favorite friday: image of the day

this is my pick today because:

• this is another one of my nephews...one of the bubs...aka: a cutie-patootie
• he's been out in my strawberry patch, testin out the the strawberries & the dirt
• he has a bruise on his forehead & this reminds me so much of the little boy...always a bruise or knot on the forehead at this age
• i know this one can ham it up for his mom & dad, but he's still mostly giving me that "why are you in my face" look...little does he know that's exactly what i'm going for! so serious...

*this image was shot @ f4, 1/640, iso 200 with a 50mm 1.4 lens

favorite friday: image of the day

this is my pick today because:

• it's father's day weekend - happy father's day honey!
• this is the most recent picture of all the guys together...note to capture more of these!
• eveyone looks genuine here, even dad...which is unusual
• it's my 3 guys...love them!

*this image was shot @ f8, 1/80, iso 800 with a 50mm 1.4 lens

and in honor of father's day....

me & my dad circa 1970...

i have to start off by saying that this is possibly one of my favorite pictures of me & my dad. it's kind of a no-brainer since there are a total of about 2 pictures of "exclusively" me & my dad...this one & a formal one taken at my wedding.

*lesson here: take pictures of your kids, together & separately with their dad (and mom for that matter) so they have these meaningful photos to cherish in the future!

ps mom: i hope you're working on your photo composition☺

ah well, i still love this photo, it always makes me smile inside & out when i see it.

happy father's day dad!

xo

apryl

silhouette + sunflare = success!

lately, i've been trying out some new things with the camera.

i'm inspired all the time by these spectactular shots i see & i can't wait for an opportunity to learn. i love learning something new...i love that growing feeling!

a few things that i've wanted to learn are silhouettes & sunflare shots. i decided to try a different approach & go for this big burst of sun with him in silhouette.

this one i really liked...the boy made for his own moves here...all him...

believe it or not this was fun & easy...so long as you don't mind being blinded after shooting straight into the sun for a while!

randomness on wednesday & the supernatural boy

it's a weird week around here.

my big boy is at summer camp.
some alone time & one on one time for me & the little boy.

got new sunglasses.
excellent fit.
looks good.
this is all it takes to make me happy.

finally put out the hummingbird feeder.
sorry little dudes. (redneck & greenback)
thanks for sticking around & enjoying the flowers anyway.

made cookies, of course.
still picking strawberries.
not real excited about the cruddy weather.

*******

and the little boy... yes, i proudly claim him as mine.

this is typical behavior when i pick up the camera & say something like "hey, sit here...there's really good light...let me take some pictures of you" & this is the kind of thing i get.

the boys never care to see the lcd when i'm seriously photographing them, but when they're making weird or silly faces, they've got to see it now.

so he wanted to see this & says "ooh, mom, that's like that supernatural show" and i guess i have to agree...it kind of is.

but it's a good shot, right? ☺

*******

and after all the silliness, he did let me get one decent shot of him...

oh...and because i'm sure someone's thinking it...no, i don't let my 9 yr old watch "supernatural"!

i ♥ faces week 23: sepia toned

this week's challenge at i heart faces is sepia toned images. i am not a huge sepia person, i prefer just a tad bit of brown/maroon tone to some of my black & whites (that might sound kind of gross, but it's not!), but this actually gives me the chance to use pioneer woman's "sepia tone" action .

look at this little bub. i like to call him "bub" because this is what i call little cute guys like him. it's what i called my 2 "bubs" and still sometimes do. in fact, the big boy probably thought that "bub" or "bubba" was his name for quite a while...who knows.

but look at him, isn't he just a doll? i try to tell this to his mom when he's terrorizin' her!

and this one.

he doesn't like to have his picture taken. he really hates it. and he hates that i post his "likeness" on the blog.

i tell him he looks fine & i wouldn't post something that didn't look good. i don't think he really cares what is tell him though... but this is a new one & i liked it. and getting him to look at me... him & toddlers. hard to keep their focus on me!

best strawberry pie ever

we have lots & lots of strawberries here with our 'larger-than-necessary' patch, so for about a month, we eat lots of strawberries, strawberry shortcake, strawberry jam, and strawberry pies!

i grew up on this pie...the only kind of strawberry pie i've really ever had. i know you can buy or make a glaze & make what i call your 'standard' strawberry pie, but this recipe is something different.

my mom made this recipe, given to her by a friend of the family & it's the recipe everyone in my family makes.

as you can see in the picture, i didn't use a round pie plate, that's because 1 pie is never enough! this summer, i got smart & decided to make it in a 9 x 13 instead of making 2 pies at once.

i hope you enjoy this pie as much as we do!


fresh strawberry pie
crust:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. milk
1/2 c. oil

filling:
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
2 c. water
1 small box strawberry jello=3 Tbs. jello
fresh strawberries - enough to fill your pie plate

mix crust ingredients & pat into pan. bake at 400 degrees till light brown, 12-13 mins. cool. combine sugar, cornstarch & water in pan & cook on stove until thickened. add jello, mix & let cool. placed sliced berries into cooled crust, pour cooled jello filling over berries. chill till solid.

*the filling makes about enough for 2 regular pie pans, enough for 1+ deep dish pie pans but not quite enough for 2. makes enough for 9 x 13 pan exactly. the crust recipe above is enough for 1 pie, double is a bit more than enough for 9 x 13 pan.

favorite friday: image of the day

this is my pick today because:

• it's my sister-in-law on her wedding day & i think their anniversay was this week! congrats guys!
• i really like this pose, see how she's turned slightly with her shoulder toward me rather than straight on & her head's tilted...that's a very flattering, feminine pose
• i shot the wedding totally on auto, probably having pretty much all the default settings on my camera set "as is", so i rather enjoyed editing this photo...it provided me many challenges, it was shot in the shade & underexposed, just to name a few of the things i had to correct in photoshop - but i like that because i am always learning something new about photography & how to get it the best i can in camera right from the start

*this image was shot at f4.5, 1/60, iso 100 with an 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 lens at 57mm

the smith's: family photo shoot

memorial day weekend i had the pleasure of photographing this adorable little lady & her family!





she even sang & danced for me...

here she is with mom & dad...

and the rest of her family...

my thanks to the family for letting me capture a bit of your weekend - you were all such great troopers!

~apryl

favorite friday: image of the day

this is my pick today because:

• these are my men & they look sweet
• this is a typical thing, boys on top of dad...if you're on the ground, you're game...
• this is a really soft image, but it kind of works here (note to the wise: don't hand hold images at 1/6 of a second if you want them to be sharp!
• i actually took this photo straight with the horizon straight across, but i like the crop this way & i'm not concerned about a crooked horizon
• a note from my son: he is not naked in this photo! he's concerned that since he wasn't wearing a shirt & you can't see his shorts, someone will think he's in the buff, but he's not...so now you know

*this image was shot at f3.8, 1/6, iso 100 with an 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 lens at 22mm

peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

today, i am busy.

since school's out, i'm trying desperately to get into some sort of a "summer" groove. right about now, i feel all over the place.

i am knitting, proofing images & my housework needs some serious consideration. and the laundry's been waiting for the rain to clear out so i can hang it on the lines.

and the strawberries...the strawberries are coming at us like gangbusters! since just over the weekend, we've picked nearly every day & we've already had strawberry shortcake twice (not that this is a bad thing). i'm making pies today. and i think the jam will be coming along shortly, too.

but here's something good i can leave you with.

here at our place, we like our carbs. we like cookies & muffins, breads & pancakes, granola bars & such. these things are the "happy" makers.

but honestly, i try to keep snacks around because i have 2 growing boys who are always hungry, yes, i mean ALWAYS. they do lots of bananas, apples, yogurt, raw veggies, etc. but there's nothing like having homemade cookies around for a treat.

this recipe is for one of my favorite cookies that i've been making for years...

outrageous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter, not the fake margarine stuff
1/2 c. natural peanut butter, not the transfat filled stuff
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 c. flour
1/2 c. old fashioned oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

cream sugars, butter, peanut butter, vanilla & egg. add dry ingredients and mix. stir in chocolate chips. bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

*i bake most of my cookies on the middle rack of the oven unless otherwise specified
**this recipe does not make very many cookies, i always double it

the bitting 7: family photo shoot

as most of you know, i'm just starting out with my photography business, so when i got a request several weeks ago to shoot a family, it really hit me that i hadn't done any family sessions for a while & that i might be really rusty...it's not the same as working one on one with someone, so i was a tad nervous.

so, i called my sister-in-law & said "i need to take some family photos of you guys sometime this week!"

see, i knew she'd go for that...at least i know i would...so we worked it out that same night.

she's so nice to go to all the trouble for me. getting 5 kiddos ready, not to mention getting my brother to cooperate...that's a lot of work!

so here they are...some of the much anticipated images from that day. i hope that everyone else likes them as much as i do!

these guys are raising angus beef, so i thought it would work to have the family standing out by the gate to the pasture because this is their life right now...

here's a quick snap of 2 of the girls, these are the moments that make you scratch your head as a mom...one minute they're yelling & fighting with each other...the next...

here are a few of the family... mom had some good posing ideas...i like suggestions a lot!

apprarently, 2 yr old little boys aren't excited about shots where everybody squeezes in on top of them...


some of mom & dad...they make for one good lookin' couple...

now this here is why there's five kiddos...☺

and a few of the littlest people...i've been wanting to get some time with this one for a while...this girl can totally work it in front of the camera...

hard to believe she's just 5 yrs old...

and the baby boy...there's a story behind this hat...i guess sometimes he even likes to sleep in it...but don't you just look at those eyes & think "i need to take him home!"...

thanks guys...it was fun & you all helped me out a ton...

xoxo

~apryl