Retiring from the Challenge

You probably already guessed this, but with an increasingly mobile baby, I found I had little time for the internet.

Thank you so much for all the feedback- I really learned a lot in the time I had. Hopefully when I have more free time, I can post a few pics on 2 Peas.

At My House, This IS a Sport!

When you are married to a dental student, brushing your teeth is serious business! Evan just got his first tooth, so naturally Chris is teaching him to brush it! I snapped this shot. I sort of like the way their hands are blurred, what do you think?

1/8 (hand-held), f 4.2, 29mm, ISO800

See You Monday!

I hope everyone has a great weekend- I look forward to seeing everyone's sports pictures on Monday!

Drip-Drop

This will probably not be as exciting to you as it is to me, but I finally got a water drop I was happy with! Hurray! Only people doing this challenge could appreciate how stinking hard it is to capture a drip of water splashing in to a bowl!

1/500, f/5.6, 200mm, ISO400, Flash +2

A Little Abstract

This challenge has pushed me to think outside the box, and play a little more with the artistic part of photography. Today I photographed a water bottle and a wine glass full of water sitting on a blue plate, and then played a little with the results. I thought they turned out pretty cool, what do you think?

1/60, f/5.6, 200mm, ISO400, flash +2. PP- sharpened and added tint effect.

1/60, f/5.6, 200mm, ISO400, flash +2. PP- sharpened, converted to b&w, levels.

Thanks for looking! Comments, HHCC, and any other feedback is always welcomed!

You're the One

You will have to forgive me for my lack of creativity. It is cold and snowy out and I am sick to boot. So, you might just get to see a lot of my tub, sink and other watery areas of my house! Today, you get to see Evan's rubber duckie!

1/500, f/5.6, 150mm, ISO800, Flash fired at +2

Thanks for looking! I appreciate comments, suggestions and HHCC!!

Bubble, bubble

I originally set out to get the classic "drop of water" shot, but I wasn't crazy with my results. I did get this one that I thought was pretty cool:


1/500, f/5.6, 135mm, ISO1600, flash, custom WB. PP- cropped and sharpened.

After the less than thrilling results, I decided to try to capture bubbles in the water, so I used a straw to blow bubbles in the bowl. The results still weren't quite what I had in mind, but maybe I will try again later!


1/100, f/5.6, 105mm, ISO800, flash, custom WB. PP- cropped and sharpened.

Any comments, HHCC, or suggestions on how to make this shot more succesful in the future would be appreciated!

Rub-a-Dub-Dub

...my little man in the tub! Since this week's challenge is water, I had to grab my camera last night during Evan's bath. Of course, the battery died after only 6 shots, but I got a few cute ones. (Do you guys have more than one battery, or are you just really good at remembering to charge yours?) This is my first attempt at using my flash, suggestions??


1/60, f/5.6, 200mm, ISO400, Flash fired at -1


1/60, f/4.8, 48mm, ISO400, Flash fired at -1

I always love your comments and any (HH)CC you may have for me!

A Photo Every (Week) Day

Just a quick note to let anyone looking know that I will be back again with a new picture tomorrow. Weekends are family time for us, and although I would probably have time to post a quick picture, I know I wouldn't have time to comment on other's shots. So I have decided to just post on weekdays when I can really be involved!

Thanks for stopping, hopefully I'll see you soon!

Book Babies

On Fridays, I take Evan to the Iowa City Public Library for Book Babies, a story time just for infants. To read all about his brush with fame today, click here. The library itself is pretty cool, so I brought my camera to get some shots. I like this picture, taken in the entrance. I think the white balance might be off, but I actually like the overall look of the picture. What do you think?

1/250, f/3.5, 18mm, ISO 400, WB- Incandescent

This next picture is nothing special technically, but I just wanted to show you what we see in our backyard almost every evening. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the buck, but I think he thought the camera was a gun and he took off. This one wasn't camera shy though, so I snapped a few quick shots!

1/200, f/5.6, 120mm, ISO 800, WB-cloudy

My Old Hometown

Still waiting for some warmer weather! Maybe someone could send some my way!

Chris and I were both born and raised in Longmont, Colorado. I thought I would take the opportunity to show off my real hometown. These pictures are from our last trip back, over Christmas. This neighborhood is called Prospect, and it is so cool! We would love to live there some day.

Through My (Car) Window

Man, it is still freezing here! So this is how I have been taking pictures for the challenge:

When I think of Iowa, I think of corn and fields. This isn't either, but it sort of reminds me of it! LOL!

1/640, f/5.6, 200mm, ISO200

One of my favorite things about Iowa is all of the cool birds. This woodpecker was actually right in my backyard today. What do you think of the crop? Does it need to be cropped more?

1/640, f/5.6, 200mm, ISO200

Thanks for looking, HHCC always appreciated!

Welcome to Iowa!

Well, first of all, sorry I missed you yesterday. It has been snowy and cold here and I couldn't get out of the house. Even today it was so cold that all I could do was take pictures out of the window of my car! Not a good week for "Show Us Your Hometown"!

We moved to Iowa from Colorado 2.5 years ago, so that Chris could attend the dental school here. We love it during the spring and fall, and are not so fond of summer and winter! There are actually a lot of really cool places here, but now is not a great time to take pictures of anything. I'll do my best though!

I'll post 2 pictures since I missed a day! This first picture was taken at Kinnick Stadium.

1/4000, f/8, 135mm, ISO800 (oops, I gotta get better at checking this!)

This next picture was taken by a little park along the Iowa River.

1/500, f/5.6, 130mm, ISO200, Converted to b&w and adjusted levels.
Here is the color version, too. Which do you like better??

HHCC always welcomed! Thanks for looking. Hopefully it will warm up a little so I can get out and get some more interesting shots!

Family Self Portrait

Okay, I took this picture a few weeks ago, but it is gloomy again here, so I had to cheat! Anyway, this picture was taken in Longmont, Colorado, after we went to an Ansel Adams exhibit at the local art museum. There was a picture he took using polaroid film entitled "Self Portrait", and this is my imitation of it. Not nearly as cool as the original, but I thought it was fun!

1/1000, f/16, 18mm, ISO1600, Converted to B&W.

Talk to Me!

What else should you know about me? Well, I love to talk. I love to talk on the phone, I love to talk to my husband, I love to talk to just about anyone who will listen. And I talk loudly- Chris is always telling me to keep my voice down! But I can't help it- that's just me!

1/25, f/5.3, 90mm, ISO1600, Converted to b&w and adjusted levels in Picasa.

1/15, f/5.6, 135mm, ISO1600, Converted to b&w and adjusted levels in Picasa.

I think I like how the conversion turned out on the second picture best, what do you think?

The Rest of the Family

Well, it is a dreary, freezing, generaly miserable day here in Iowa, so I can't get out to shoot. I was upset until I realized that I haven't really introduced you to my husband, or to me. So now's my chance.

Here we are in all of our goofy glory! The picture of Chris was the first picture I took with my new camera. The one of me was taken by Chris the day before I had Evan. My sister was graduating from high school the next day (Evan's birthday) and I was too pregnant to travel. So I took a bunch of pictures of me cheering, and made her a card to keep with her, so I could be there in spirit.

I love these pictures because it is just so us. We are constantly joking and goofing around. We make each other laugh, and that is a good thing!

Thank you to everyone for your comments and CC this week. I am having so much fun, and I have enjoyed getting to know everyone!

My Son

If you have seen my other blog, I am sure you have already seen my son Evan. But since we are introducing ourselves, I wanted to show him off here,too! He is 7.5 months old, and truly the light of my life.

Today I discovered what I am sure many of you already know...taking pictures of a baby is hard! I ended up switching to auto for quite a few of the pictures, and out of over 50 shots, there were only a few I even liked, and I'm still not completely satisfied. Please tell me this is normal!?

Anyway, here is my curious, stubborn, delightful son- complete with ears that stick out like Liquid Metal Terminator (or so my husband informs me!)

1/125, f/5, 65mm, ISO 400, No flash

1/100, f/5.3, 90mm, ISO 400, No Flash

Thanks for looking! HHCC and your best tips and tricks for photographing babies would be appreciated!

My First Babies

Meet Daisy and Deiter, my long-haired mini-dachshunds. (Deiter is the black and tan, Daisy is the red-head!) They will turn 5 (well, 35 in dog years!) in February. They are litter-mates and are inseparable. I am a total dog person, and Daisy and Deiter are a big part of my life!

I really need some HHCC on these, so please don't hold back. I am venturing into new territory (i.e.- out of auto!), and I could use some pointers. These are SOOC.

Here is Deiter:

Exposure: 1/20
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 135 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Mode: AV
No flash, available indoor light.
I used my counter as a tripod and used the timer.

And this one, settings the same, except the exposure was 1/5:
And, Daisy:

Exposure: 1/125
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 60 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Natural, outdoor light.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Well, more like my obsessions! I LOVE shoes, and I also love Tiffany & Co.! In fact, I got my camera for Christmas this year after my husband informed me that I already own all the sterling silver things from Tiffany's worth owning. (I don't know if this is true, but I do love my camera, so whatever works!!)

Exposure: 1/320
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length:170 mm
ISO Speed:1600
Mode: AV
A little tweaking on color and sharpness done in Picasa.

And, I just love this one too, so we have two pictures today!

Exposure: 1/30
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length:200 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Mode: P
Converted to sepia tone and adjusted contrast in Picasa.

Welcome to My Life!

This week's challenge is to introduce ourselves, so I thought I would start with the front door of my house, complete with me taking the picture in the reflection.


Camera: Nikon D40
Lens: AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED - VR on
Mode: AV
Exposure: 1/50
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 82 mm
ISO Speed: 800

I don't have any editing software yet, so this is SOOC.