31 October, 2011

Happy Halloween!

LH got to spend Halloween with us, since she didn't have any morning classes and wasn't keen on attending her night class on Halloween night. (Don't blame her--folks pull some dumb stunts on Halloween.)

One of our Halloween decorations.

The same jack-o-lantern at night. The effect was unintentional, as I had the ISO cranked way up and a trick-or-treater started walking up my driveway, which caused me to move the camera. I thought it was interesting, if not perfect.

30 October, 2011

Carrying on the tradition of last year (slightly unknowingly, since we didn't originally realize we did the shoot exactly one year later), my sisters got all dolled up, donned their masks, and we headed out for a photo shoot. This year, LH joined us and we used the side and back of a nearby building to add a far more interesting backdrop to the mix. I must say, not having to work with the bright orange color of the side of our house was a real relief to me.

I utilized my mother's camera for the majority of the shoot and can say I'm pretty satisfied with the clarity and coloring of the results. Perhaps someday I shall have the funds to upgrade my own equipment.

Critique, as always, is most welcomed--especially from any portrait photographers out there. I'm always looking for tips and tricks to apply to my photography of people.

29 October, 2011

Today was the continuation of LH's school photography project. We went to a park that we've seen many a time--but never actually visited--for her next round of shots.

I spent the day working in a 16:9 aspect ratio in an attempt to mix things up a bit. I think the results were worthwhile.

A statue in the park, backed by the gorgeous Colorado mountains. Better viewed in a larger size.

From what I could tell, this particular gutter usually runs water from a fountain to the drainage pipes at its foot. As we're approaching winter, the park's fountains were all turned off. (Just for the fun of it--larger size.)

The skies were quite pretty. (Larger size.)

This petunia was randomly growing in one of the tree rings. I thought it was pretty. (Larger size)

Adorable acorn! (Larger size)

28 October, 2011

LH drove up in the afternoon to spend another weekend with us; it's become routine at this point.

I spotted this nicely preserved paw print in the morning whilst letting my dog out. Couldn't resist.

27 October, 2011

Not much to report. The parents got back from a business trip today, so we actually spent a good portion of our day listening to them recount tales of their few days away and catching them up on all that we did.

For some reason, whenever I take one photo of my dog, I just keep doing so for a couple days. She's just such a pretty girl that it's hard to resist.

This is something of a bonus photo, as I didn't feel it good enough to qualify as my daily shot. I did want to share with you all, though. This is the view that greeted me this morning. I love Colorado. ( Best viewed in a larger size).

26 October, 2011

Despite their fear of cold rain, our dogs love snow. No, I don't really get the logic either, but I enjoy watching the romp through snow drifts. During a pause in the cleaning process, I took the girls out back to wrestle a bit and snapped a few shots while I was at it.

One of their "pause and stare at one another intently" moments.

An action shot. I love Wisdom's outstretched paw in this picture.

I rather liked these twisted, dried leaves. They were rather artistic looking, I thought.

25 October, 2011

I decided to go for a change and photograph one of the pots of mums that my mom purchased a couple weeks ago. It's been a while since I had some healthy flowers to turn into subjects.

24 October, 2011

Day one of our vigorous house cleaning project uncovered an abundance of junk and treasure alike. Amongst the varied contents of one crate, I discovered some of my mom's old vinyls. Couldn't resist taking advantage of one of my breaks to snap a shot of this copy of "Oklahoma!"

23 October, 2011

Almost all of the leaves have fallen off the maple in our backyard. Most of them are dead and brown, but some still have their color. I took advantage of the lovely lighting of the setting sun to photograph some more of the leaves.

22 October, 2011

The purpose of LH's visit being her final project for her photography class, we all rose early and headed to our favorite park for an early morning photo shoot. Whilst awaiting my turn as her (apparently least cooperative) subject, I wandered about and did some photography of my own.

The first two photos were taken on my Sony; the final was taken on my mother's Nikon, which I nabbed before we left the house.

(Why yes, I did enjoy playing with lens flares. Why do you ask?)

21 October, 2011

LH came up in the afternoon to hang out a bit before spending the night for a photo shoot the following morning. As she and I have been wanting to visit the neighboring cake decorating shop, we took a trip over there.

Whilst in the store, the fondant shells on one particular cake caught my eye. I loved the detail and texture and thus, could not resist snapping a shot of them. Gorgeous, eh?

20 October, 2011

One might be deceived into thinking that I enjoy locking myself up in the stifling hot bathroom long enough to get good shots of flames. I really don't. However, I do enjoy it when my time produces a shot that I like.

19 October, 2011

Another day where my lack of inspiration was incredibly obvious. Out of desperation, I wandered outside and victimized our decorations again. I like the touch that our little decorative straw bale has added to our decor.

18 October, 2011

The leaves have returned. Took this shot whilst on a walk about the neighborhood. Many of our trees took a really nasty battering during yesterday and today's wind and thus, most of them are lacking the full branches that they had previously.

17 October, 2011

I bet y'all will be relieved to see today's photo, for I'm giving you all a break from scenery and fall leaves; I overdo flowers in the summer and leaves in the fall. What can I say? I'm a sucker for nature.

The subject of this photo is the really neat nail polish my sisters recently purchased. The stuff on the top is called "mosaic nail polish" and is, to my knowledge, a fairly recent trend. It starts off as a solid coat of paint and then begins to shrink and crack. It's really rather neat to watch.

16 October, 2011

After church and some time spent hanging out with the family, LH and I took off on a drive. We didn't have any particular destination, so we ended up wandering to her old neighborhood. It was a nice way to spend our Sunday afternoon I thought.

15 October, 2011

LH took a spontaneous trip up here to visit us. She and I went to get some ice cream with my sisters and then we visited our favorite park. The fall aspens reflecting on the lake made for a lovely photography excursion.



(Used a different aspect ratio, which makes this shot far easier to appreciate in a larger size.)

14 October, 2011

Our little maples have finally turned some lovely shades of red. Couldn't resist adding some red leaves to my fall photos.

13 October, 2011

I helped Boom and my mom get our outdoor Halloween decorations up today. The plastic chains are one of my favorite part of our decorations... I'm still not particularly sure why. But I like 'em anyway.

12 October, 2011

Got back to the gym for the first time in over a week... again. Life's been so crazy for the past few months that our workout schedule has been quite neglected.

The nice, tall windows on the track come complete with blinds that aren't dusty. Far more photogenic than any found at our house.

11 October, 2011

Busy, errand-filled day. It took some effort to find even this photography opportunity.

10 October, 2011

I spent a few hours getting what we've deemed our art cabinet nice and organized. Things that remain closed the majority of the time rarely ever get much attention when it comes to cleaning. It's amazing how much space becomes available once you've stacked everything nicely, though.

We kind of hoard cute notebooks.

9 October, 2011

Came down from the mountainside with LH a bit after noon and made our northward journey again. We kept her for dinner and a show before she took off to her dorm.

This is an adorable piece of property at the foot of the mountain road that leads to her parents' place. And it's for sale. I do wish I could afford to buy the place and fix it up a bit--'twould be a place I'd love to live.

8 October, 2011

After spending the entire morning and afternoon working, LH and I took off on a drive to relax a bit more before getting back to cleaning.

Since we'd had our first snow of the season and were surrounded by stunning views, we couldn't resist stopping and getting some photos.

I didn't get to walk amongst the aspens during my trip the previous Thursday and was capable of doing so this time, so I hiked down a small hill to walk through the trunks. (Better viewed in a larger size.)

Colorado loves mixed scenery. I loved that spring/summer, fall, and winter were all represented in this little scene. (Larger size.)

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I'm rather fond of this photo. (Larger size.)

7 October, 2011

LH picked me up in the morning and she and I headed south to run some errands before heading up to her parents' place for a weekend of work.

While we were getting lunch, she made this adorable paper airplane. Which I adopted. Because it's adorable.