Lost and Found

And because I know you all will lose sleep if I don't spill the beans.
Here is what happened:

I was on my way to Target.
I see this black dog standing by a bus stop looking up at the people there.
I see black dog run into street and continue to cross four lanes of busy traffic.
I see black dog nearly get hit on three occasions. My heart is jumping out of my chest.
I see he has a collar, so I pull over into the empty (thank goodness) parking lot where he has now trotted to.
He is scared. He is hesitant. His tail is between his legs. His collar has no tags.
He is Ozzy.
I took him to our vet to be scanned to see if he has a chip. No chip.
I called Animal Control, Cocker Spaniel Rescue (they are full) and four local groomers.
Nobody has reported him missing.
His tongue sticks out while he sleeps.
He is sweet with everyone. He is housebroken. He is overweight. He snores.
He gets along with Ella...

Ah, yes...Ella.
The princess is not so happy.
Proof:I have no idea what his story is, but my vet told me they are seeing an unbelievable number of strays being found. People move and leave them behind. I can't fathom it.

So now we have a new member of the family. I'm pretty sure you'll be seeing much more of him. You can see more of him over at my photography blog here.

Thanks for visiting!

Excuse Note

Dear Friends,
Please excuse Traci's absence from Bloggerland as she has been working in the gardens morning, noon and night.
I, myself, have tried to be patient with her, but then she went and had THIS done to me.
The words "summer cut" are forever ingrained in this canine brain of mine.
I did hear her babbling on to herself about gardening, hydrangea and photo shoot posts, but I don't know if the "moo-nure" is getting to her.
Please be sure to come back. Soon it will be sweltering outside and then Traci will be right back where she belongs...giving me belly rubs and biscuits.

Your Faithful Friend,
Ella

Homework

My online photography class is over and I miss it. I loved getting a lesson each week with clear and concise ideas, photos illustrating the teacher's point perfectly and then finally the assignment. I learned so much and would highly recommend Maggie Holmes' online courses.
However, the in-house models I was using tired quickly of helping me with my homework assignments.

Example A:Ella is so sick of this...

Example B:

She couldn't get the dog in the shot, so now she's sick of it, too.

To the rescue - my good friend, Heather. She generously agreed to volunteer her time and be my "lighting" homework assignment model.Did I luck out or what?
It was a great learning experience for me. Plus it helps having someone incapable of taking a bad picture as your model.Out of the whole session, I think there were maybe four shots I didn't edit.An example of how back-lighting, if properly exposed can produce stunning results.
(I was taught from the beginning to never have the light behind your subject.) Who knew?

Heather and her fabulous hair - holy cow!A huge thank you to Heather for her help, patience and feedback! I can not even tell you how fun this was for me.
This experience also made me think about how often we (moms, women, the family photographer) are not in the shot. So even if you don't go and have a whole session of photos taken, make sure you get in some shots as well.

And so you know I follow my own advice:portrait by our son, Jack

Get into the picture, friends!

Valentine Photo Possibilities

As I began writing this, I realized a few of the photos I wanted to use are not digital. Drat! So we will have to make due with what I've got...you'll forgive me won't you? Anyway, I get so many compliments whenever I take Valentine themed photos and send them to loved ones far away. Why shouldn't you, too?

These are from 2008: Doesn't Ella look like she's givin' me the ole stink-eye? I think she's Amish and thinks I'm stealing her soul whenever I take her picture. These two I have framed and on the mantel: Want to duplicate this? Set up your shot before adding the poochie into the equation. Have your child's face filling most of the frame and the focus locked in. Take a delicious spreadable food (i.e. peanut butter, cream cheese, etc.) and place a small amount on your child's cheek. Call over the pup and snap away! I guess I should suggest only doing this with an animal you trust completely. Oh, and know whatever food item you use doesn't cause an allergic reaction in anyone.

If you don't have a pooch or if you want some other fabulous Valentine photo ideas, head over here to see the winners of her Valentine themed photo contest.
Happy snapping!

The Game Plan a.k.a. Resolutions

(via Martha Stewart)

Oh, where to start? I'm feeling re-energized, renewed and resolved. Like so many others in bloggerland, I feel the new year is providing me a fresh start. I started writing down resolutions and felt compelled to add a "Be" column and an "I Will" column following my "Goals" column. In short, I've got a whole resolutions flow chart thing goin on. I've done this because just writing down the goal is not concrete enough - I need to include how (the "I will" part) and the change (the "be" part) I need to make in my lifestyle if I truly intend to reach these goals.
Here's an example:

GOAL
Organize house
.
BE
daily with my organizing habits
.
I WILL
organize one drawer or shelf,
find a permanent home for 1 thing,
file 10 pieces of paper,
keep a donation bag in my closet and get rid of 1 piece of clothing each day

As you can see, I've got some very concrete steps to keep my resolutions on track! Of course, I also have a flow chart for losing 20 pounds, but I won't bore you with that. (And I need to get to my chiropractor before I start with that game plan.) More importantly, let's get to...

Ella's Resolutions:

Make nice with the UPS man.
Cut back on the Milkbones.
Give chipmunks a chance.
Look cute.
(Who am I kidding? Done deal.)

Finally, I've got to link you up to Leigh. She wrote up an inspiring resolutions post here. I also love my dear friend, Bethany's "Year of the Yes" found here.

Inspiration

I have been so inspired by the talented photographers over at Lens Us Together, that I have to share what they have motivated me to try and link you up directly to some of their awesome sites!
Some brief background as we start. I value my sleep. With two young 'uns who must be at the bus stop by 7:00 am, my night owl tendencies and a husband who travels Monday through Friday, I covet my sleep. But after seeing the shots being taken by these ladies, I was determined to get out and catch the early rising sun and the fabulous light which comes with it. Yep, I spent two hours one day shooting landscapes and nature shots when I could've been comfy cozy back in bed.
Look what I would have missed:These shots were inspired by Mary over at In a Soft Light and Simple Things.
She is my Landscape Idol. Back when I got my first camera, I was crazy for landscapes, but extreme lighting situations befuddled me. I'm still befuddled, but now I'm digitally learning how to cover up, I mean correct my mistakes. Back to Mary...her photographs have such a dreamy, peaceful feel to them. Check out this one and this one to see a couple of my favorites. She also has a feature called Mosaic Monday on her third blog, Little Red House. I've lost a few morning hours clicking on the links of everybody who comes there to share their own mosaics.
Next up is Caroline from NoWordz and Whimsical Whispers. Her photographs are breath taking! I love her use of textures and the way she finds beauty in everyday objects.
Be sure to check out the black and white of apples on NoWordz which is just awesome (but I can't link up for some reason)! I mean, apples...really? I love it.
I took these:
after seeing this incredible photo of Caroline's.
She also has her first book for sale! You can preview it here or click on the "Buy the Book!" button at the top of her NoWordz site. Talk about a great gift for a photography enthusiast! Are you listening, honey?

Then there is 30 Days of Gratitude as Cora's theme for November on her blog, Heartfelt and Homemade. I had every intention of following Cora's lead on this one, but did I mention how much I love and need sleep? I have so enjoyed reading her posts each day. On some particularly long, rainy days, I have been pulled out of a funk by reading one of Cora's gratitudes. One of my favorites can be found here, but I highly recommend reading them all to find your personal favorite! Of course, each gratitude is accompanied by one of Cora's beautiful photographs.
Here is my precious Ella yet again. You can thank Kate at A Picture A Day for inspiring me to share my dear Ella more often. You see, in addition to her fabulous photos, you will see her fabulous dog, George. Ella was getting a wee bit jealous.

Finally, to see some ridiculously amazing family portraits, you need to visit Michelle (Shell) over at Wildflower Studio Blog. She is one smart cookie - picking a winery for a family session so mom and dad can do some tasting while the kids are busy being photographed. I have no pictures to show you - go visit her site while I pour some wine. See... she did inspire me!

Thank you ladies, for sharing your gifts and talents, for inspiring me to try new things and to look at things in a new light!

Back in the Saddle Again

Where to start? An apology because I hate that I went so long without posting. Our daughter came down with the flu...while my husband was on an eight-day road trip...I then caught it...while my husband was still gone. I recovered in time to work down at the apparel mart for my husband, but the "ick" (coughing) lingers. My appetite is still gone - however, the only weight I may have lost is in the fingers.

Fortunately, I recovered in time to photograph my pregnant neighbor. It went very well and I'm hoping she's happy with the results. I've just started processing them, but will be sure to post a few soon.

In the meantime, let me show you who was the best behaved in our house while I suffered.

Photography: Angles, Part II

Amanda's oldest stinker-boy

Part II is simple: Shoot from above your subject.
One of my favorite angles because it eliminates double chins. (Not that any of these subjects suffers from the dreaded turkey neck.)

My Ma-Ma and our kiddos

I really adore these first two photos. However, in my effort to continually improve, I often critique my own work. In the first one, I am so mad that I cut off his toes. In the second one, I would have adjusted the glasses on Jack, so as to not have the top of his frame cutting right through his eyes. Mind you, it doesn't keep me from enjoying these photos, it just reminds to pull back a little to include tiny toes and double-check where glasses are sitting on a subject.

Our daughter, Daniella and our fur-baby, Ella

This shot of Daniella and Ella is one of my all-time very favorites. I love how it looks like Ella is smiling and I just remember what a joyful afternoon that was - our little girl playing with her new doggy.

Happy picture-taking!
P.S. Sorry my font sizes are all over the place! I've tried correcting it and have just about burst a vein in my neck trying to fix it. My apologies.