so i walked a little closer.....

and 

scared him right off my neighbors roof

~

just like this heron, i hope you get a running start to whatever it is that will keep you busy this weekend. we'll be playing games and sleeping in late, grilling and reading, baking cookies {and eating them} and as always, dancing.

~

three days of anything and nothing. i love weekends like that.

*

teamwork needed.....

come on heart. and head. and feelings. and thoughts. and gut. and emotions.

get your act together. I'm begging you.

~

self esteem. self worth. confidence.

come back already.

!

all of you. stop holding me hostage on your roller coaster.

*

do you have any games?.....

that's what she asked me. 

sadly, i said, "no, i don't have any games," but you can paint."

she said, "okay" and smiled up at me.

she lives kitty corner from us. she's a triplet and one of five kids. 

her mom and i are friends. she's the mom i refer to as "the saint."

seriously, if you have five kids under the age of 9 and you stay home with them,

YOU ARE A SAINT.

the night before i stole this one to run errands with me and play in my paint stash

{i didn't really. she willingly came with me} 

her sister {one of the triplets} broke her arm. they all start school next week. bummer.

so you've figured out by now that there's a total of seven in her family. 

i almost lost it when she told me who's in the painting and that she didn't want to paint the others on the back. that four was enough. i can keep secrets, so to protect the innocent, i can't tell you who didn't make it into the family portrait. holy crap. who would have thought that a five year old could make me laugh so hard. 

link loving and real life.....

i was in a pile of tears last night, when wicked sumo wrestling like hormones came to visit. again.

damn it. they had just been here. like a week ago. uninvited as always.

they sit on me and smother me and make me do and say things i shouldn't.

today i'm calling my doctor.

~

if you are a photographer and have an extra ten minutes, watch this guy. he's entertaining and made me feel fantastic by carrying his camera the same way i do. on his shoulder.

i kind of thought i was a freak, as i rarely see others doing that.

today and this weekend, thanks to him, i'm only shooting with my 50mm. i love that little lens of mine and unfortunately, i don't give him enough of my time. 

because it's only fair, i'll share a bit of knowledge with you. i won't go into technical details, as that's boring for everyone, but i will give you a little pointer. if you're shooting with a 50mm, your shutter speed should be at 1/50 or faster.

{yes YOU can shoot in manual people. take your camera off AUTO}

also, if you're using your 50mm on a crop sensor camera {which mine is, which means it's not a full frame camera} the 50mm ends up being more like {or i guess equivalent to} a 75mm or 80mm lens.

are you still here, or did i get too technical?

~

ashley's blog is one i have been reading for years. right now her and her husband and their two oldest boys are in china meeting and bringing home their new daughter. you have no idea how exciting this is to all of us who have been waiting patiently with her.

~

also, i've been loving on this tumblr site, even though i hate coffee and this one is great even though i wish his photos were larger. oh, and this song. well it's my number one go-to song right now. the beat gives me the energy i need after one of those damn hormonal takeovers.

*

happy happy weekend everyone

my latest "victim".....

she's beautiful and swinging into her senior year. thank you E for letting me photograph you.

you made my "job" so easy !!

*

my ugly face.....

this little guy jumped into my arms, whispering, "take me home with you" while i walked through an art show, back in june. it was love at first sight.

it wasn't until i brought him home, that i truly realized i have a thing for faces. or heads. 

they are all around me. they are in sculptures, on vases, on prints, on boxes, on bags and all over my studio with my collection of vintage doll heads.

~

then there's the fact that i would rather photograph a face than anything else. strong arm me and tell me i can never again photograph food or trees or flowers or old books or flea markets or basically any kind of still life and i'll say, "okay," but tell me i can never again photograph people and i'd painfully set my camera aside and curl up in a ball and literally be out of commission for months.

~

i'm not sure why this poem and the photo of my little ugly guy {that i've had since he came home} found their way here today, together, but they did and sometimes you just have to go with your gut.

or was that me following my head? snort.

*

sneak peek.....

why not be your beautiful self

~

tiny sneak peek from my last senior photo shoot...and yes, we trespassed.

*

the wordless watermelon patch.....

like taylor swift.....

the beginning of august was ninety degrees with humidity that was painful, constantly poking and teasing us. deep down, i wanted to grab it by its neck and throw it on the ground and stomp the life out of it, but since that wasn't going to happen, we carried on.

fortunately this senior was a trooper.

is it just me or do you see a bit of taylor swift in this gorgeous senior?

or maybe a little natalie portman ?

how about hunter tylo?

this is the only shot i got in front of these terrific barn doors. 

right after the shot, she said, "i think i'm sitting in a nest of ants," and sure enough, huge black ants EVERYWHERE. we jumped and moved faster than anyone ever should. i even made her take off her boots and shake them out, just in case.

when we ventured near the lake for a few shots, we had some furry friends join us.

speaking of friends, if they want, i always let my seniors bring someone with them. i think it makes them more comfortable and if i need an extra hand with anything, i have somebody right there.

plus i always take a few photos of them together, which i think is a great senior year memory.

if you've got friends, and we're on grass, there's going to be jumping.

thank you S for letting me photograph your beautiful, shiny, spirited self. 

i hope your last year of school is absolutely amazing in every way.

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