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