*Project 52* week #8 / Austin, Texas Photographic Art

Last week I swapped letters so I could use 'H' for heart in celebration of Valentine's Day. This week it's back to 'G' with:
'G is for Glitter'.

In the past few years I've seen several images of people blowing glitter from their open palms, and I've been wanting to capture such an image myself. I had my younger son do the honors for me, and this is the result.

If you're guessing that our driveway was very sparkly and colorful afterward, you would be correct.
Until next time,
Enjoy!

*Project 52* week #7 / Austin, Texas Photographic Art

In the interest of celebrating Valentine's Day, I'm swapping 'G' for 'H' in order to feature the predictable 'H is for Heart' this week.

Actually, this week's image is entitled 'H is for Heart of Hearts'. Clever, eh?  ;-)

My younger son is doing the highly-anticipated Valentine's Day card/candy exchange with his class this week, and he decided on the ever-popular 'Sweethearts' candy message hearts to accompany his cards. Did you know that they have been around for almost 150 years? The very first conversation hearts were created by Daniel Chase in 1866, and the first factory-produced candy hearts came along 35 years later, courtesy of NECCO founder Oliver Chase (Daniel's brother). You can read more about it here and here.

Anyhoo....those candy hearts made this week's assignment way too easy not to indulge. I dressed it up a little, but it's pretty straightforward and quite fitting for our annual heart-centric holiday. BTW, I did not eat a single one of them. Their appearance is far more appealing than their taste, imho.
Here ya go:

Have a Happy Heart Day, and may Love bless you this week in ways unexpected.
Enjoy!

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*Project 52* week #6 / Austin, Texas Photographic Art

'F is for Football'
I was struggling a bit with what to do for this week's image, and it hit me as we were on our way to watch the Super Bowl with some friends: FOOTBALL! It just happened to fall on the right week—YAY!
Having two boys and a husband who love sports, we own lots of sports equipment, including several footballs. This one here belongs to my husband; I think perhaps it's from when he was in high school. It's slightly deflated but still has enough air to give it the proper shape, and I love how worn it is on the surface.....enough to show it's been used a lot, but not so much that it needs to be retired. It's actually great the way it is to teach kids how to catch because it's so easy to grip.
For those interested in the particulars, I captured this image with a Nikon D800 and a 60mm/f2.8 macro lens,1/80 second at f/4, ISO 1600, handheld with support, lit by north-facing window light on the left and with a white board angled from the front right to bounce some light back onto the football. Starting with the RAW image, post work included basic tweaks and conversion in ACR, then refining it in Photoshop with Nik plug-ins (Dfine, Viveza, Color Efex and Sharpener Pro). I wrapped it up with some layered textures that I purchased from a couple different suppliers.
Until next time....
Enjoy!

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*Project 52* week #5 / Austin, Texas Photographic Art

'E is for Eyes (or Eyebrows)'
My kids have really beautiful brown eyes, and Matthew was kind enough to indulge me with his peepers for this week's image.
One of my intentions with this project is to experiment with styles that are a little offbeat (you can see this in more detail by clicking on the image). While vintage filters and 'film grain' are not difficult to add when you have the right software, getting them to look right can be a challenge (especially when you're applying them in the wee hours and your eyes start to glaze over....).
Anyway, what I'm really thinking when I see this one is: why wasn't I blessed with eyebrows like that (nevermind those juicy kissy lips)??
Enjoy!

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*Project 52* / Austin, Texas Photographic Art

Dear zogblog,
Please accept my humble apology for neglecting you for nearly a year. WOW. I'm hoping to fully make it up to you, starting right now. I've begun a *Project 52* and thus you should see much more frequent visits from me. That said....this post will be a quadrupling-up since I've already completed Week 4. For the first half of the year, I chose to make it about the alphabet. I figured that this would keep me on task while giving me lots of freedom to create; so far so good!
Here is what I've accumulated so far.


A is for APPLE

B is for BUBBLES

C is for COFFEE

D is for DUCKY

Until next time, enjoy!
K

Happy Heart Day!

"That love is all there is
is all we know of love."
~Emily Dickinson

I'm afraid this might be the last year that my 6th grader will let me photograph him like this with his little brother -- specifically for a card to go along with a Valentine's Day goodie bag for his classmates. Apparently they don't pass out Valentines once they hit middle school. Who knew?

Side note: my grandma made the quilt in the background completely by hand. It's probably 40 years old, give or take. She was a master at quilting, crochet, needlepoint, huck toweling (betcha don't know what that is), decorative stitching (I'm sure there is a better term for it but I can't think of what it is), and a good cook to boot. Even more than that, her heart knew no bounds when it came to her daughter (my mom) and her grandchildren (me and my three siblings). Sadly, she passed away before I met my husband, so my kids never got to meet this special lady who would have doted on them. I have to say, I hit the jackpot when it came to grandparents. I knew all four of them and they set the bar in grandparenting, each in their own unique way. I wanted to include some of that love in this image of my boys, and my old, tattered quilt, special heirloom that it is, was perfect for the job.

On another note.....my husband has been sick and in bed for most of this week, and he said to me this morning, "We're not doing anything tonight, are we?" Well, I'm not a huge fan of "forced" holidays (which includes New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day) -- the ones with big expectations attached that end up being tough to navigate for whatever reason. So I replied, "Nah, it's a school night, no worries." And I meant it wholeheartedly. I was focused on taking care of the kids' needs (as well as my dogs and the photo session I had this morning), and the idea of getting gussied up for an expensive dinner just didn't appeal to me. A simple "Happy Valentine's Day" would have been more than enough. Anyway, he dragged himself out of bed this afternoon just to get me some roses, and they sure are pretty. Lavender ones, not red. Just enough to fill the Waterford vase that I've had since we got married. Now the cat has a midnight snack waiting for him after everyone's asleep (ha ha!). Seriously though, the roses were nice to receive, and they were backed by a kind and loving gesture, but the lesson to our boys on how to treat a lady was the most meaningful part to me. Thank you, John! ILY!

Until the next post, ciao for now.........

Season's Greetings / In Between Holidays

Winter Salutations!

It's weighing on me that I have neither sent holiday cards, nor have I posted a holiday greeting on either of my blogs (until now).  This fall and the subsequent holiday season I was too busy with too many things (Boredom?  What's that?), I just didn't have it in me to get Christmas cards out this year.  Still strongly considering the possibility of sending out New Years cards (which I did for 2010/2011).  I really should, since I didn't send cards to anyone last year and I fear that I will be removed from many holiday card lists!  I absolutely looooove holiday cards, both receiving them and creating my own to give to my friends and family.  It's okay to call them New Years cards as long as I send them out before January 15, right?

I was actually going to take my kids' photos with the dogs outside either on Christmas Day or right after it, but the weather was not cooperative.......we had crazy wind, bitter cold and then wet and dreary.  Followed by a day of necessary lazing around with the in-laws.  However, I did squeeze in a few shots of the kiddos inside on the day after Christmas.  I gently coaxed them into the dining room (okay, bribed them with candy), where they would be beautifully lit through our north-facing windows.  Mission accomplished.  Sort of.  They look really cute in their hoodies and skullcaps, but that sort of attire doesn't really lend a holiday feel for an in-between-Christmas-and-New-Years greeting.  See for yourself:

 

I showed this to my husband and he promptly exclaimed, "They look like thugs."

He has a point.  Even at their tender ages, their head coverings in conjunction with their almost expressionless faces does kinda make them NOT look like they have the Christmas spirit.  Which, if you know my kids, goes completely against what they are all about.

Back to the drawing board.

It's funny how one little unwitting comment can give you a good idea.

Although M & Z are good-natured kids, they are young boys, and they do have their moments.  Without going into great detail of their mischief-making, I came up with this rendition of a post-Christmas "hiya!" which bridges the gap between no Christmas cards and the possibility of New Years cards:

That's a little better.  Only if you read the whole thing though.

Anyway, I hope you had a happy Christmas, Chanukah, Christmukah (sp?), Kwanzaa, Winter Holiday, (etc.), and that 2013 will bring much love, light, peace and joy to ALL.

Ciao for now.
Kim