Weblog Entry 5.30.06 Part 2

I had the privilege of taking photos for Tori and Todd's engagement a week ago. We had a great time. They are a super fun couple. Tori is fun-loving and energetic and I'm looking forward to their wedding in August!

Here are just a few from their session.

***remember you can click on the photos to make them bigger***

Weblog Entry 5.30.06

I had to take more pics of the girls over the weekend. The camera just loves them TOO much! Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend!

Weblog Entry 5.23.06

Today is my birthday.

I am 32.

When I got home from work today, my husband was standing with gift-in-hand. He knows that I truly believe my birthday should have been a National Holiday. I am a little obnoxious about the fact that it's not. Today is MY day. My own special day. The one day out of all 365 that I can say is my own personal holiday.

Yes.

Obnoxious.

Definitely.
:)

So ... anyway, there he was with a FedEx box in hand asking me how I liked his wrapping job! Inside was something I have been wanting for a year now! A Lens Baby! He is the BEST GIFT giver I have ever met. He always knows what I want - sometimes before I know I want it. This thing is so cool. It does a weird blur effect on images.

Causes all kinds of distortion.

Love it love it love it.

It is a little difficult to figure out how to get the 'sweet spot' where you want it, but I'll get the hang of it!

Here are a few images I took with it.

Trust me .... there are more to come :)

This last image was taken with the Lens Baby, but the color effect is something that I found out about from a friend of mine.

Jeff, this one's for you!

It is a 'dark, gloomy' effect that I did in Photoshop. Thought I would post my first attempt for him to critique.

Weblog Entry 5.22.06

I'm officially a REAL blog now ... I have started getting spam. So for those FEW people who comment here, you will now have the added step of typing in a few random letters before you can post. Sorry for the inconvenience, but those automated systems that send spam are just too fast to keep up with.

Weblog Entry 5.21.06

We had a Photographers Day Out session yesterday. We met up at UC and practiced new techniques. I learned quite a bit and had a good time with the girls.

Here are a few shots I took of all the things around me.

Weblog Entry 5.20.06

Here are a couple more pics of Chicago. The first two were taken on our way to the Windy City. I was practicing a 'blurred effect' and giving a sense of motion to the images.

My husband took this picture. I really like it.

Weblog Entry 5.17.06

So, here is what $100/night (and a little complaining) will get you in the Loop in downtown Chicago. Amazing. We ended up having to wait 2 hrs for our room, so they went ahead and upgraded us. We never expected this!

It even had a FOYER!

Our own lucky bamboo to keep us company ...

Champagne, candy and chocolate dipped strawberries were waiting for us when we got back from the concert ...as it should be :)
Don't you think?

Did I mention the view???

Needless to say we'll be staying here NEXT time. Which hopefully won't be too far away. I just love this city!! It is amazingly clean for how large it is. We were only in town for a couple of days, but I still managed to take a ton of pictures. What a tourist! So much for blending in.

Weblog Entry 5.15.06

We had a blast at Funday Sunday this year. It is our annual family get together. We go up to the airpark and watch the airshow, have a picnic and go for either plane or, in the case of this year, helicopter rides. I wanted to play around with some new borders, so I posted some of my pics in these fun little frames. I love them!

Weblog Entry 5.14.06 part 2

Alyssa went to her first prom this past weekend. Of course, I had to get some shots of her getting ready, and a few of her in her dress before her date got there.

And here is one shot of her and her date. They thought it would be funny to get their photos taken in the 'traditional prom pose'. So that's what we did!