Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks for family- and we are so thankful for all the special moments we shared being together at our daughter’s home in Yellowstone. These are a just few shots showing some of the fun we had just hanging out with our kids and grandkids. We miss our Yellowstone family!
Being able to experience life through the eyes of a two (almost THREE!) year old was one of the pleasures of spending a week with my grandsons at their home in Yellowstone. The snow was almost gone when we got there, but Henry had a great time stomping on ice and watching the cracks form as we took a walk one day.
Textured with two layers each of cool grunge and sybil, from Kim Klassen for Texture Tuesday.
Our travel day back from Yellowstone has just ended, the laundry is going, and I am at the computer with over 500 photos to go through (and a computer that does not want to connect to our home WiFi network). Saturday night I remembered that I would have to post a photo today showing “drama” with light- so I took several shots of Miles in a relatively dark room. Then later I looked over and saw my daughter on the iPad with the kids showing her what they would like Santa to bring. Ahhhh- dramatic light!
Please follow the link to see how Stacy has interpreted this challenge! Click through all the blog posts to complete the circle!
I’m back- after spending a week in Yellowstone mostly playing with this sweet boy- and then another five days back in Benicia. Miles was busy at all-day Kindergarten (8:05-3:45!), so 2 1/2 year old Henry was definitely the star of my photos this time. I’m just beginning to edit my photos, but these two jumped out at me. He is just so darn cute!
I’m in Yellowstone without my computer and am busy babysitting this little cutie! I’ve taken lots of photos with my big girl camera, but for now am just posting this iPhone photo of Henry earning an m&m for potty training.
My children went in together on a birthday gift this year- one to always remind me of Benicia, since we are getting ready to relocate.
Isn’t it beautiful? Benicia is known for its glass studios, so this gorgeous red vase will always remind me of my 26 (and counting) years in this wonderful little town (and of my two grown up children collaborating on a gift!) as we prepare for our next big adventure.
My whole family left today, and I’m alone in a very empty house- which will go on the market soon. Endings and beginnings.
I’m strangely un-busy and am using the time to edit and organize the 1700 PLUS photos taken over the last two weeks during my daughter’s family’s visit, as well as catch up on my blog and last week’s assignment for Beyond Beyond.
One of our Beyond Beyond assignments was to use a beach photo taken by Kim Klassen and edit it however we wished after watching a video on using the tone curve to bring out different tones in the image. I decided to use one of MY recent beach photos, which is similar to hers except for having my grandson and son-in-law in it. I attempted to make a cold day at Bodega look sunny and warm by adding magenta and yellow with the tone curve, as well as some split toning.
Another part of the lesson was using layer styles in Photoshop. I added a sepia layer (at reduced opacity) to this photo of Henry and then added type with a metallic style added to echo the metallic background. The photo reminded me of an illustration in a children’s board book, so I used a primary looking font.
The main part of the assignment was to create a photo using your own style. I thought the above photo showed my background as a first grade teacher; however, clean editing (often in black and white) is really my style for my family photos. So I decided to go with a family photo for the assignment.
My daughter was at a conference all day Friday, and my husband was working- so I had the kids from the time they woke up until bedtime. We did laundry, worked a bit in the yard, blew bubbles, and then it was time for lunch- a PIGGY PICNIC in the backyard!
My daughter bought some special bubble blowers so that I would have something fun to do with the boys when I was to take care of them the next day. In the morning, Henry woke up demanding a hair dryer; we kept asking him why, but he was so insistant. Finally, we realized he wanted the BUBBLE BLOWER, which looked to him like a hair dryer. He was so adamant about needing his hair dryer, that we ended up letting the boys play first thing in the morning- still in their jammies.
Henry WANTED me to take his photo today! Most images I have of him are when he’s in motion, in the tub, or confined to a high chair. Here, he is actually smiling and looking at the camera- hurray!
. . . I picked these for you for your birthday!
My birthday was yesterday, and we celebrated it last night with barbecued hamburgers, french fries, potato salad- YUM! My daughter made the most delicious homemade chocolate cake any of us have ever tasted; she is an amazing baker! It was my first birthday in 7 years where my whole family was together, and, since that time, we have added two adorable little boys to the family. It was a wonderful day!
Miles and his mama looking out across the bay before sunset.
My grandbabies are here!!! Not much time for blogging- but here’s a quick tribute to Henry’s curls (photo taken yesterday on the beach at Monterey):
He is so cute I could just eat him up! Really- the cuteness is just overwhelming! Seriously CUTE!
Today’s topic is lyrics or poem, and I , of course, went with the Beatles! BTW, this is my last shot with Christmas tree bokeh; the tree is coming DOWN today!
Merry Christmas to friends, family, and blogging buddies! We had a great day- kind of cooking dominated, but fun all the same.
I have been doing some experiments with flash and a new reflector stand- so my family is trying to be patient (it IS Christmas after all!). Here are two shots of Matt as we started dinner. The amused smile in the first photo is because I forgot to take the camera off self-timer- DOH!
And here we are right before dinner (yes- with the self-timer on).
And tomorrow- LEFTOVERS!
Matt’s home! Here he is in his comfort zone- watching football on TV with his Dad.
He agreed that I could take some portrait shots between games. I’ve been watching Sue Bryce videos showing how she gets great glamour poses, but knew I wouldn’t get much cooperation from Matt in actual posing. I wanted some practice with my flash as well, but didn’t take into account Matt’s tendency (inherited from me) to close his eyes just as the flash is about to fire. I ended up resorting to natural light, which I like better anyway, so that I could click quickly and catch some open eyes. But by this time, he was pretty bored and disgusted with the whole process. I did manage to capture a hint of a smile when I quoted one of our favorite lines from Airplane. And at least he is focus!
Stay tuned- there WILL be some decent family photos on here before the end of the year!
melinda anderson photography 