Faith

Photo available for sale in variety of sizes. Click image for details.

Sometimes, you need a little – especially in yourself -  to get through the day.

New Technique

I discovered a new HDR-style editing technique that I absolutely love!  Amazing how I was able to transform a crooked, underexposed image into something almost magical.  This was supposed to be my year to learn and oh my! the things I’m learning. It’s all so exciting!

It’s also a great excuse for me to keep playing with my pictures from Italy! 

Before: Venice Canal / Underexposed & Crooked

After: Venice Canal with HDR Grunce Effect (image available for sale; click on photo for details)

Firenze

This is just one of those photos I dreamed of taking for years.  Here’s to realized dreams!

This photo is available for sale. Click on photo for details

What Secrets?

I want to schedule a trip back to Venice, where my assignment is to photograph nothing but doors. As a lover of history, I couldn’t help but wonder about the people and stories that passed through each one: generations of passionate hellos, sorrowful goodbyes and momentous transitions from childhood to adulthood.  Just like a face that has weathered the years without the benefit of plastic surgery, these doors both reveal and conceal the life within.

Image available for sale. Click on photo for details.

Sanctuary

Quiet is not something that comes to our family easily. Or often. Take our two children, as well as our nearby niece and nephew, combine them with our well-known open-pantry policy and their collective gaggle of friends, and, well … you can imagine the rest.

So visiting the island of Torcello just outside of Venice was akin to visiting another world entirely. A once-bustling community with more than 10,000 residents — a town that was more robust than Venice at the time – today is home to just 20 people. It seems to be frozen in time.

We were only on the island for perhaps an hour — which included a “please-pay-your-one-and-a-half-euro-here” for using the island’s modest (but very clean!) bathroom – but on that island, and especially in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the peace that enveloped me for a bit is a feeling and memory that will last a lifetime. The church was built in the 400′s, according to our guide (or the 600s, if you’re asking Wikipedia), and it’s said to have housed, at least for a short while, the relic of St. Mark as it was being hidden during its transport into Venice. (After it was stolen from Rome.)

If I have an event in my life that requires me to “go to my happy place,” a time when I need to chill out, I think I’ll close my eyes and visit Torcello.

Sanctuary (Click on photo to visit online store)

Ah, Venice

We’ve just returned from the most spectacular, dreamy trip of our lives.  We took the kids to Paris, and then flew to Rome, finally taking the train to Florence and then up to Venice. Rick and I had been to Paris in the past, and it was such a wonderful treat to introduce the kids to the art and culture. But Italy was a first for all of us. And oh my! How I’m sure it won’t be our last. We are completely in love with everything about Italy.  As a history major, I thought Rome was incredible. But Venice. Venice! There’s no place like it in the world. It’s a magical throwback in time. And so full of color and light. Well, 2400 pictures later, I have a few that I’ve fallen in love with, and am going to actually offer for sale (links through each photo).  Though my images cannot possibly capture the true beauty of Venice, I certainly gave it my best!

Family Fun

This week’s I Heart Faces challenge was “Family Fun,” and though I know my submission will differ greatly from all the other beautiful posts, I absolutely had to share this project. As a Christmas gift to my brother and his wife, as well as to my parents and to my husband, I worked with my children and my niece and nephew on a “covert operation.”

This photo was my inspiration; I’m a huge fan of the band Queen and have always wanted to re-create this image. However, once we got started, the kids began sharing ideas and creating a wish list of their own — of images they wanted to reproduce.

This project ended up taking more than a month and lots of secret missions. But the experience of working with my children and my brother’s kids like this was what made my holiday so special this year. I’ve never felt closer to them in my life, and boy, did we have our share of adventures in the process.  Best of all, this is just the beginning – our list of images we’re still going to reproduce is nearly two pages long.  So the adventure continues!

Here’s the rest of the project that we’ve completed so far:

Furry Faces, Tomboy Legs

Sargent Waddles

When I Heart Faces called for “Furry Faces” submissions, I couldn’t resist.  This shot was taken a few months back when we brought home our sweet new bichon, Sargent Waddles. During one of his first days with us, my daughter was in the front yard playing with the puppy and I noticed the sweet, funny  juxtaposition between his soft newness and my 11-year old daughter’s beat up, tomboy legs. Now, a few months later, the puppy has grown up, and my daughter has entered middle school and suddenly discovered that she likes being more “girly.”  I may have lucked out capturing this rare and precious moment in time.

What Big Feet You Have!

Seriously, could I Heart Photos provide better prompts? I took this shot a few months ago when my son’s best friend was visiting. “Little” Ty – who is, mind you, ONLY 14 years old – stands 6’2″ tall and wears size 16 shoes. A recent CAT scan revealed that he hasn’t even “started” his growth spurt. So our TyTy is expected to be nearly 6’8″ when all is said and done.

I wanted to capture the size difference between Ty’s feet and his friends.  This was the result.  Needless to say, we all got a kick out of this particular shoot!

 

 

Busting a Gut

This week’s I Heart Faces challenge was one that absolutely called to me. The moment I saw the theme, I knew what photo I had to submit, since this is probably one of my favorite shots of the year.  These two boys are actually my son and daughter’s best friends, and the children of some of my best friends as well.  I love these two “little” guys beyond belief.  I say “little” because they both tower over most of their peers (the 14-year old is 6’2″ and wears size 16 shoes!)  They are basically family to me and when their parents asked me to take some photos of them for Christmas, we all had the BEST time together.  The fact that I managed to get any shots of them looking semi-serious was a miracle, because they are always cracking jokes.  It’s a pure joy to see kids enjoy being kids!