Alabama Autumn Afternoon

Well, I am back home from Alabama, but on Thursday, Jessica's mother came over so I ran some errands and did a couple of fun things out and about. I was able to visit Green Mountain where there is a nature walk and a covered bridge.

I have mentioned before that certain scenes are better in the morning, some in the middle of the day and some in the afternoon. Mount Rushmore, for instance, is better in the afternoon. This is determined by the direction the subject is facing or what is around it to shield the sun. When I arrived at the Madison County Nature Walk, the bridge was beginning to be covered by shade. By the time I walked the circle, it was covered and was somewhat hidden in the shadows. This means that some places will need to be visited again to get the best light. Many books on photography such as a photographer's guide to waterfalls in a specific area will include the best time of day to visit. Just something to keep in mind.

Sometimes there is a problem with contrast of lights such as in this chapel that was on the walk. The inside of the chapel is dark and the fall foliage becomes somewhat washed out. A flash would help in cases like this, providing fill light, provided you are close enough to the shaded area. It always makes me laugh at a football game when you see all the flashes of cameras going off. They would be much better off to put the camera on program and use the light available as there is no way the flash will travel all the way to the football field.

Notice how the tree on the left gives a stability to the composition. Diagonal lines will show action, but vertical or horizontal lines offer stability. Since this scene is a quiet peaceful one, I wanted a sense of calm and the tree gives an anchor for the photo as well as providing a foreground.

I love benches and walks in the woods such as this one. When you have a subject that faces in one direction, have that subject coming into the photo, not leaving. While the bench takes up most of this photo, if I had it to one side, I would want it looking into the photo rather than out of the photo.

This lake scene is a good example of the rule of thirds. Notice how the lake line is along the upper third and the dogs and tree limbs are in that area where the lines would intersect for the rule of thirds. Your eye is drawn to that area.

Newborn & Hands

Something I like to show in photos is contrasts. My son has very big hands (as I do) so I wanted to get some shots of Jackson as a newborn, contrasting his size with the hands of his Dad.

Jackson had large hands and feet for a newborn. He also loves to get those legs moving. These are things that fade in memory as the coma of taking care of a newborn fades into the distance, so it is good to capture mannerisms like that. I had forgotten some of Jason's mannerisms until I looked back at movies I had taken.

Newborn Photos for Halloween

Jackson and I have had a couple of photo sessions. Above, it looks like he is thinking, "Oh no, there is that crazy woman with that thing again!"

A friend told me that it is best to take photos when they are in a "milk coma", soon after being fed. Since he was born near Halloween, he has several outfits for that holiday. Here are a couple.

When I was in Michaels, I saw this little costume for an angel, wings and a halo. I could not resist getting those and photographing him with them. I also want a little newborn hat with bear ears, but could not find one like I want. I might try to make one out of some fuzzy socks I bought. I did see a hand knitted cap up in the mountains with flower petals on it. I think I will start collecting such things to use as props for newborn shots.

We are all tired, but doing well. I will be here helping out until Saturday....hopefully, I can remember my way home!

Napkin Rings

I have loved doing Perler Beads since my children were young and we would make creations with them. I thought I would give you a few tips on using them. Perler Beads are one of the EKSuccess Brands, so I get to work with them a lot, even when there is not the first child around!

I build three dimensional creations and glue the sections together using Quik Dry Glue. These napkin rings are four circles put together. I build them either in a slice method (which I used here) or a slab method.

I use tweezers to pick up the beads, always looking for "snake eyes" so I can pick up two at a time. I simply stick the ends of the tweezers into the two holes and place them on the pegboard.

Joyce and I saw sooooooo many haybales this summer on our trip. I have seen several this fall with the end painted like a pumpkin or ghost, but I really liked this turkey display using hay as the body.

We have a little turkey to bring home from the hospital today.....hope he doesn't gobble too much about coming out into the real world!

Autumn Decorations

I decided this year to carve a pumpkin without cutting all the way into the inside of the pumpkin. Martha Stewart had a design I saw after I did this one with ginko leaves going around the pumpkin and it was lovely. My sister said she heard that if you apply a little petroleum jelly along the cut area that it will preserve it longer. She took this pumpkin home. I told her I would be a traveling nomad over the next month, so I did not need decorations, but did want to try the carving.

I also made eight of these indian corn napkin rings made from fusible beads to leave at the cabin. They look nice with my mother's Jewel T dishes we have there.

If I see a craft store while here in Huntsville, I think it would be fun to buy a large fake pumpkin and cut the top off, sit Jackson in it and take his photo! Why do I get the feeling that my world is going to revolve around this little fella?

Footprints

Well, I got the dreaded red x rather than the photo of the footprints, so here it is! Might as well post a few more, huh?

We did a little photo session Tuesday afternoon before Jackson's arrival. Can't wait to get him back to the house and take newborn photos!

Baby Jackson Arrives!

Jackson arrived Wednesday morning bright and early at 7:12, weighing in at 8 pounds 13 ounces and 19.5 inches in length. Above is my son, Jason, greeting him in the nursery. He also helped give him a bath.

Jackson also did some stamping while in the nursery, stamping out his footprints on this world. They look to be rather large footprints for a newborn, but then his dad does wear a size 18 shoe. The booties they are supposed to put over shoes for surgery would not cover Jason's shoes! Maybe the kind you put over your head would have worked! Anyway, glad to have another little stamper in the family and hope to spend many hours rubber stamping with him in the future!

Jackson's hands aren't too small either so he should be able to handle a wood mounted rubber stamp in a couple of years!

Everyone is well and happy. Jim, though unable to be here, looks forward to each photo sent over the phone and is being a typical grandpa with his little slideshow on his blackberry! He is even showing the photos to the nurses at the hospital in South Carolina! There may be a state between us, but he is here in heart. His mother said she has to get to feeling better so she can hold the new addition to the Craft family!

Waterfall Tour

Thought I would share some photos while I am sitting in Labor and Delivery waiting room. We took a ride up to North Carolina and did my favorite waterfall tour. Above is Dry Falls from a close angle.
Below is the gorge waterfall on 64 that is much larger than it looks in the photo.

Someone offered to take our photo of us all together, so since I seldom get in the photo, thought I would post that.

The waterfall above is in Georgia, in Sky Valley and is called Mud Creek.
I am in Huntsville awaiting Jackson's arrival while my husband is in SC with his mother. She is not doing well at all. Otherwise he would not miss this big event.

Autumn Leaves

This is my third try to post these photos so hopefully I will be successful. Took these in North Carolina on Wednesday.

I also wanted to tell you that if Jackson does not come before, he will be born on next Wednesday by C Section. I will post some photos as soon as I can. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.
Back off to the hills I go, before I become a grandmother!

Creating Layers in photos with depth of field

We have discussed Depth of Field (DOF) a few times before but it is a lesson that never grows old with me. If you take your camera off the automatic or program mode and set it for aperture priority, you can create the look where something is sharp and something is blurred.
Above, you can see that I have the flowers in the foreground sharp, while the mountains in the background are blurry. To achieve this, set your aperture large so the eye opens up large. That will be a small number for the aperture, which is a good way to remember it. The lower number the f-stop is, the larger the aperture.
To have everything in focus, you move the aperture up to around a f-stop of eleven.

Above, you can see some of my benches in the background and sweet potato vine in the foreground. This foreground would make a great spot for a greeting on a card.
Sometimes you just want a softened version of the subject matter like below.

Other times, you can find things that mimic each other such as Devil's Tower below in the background and a fence post in the foreground. The shape and color are similar whereas we know their size varies greatly. I love the detail of the fencing. Sometimes to get a sharp focus where you want it, you will need to take the camera off automatic focus and use manual focus.

Now that autumn is here, I think of these places I visited this summer and wonder how cold it is getting there. I heard that snow is falling in the Rockies in Colorado already, so I can just imagine it is in many of the locations we visited.

I love autumn the best of all the seasons. So far, I have not been able to go to the cabin and enjoy it like I usually do as I have been tied to the computer and phone with work, but I hope to go soon.

I look forward to all the wonderful foods of fall, but I think some of my favorite frozen items will be with me for a while, at least until I have to turn the heat on! My new favorite is WW yogurt, placed in the freezer for a while. I like it slightly frozen or frozen hard where I have to scrape it with a spoon! My favorites: amaretto cheesecake, apple pie and blueberry pie.

Also, I revisited an old favorite this week and it is just as wonderful as always! One cup of low fat buttermilk (don't grimace, I wouldn't normally drink the stuff either!), one cup whole frozen strawberries and some sweetener in the blender. You will not believe how good that is! I am not sure I have ever convinced any one to try it other than my daughter who used to beg for it as a child...but if you do, I think you will love it too!

Hope you are having a great week!

A Seat with a View

One of the many things I like to "collect" in my photos are ones that include interesting chairs or benches, often for their own beauty or the beauty of the surroundings. I think they make great card fronts as the viewer imagines sitting there feeling the cool fresh air and smelling the sweet surroundings. Many Glacier Lodge can be seen across this lake in Glacier National Park.

These photos from Lake Louise make me think of my MIL (Louise) who I visited in the hospital this weekend. She might have to have exploratory surgery today. She is 78 and diabetic, so I hope all goes well with her. I actually took thought of her when I took these photos thinking they would make a great birthday card since the benches are overlooking Lake Louise.

This last bench was shot at Quigley Castle overlooking the garden near Eureka Springs, Arkansas. This stop was one of those unplanned events that turned out to be very interesting.

The events of this month are beginning to breath down my neck. It will be a very busy month. I am beginning to feel like I am being pulled in many different directions and have oh so much to do! I even dreamed last night that my manager in my "job" gave me a lethal injection....now, that is getting pretty bad!!! I said, Oh no, not before I even see my grandchild! Yeah, I think a walk at the farm is a good idea this morning....I have already had my early visit to the gym. I think I need to imagine I am sitting on one of those benches.

Hope you have a great, stress free week. Personally, I am staying away from all needles!