TBT: Daisy Then and Now

My daughter, Daisy, on the day she went home from the hospital. January 1st, 2012. Best. New Year's. Ever.

And now. Two years old (plus a few months).

I saw a 5-week old baby today. He made cute little noises while he ate. He fell asleep almost instantaneously when he was done. He made me miss Daisy when she was an itty bitty. Then I see her developing every single day. I see the way her vocabulary explodes minute by minute. I miss the coos and putting her in one place and her not moving. But, if she went back there, I would miss the way she is now. She's her own person, with her own idiosyncrasies, her own personality. Quite amazing for just two (plus a few months) short years on this earth.

SOOC Sunday: Daisy's Reflection

It's SOOC Sunday again! Today I've got a treat for you. Daisy's reflection! Yesterday we were at an event at Iron Steed Harley Davidson and it was pouring rain. Nonetheless, I was tasked with taking pictures so I did. At one point, my little girl happened to be standing at just the right spot to be reflected in the water on the ground. I had my long lens on so I got mostly her reflection and the lower half of her body.

Basically all I did was brighten it up a bit so she can be seen a bit more clearly. Then I cropped it down (yes down, even though it looks wider) to a 4x5/8x10 ratio for easier printing.

Love my little girl!

Stockton Thunder vs. Alaska Aces Hockey Game

On Sunday, Vacaville Iron Steed HOG's Ladies of Harley did a lunch and hockey game in Stockton. We had lunch at MooMoo's which was fabulous, if a bit chaotic with 25+ of us, then it was off to the hockey game. The first one for this family.

Here comes the team! I couldn't bring my big lens in, my small one was hard enough, so a lot of these pictures are from more of a distance than I would have liked.

It was family day at the game which means they keep fighting to a minimum...supposedly. Three seconds into the game and there was a fight. So much for family day.

Thunder played the Alaska Aces...and got their butts handed to them. Kind of disappointing.

There's my girl, putting her hands up and hoping Thunder Man will give her a towel. (She did get one.)

No sporting event would be complete if you don't end up on the jumbo tron. That would be my husband and our friend doing the chicken dance.

I'll put the rest of the pictures on my Facebook in the next couple of days. Keep an eye out!

SPCA of Solano County Biker's Best Friend Adoption Event

Saturday, Iron Steed Harley Davidson put on an event called Biker's Best Friend Adoption Event and the stars of the event? The SPCA of Solano County's adoptable dogs and cats. The event featured two different raffles, hot dogs, a dog fashion show, and a DJ. A few of my favorite pictures are below. The rest are on my Facebook.

Turkey

Just down my road, our neighbors have several birds. They have a large male turkey which has a tendency to actually think. It thinks every morning how fun it would be to torture me and keep me from going to work. If only the turkey would pay me to stay home, I would just take photos all day.

Anyhow, this turkey blocked my way once again this morning. While I was contemplating which side of the road I would have to drive on to pass, I saw the light, the turkey in the road and I just had to stop. So I did.

I like the light on this one but I don't like the perspective.

I like this perspective much better. The lighting isn't quite as great as I'd like it to be but still, the better of the two shots. Any longer and I would be late for my day job so I had to go. Naturally, as soon as I got to the turkey, he waddled to my side of the road and I had to use the other side. *Sigh* I will never win. Turkey 1 - FFR 0.

Daddy Daisy Mini Session

We did a dry run of a mini session in Andrews Park. Unfortunately, we left a little too late and lost the perfect light but we still got almost half an hour of shoot time. Andrews Park in Vacaville has a playground, a small elevated garden, art pieces, and an inexplicable wall with a doorway. Incidentally, this piece which makes zero sense, is good for pictures. Another session was taking place there so we stuck to the grassy hills and benches.

This bridge is pretty fantastic. Rustic and modern all in one.

This is one of Daisy's favorite toys. She takes the stethoscope and listens to all of our hearts. She also tells us if we're going to live.

Daisy loves to fly.

Daisy and her dad share Eskimo blood. (Yes, really) They are truly allowed to share an Eskimo kiss.

So who do I get to take out there next?

SOOC - Daisy in the Arboretum Tree

Davis has a beautiful arboretum. At pretty much every season, the arboretum offers a plethora of photo opportunities. Flowers and trees abound, benches are strategically placed offering great places to relax and enjoy the day.

The top photo is very cool in color.The sign on the tree is also unsightly to the final photo as well.

I warmed the photo with just a slight tone adjustment and cropped the photo to just above the sign. Nothing else really needed to be done to it. (Thankfully)

My Goldfish

Not an actual goldfish, but my daughter moved from her infant/toddler swim class to the Goldfish class. She starts on Monday. I'm thrilled. Naturally I have no photos of her swimming today because I was swimming with her. Either way, we went to the Davis Arboretum and took pictures for a couple of hours afterwards.

I would love to take a family there for pictures. It's a beautiful place especially in the spring. It should be in bloom for the next few weeks.

Flowers Bright, Flowers at Night

I have loved flowers as subjects for many years. They sit quietly and have numerous details; their texture, color, the very center of them...I could go on but I won't. One thing I have not done is photograph flowers at night. Last night I walked out of a meeting with Daisy to let her run off a little steam (sitting through meetings is hard for a two-year old) and I saw these trees illuminated at the top by a parking lot light and growing darker as it went down. Now the first couple of shots were when the sun was set but some light remained. My camera slowed it's shutter speed and you can barely tell it's not daylight.

In the last two, it's much more obvious it's night. I just love the way the street lights played on the tops of the trees.

I need more practice and a tripod to make these shots clearer but it's not bad for a first try.

Pssst...I have a secret!

My secret? I have a favorite photo. It's not even a photo I took.

I have other photos that I love. Many from my childhood but none which are more treasured than this one single photo. This is five generation of women and that tiny baby there in the blanket? That would be me. It's not technically perfect, the color and composition aren't amazing, it wasn't done in a studio or photoshopped but maybe that's why I love it so much. It speaks of family, it speaks of generations, it's the only photo I have of all five of these women together and the only photo of all five of them I will ever have. What's your favorite photo? What does it exemplify?

Down by the Bay

Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow, back to my home, I dare not go...

My mom just gave me Raffi albums for my daughter so I now have Down by the Bay stuck in my head. Which brings me to the above image. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get outside to take this photo but it still did pretty good through the glass! A dreary day (one of my favorite kinds of day) in San Francisco (a place I don't visit often enough).

SOOC Sunday: Flowers

It's SOOC (straight out of the camera) Sunday! Today's subject: Flowers.

I took some photos before church today. Poppies are popping (pun fully intended) up all over the place around here right now.

Here's what it looks like now with a bit of editing. Some cropping and color adjustment:

Much better. 195mm, 125ISO, f2.8.

Accidental Perfection

Picture this (no pun intended): I get a new lens, a new toy if you will. It's raining (bummer!) and while the lens is hardy, it still makes me very nervous to take it out to play with it. Finally, the sun clears the clouds and I immediately run out to play. I see one of our daffodils has popped out of the ground and I immediately go to snap a picture of it:

Then I think, if I could get a bit lower, I could see inside of that flower. Not wanting to get dirty, I resorted to an old photo trick, lower the camera, point, shoot, and hope for the best. I got something I didn't even know I wanted. Perfect. Accidental. Like...Teflon. If only this accident made me a few million bucks.

What I love about this is the contrast of the dark brown bark against the bright green spring grass. I also love the hint of the rain droplets in the background and how sharp the foreground is while the background has a nice bokeh about it.

- FFR