jimmy and kathleen...

So sometimes I like to procrastinate, but this is probably to the extreme.  This was the first of two photo shoots that I did a few weeks back.  The photos were "engagement photos" that were done a little more than two weeks before they were getting married.  We had been planning on doing the photos since late January/early February.  I processed the photos and had them developed quickly so that they could be displayed at the ceremony, but I kept finding other things to do instead of posting them.  Well, here they finally are...  

weekend with Pyper...

Well most of these have found their way to Maci, Tyler, Sadi or Sherri's facebook pictures (because I couldn't wait to share them) but I wanted to post them on my blog to tell about what a great weekend that I had taking pictures of Pyper.  It was almost like she wouldn't let me take a bad picture of her.  She just kept looking, smiling and posing for me.  They were taken with the 40D and the EP2.  Sherri says that Pyper will eventually tire of me taking pictures of her.  I know the day will come, but that is when the bribing will kick in...

eye of the Pyper...

So this morning I was looking forward to the new coffee blend from Starbucks (and it was EXCELLENT), and after work I got to look forward to Pyper at our house.  Unfortunately she was asleep when I got home...  To make the best of it, I pulled out my camera and stuck it on a tripod to take some low light pictures of her face.  Used a very slow shutter speed (0"6 seconds) at f/4.0.  Decided on the Lensbaby to really draw attention and focus on her eye and the lashes.

tribute...

Can't wait 'til tomorrow morning...  Bought some new coffee at Starbucks this afternoon:  Starbucks Tribute Blend Coffee.  Not drinking it tonight, because I want to sleep.  Of course I had to get a picture!  Now I am just waiting on morning...  tick, tock, tick, tock

let it ring...

A couple more shots from last night using my Canon 40D and the Lensbaby Composer with closeup filters attached.  The aperture was set at f/2.8.  This lens really blurs and smears the background.  The green wall and brownish/red chair make a great background.  The purple stone texture and shape, of Sherri's ring, are really brought out in the first photo.  Didn't realize that my cross ring was so scratched up...

and then Pyper smiles...

I would have to say that when Pyper smiles it makes me smile even bigger... Taken with the Lensbaby Composer lens on the 40d.

the eye of a needle...

A thought provoking subject...  to photograph and examine...  

the eye of a needle...

In Luke 18 Jesus said, "In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

But in the verses immediately following that statement, He tells us something else...  He said, "What is impossible for mere humans is possible for God."

I pray for God's continued grace and an extra dose of discernment in helping me fully understanding how these very verses apply to me today...

an afternoon on the town...

Took my 40D camera out on the streets of Greenville to try out a new lens that I bought.  The lens is the Lensbaby Composer (www.lensbaby.com).  It is definitely not a lens for the people who examine a photo for sharpness.  I would consider it an artsy lens that gets your creative juices flowing.  I bought it to use for some ideas that I have for Pyper and Sadi, however I wanted to take it around for a few days and photograph still life (things that don't move) to get used to the lens.  As you can see, the photos generally have one area that is in focus and the remaining parts of the photo are way out of focus.  If you are facing the sun, the lens flares really bad (see the first photo) across the photo.  This is a feature of the lens, not a flaw.  Everything about the lens is manual.  I really had a great time with this lens and I honestly think you can create better photos when you have to think through all aspects of the photo prior to taking the picture.  At least that holds true for taking pictures of things that don't move...

more Maci and Pyper...

Here are a couple of more pictures of Maci and Pyper from this past weekend.  So peaceful...  I love the closeup shots that isolate the emotions between them.

Took both of these using my studio lights and Canon 40D camera.

separate, yet brought together for a purpose...

I really do have some pictures to post of things other than Pyper, but I want to get these pictures out there before she gets too old.  I don't think it would have the same effect to post these after she starts walking and talking...  

This is another set of photos taken with two cameras (40d and m8).  In this post, I think I like the composition of the 40d picture the best (the first one).  It was taken with an 85mm lens at f1.8 which made for a very shallow focus.  I had to crop the second one (taken with the m8) so much that it kinda gets noisy.  It was taken with a 35mm lens at f2.0.

peaceful...

Wish I could look this peaceful when I sleep.  Not a worry in the world...  

Two pictures taken from different angles with different cameras.  One with the Canon 40D and no cropping.  The other with the Leica M8 and cropped over 50 percent of the image out.  

Can't wait to get some pictures with her eyes open...

pyper's scale photo...

Finally got what I was looking for...  Had to do a quick re-take today of Pyper on the scale.  Couldn't convince myself that any of the previous photos from Wednesday would work. You can't even imagine the look on Maci and Sherri's face today when I said, "I think I want to re-take Pyper's scale photo."  I had to do quite a bit of color adjustments to get the wall and Pyper just how I wanted them.  For the detail-oriented person, notice that the scale reading is right at 7 lbs 11 oz (Pyper's actual birth weight)...

am I crazy...

I have photo ideas running through my head constantly.  I know it is weird, but it sometimes makes it hard to sleep.  I've got to find a toddler and an older man, another older man for a picture in a cemetery and diner, some old christmas decorations and last but not least I am waiting on Pyper...

more Maci and Tyler and oh yeah, don't forget Pyper...

A few more shots from last night.  Glad we got to capture these moments.  We all had alot of fun doing this...  When I was modifying the pictures today I noticed right off that I made a slight (or stupid) mistake on the camera settings. I had been messing around taking pictures a few days ago and I changed the ISO setting to 400.  Well, I forgot to change it back and I took all of the photos last night with this ISO.  The result was alot more digital noise than I planned.  Definitely would have rather had this setting at 100, but it is one of those things that you can't have a do-over.  Technically I could have a do-over but I wouldn't want to be the one to tell Maci that I needed her to do this again...  Will definitely pay more attention when I take the pictures of Pyper.  Modified all of them using Aperture 3, Silver Efex Pro an Color Efex Pro.  

Maci Silhouette

Here is a quick preview of one picture from last night.  I shot several pictures of Maci and Tyler trying to catch her right before Pyper is born.  She is 37 weeks today so I figured that I better take the opportunity while we had it.  Next photo shoot setup will be the birth announcement.  Finally found a old set of baby scales for the occasion...

just a dog...

A totally random picture that I took about a year and a half ago at a Dallas White Rock Lake 5K.  Rest assured that I was not running the race.  I was just the nerd with the camera.  I keep running (no pun intended :)) across this picture and I always think about posting it.  So here it is.  One totally random dog...

leaving summer behind...

Shot some macro photos today for an upcoming photo contest.  Fired off quite a few shots before I finally took this one.  Knew it was a keeper when I took it.  Wish it would have been the first one instead of the last...  Struggled alot with finding a good background.  After Sherri saw all of the things that I had set up and was using as the background, she pointed to a plate in the kitchen and said "why don't you just use this".  At first, I wasn't going to even try it because I knew how she would rub it in if I used that photo for the contest.  After I showed her the photo on the computer, I could already hear her gloating.  Oh well, look at it this way, we make a good team!!!