Shutter Love Tuesday - Sports

Update:  Just got word that my submission make this week's Top 10 list!  Thank you, Trendy Treehouse!

It's Shutter Love Tuesday again at Trendy Treehouse!  This week's theme is Sports.  This image popped into my mind immediately.  I photographed a 10-year-old boys' soccer game a few months back, and this was my favorite image of the day.  I was surprised at how hard these little guys played - as if their lives depended on it!  I think someone probably woke up with a bruise or two the next day.

Click on the image to enlarge...and get a better glimpse at the facial expressions!

I Heart Faces Challenge - Purple

Last week's Purple challenge at I Heart Faces and this week's Weddings challenge at Trendy Treehouse couldn't have been better timed!  Two weeks ago, I was honored to be a part of my sister's wedding day as a bridesmaid and a solo vocalist during the ceremony!  But as soon as the ceremony was finished, I grabbed my camera and photographed the rest of the evening.  Even though she hired a photographer, my friend Chris of Chris Bues Photography, I just couldn't help myself from snapping away!

I enjoyed capturing the little moments no one else saw...like this one.  My sister was taking a break from wedding portraits at a relative's house, and I snapped this shot before she realized I was taking her picture.  It is my favorite image of the day.  Isn't she stunning?

Congratulations, Monica and Tony!  I love you both and wish you a lifetime of love and happiness.

Please click on the image to enlarge...you won't regret it!  Back arrow to return.

A Jamie & Tara pick for "Wedding" week at ShutterLove!

More images from Monica and Tony's big day, coming soon!

Nicole: Vintage-Style

Nicole is one of my very best friends in the whole world.  We met in 1999 when we were cast in the musical Brigadoon together.  We have shared many hearty laughs over the past 11 years, always finding the humor in any situation.  We have many things in common, one of which is a love for vintage clothing...so I thought it would be fun to have a vintage-style photo session with Nicole dressed to the nine's in some of her favorite retro garb.  This session also co-starred Nicole's beautiful furry friends, Baby Kitty and Oscar, who I could have easily spent the rest of the day photographing.

Our shoot took place in three different locations: Veteran's Memorial Park, Fitzgerald's Irish Bed and Breakfast, and Nicole's amazing apartment.

I hope you enjoy these images as much as I do.  I love them so much, I can't stop smiling!

Click on the image to enlarge (for an optimal viewing experience!), back arrow to return.

Faces!

It's "Faces" week over at  Trendy Treehouse on this fine Shutter Love Tuesday!  There are so many faces that I love, it was hard to pick just one! 

Last week, I had the pleasure of photographing one of my best friends, Nicole.  We decided on a vintage-style shoot - clothing, props and all!  Stay tuned for more images from this shoot!  You don't want to miss it!

Shutter Love Tuesday - "4th of July"

This week is "4th of July" week at Trendy Treehouse's Shutter Love Tuesday.  Instead of entering a photo I took, I thought I'd enter a photo whose camera settings I set up and my fiance captured...teamwork!  We had a super fun time creating designs in the air with sparklers.  (See previous blog entry for more of our favorite images.)

This image is of me and a super long sparkler, taken with a 4 second shutter speed.  (Definitely enlarge this photo for better viewing!)  You definitely need to try this out if you haven't already.

Hope you had a safe and fun holiday weekend - we did!

Fun With Sparklers

This year marked the first time I ever set off fireworks in my own yard on the 4th of July.  It was a blast!  But something I've always wanted to try involved sparklers...very long ones, at that.  I give you Jason's and my sparkler creations!  (No fancy photo editing this time around...just SOOC images and a lot of fun!)

 My favorite shot of me

My favorite shot of Jason

Other favorites...

What this holday means to me...

Today is the 4th of July - Independence Day - and today I am feeling many different things.  First and foremost, I am thankful for my country and my freedom and the men and women - past and present - for protecting both of these priceless things.

I am also feeling a great deal of sorrow.  My mom's fiance, Bob, lost his battle with cancer less than two weeks ago on June 23rd.  He served 20 years in the Army and served in both Vietnam and Korea.  He had a remarkable sense of patriotism and loved his country above all other things.  His favorite song was the National Anthem, which I am honored for him to have heard me sing a few months ago via YouTube.  He was a fighter both during war overseas and during his own personal war against lung cancer. 

I thought I was doing alright coping with this loss - last week I had to be strong for my mom at his funeral - but after finding a few cards he sent to me for my birthday and for Jason's and my engagement, reading his words to me in his handwriting, I just couldn't hold back the tears.  I cannot express in words just how much I loved and respected this amazing man.  He always saw the good in everyone and everything and enjoyed life to the fullest.  I am a better person having had him in my life the past several years.  Although he wasn't able to legally be apart of my family, he will always be Dad to me.

So today on Independence Day, a day he loved so very much, I wanted to pay a little tribute to him.  There are flags lining the front of the house in the flowerbeds, and he is close in my thoughts and heart.  But what else could I do?  Then I remembered a picture Jason had taken last year during a trip to Washington, D.C. of the Vietnam Memorial Wall with the Washington Memorial in the background.  I dug it up and edited it to my liking.

I don't really know how to wrap up this blog entry, perhaps because my grieving over the loss of a very special man is not over and won't be over for some time.  So I guess I will wish you all a very happy Independence Day and ask that you remember those who have enabled us to make it through another year with all the freedoms that we often take for granted. 

Please enlarge this image by clicking on it.  Use your back arrow button to return to this blog.

Love you, Daddy-o.

(Although this is an image from our archives, I still wanted to share it with everyone at You Capture.)

Travel!

It's no secret - I LOVE to travel.  I love exploring new places to which I've never been...it's scary and exciting at the same time.  I always prefer to have my trusty bodyguard/fiance with me when I want to do a little exploring, just in case. 

Last month, my bodyguard and I went on a mini-cation to Atlanta.  I had won a 2-night stay at the Hyatt Regency Suites Hotel for a mere $30 in a silent auction, so we thought we'd explore the city and a snippet of what it has to offer.  On our first full day there, we went to the Georgia Aquarium.  A-MAZ-ING! 

I loved this one exhibit that housed 2 whale sharks (40+ feet long each!!), a bunch of 800 lb groupers, several breeds of sharks, and giant manta rays gracefully back-flipping in the middle of the humongous tank.  When we first started out in the exhibit, we saw many different windows into the aquarium, each with different perspectives.  We got a feeling as to how large the tank was, but had no idea the enormousness until the end of the exhibit.  Here is an image that captures our surprise ending to an amazing exhibit...but please note that this image captures only a part of the giant glass window.  (You HAVE to click on this image to enlarge it and reveal the beauty of the animals inside...breathtaking!!)

YES, IT WAS EVEN BIGGER...probably triple what you see here.

If you are lucky enough to live close enough to drive to Atlanta, you have got to make time to explore the Georgia Aquarium.  It was worth ever penny of the $30 admission price.  We can't wait to go back!

Yellow!

Although entrants are supposed to submit photos of their children (two-legged or 4-legged) relating to this week's theme of "Yellow,"  I decided to submit this photo anyhow.  It's one of my very favorites I took last month while on a mini-cation in Atlanta.  Enjoy!

Click to enlarge, back arrow to return.

Macro Friday - 7.2.10

It's Macro Friday again over at Blogging from Bolivia.  It's my first time entering, although I've been viewing this blog for a while now.

I captured this insect climbing around on a group of large leaves, and he stopped to entertain me with some "raise the roof" dance moves.  Not really sure what he was doing raising and lowering his front legs...maybe waving hello?  Whatever the reason, he was interesting and I enjoyed capturing him.

Click on the image to enlarge, back arrow to return.

Splash!

This is my first weekly photo challenge entry at Skinned Knees, and the theme for this week is "Splash."  This is one of my favorite splash images, which I took a few months ago during a good friend's family portrait session.  Do you think she is having a good time?  (Click to enlarge...it's better that way...back arrow to return.)

Here is another one for good measure.  This was my second favorite shot from the shoot...