the current yellow plastic one, rarely, if ever, leaves his hand.
When we came back inside, I am sorry to report that Ironman was STILL in superfigure, not plane, form. I had been outside with Ian for at least 20-30 minutes, and at this point the toy had been handled by me, Paula, and Dad. Three adults had been unable to successfully figure it out! Now Caleb had jumped in and was trying to do it. [The irony of this, to me, is that in another 24 hours or so Levi will probably have it down pat and be able to make his Ironman figure alternate between superdude and plane in seconds, like an army recruit trained to break down and reassemble an AK-47.]
We went ahead with the other gifts. Mom and I suppressed a groan at the realization that THEIR gift was yet another toy that transforms, a Star Wars figure that alternates between Emperial fighter and Darth Vader.
He also got a dinosaur puppet, technically from Aunt Nina but courtesy of my friend Dana, who gave me several bags of things for Paula and the boys. I set the dino aside to be a present.
It didn't take long for an epic battle to occur between the latest additons to the boy universe. Kinda like Mothra versus Ironman.
It wasn't pretty.
There's a tree between Paula's yard and her neighbor's that is bending over from the weight of all the apples on it's branches. They're tart, crisp, really good apples, so we went out there and filled up a few bags.
And Ian "helped," of course, ever present phone in hand. That involved throwing the blemish-free apples on the ground with the bad ones as soon as we picked them, giving his Grammy a heart attack by falling off the ladder, and repeatedly stretching for the ones completely beyond his reach. But then he carried the bag over his shoulder like a trouper, and it was SO cute. It was a good day.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Bonnie and her bunch
I wanted to post a few more of my friend Bonnie and her family. They were such a great bunch and I enjoyed shooting them so much.
Friday, July 11, 2008
More Baby D
So I'm still going through the photos from Baby D's shoot last week. Here are a few more..
Yesterday Mom came over for a bit, and we went shopping. Before we left I had her sit down at the computer and scroll through the images to give me her feedback. (As a grandmother, she IS somewhat my target deomographic!) Even though this little guy isn't her grandbaby, when she starting ooohing and aaahhing, I knew I was on the right track.
His mom put him in an adorable t-shirt and shorts set with his initital embroidered on them. Isn't that cute?
At only 3 months, his head and neck aren't too strong yet, but I gotta say, he handled tummy time like a champ. He stayed on his belly, getting propped up periodically by me and his mom, for long enough to get several good shots. What a trooper!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Serious thoughts....at only 3 months old
Had to post one more of D. His mom was a bit disappointed that his usual morning session of smiling and cooing occurred earlier than usual (as in, before I arrived at their house!). But hey, it just means I get to come back and catch him when he's gurgly and happy.
In the meantime, we got some very serious expressions out of the little guy. Who says babies don't have a lot on their minds?
One shot.....a multitude of looks
Even though I knew Photoshop was a tool capable of a lot more than I had previously tapped into, now I'm even more aware. And amazed. Not to mention thrilled and really excited at what I can learn to do. I've aware of the tendency some graphic designers and photographers have to overdo it, so I plan to be judicious with my edits, and probably get lots of feedback along the way. After all, as a freelance photographer shooting mainly people, the goal is to make them look good....themselves but better. Ideally the image should appeal because it captures the subject, and any Photoshop editing should enhance that, without distracting.
Now, about the feedback....here we go. Here's a shot from my recent visit with 3 month old D. His mom is a friend, so I've already gotten to shoot this little guy several times. (He may be a frequent "test model" as I work on expanding my skills!) After making a few standard edits of my own, I applied a variety of "recipes" of effects or filters to get a specific look.
Here is the basic image, followed by the different effects. Let me know which ones you like!
Now, about the feedback....here we go. Here's a shot from my recent visit with 3 month old D. His mom is a friend, so I've already gotten to shoot this little guy several times. (He may be a frequent "test model" as I work on expanding my skills!) After making a few standard edits of my own, I applied a variety of "recipes" of effects or filters to get a specific look.
Here is the basic image, followed by the different effects. Let me know which ones you like!
PW's B&W
B&W Beauty
Soft Focus
Soft and Faded
Lovely and Ethereal
Beautifier
Some very handsome guys
A few more for Bonnie....just because I'm a night person and am STILL sitting here at the computer and I can't help myself! :)
Monday, July 7, 2008
Marr Family - First Look
First, an apology to my dear friend Bonnie for the inexcusably LONG wait for the photos from the shoot with her kids. Although I thought I had a laptop on the way, and the software upgrade I would need, AND the ability to connect the new laptop to my existing internet connection.....well, let's just say that everything seemed to conspire against me. So at long last, there's finally something to show from our lovely shoot bear their home.
Since this entire process of shooting RAW files, loading them into Adobe Camera Raw for initial edits before Photoshop, etc., is new to me, I'm very much in a learning curve and each photo will probably take longer than it should. So I'll probably be posting photos all week! Here's the first one of Morgan, using a cool finishing effect.
Since this entire process of shooting RAW files, loading them into Adobe Camera Raw for initial edits before Photoshop, etc., is new to me, I'm very much in a learning curve and each photo will probably take longer than it should. So I'll probably be posting photos all week! Here's the first one of Morgan, using a cool finishing effect.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Caleb and Aunt Nina
Caleb and Aunt Nina
Originally uploaded by Nina Parker Photography
Our family celebrated Independence Day in traditional but low-key fashion: Papa put hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, Grammy whipped up her fantastic potato salad, I made red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, and my sister bought some simple fireworks for my nephews. The boys were also REALLY excited about their new movie, "The Spyderwick Chronicles." After dinner we watched half the movie, went outside to shoot off the fireworks in the driveway, then finished the movie. I'll post a few more photos in the next day or so, but here's a sweet moment I got between my oldest nephew and myself.....I LOVE being an Aunt!!
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