The glow of a dying candle

I haven't posted for a long time. But when we lost power last night I had the perfect opportunity to shoot some gorgeous "glow" shots. I took about 60 pictures of candles burning lower and lower... This one's my favorite. Very little editing - just cropped to get a better composition, and the tiniest bit of color enhancement.

Patriotic Duty

I love the Fourth of July - a holiday on which it is your patriotic duty to stuff your face at a barbecue!

Reached Her Limit

My daughter apparently hasn't been feeling well this evening. She finally crashed a little before dinner - it didn't even wake her up when I picked her up off the floor and carried her to her bed. Poor little thing, she's reached her limit.

Summer Green

I love when the bright summer sun turns the trees green!

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Expression of Love

I love my wedding and engagement rings - not only are they pretty and just my style, but they are a visual expression of the love that my husband and I share.

Visible Circulation

This picture is pretty self-explanatory. The circulatory system in my hands tends to be very obvious - the veins always stand out really well.

Almost SOOC - just adjusted brightness and contrast a bit.

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Emotion in the Details

It's amazing the emotion that can be conveyed even when half the picture is gone. The little details like those sparkling eyes and slightly upturned lips are all you really need.

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Portrait of Morning Sickness

This bowl has been my closest friend and ally today. It's also my explanation for why I don't have a better picture. I did the best I could under the circumstances!

Changing Shape

In honor of Mother's Day, here a picture of my changing shape as a once-again mother-to-be. This is me today, ten weeks pregnant, excited about the changes going on in my body - on the inside and the outside. As a third time mom, my shape is definitely changing a lot faster than it did the first time around!

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Key, Literally

I chose to shoot the most literal and obvious take on the challenge. I put the key on my big black suitcase to get this background. I took several pictures and uploaded them before realizing that there was a microscopic little spec on the suitcase that looked huge on each of the pictures, so I had to wipe it off and take more shots! Close-ups are kinda interesting that way.

ISO 100
F2.8
1/14 sec.
Natural light
SOOC, except for cropping

Not So Hot Anymore

Far from my best picture, but I thought it was pretty cool. This is what it looks like when hot hamburger grease, from thawing hamburger in the microwave, cools down. Kinda gross, but kinda neat too.

Enhanced brightness and contrast.

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The One that Stands Out

We're visiting my parents in an impromptu weekend visit. This is one of Mom's beautiful semi-precious stones, among all the plain pebbles of the driveway. I loved the contrast of the one beautiful rock in the midst of the plain ones.

I wish I had software to really make the color of the stone pop against all the grays, but I had to work with what was available - the program on Dad's computer that I'm not really familiar with. I cropped it to make the stone fill more of the frame, and sharpened the blue stone.

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Vintage Recipe

Sunderland Pudding

Two eggs, well beaten, 1 scant cup flour, 1 cup sweet
milk, salt, beat well together; bake in a drip pan 1/2 hour.
Serve with cream, sugar and nutmeg.

The Economy Cookbook, 1910

I thought I'd take a different approach to this challenge, since I don't really have a lot of vintage stuff around my apartment, and being in the early stages of pregnancy, I don't have the energy to get out and search for great picture opportunities. But I do have online access to a wonderful vintage cookbook, The Economy Cookbook. I love old-time recipes, with the charming simplicity of ingredients and directions. So I chose a very simple vintage pudding to bake and photograph, and of course, to eat!

"Old Photo" effect on editing program that came with my camera.

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I know we're not supposed to post two pictures, but here's the original, before I "old photo"ed it.


It looks more vintage the first way, but I think it looks more delicious in the second one. What do you think?

My Black and White Baby

This one was hard. I took several pictures of both Zaylee and Thomas, and really had a difficult time choosing which one to post! I had about four absolute favorites, but eventually chose this one.

I usually do some enhancing on the computer after uploading my pictures, but I left this one exactly as it was. She was sitting by the window, slightly cloudy outside, with the camera set to B&W and macro setting.

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Cookbook Addiction

I am addicted to collecting cookbooks and recipes. This is just a small sampling of my extensive collection. Most were from the thrift store, or given to me free, because I also have an addiction to getting things cheap!

Abstract Flowers

I had a fun time deciding what subject to use for this challenge. I started taking close-ups of the carved details of my Turkish jewelry box. But I couldn't really come up with a shot I really liked. So I moved on to close-ups of a box of cracked wheat with a measuring cup. I got some interesting shots, but there was no color! I've been doing bland shots lately so that didn't really work for me.

Then later while I was working on something completely different, I happened to look over at the dining room. Jeff had put our centerpiece on top of the cabinet so the kids wouldn't get to it, and the way it was sitting made it look like the flowers were opening up to face the light of the ceiling fan. I loved the way it looked and immediately stopped what I was doing, climbed up on a chair, and started snapping away!

ISO 50, camera set to overexpose by +0.3 so the flowers wouldn't be drowned out by the light. I'm particularly proud of the fact that I didn't enhance it on the computer at all - this is exactly as I took it on the camera.

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My Best Feature

I haven't always like my face. I haven't always liked my hands. Or my hair, or my legs.

But my feet, now them I have always loved!


I took this picture after Church so I'm still wearing my nylons. I like the smoothing look they give. As with most of my pictures, I took this with point-and-shoot in natural window light. I lightly enhanced it by adjusting brightness and contrast.

Support in Three Ways

This shows support in three ways. First - this is a picture of a mei tai I made recently. A mei tai is a baby carrier, supporting the baby without wearing out the mother's arms, and supporting the mother-child close relationship. Second, the picture is specifically the stitching where the straps are sewed onto the main body - triple stitched for strength and support so that they don't tear off. The seam where the straps are attached is of great importance to the entire carrier. And third - my mei tai is laying on top of more fabric to make another mei tai, one for my sister. We show a great deal of sisterly support back and forth. She has given me so much especially in regards to my children and this time I'm giving to her. We have a wonderful support system together.

Photo taken on macro setting (the little flower button) and focused on the stitching. Natural light from window. Enhanced brightness and contrast.

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My Automatic Response to Delicious Food...

...Is to take pictures of it!


Ever since I started my food blog, taking pictures of food has become an automatic thing. I make the food, plate the food, and photograph the food. Only after I am satisfied with the quantity and quality of pictures taken will I actually sit down and eat the food.

Picture taken with point-and-shoot camera (as are all my pics), in natural light from the window. I used a sheet as a "tablecloth" because I get tired of the same dark wood of the coffee table in all my food pics. I like how it made the whole picture look lighter, and emphasized the chocolate sauce.

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Recipe for these delicious Pears Helene here.

Beloved Coffee Table

This coffee table was already old and worn when we purchased it at a thrift store. We were newly married, feathering our tiny one-bedroom nest with used furniture. I loved this weather-beaten little table from the moment I saw it, and have insisted that we keep it, no matter how many times we move. One of my favorite things about it is that the EDGES are so worn - I love the old look, plus it means that my kids won't be able to make it look any worse!


I had trouble with this one, I think it's hard to take a picture of the edge of something! I tried to get pictures at the library and just couldn't get anything to look quite like I wanted. I'm still not convinced that I got this picture to look just the way I want, but all my batteries are used up and I'm photographed out!

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