IHF: Orchards

Week 42 at i heart faces theme is "In the Orchard" and boy are we sure lucky!

That trip to the apple orchard paid off in photography and in apples.

Madigan was SO excited when we visited- she has been to several "farms" and so it seemed natural for her little brain to call this place an "Apple Farm"!

She walked so slowly up and down the rows of trees, and finally picked a big apple off a bottom limb and bit right in!

I love this picture because you can see the little smile on her face, the full cheeks, and the juice running down her chin. As soon as she could speak, she said "It's so... juicy!"

I know at age two, she's still too young to be able to remember this day herself, but it will be one of my "forever memories" of her childhood.

Click on over to i heart faces to check out the other entries this week!

PP Before/After Hop

I (obviously) love photography blogs, I love learning everyone's techniques and getting ideas from other photographers to use in my own practice. One blog I always read, Pixel Perfect, hosts a before/after blog hop that I love to look at but rarely (if ever?) have participated. The concept is to post your straight out of the camera shot, then your edited shot with an explanation of how you got the finished product. The one I'm posting today is a six-month old and his parents. It was one of the first "Fall" days and I felt like I could either "edit out" the tiniest bit of sun flare in the upper left corner, or work it to make it "feel like fall". Here's the "before":

I used PSE 6 and a Pioneer Woman action called "Sunshine" (you can download it FREE from her, by the way!) to get this result:

I feel like it warms up the shot and gives it that Autumn feeling that I remember from that day's photo shoot!

Picture Post

"If you can give your son or daughter only one gift, let it be enthusiasm."

Johnny Appleseed

The Lord is good to me.

And so I thank the Lord.

For giving me the things I need,

The sun, the rain, and the appleseed.

The Lord is good to me.

Oh, and every seed I sow,

will grow into a tree.

And someday there'll be apples there.

For everyone in the world to share.

The Lord is good to me.

Oh, here I am 'neath the blue, blue sky
Doing as I please.
Singing with my feathered friends
Humming with the bees.

I wake up every day,
As happy as can be,
Because I know that with His care
My apple trees, they will still be there.
The Lord's been good to me.

Amen.

IHF: Chalk!

It's another week at i heart faces!

The theme this week is "Chalk" and there's already some fantastic entries. I had to enter, since this weekend we spent the majority of the beautiful fall weather outside and with dirty hands. This was the best I could get of my fast-moving 2 year old, who was obsessed with trying to color my camera.

Can't you just see the naughty in her eyes?

Head on over to i heart faces to check out all the entries!

A Common Love...

“The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created--created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating.”

A Common Love is a creation.

Read about it, check it out. Donate if you can.

I found the blog because I admired her photography, but I continue to read it because I admire her story and her heart.

IHF: Vroom Vroom

I recently shot a sunflower yellow & orange themed wedding. Every detail was perfect- down to the old yellow Ford the couple "escaped" in. I just love this image, I can feel the hope & love and excitement when I look at it!

Head over to I Heart Faces to look at all the entries!