Team Anders

After numerous failed attempts at snapping a cute shot of Rae I resigned myself to the fact that she was over having her picture taken. So I'm cheating a bit today and using this shot I took at the Lincoln Park Zoo two weekends ago.  Sleepy Rhino... Used my 55-200 lens (thanks to Molly Starkey for recommending I buy one!)  

Oh my goodness is it tough to photograph a 6-month-old's hands! Took forever to get a shot that wasn't totally blurry (or blank because he had moved his hand before I could even click the shutter!).  Easton's hand on our kitchen counter Sepia filter used in iPhoto Added another for fun...learned how to make this "frog" in elementary school and it still makes me smile :) Ribbit...Ribbit... C'mon it TOTALLY looks like a frog!

This self-portrait pretty much sums up the last 21 days...constantly behind the camera! Learning new things, thinking a bit creatively...and loving it!! After numerous creepy attempts this was the shot that worked! :) sooooo sleepy - night, night

Scratching your head, too? HA! Ok so apparently "bokeh" is a style of photography where you have a focused point and then the light or objects behind the subject are blurred on purpose (or something like that). Here are all the websites I had to read to figure out how to accomplish (and draw inspiration from) to complete today's assignment: Bokeh on Wiki  88 Examples DSLR bokeh tutorial So after doing my research and realizing how inadequate my supply of Christmas lights is... I had to get creative. Even though these shots may be an epic fail in the eyes of the photography world I'm very excited that I've learned a new skill today! Bring it Christmas 2011 - I'm going to be a Christmas light bokeh shooting fool!! I'll explain what each photo is under each shot: Photo Specifics : Sony a33, Aperture Mode - 1/10, f 5.6, ISO 800 Shot in the dark in my bathroom, flashlight shining on a pile of necklaces that I thought would reflect light to look l...

Thumbs down to the New England autumn rain because I had totally planned on photographing some of the beautiful orange leaves on the trees around our apartment. Since I figured the downpour wouldn't be good for my camera or iPhone I went roaming around the house looking for something orange...repeat pattern of what I did for Day 11 "Something Blue" . If we were even remotely prepared for Halloween it would have been a no brainer...candy corn, pumpkins, etc. but no such luck. So I tried numerous shots but nothing was working until Jace jokingly told me to take a picture of his SLP hockey jacket. I thought "lame"...and then I thought "hmm...wait...maybe not the jacket but he does have an old high school hockey jersey in the closet"...and voila! My something "orange" (disregard the white & black)... Go Orioles! Shot with my iPhone (because I left my good camera on all night last night...battery = drained)

It's great to be back to the October Photography Challenge...took a few days off with our trip to Chicago (might do some catch up shots over the weekend though...TBD). Today's assignment photo is in honor of my husband's numerous requests for me to wear these shoes as much as possible. He loves my Birks... I wish I lived in a climate where I could wear these 365! LOVE Ok so sarcasm above, Jace hates them...but I LOVE my Birkenstocks. I think I've owned a pair, in one style or another, since 6th or 7th grade. I photographed these because their time on my feet in 2011 is rapidly coming to a close and that makes me sad. :(

Sooo glad my plan for Day 11 "Something Blue" failed because I didn't realize "Eyes" was right around the corner...suppose I should start paying attention to the upcoming assignments. Here's the shot I was looking for :) Photo Specifics : Shot in Auto+ mode 1/100, f/5.6, ISO 320

Uh...ok I'll play along (unenthusiastically). Now let me tell you why...because I'm about to head out the door to get my hair done and there are very few things that make me so excited. Hopefully when I'm done my color will look something like this (would also take the face and body but only so much one can do at the salon). So I apologize but I totally enlisted a guest photographer for this one - will protect said photographer's anonymity because this person simply does not have time to take requests for portraits, weddings, infant photos and the such! Here I am with 13 things - can you tell who was spoiled before the little homie came along?

Had to dip into the archives for this one because we've been under a thick cover of clouds here in Boston since about 3 o'clock this afternoon. I took these two photos in Ogunquit, ME this summer  with my family. We had such a fun time and the scenery was breathtaking! So much fun to watch the tide come in and go out and how much it affected the beach right by where we were staying...other highlight was getting "jump" photos of my family! lots of laughs there :) I don't know which of these two is my favorite so here are both. Will probably post photo #2 to Flickr since the first has that funky green flare in it but I think I like the setup of #1 better...you?

For the last 30 minutes I've been walking around the house noticing just how much blue there really is around this place. Once I'd snap a photo I'd turn around and see something else I wanted to take a picture of...oh the choices. I took a bunch but since it's dark outside and the lighting in our apartment absolutely stinks not many turned out well but here are a few that fell into the "acceptable to display in public" pile...your favorite? So this was my original plan - a picture of this cutie's beautiful blue eyes but this was the only shot I could get because he was TIRED and not having it :( So then I thought, why not show you the source of those baby blues (Jace's eyes are brown so I'll have to snap those beauties for some other assignment) It's close enough to Halloween for a slightly creepy shot, right? Couldn't skip taking a photo of the Air Force blue! I think this will be the one I submit to the Flickr site And my ...

Thinking about today's assignment was a lot of fun for me. Unfortunately, I don't live anywhere near the small town in Illinois where I grew up or I could throw a couple real doozies in here...I'm sure my girlfriends are OK with that though ;) It was a lot of fun to take a stroll down memory lane to try and figure out what I could take a photo of to represent a childhood memory. I settled on this - a photo of my bear. This bear was a gift from Santa (oh how I love that man) in 1980-something. Photo Specifics: 1/30 f/3.5 ISO 500 I've had this sucker for SO long that I honestly can't remember not having him around. I believe he was a Mistletoe Bear from Marshall Fields but it's been eons since he's had his cute little hat and actually looked white . His head's been sewn back on twice (thanks, Mom) and the reason I decided to photograph him is because there's one story that actually comes to mind every time I look at his sad little right eye... ...

Because this foolio wouldn't let me take his picture this morning I've found another way to get him into this assignment. Oh my goodness we look like little kids...21 June 2003 Someone I love VERY much ;)

Dear Mom & Dad, Remember how clean and tidy my room was when I was younger? Yea...neither do I. ;) There's a 100% chance these "dirty clothes" will be picked up and put in the hamper for laundry day Love, Ali

Hip, hip, hoooray...it's Friday! Today's assignment is "Fruit". Yea short, sweet and to the point...and this post will be, as well :) I had fun showing you a few of my shots for the day's assignment yesterday so I picked two again today...difference is I like one of these. Which one's your favorite? Our fruit drawer...or is it our candy drawer with fruit in it? Sadly the guilt I thought I'd feel by seeing an apple while reaching for a piece of chocolate just hasn't materialized Fruit done Easton style ;)

Today's assignment was pretty difficult for me for some reason...I mean I'm only 5'4" so most things I view are "from a low angle". (go ahead and laugh, I'll wait)... So I tried numerous things but none seemed to ever turn out the way I thought they would. I laid down on the floor to photograph Rae... ...but she wasn't having it...and it just looks "close" not from a "low angle". So I thought, who in this family sees things from a lower angle than me? Ah ha!...Super Smallz! So I laid down under his activity mat... Fail #2 - this is just lame. I picked my old bones up off the floor, now realizing that our activity mat REALLY needs a cycle through the washing machine, and tried to think about what might sort of describe what we do with our evenings yet could be shot from a "low angle"? Deciding against taking a photo of Jace and I sitting on the couch I again attempted to flex my creative wanna be photograp...

This is what the view looks like from our 3rd floor apartment at 7:50 PM after a very long day. Photo Specifics: Sony a33 on Auto+ mode, it selected Night View Slow Shutter (gracias, camera) THIS is the crap I don't get but would love to learn: ISO 1250, F3.5 1.3" Info on the long day (stop reading if you don't care...waaa waaa waaa below):   Remember that test I asked you all to wish me well on? (thanks, BTW) Well I'm going to have to ask you to retract your well-wishes or, at least, hold those thoughts :( I stayed up and studied (read: crammed) for that test, arrived at the base education office right on time and confidently walked into the...uh...dark classroom this morning?!? Yea, test was Tuesday morning so I totally missed it...oh stop, I can just see all of you out there who know me just shaking your head (Jace)...so freaking typical, I know. So anyway, guess the silver lining is I have more time to study now...rescheduled for the 11th.  Had a hair ...

Sage green counts, right?? So here are the super fab boots I rock four out of the seven days of my week. This, my friends, is why it's so difficult for me to get ready on the weekend...you mean I actually have to choose what I wear? ;) Photo Specifics: Shot with my Sony a33 DSLR P setting with sunset filter Editing in iPhoto, clicked cool a few times, blurred the edges and then hit saturate and viola I've gotta say that this challenge has been SO much fun to participate in. I've been receiving comments (and commenting on) so many random people's photos. Everyone is so encouraging and friendly...love the non-pretentious, supportive atmosphere out there!!! Keep it up, all, and thanks for the numerous smiles you're providing me throughout my day ;) Enough fiddling on the internet...time to study for my second Air Command and Staff College test tomorrow. Will be attempting to dominate some National Security topics...wish me luck!!!

This is the first day since Easton was born that I left work at 6:00 PM so, needless to say, this was a quick snap and then I hit the road for home... Enjoy the beautiful skies over Hanscom AFB!! Photo Specifics: Shot with my iPhone and cropped out the cars in the parking lot...they looked sad :(

Today's assignment is "What You Wore Today". Be prepared for a fashion statement, people! Photo Specifics : Took with iPhone, edited with Instagram using the "earlybird" filter Figured it was appropriate since we were out hiking by 0800

As I mentioned in my previous post , today begins the October Photography Challenge! Today's assignment is "Self Portrait". So here I am...1 Oct @ 1000, belly full of YUM-O breakfast and coffee from Christophers , bathroom scrubbed clean, Easton fed and, most importantly, ready for... Air Force to SINK NAVY!!! Specifics on photo : Um...clicked with the "P" setting on my camera, zero clue what that means but it's the one I normally use. Editing courtesy of iPhoto, clicked on Fade +3 (and, ahem, most definitely used the blemish corrector!!!) I challenge you to find a more technical description of a photo! ;)