Fall is bearing down...

Oh, yes it is.  And it's very early :(  Based on the fireweed and turning leaves, we should have snow within 3-4 weeks.  As I showed you last year, {click here}, Autumn in Fairbanks goes by faster than can be believed, so I don't want to be caught unaware.  

There are ideas and projects galore to blog about, but with the changing of the leaves, I have had to focus instead on getting us all ready for winter.  I have been cleaning our pellet stove, painting decks and doors and pressure washing the house.  More on those later...

Today, in contrast to the rainy cold days we've been having, it was a balmy 73 degrees, so I dragged the kids outside for a photo shoot.

Our family has been wanting to see some more photos of the kids (my blog has been really helpful in keeping them in touch with what's going on in our lives) so please bear with me as I show off my babies.

Here is the setting.  A chair on the side of the yard next to the well

Complete with a large pile of moose droppings (just for atmosphere...careful where you step Mama!)

It was pretty shady where I put them, but they all still complained about it being too bright 

I'll start oldest to youngest

 Adin ~ 11 1/2 years old

 Those eyes...sigh

Elsa ~ 9 years old

Isaac ~ 6 1/2 years old (he'll be 7 in October)

 Love those dirty little boy feet

Ephraim ~ 4 1/2 years old

I may just retake these since little man has a split lip from making contact with a step edge on the stairs

Lydia ~ 15 months

 

My 3 sons :)

My girlies

All my babies together

I'm going to try and make some time over the next couple of days to show off some projects and a couple more book reviews.  

I hope your week is going fantastic!

Joy and Laughter

Oh, how full of joy she is!

  

She loves to laugh, and we love to hear it

I'm loving the new editing features Picasa added (if you can't tell)...it is so much more fun to work with my pictures!

Photo Practice

I really want to get better at taking photos.  How to not use the flash and the auto button, haha.  I spent an hour or so tonight trying to figure out how to set my ISO, shutter speed, white balance and aperture.  These things would work best in outdoor light or with good lighting in general.  But I'm in Alaska in the winter.  Uggg. 
  
AND I have photography mental blocks.  I want to do well, but it sure doesn't come easy for me. This is one of those "If at first (or time 20) you don't succeed, try, try again."
  

Anyway, I wanted to show a couple pics I took of Lydia.  I played with the color on them for fun.  They're not great, but they're cute.

This is the only candid I got.  Once she knows I'm taking pics, she waits until I'm ready again and smiles for me.

Crawling

"Oops, I missed my cue" 

"Me? A rascal?" (ignore the grainy nature of this one, I just love her expression and hair!)

Off I go to try and learn some more




Linking to:
http://www.itsoverflowing.com/2012/01/photography-friday-party.html

Lydia's 3 month photo shoot

Lydia's pictures were not nearly as simple as the kids.  She was having a good morning and was all smiles, so I decided to take her outside.  Of course, once I got her out there, I couldn't even buy a smile from her

 

I used a crate I've had for 11 years, and I just love it

 With edits added

It was a challenge to get her comfortable

Gotta love those toes!

This one was overexposed (my setting got bumped), so I went with a vintage look

 

Taking photos of my babies is so rewarding and fun, even when they don't cooperate

This one is the one I chose for the wall.  Good enough.  I'll have plenty of smiley ones in my future

 

Kid's Summer Photo Shoot

We had some nice family photos taken in May after Lydia was born.  She did some of the kids, but I just haven't been happy with them.  So I decided I'd try to get some decent ones.

These photos of the 4 older ones took me about 20 minutes outside.  It was a spur of the moment decision brought on my noticing they were all clean with freshly shorn hair and no major bruises or scratches.  Lydia was hanging out on my back and we were all dodging the few mosquitoes and biting gnats that come out in the evening.  

The kids cooperated really well so we could just get it done. 

 I finished them all with a sepia finish and a block shadow border

 

 

 Overall, not a badly spent 20 minutes :)  

Tomorrow I'll share Lydia's little session that wasn't quite as simple