Slideshow, Maria & Andy's Wedding Day Memories

Here Maria is talking about her Bridal Session with a friend who attended her wedding.  It turned out so beautifully.  We used an easil that was provided by the Reception Hall to display Maria's 16x20 framed Bridal Portrait.This is Maria & Andy's Engagement Photo that was on display at the Reception Hall after the Wedding. Press play to watch a short slideshow of some of the photographs I captured on their Wedding Day.

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Day 101 of 365, Cup of Flour

Day 101 of 365,  Mom has been the historian and directory pictorial photographer for her church since she joined Riverside.   The church is wanting to publish an updated directory so she asked me to help her set up studio lighting in one of the classrooms.  Once the lighting is in place, the whole process goes pretty quickly as the members and their family come to have their pictures taken.   I did help her set up the lighting and we took test pics of each other to check for shadow and correct skin tones.  Some of those test pics are doozies.  Oh, my goodness.  I picked out a few 'choice' pics of her and told her they would be perfect for my blog.  :P   I had to rethink that idea because she said she was going to get my 'best' pics and post them.  I called her bluff because she doesn't have a blog.    I taunted her with , "Where ya gonna post mine?"  Promptly, she replied,  "Everywhere!"  whoa nelly!  She trumped my threat because all I could picture was my goofy pics posted on the corner grocery store window.  Uh, no thank you!  Did I say doozies?  Yeah,  what I meant to say was dooooo-zeeees!  So, too bad, no lighting test pics for the blog because the lighting test pics are in the Recycle Bin!

So, I will post my  Daily Photo Challenge.  Subject:  Uncooked Food. 

One heaping cup of Self Rising Flour. 

I just thought of something.  Remember that old commercial where the lady had been goofing off all day and then she realized the family would soon be home for dinner?  She hustles to fix something fast and easy then before serving it, she threw a little flour in her own face.  That is a pretty good idea if you ask me.  I might need to try that one.  When our kids were little, my former sister-in-law and I would either 'run the roads' or talk on the phone all day.  So, just before our husbands came home, we would run dump some strong smelling cleaner like pine-sol in the toilet right before they walked in.  Hey, this works girls.  You gotta try it.  Your hubby will walk in, take a big whiff and say, "I can tell you've been cleaning all day!"  :)shhhhhh...Ancient Chinese Secret! 

Day 100 of 365, Old Gourd Birdhouse

Uploaded for Our Daily Challenge, Subject: Something in your neighbor's yard, April 19, 2010

OK, I had not done the challenge and it was 10 pm. I put my rubber boots on and tromped across my yard into the neighbor's yard. There is a crepe myrtle tree that is close to our property line and I happened to notice this thingamajig hanging down. I could tell that it had the shape of a gourd so I pointed my camera at it. I was really hoping that it was not a nest of killer bees. That thought really went through my head because I literally could not see. My eyes had probably not adjusted to the dark and the only available light was coming faintly from my neighbor's little porch light. I snapped the pic and in the lcd viewer, I saw this decrepit, cracked up, paint peeling, probably long forgotten little gourd birdhouse hanging from the tiny branch. There you go. I will have to call this my challenge shot "from my neighbor's yard."

photo recipe: 50mm f 5.6 iso 800 2 sec exposure, accessory flash

Do I sound smart like I knew what I was doing? Actually, I put my camera in the night scene mode and held the shutter until I forced it to release and fired the flash. Then, I was outa there! I was scared a wild cat was going to jump out of the bushes and claw my face off. Why does one's imagination go crazy in the dark of night?

update:  I posted this to my flickr site.  I was cracking up laughing at some of the responses.  Some said I was very brave and dedicated to the challenge.  One called me a prowler!  heheee.  One lady told me that it looked like an ugly baby!  lol!!!!  Yeah, we like to keep it real!  I wrote back and told her I agreed.  I thought it looks like an ugly baby but it was my baby so I had to keep it.  :)  I love my photog flickr buddies.  They make me laugh all the time.

Kayla and Trevor

Here are a few cute pics of Kayla and Trevor that I captured today.

Day 96 of 365, Vehicle Troubles...

Day 96 of 365, Yesterday, Karmyn got in her car, started it up and backed out of the driveway and realized she couldn't steer the vehicle.  She used my car to drive to school.  Terry has been working long hours so I didn't want to bother him with vehicle trouble.   This morning, I decided to go see Darren Carrol, owner of Watson Auto Parts.  I knew that Darren would check to see if I simply needed to replenish the steering fluid.  Well, Darren walked out to my car and said, "There is your problem right there."  He was pointing to a belt that was hanging loosely under my car.  So, I was in the right place.  I purchased the belt.  After I checked out, I walked back to ask Darren another question.  I needed to know if I would be able to drive the car back home.  He looked up from his reference books and saw the man standing behind me.  He asked the man, "Hey, ya wanna make some money?"  I looked around and I saw a man in a striped work shirt with the name, Ronnie, on the patch.  He smiled and took the belt and I showed him where I was parked.  He started working on installing the new belt while I sat on the curb watching.   He had routed the belt but did not have the tools that he really needed to set the tension.  So, he told me to wheel around and drive across the street to Tommy's Automotive. 

Tommy was nice enough to let Ronnie borrow a couple tools.  That darned tension must have been tough!  I saw both of them tugging on the tools but they decided they needed a little more leverage.  So, they called in reinforcement.  See the guy with the Muscle Milk cap?  They laughed and called him out to give them some assistance.  I heard them tell him to '...lean on it...'   Woops, there it is!  Belt on and we were back in business! 

 Hanging around them for just the little bit of time reminded me of old days.  When Terry and I were dating, I used to love to be around his gear head buddies.  They loved their muscle cars, old cars and 4 wheel drives.  Even though I didn't know what they were talking about when they talked 'shop', It would tickle me just to hear their stories.  They would get so excited as they bounced their stories (usually dangerous) back and forth.  I can say it was never dull when we hung out with the fellas.  They didn't have a 'lick 'o sense' as we say in the south.  All of Terry's buddies were wild and crazy.  I bet they have calmed down now as adults in the real world.  But, I guarantee if we all got together today, those old stories would come back up again.  And, we would all go right back to that time of freedom and invincibility.

What reminded me today of the old gang about these guys was how they laughed and worked together.  I can tell that they put their all into whatever they do.  It is so nice to see people who enjoy life.  Tommy has a race car.  I asked him where he raced as the wheels in my mind were turning. 

 I have never photographed race cars before.....

hmmmm.....could be something I would like to try.  :)

If I ever need some Automotive work, I know who I can call. 

 I can all Tommy (see his phone number above)

or Ronnie Sibley at 225-573-3133. 

Day 95 of 365, Gorgeous Fuschia Azaleas

 

Day 95 of 365, Spring Azaleas are so beautiful.

 This pretty azalea bush is planted around the base of my oak tree in my backyrard. I played around a little more with my flash off camera. I love how punchy and beautiful the light is on the flowers. All of these pics are as shot which means no crops, no edits. When I first started workin with m dslr, I remember that I used to crop really tightly. Now, I typically never crop because I like to compose my shots in the camera.

Mia loves this little bed.  It is out of shape from washing so much and too small but she seems to like it.  It sits under my computer desk where she is usually right by my feet if I am at the computer.   She is a sweetie.

Day 94 of 365, Experimenting with my off camera flash

Day 94 of 365, Tonight I went outside in the dark of night to try to experiment with off camera flash.  For the rose, I simply held my flash unit in my outstretched left arm while trying to hand hold my camera steady for the shot with my opposite.  This rose bush is my trusty go to practice subject. 

Mia is another little trusty/not so trusty subject.  She is always here but not always still enough to be a trusty practice subject.  Here she is in the spotlight.  I laid my flash head on the grass and threw one of her little toys out in front of her.  She just plopped down and stayed there for a couple seconds which was just enough to snap this spotlight shot. 

Done!  I was barefoot and kept stepping in the stickers so I called her to come in for the night!  I want to practice more later.

Day 93 of 365, My oldest daughter's 22nd Birthday!

Day 93 of 365, Happy Birthday to Kayla!  Kayla is my oldest baby girl.  Below, Kayla is pictured with Granny to her right and her sister, Karmyn to her left.  I took this in the parking lot before walking into the restaurant. 

Kayla chose BRAVO! as the restaurant where she wanted to celebrate her birthday. She opened her gifts, we laughed, talked and ate delicious Italian food tonight.I like the atmosphere of this restaurant.  We had a very enjoyable time. 

Featuring Maria & Andy's Wedding Day Memories

For a limited time, I will feature Maria and Andy's beautiful Wedding Day Images at my client proofing website.  If you would like to see more, go to http://michellesibley.smugmug.com/.  

Day 92 of 365, Presented the Wedding Album to Bride and Groom

Day 92 of 365...Presentation/Delivery Date!  Here is the gift bag that I presented to Maria and Andy today.  Found inside is the Dvd slideshow movie which is a compilation of their Wedding Day images that I had photographed.  Also, their album is filled with a timeline story of photos from the getting ready, to the ceremony, first dance, daddy dance, cutting the cake, celebration reception and guests... all the way to the big smoocheroo right before they went away!  I think Maria, Andy and her family love all the pictures.  I am so honored to have captured her special day.  Check out Maria looking at her album with Andy looking over her shoulder.  When Maria realized that I wanted to take a pic of her, she said, "Oh no!  I've been laying out at the pool!"   

Yeah right, Maria!  You are beautiful no matter what! :)

Isabella awoke from her baby nap while I was there.  She is such an adorable little punkin'!  When her daddy playfully lifts her up and over his head, she squishes up her little face into the cutest giggly smile!  She is laying in the middle of her pallette playland.  She has all her toys around.  Next thing ya know she will be toddling around and pulling them all out of the toybox. 

 It is so amazing how babies can change so fast. 

You gotta love, capture and treasure every precious moment. 

My modum went down a few days ago.

For this entire past week, my internet would konk out intermittently.  Finally, it just konked out for good!  I called tech support and ordered my replacement.  I received my new modum so here I am again. 

My last posting was a small field of flowers that reminded me of strawberries.  The bonafide strawberries are in season right now!  I purchased a flat from a vendor yesterday.  I put them in the frig but have not tasted any yet.  I hope they are sweet and delicious! 

Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival is this weekend.  That is a very popular festival down here in our area of Louisiana.  I hope to go but I am still doing the finish work on Maria's DVD that I would like to get to her ASAP!  After the wedding, I told her it was going to be take appoximately two weeks.  I know she is anxious and can hardly stand it.   I can't wait for her to be able to relive her wedding day through my images!  All I can say is that Wedding Photography is soooo much more work than I ever imagined.  The payoff for me? ... to know that the bride, groom and their family lineage will love and treasure their wedding portraits for a lifetime.  I can't wait to see their faces as they get to do their first preview.  And, that is soon!

Day 87 of 365, Strawberry fields forever...Actually, I think it is a weed...:)

Day 87 of 365, Well, yesterday, I posted that I wanted to go on an adventure today.  I wanted to do something that I had never done before.  I didn't really get to do anything exciting.  Today, was an ordinary day.  No excitement to speak of.   bummer.  At about 6 pm, Kayla and I went to work out at the gym.  I have been noticing these flowers that look just like strawberries growing in the median.  I told Kayla that I really wanted to get a shot of these flowers.  She stayed in the vehicle while I crossed the highway and jumped into the median for this photo opp.  I got waaaay down low on the ground to get this perspective.  The wind was blowing so that is the reason for the soft focus on some.   They were caught while swaying with the breeze.  I was there for only a minute or two, tops.  I told Kayla that I will consider that my adventure for the day.  Hey, it's my blog so I can call it adventure if I want to, right?  I have never stood in that busy four lane median before.  So, I guess it felt like an adventure to me. 

When I got back to my vehicle, Kayla looked up from her I-phone and told me that I looked like a BOW-tinist out there.  "Huh?"  I asked her, 'What is that?'  She looked back down at her I-phone and said, "Someone who works with plants."  OMGosh!  I cracked up.  I said, 'You mean botanist?'  heheee !!!   I'm sure she had googled that info so that she could hit me with it.  She cracked up too.  She has this big ole laugh.  Ya can't help but love her.  Her daddy calls her Ding bat Jenny Lee.  She doesn't mind being called  a ding bat cuz she knows its true.  That silly daughter of mine.  

I had to wait for a million cars to pass before I could cross the highway.  I happened to look back to see if Kayla was looking my way.  What I saw was my own looooong tall shadow. 

I ambled around the corner of the little strip mall building.  This field is found on the south side.  I took these pics a little after 7 pm.  Even though the subject matter is quite simplistic, I love how the warm light of the setting sun looks at that time of day. 

Day 86 of 365, Little Critters

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Day 86 of 365,  I didn't do any shooting today.  I reached back in the archives for these little critter pics.  The first picture of  the lizard was at my home.  He jumped from the concrete onto the brick wall and I watched him change colors before my eyes.  He kept his eye on me the whole time too.  Isn't that chamellion effect the most amazing thing to watch?    The butterfly and beatle were taken at Water Country USA in Williamsburg, VA. 

I had my camera with me one day and I shot the little wasp in the Walmart parking lot. They had moved their spring flowers out to the parking lot for display.  I was out and about looking for an opportunity to test a new lens.  When I saw the variety of flowers, I thought why not?  I figured if they ran me off, fine.  The didn't.  I was thrilled when I caught the little wasp.  Look at the sidebar.  I have a pic of a little bee on purple flowers.  Guess where that one was taken.  You got it...Walmart, same day.   

 Tomorrow, I plan to go on a field trip.  I don't know where, but I want to go somewhere that I have never been.  Hoping for a new adventure!  If anybody lives around me and wants to hop along on a field trip with me, give me a call.  All I have to do is put on my shoes and grab my keys & I'm ready to go...!

Day 85 of 365, Easter Sunday

Day 85 of 365, I went to an Easter Sunday Service with my parents today.  My mom asked me to help her take family portraits.  This is a ongoing tradition.  Since she joined Riverside, she has been taking Easter family portraits for the church.  She asked me to come and take the pics while she ambushed people.  Nah, she really didn't need to ambush.  All of the members are so nice and friendly.  They were happy to have their Easter portraits taken.  It is a great way to be sure to get a family picture. 

For the portraits, there were tall purple satin cloth draped crosses on each entrance to the church.  Scotty and Neva were on the north side entrance.  Mom and I took the south entrance.  As the families went inside, mom posed the group and I clicked the shutter.  We got some beautiful pictures today.  At the close of the service today, we did partake in the Lord's Supper.   

 

When Rachel saw me, here she comes!  I love this little beauty.  She is a heart stealer and gives the best huggy bugs!

So, how about this for a heart stealer?!!  Cameron picked some flowers for me.  Oh, my goodness gracious, heavens to Betsy!  Yes, this sweetie melted my heart. 

Look at all those babies!!!  Isn't that the cutest?  They are coming and going from having their pictures made.  Does Louis Armstrong's 'What a Wonderful World' come to mind? 

Sweetest days.

I took a picture of Scotty taking a picture of one of the Easter families.  Look at the bonnet and the news boys cap!  Too adorable for words.  Neva is looking on.  She was helping to pose the groups.  Neva also painted and beautifully decorated the crosses that were used as the backdrop. 

Fantastic job, Neva...You are the best!

Day 84 of 365, Lauryn & Xaviar!

Day 84 of 365, My Aunt Barbara had her family visiting out in the backyard, so I walked over.  Of course, my camera is attached to my hand.  I got some quick shots of Lauryn and Xaviar running around the backyard.  Then, Xav got his camera to try to take some pics of Lauryn while I took pics of them both.  They are such great kiddos.  Lauryn is a rounder!  I tell you, she does not meet a stranger and I do not think there is an ounce of fear or shyness in her.   We played green light, red light.  Then, later I asked her if she could jump.  Yep, she sure can!  Look how high she clears the ground!!!  :)