Visit with Sister & Niece

Pictures from an ordinary day visiting my sister and my niece.  I love these two.

 

 

 

Photo Art Friday - Bamboo Dreams Challenge

This week's Photo Art Friday's challenge was to use a picture of your own choosing and the Bamboo Dreams texture/background from Pixel Dust Photo Art (pdpa)'s website to create a piece of art.

Again, it sounded like fun....so I made my second attempt at participation:

 

 

I used:

•  pdpa Bamboo Dreams texture/ background
• A picture of my sister playing with her daughter (my niece) from our last photo shoot (aka visit and playtime).
• A quote that I liked found online.




I'm not sure how I'd compare this piece to the last one.  When I first saw the challenge I was hoping to use a picture of some beautiful flower...however it quickly came to my attention that I rarely shoot pictures of flowers.  Mostly I have pictures of friends and family.

That being the case, you get the picture above.  ;)  As written in an earlier post, hopefully as I participate in more challenges skills (and imagination) will improve. 

If you would like to check out the Photo Art Friday Showcase or take a look at some of the neat (and many free) textures and background there are over at Pixel DustPhoto Art just click the button to the left. 

Wordless Wednesday - Raspberry Highlights

More pictures from this photoshoot can be found here! 

 





 

 

More pictures from this photoshoot can be found here! 

Since so many wonderful people have begun hosting Wordless Wednesday linky's I'm running out of space on the posts. So, now I've put all the buttons on their own page.

Click here to find more pics and Wordless Wednesday linkys.

Or Just click on the tab at the top of the page titled "WW Linkys".

Thanks!

Raspberries for Christmas?

My brother in laws hates to get his photo taken.  Even so, he is willing to once a year humor his wife and allow his sister-in-law to take a few family pictures.   So off to the park we went.

Naturally (considering the primary star of the session is only about 15 months old) the majority of the photos were a result of play. 

There were a few wardrobe adjustments here and there…

And a few traditional poses attempted…

However, traditional quickly turned to giggles…

 

Proprietary was thrown to the wind…

And an “anything goes” approach was taken.

 Thanks to Jess, Joe, and the little one for a fun day at the park! 

 

Lesson 1: Plan to take photos inbetween nap times if possible, but don't force it. 

Lesson 2: Scout out the location you plan to shoot at ahead of time if possible.  There can be a neat hidden away place right around the corner if you take the time to look.

Lesson 3: It's OK to stop before the time period.  Sometimes everyone just needs a nap.  ;)

Baby Fix

I am a very spoiled Aunt.  Friday morning I called my sister and told her I was in need a baby fix.  Next thing I know it’s Saturday and my sister shows up at my house with my adorable niece (mind you it’s an hour and ½ drive from her house to my house).  I have the best sister ever!

 

Can you tell someone just woke up?

Look...It's Aunt Kris!

 

Mmmmm, not too sure about that leaf...



 

Ok, done now...lets go shopping...



 

 

After a quick tromp around the front yard (and a quick couple of pictures) we spent the day shopping and just hanging out.  It was wonderful!

 

 

I can't wait for the next visit.  ;)

Look Who is One!

As you might have noticed from the last two weeks of posts...365 days (plus a bit more since I'm a little over a three weeks late with this post)  have gone by since this little one came into the world:

My niece is officially a One Year Old.  You know what that means...excuse for a party!!!

On the first Sunday of August, her mother (my sister) held the cutest little monkey themed birthday party.  Naturally the birthday girl was decked out in her (monkey themed) finest:

Pink tutu...check.  Adorable bow...check.  Ok Mom, I'm all ready for by big debute!

To pass the time as guest arrived...Little Love began to browse the gift pile....

hmmm, what could this be? For Me? 

I'll just grab some of this shiny and crunchy stuff...noone will notice. 

 Once everyone got settled in it was time for cake.  Girl's first introduction to chocolate!

Now Mom...what is this?  And why is everyone looking at me?

Really?  It's all mine?



So this is Chocolate...I don't know what the big de.....



Whoa!  Sugar Rush!!



Mmmmmmm Chocolate......You and I are gonna become real good friends...



NomNomNomNom!





Overall it was a preaty cool birthday party.  My sister did a really great job and even with the heat, I think my niece had a really fun time.

Happy birthday little one!  Just wait until Aunt Kris introduces you to choclate mouse.  Your life will never be the same. 

Lesson 1: Full length shots (head to feet) are really neat for showing how compact little ones are. 

Lesson 2: Don't get between a girl and her chocolate...even if she is only one.
Lesson 3: Shooting in RAW is very useful if you want to adjust the white balance later. Changing the lighting from daylight to shade is a good way to add warmth without an extra filter.

Father’s Day – The New Dad

Last week I got to feature my wonderful sister, my dad, and the little peanut at the Phillies game.  This week, I get to show off my terrific brother-in-law.  It’s his first year representing as a Dad on Father’s day…but from the look at things he’s already working it like a pro. 

Bunny, Eggs, & Sundaes!

This Easter was the first family holiday that my husband and I have hosted.  We may have went a little crazy...but it was a blast!  Good to know that at the end of the day I wasn't the only one who needed a nap.

It started out with baskets:

Next came the egg hunt (wonderful hubby of mine took over picture taking for the hunt).  OK, so I might have snuck my 35mm out for a couple shots:

Since the egg hunt was for adults (right now the only kid in the family is 8 months old), the plastic eggs contained slips of paper describing goodies waiting for them in the pize bucket:

The day ended with Easter Sundaes!

Lesson 1: Pay attention to what is in the background.  Weird items (such as a random cup) clutter up an otherwise nifty picture.

Lesson 2: Babies are cute with props bigger than they are.

Lesson 3: Sometimes you just need to give up the camera so you can enjoy the moment.  (Thank hubby for stepping in during the egg hunt to take pictures!)

Perfect Sunday with Sister

What was so great about this Sunday?  Well…let me tell you!  It was 70 degrees and gorgeous out.  My sister and my little adorable niece came up for a visit.  During the visit we got to take my niece to the park where she got to go on her first outdoor swing ride.  

At first she didn't know what to think...

But sure enough, she eventualy got into the swing of things...

And yes, the swing was a bit big, so you do see a blanket

stuffed in the front of the swing...but hey she didn't care, so all was good.

Then, we (my sister and I) experienced a no cry lunch at a restaurant.  Little One was so well behaved the couple with the 3 year old in the booth across from us looked jealous.  If any day away from my hubby could be considered perfect, it would be this day. 

Lesson 1: Sun in a baby’s face makes for squinty photos. 

Lesson 2: Know where the sun will be so you can plan for times outdoors when the sun won’t be directly on someone’s face.

Lesson 3: When you switch from auto focus to manual focus you’re not as likely to get as many pictures in focus (at least a first), take extra shots and continue to adjust. 

Babies and iPhones

I went down this Sunday to support my wonderful sister who was participating in the March of Dimes Fundraiser at the local fire co hall near her house.  (This is about an hour and ½ from where I live – a little longer if you count how long it took me to find my there once I realized that my TomTom thought I was trying to get to a different town).

After all the activities and raffles were over it was time to pack up and go home.  Well…it wouldn’t be a visit with my sister without a little photo shoot with the little one. 

Apparently I wasn’t the only one with that idea. 

Lesson 1: Babies like phones

Lesson 2: Babies really like iPhones

Lesson 3: Having extra phones on hand help draw babies attention to where you want it.

(Ok, I admit it…I’m tired and my lessons are a bit silly.  Oh well, I’ll do better next time.  J )

Little Bitty Baby Hats

My crazy wonderful sister (author of A New Adventure Blog) one day decided she was going to crochet a hat for her daughter.  Two reasons: 1) she had quit smoking and needed something to keep her mind off cigarettes, 2) she wanted a crochet hat for her daughter and when she went to buy one she was surprised by how much boxed stores charged.  

Well, people seeing the hat loved it enough that they started asking her for them.  Soon enough she opened up her own shop on Etsy.com (a website where you can sell homemade goods).  Enter photo crazy sister. 

With the help of my adorable niece, we set up a mini hat photo-shoot designed to give my sister pics of the hats she could post online.  Here are a few of my favs:

Lesson 1: Babies look adorable in hats.

Lesson 2: You don’t always need to go for a smile; sometimes the “angry face” is cute too.

Lesson 3: Babies can get fussy and take a while to change outfits…more patience = less crying.