Proud Mom Moment

I have to brag up my daughter a bit! She had one of her first sessions photographing a senior for the Class of 2013. You can find links to the photos from her Facebook page at amanda.matilda.photography. She does great work and her prices can't be beat!

The beautiful young lady being photographed is the daughter of my BF from college who blogs over at Sew Not My Day. Hi Val!

My daughter's blog/business site can be found HERE.

She has such a creative eye!

A Few Studio Shots

Ok, I don't have a "real" studio. Just my living room with an oversized window that faces north. I also have a couple lights and a real backdrop. And these are the results. I like a couple better than others, though I'm not giving away my personal preference at this time.

Here they are, in no particular order:

On Location - Out of Town

We were visiting relatives for the 4th of July and took a few hours to drive around and shoot some location shots in my hometown for the senior pics portfolio. I was hoping for a cloudy day for optimal mid-day lighting....but had full sun instead. Tried to make the most of it with alley ways, shaded sides of buildings, etc. Here are a few of the ones I've processed . . .

Historic District



Glass Block Window



Fourth Street



Alleyway



Central Steps




Downtown



I saw a bajillion other spots that would've made great shots had the lighting been right. Guess this way we won't have to choose between 362 shots we really like, huh?

Happy Shooting (& knitting!)

Yes, There's Still Knitting

I have been knitting, though the last few entries may not reflect that fact so well!

Here are some socks I've knit to enter into the state fair. (They're not blocked yet, so they should actually look better by the time I send them off!)



I used Knit Picks Palette yarn and their U.S. #1 dpn needles (metal) to whip these up. (A very quick knit! It's the Breeze pattern from knitty.com - I have knit two other pairs, so the rhythm was familiar.) I only used one, 50 gr. ball of yarn for this pair.

Then I whipped up a gift for my cousin and his wife who are expecting a new little one very soon. The Yarn Bee "Peach Fuzz" was carried along with some sport weight white acrylic I had in the stash. This is the softest baby stuff I have ever knit!



Finally, I'm just about to finish off the other pair of socks I'm knitting for the fair. These had to use two colors of yarn, so I'm combining the "apricot" [though it looks like shocking hunter orange to me!] Palette from Knit Picks with the Bare Essential I died last summer in the crock pot. I think the two will work ok together. Lord knows, these are some bright socks!




So that's what I do in the evening after the lighting is bad for photography and while I'm watching tv with the family.

Just in case you're disappointed there aren't any new sr. pics....here are a couple more from our last venture out....which took us to the library.








We will be shooting some in Sioux City when we are there for the 4th of July, so stay tuned....I'm sure there will be another installment on Sunday!

Take #2

We went out and shot a few more senior pics yesterday afternoon. The sun was really a bit too high in the sky. I would've liked it to be more cloudy as well...better for outdoor portraits. Ah well, whadaya' gonna do? Here are few that I played around with:

The Joy of Photoshop

Playing around in Photoshop this afternoon.



Fun, painted frame and . . .




A non-traditional look which I kinda like!

In knitting news, I will be entering two items in the Iowa State Fair's "Iowa Family Living"/Fabric & Needle Arts competition. I casted on the first item this afternoon and hope to do well!