I Heart Faces / Paper

We hope to get a Christmas tree this year, but until then, you like my miniature tree?

*update- I published this post...went to enter my link on ihearts...and saw that this week the challenge closed at 9... am... :( ...oh well, you can still click on the link and go check out other fun paper entries.

okay- since i'm not entered in the contest, i can break the rules and throw in a few more pictures that were contenders for my entry this week.

Mission Shoes

I want to remember more of the little details.  Never the end of my mission in Spain, I saw some pictures on a CD of one of my prior companions.  She'd taken pictures of all the details that I never even thought of taking- flowers in bloom, store displays, popular food dishes, fashions currently in style in Spain.  Why hadn't I thought of that?!  Well, I'm starting today.  Here's something that I've kept from my mission that I don't want to forget- my shoes.  I wore them the longest of any shoes I had (in fact, I wore them to the end).  They were terribly worn out, lost all their traction, and gave me painful plantar fascitis...but I love them!  And I want to remember them.  (Thank you Anna for inspiring me to capture the little things...and for letting me buy the same shoes as you!)

I Heart Faces | Silhouettes

This week's theme- Silhouettes.  I took this last week when I was doing someone's family pictures.  The sunset was beautiful and I love that they had horses to include in their family pictures!

There's TONS of beautiful silhouette pictures to be found at I Hearts if you click on the link below the picture...and there's even a tutorial on how to take silhouette pictures.  So fun!  Check it out.

Flash

At the end of July, I photographed my first wedding.  I was paranoid about what the lighting might be like...so I reluctantly bought my first flash, a sigma 530 super...and a book to help teach myself...and I stalked the internet for information and tutorials.  Then I became even more intimidated- ETTL, TTL, slave and master flashes, transreceivers, hotshoes, umberellas, softboxes, fill flash, bounce flash, bounce cards, lightstands, Gong...what the heck?!?  And I thought Spanish was a hard language for me to learn!!  Luckily, I didn't have to use my flash much during the wedding.  :)

Well, I've reached a point where I now want to learn flash.  As with anything, sometimes the doing is the best teacher.  Here's some of my practice pictures.  I know my flash pictures look a LOT different than the natural light photos.  (Different look, but I think it's kinda fun).  I know that it can be fine tuned a little more to be more subtle.  I'm still learning.  And hopefully, I'll one day look back onto this post and think...how embarrassing that I posted those pictures!  But hey, we all gotta start somewhere :)

Below are all pictures taken with my flash. I did no color or exposure correction to any of these pictures in this post.  (Sorry, I know there's a lot.  I was having fun playing yesterday.)

Yes, this below one got a little too much flash.  But had to include it because I love their expressions.  They both love to sing!

I always swore I wouldn't be one of those moms that went out in public with children covered in food...now I'm oblivious to it and we both go in public with food on us (oh, and snot).

A nice girl like me...

Marjorie Hinkley once said something along the lines of 'How did a nice girl like me end up in a place like this?'.

I used the same line all the time when I was a missionary in Spain...like the time my companion and I were approached by an older gentleman thinking he could buy our "services" (hello!  I have a name tag with the words "Jesus Christ" and "Hermana" on it!)...or the time I found myself doing dishes for a woman that sat in the corner of the kitchen on a stool refusing to speak as we awaited the arrival of her daughter that apparently foamed at the mouth (...let me remind you that in Spain, they greet with kisses)...or the time I rang the doorbell to an apartment and it got stuck (and let me also add this was one of those annoying "UURRGG" (does that make sense??) ones) and a large black man answered yelling "Quuee"?!?!...or the time my companion and I led a blind man to his destination and we learned that he knew a little english...all words I won't mention here...or the time...well, you get the picture.

Sometimes I think the same thing...how did a nice girl like me end up in a place like this?  I'm not trying to complain.  I have a lot to be grateful for.  Sometimes life is difficult though.  And sometimes it's comical.  Oh, the places and circumstances life takes us to.

Sometimes I wonder if Eve ever asked the same question.  I bet she did.

*this picture has nothing to do with anything...I just thought it was funny and I think every blog post is more fun with pictures.  :)

The rest of my "orange" photos

These were the other "orange" pictures I took for this week's I heart faces challenge. I had a hard time deciding which to use...maybe I should've picked another. Who knows. But here's the rest :)

I heart faces- orange

Okay, I thought I had my picture for I Heart's challenge this week...until I went to the park this afternoon with my son. There were some beautiful trees today that were ripe with color. We played in the leaves and I pulled out my fisheye. So fun!

*I don't have an actual fish-eye lens.  This is just an attachment.  Only $30.  I love it!  Have a look at the rest of my "orange" pics on my home page if you want to see more examples of my "fish-eye".

Fall | My Story | I Heart Faces

I've already blogged about how I love fall...but it's the theme for this week's I Heart Faces challenge...and I've taken more pictures since blogging about fall sooo...

I'd say, my favorite spot this fall has been the park here in town. Liam and me have taken many morning walks there this autumn. Liam can be fussy and needy, but once we make it out the door for one of our walks, he becomes silent and observant. We both do.

Sometimes I've been reluctant to leave for our walks when I'm on a roll with getting things done around the house.  But then once we leave a calm takes over.  And in these moments of calm I pray, I read my scriptures (on my phone) :), I admire nature, I point out squirrels and birds to Liam, and I even stop for pictures (if I have my camera). I've loved it.

Below is a picture taken at the park after a rain storm the previous night.

Although this wasn't an official challenge, I got an honorable mention :) Read about it here.