December 31: Day 358

I've done a puzzle for New Years Eve for a long time, and this is this year's puzzle. We finished it about 28 minutes before midnight. Well, all but one piece. We never did find it!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

December 30: Day 357

A scene from a shelf in my mother in law's kitchen.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1600
Flash: Off

December 29: Day 356

Visited Oma for coffee and I brought my camera. She has some beautiful collections including this pottery in the living room windowsill. I shared another one of her collections last spring.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 500
Flash: Off

December 28: Day 355

This is a close up of my mother in law's Amaryllis using my ghetto macro technique. Love the red and yellow!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 49 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

December 27: Day 354

I took a photo of these flowers in July when they were in bloom. Here they are in the dead of winter and I think they're just as interesting to photograph!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 320
Flash: Off

December 26: Day 353

It's nice to be away from home at the end of my Project 365. When I forget to take a photo during daylight hours at least I have a whole new house of stuff for inspiration! This little guy was a gift to my mother in law from my father in law for her snowman collection. Isn't he cute?

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

December 25: Day 352

I didn't take many pictures this Christmas. In fact, I only have one (rather blurry) photo of Ethan peeking down the stairs to see what Santa brought and a few from the afternoon. It was too dark and I didn't want to worry about using a flash. Mostly I just wanted to enjoy it without my camera in my hand so I did! I took this photo under the Christmas tree in the afternoon. After a morning of present opening all that was left was the gnome.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

December 24: Day 351

When we spend Christmas in Idaho we always go to Opa and Oma's house for Christmas Eve with my mother in law's family. This year was the first year without Opa and he was definitely missed. Oma had the house decorated just as lovely as usual and a few of the women showed up a little early to help her set up. That's when I took this serene photo. If I had waited an hour it wouldn't have been quite the same. Have you ever been around a large Dutch family get together? I'll just say that quiet and serene is pretty far from the description. Wild and crazy would be more accurate!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/160 sec
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1250
Flash: Off

December 23: Day 350

Brrrrr! It was a very cold morning when I ventured out into the snow in my slippers to take this picture. I couldn't resist the glowing morning light. Oh sun how I've missed thee!


Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/400 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 100
Flash: Off

December 22: Day 349

As many of you know, we don't do stockings and instead we leave out wooden shoes for Santa. I believe all of these shoes were bought in Holland at one time or another. The carved pair closest to the camera is Grace's, the dark pair (actually blue!) were David's as a child and now belong to Ethan, the larger pair of carved wedding shoes are mine, and the rest all look mostly the same and belong to David, my brother in law, and my inlaws (they share a pair). You have no idea how hard it is to get this many shoes in a photo using the 50mm!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/125 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

December 21: Day 348

I love Christmas light bokeh so I made up for our lack of Christmas tree at home and enjoyed my inlaws tree while we visited!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/160 sec
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1600
Flash: Off

December 20: Day 347

The snowstorm we blew in to Idaho with left plenty of white stuff for the kids to play in. I didn't have room to pack the snowpants but I did pack their winter coats, hats, and mittens. Ethan loves to throw snow and Gracie is partial to eating it.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 51 mm
ISO: 100
Flash: Off

December 19: Day 346

We hit the road for our tenth 8+ hour road trip of the year (the kids were only on their eighth). That means I've spent over 80 hours in the car going between Oregon and Idaho this year. That might explain why long road trips with two small children no longer phases me. We stopped one time in Pendleton for a potty break and lunch (ate in the car) but otherwise powered through. I drove the less snowy first half and then sat in the back of the van to dole out chocolate milk and fries to the kids. Ethan fell asleep next to me and I watched the newest Shrek with Gracie to keep my attention off the nasty snowstorm we drove through over the Blues.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/250 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 28 mm
ISO: 1250
Flash: Off

December 18: Day 345

I cleaned and packed all morning while my Mom watched the kids and David was at jiu jitsu. Packing for two weeks including Christmas for four people is a challenge but I was up for it. I managed to get all four of our clothes in this one suitcase (four outfits plus the ones we were wearing). All of it except for Christmas outfits that is. I packed a separate smaller suitcase just for our Christmas Eve outfits!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/250 sec
Aperture: f/2.2
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

December 17: Day 344

A cold and frosty morning. I suppose we probably should have raked at some point this fall!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/250 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1600
Flash: Off

December 16: Day 343

I photographed a friend's daughter this morning and was very happy with the resulting images. The baby girl is adorable and is my favorite age to photograph other then newborns! What I'm most happy about was getting the lighting right on my seamless. I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of using one light! More photos on my photo blog.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 32 mm
ISO: 250
Flash: Off Camera with Softbox

December 15: Day 342

Today my daughter decided to cut her own hair which necessitated a trip to the hair salon and a shorter "rock star" haircut. For more hairy details and photos check out our family blog.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/250 sec
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

December 14: Day 341

Our Christmas lights come on pretty early. I think they may be set to come on when it gets dark and that happens at about 3:30pm around here. Makes for a fun photo though! I love Christmas light bokeh.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/250 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 800
Flash: Off

December 13: Day 340

I baked four dozen eggnog cookies late Monday night to take to the MOPS cookie swap Tuesday morning. I hadn't taken my photo of the day yet and I liked the shadows the cookies made on the cooling racks.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/2.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1250
Flash: Off Camera with Softbox

December 12: Day 339

I wasn't feeling very well, especially after a long rainy drive home from Seattle. I did find some inspiration in the form of the beaded fringe of my mantle garland.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

December 11: Day 338

This is my youngest cousin, Randi. She's in eighth grade this year and is on her school's cheerleading team. We were visiting for a family weekend and I took the opportunity to take a few photos of her in her cheer uniform. Can't even tell we're in a garage on a rainy day can you? Love my new backdrop!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 40 mm
ISO: 160
Flash: Off Camera Flash with Softbox

December 10: Day 337

Today I went out on a limb and volunteered to do some Santa photos for the local Indoor Park that I've been a member of for the past five years. It gave me a chance to practice using my off camera flash and it was kind of fun. Plus I got at least one of children's photo with Santa this year!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/125 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 400
Flash: Off Camera Flash with Softbox

December 9: Day 336

I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds plenty of joy in peppermint creamer flavored coffee in the morning!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/2.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 800
Flash: Off

December 8: Day 335

I've been practicing some more with my off camera flash set up and I'm not sure if I'm getting better or worse at it, but at least I'm trying! I'm using the feathered lighting technique in this shot again which I've discovered makes the background much darker then directly lighting it. I'm starting to wonder if I may need to invest in a second speedlight for a two light set up to get the look I'm after. I was also playing around with changing my shutter speed to see the difference that using different shutter speeds makes. Slower shutter speeds let in more ambient light and I like the results, but in ever photo I took with a shutter speed under 1/100 the focus was off too much for my liking. Even 1/100 wasn't perfectly focused, but good enough.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 35 mm
ISO: 100
Flash: Off Camera with Softbox

December 7: Day 334

I probably should have dug out my flash for this but it was taken on the spur of the moment right after I helped my daughter write a letter to Santa. She's been struggling with what to ask for Christmas and she finally decided on something reasonable (i.e. not a "pretend car"). Instead she's asking for a play horse which I'm sure will have no problems fitting in Santa's sack.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1000
Flash: Off

December 6: Day 333

Today was my very first venture into the scary and confusing world of Off Camera Flash. I'm hoping to be able to do studio type shots with children and babies indoors this winter/spring while the weather makes outdoor photos less practical. While I love natural light I think it's time for me to learn how to master my flash. I'm using my 580ex ii off camera with a softbox. For this photo I used the "feather" light technique where my flash isn't pointed at my subject, but rather my reflector right next to my subject. I like the natural looking shadows it produced. The "backdrop" is actually my dining room wall because my backdrop stand is due to arrive today. Can't wait to play some more!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 320
Flash: Off (used off camera flash)

December 5: Day 332

I took a friend's family photos today and was pleased with the results. I was a little worried to do them outdoors due to the weather we've been having, but the weather cooperated and it was actually a pretty day!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 500
Flash: On

December 4: Day 331

Believe.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/2320 sec
Aperture: f/2.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 400
Flash: Off

December 3: Day 330

I've taken photos of these flowers before, when they were beautiful and in bloom! Now they're just as interesting in the winter.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/2.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 400
Flash: Off

December 2: Day 329

I took this one of my daughter in my favorite spot, right next to the sliding glass door in the kitchen. I still can't get over how much better Grace's eyes look now that they both open all the way! I did use my ghetto reflector to help fill the shadows.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 400
Flash: Off

December 1: Day 328

Here's a glimpse into my angel collection. I received a new angel every year until I was 18 from my Grandma. The two angels holding candles in the front were from my first Christmas. You might notice I actually used my flash for this one!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 640
Flash: On, Fired

November 30: Day 327

Today's photo is inspired by my fantasy that one day I will not be cleaning up poop on a daily basis. To those who have children who are own their time table when it comes to potty training I know what you're going through. And it stinks.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/400 sec
Aperture: f/2.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1250
Flash: Off

November 29: Day 326

I took this photo really late at night and with only the hall light turned on. I steadied my camera on the kitchen table and used a really slow shutter speed to get enough light. Yes it's grainy, but I kind of like it!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/8 sec
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

November 28: Day 325

I decorate for Christmas today and so today's photo is of one of my favorite decorations, my Willow Tree nativity set! I absolutely love my nativity!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1600
Flash: Off

November 27: Day 324

We took the kids to Santa Land at the downtown Macy's. Our first stop was to write some letters to Santa!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/2.2
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

November 26: Day 323

Aren't Grace's Christmas kitty pajamas cute?

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/200 sec
Aperture: f/2.2
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

November 25: Day 322

Happy Thanksgiving! I couldn't resist sharing this one as the photo of the day. I actually have a photo of Ethan, Grace, and Dexter all checking out the sweet potato casserole.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/2.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1600
Flash: Off

November 24: Day 321

I took this photo in front of my Mom's house. It is the last of the "snow" (ice flakes) on a leafy bush.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/10.0
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO: 1250
Flash: Off

November 23: Day 320

It snowed for the first time this season late last night and my children were delighted to wake up and find the white stuff outside. We were outside playing in it as soon as we finished breakfast! Grace delights in tasting it.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/2.2
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 160
Flash: Off

November 22: Day 319

I swear I'm going to run out of ideas for indoor night photos really soon. I circled the house six times before turning on the hutch lights to get this photo. The focus is on the beautiful china tea cup David brought home from Buckingham Palace for me when he visited London last year. I love the bokeh from all our crystal in the background. So pretty and is making me super excited for some Christmas light bokeh next month!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/250 sec
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 1600
Flash: Off

November 21: Day 318

I took this laying on my stomach in the hall. Dexter was peeking around the corner at me, probably hoping I'd get up and feed him since the cat food is located right next to me!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

November 20: Day 317

Today we surprised my "little" brother by waiting for him just after the security gate at the airport. We were all super excited to see him for the first time since May!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

November 19: Day 316

The only time the sun has been out recently is in the morning! Love me some sunshiney wet leaf bokeh :)

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 250
Flash: Off

November 18: Day 315

I made a bunch more headbands to donate to the church Holiday Bazaar and let Grace pick one out for herself. Surprise, she chose blue!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 800
Flash: Off

November 17: Day 314

This one is for my friend Meg who asked me how to do a silhouette indoors without a window. I moved my bedside table out from the wall a bit and put my lamp below and behind it (to obscure the lightsource). Since my lightsource wasn't very large I chose a small object for my silhouette...a fake pear from the hall closet.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 500
Flash: Off

November 16: Day 313

Yet another nighttime photo! This one was taken at 11:30pm in my bathroom. I like the perspective and the contrast between the glass jar and fuzzy qtips.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/320 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 800
Flash: Off

November 15: Day 312

I've been on a long kick of dark photos with high ISO because I think the sun has forsaken me. That and I've been too busy during the day! This one is of Ethan's new Knight in Shining Armor dress up stuff. It looks pretty nice for being a plastic set from the Dollar Store doesn't it! Love the bokeh from the chest plate in the upper left hand corner.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/100 sec
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

November 14: Day 311

Dexter is officially a Disturber of the Peace. This sweet looking cat has turned our household upside down with his antics but at the end of the day he's super sweet. I think that's his way of apologizing for wreaking so much havoc!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/100 sec
Aperture: f/1.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 3200
Flash: Off

November 13: Day 310

I love photographing newborns! This little girl was no exception, those little toes are just adorable!

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/100 sec
Aperture: f/2.5
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 800
Flash: Off

November 12: Day 309

I'm sure every mother of a toddler can relate to this photo. I don't even remember what Ethan was crying about and it doesn't really matter. He's learned melodrama from his older sister and when he doesn't get his way he isn't shy about letting the tears loose. Too bad I'm immune and tears do not sway this Mommy to change her mind. For those who are not immune, rest assured that his tears probably had to do with something like Grace taking a toy away from him that he had taken away from her or because I refused to give him candy for eating his breakfast cereal.

Photo Stats:
Exposure: 1/160 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO: 800
Flash: Off