Ring, Ring....

Where do you think I am for this picture?

Probably not where you are thinking.... I'm at a local bar called Harpos for Angela's engagement shower!  It's a bit delayed, but we wanted to wait until the weather was better so we could celebrate on a patio.

On their patio they have this old school phone booth that I loved! I had to get a picture for YESTERDAY's post, which obviously didn't happen so I am making up for it by getting a post up earlier for all my lovely readers!

I was so upset that I forgot my camera in the car so I borrowed Megan's for this one, using her 50MM 1.8 focal lens.  I crouched on the ground and took it from a lower level so you could see both the phone booth and the cool tree with Christmas lights wrapped around it.

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Pinhole Press

Pinhole Press you ask yourself?

I too had never heard of it until Megan had sent me the link as something to check out for a blog topic/photo gift idea. I immediately fell in love.

Pinehole Press has everything from day planners to photo books for that special someone or for YOURSELF!

With mother's day just around the corner I thought I'd gift you some gift ideas while it's still early.  We all know we wait until 5 days before mother's day and realize, "SHOOT, I forgot to get mom something for mother's day!" Well I do at least... I am human and can get pretty busy these days!

Some of my favorite items are:

Desk Calendar for the Working Mom

Desk Blotter to keep the family activities organized - keep HER life organized

Collage Frame

There are a multitude of great photo ideas for gifts.  Check them out and order them in time for mother's day right around the corner!

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I See, You See.

That's right you read that correctly.  As I mentioned last week we are continuing "I See, You See."  We are looking for suggestions on our Tuesday posting.

Since it's our first week we decided to make our own assignment.

Fruit!

Here is what I saw:

Here is what Megan saw:

Looks healthy right?

I used some apples from work for our little project because I have a horrible habit of waiting until the last minute with stuff like this!

Megan had her yummy fruit on Easter for brunch!

Of course I am never satisfied with my picture selections, so I wanted multiple options. I went with my apple picture because I felt it was more on par with a "photograph" with its depth of field and whatnot.

However, I LOVE action photos and candid moments as you can expect....While at work today, I pondered some "fruit" picture ideas.  I came up with juggling apples and got SO excited about it. I popped my head up over the cubes (my pod) and asked if anyone knew how to juggle, expecting no one to say "YES!" However, I hear cute little Kristin pop up and say that she could juggle handkerchiefs. I couldn't believe what had come out of her mouth! Who can juggle handkerchiefs!?! That's AWESOME!

Of course, when she says this,  I jump up with excitement and ask if she can ALSO juggle apples for my "I See, You See." She says yes and I get this photo:

Kristin's face is priceless as is her ability to juggle apples. That talent is foreign to me.  I wish I had it but I don't, and I think is AMAZING she can do it. Go Kristin!

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Those are some Heels!

Remember a couple of weeks ago when Megan and I decided to do a photo of shoes and hers conquered mine by far so I opted to hold onto my heels picture and use running shoes?

I have had this picture sitting on my desktop and opened it up today and it turns out I DO like my heels picture! These are some of my favorite Summer heels. They are beyond too tall for me, making me upwards of 6'2." Let me just say I don't stay vertical for too long, when going out in these puppies I usually end up tripping or falling.  I'm not the most graceful woman you will ever meet :)

I couldn't decide if I liked color or B & W better.  What do you think

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Meet Beau

Beau is my mom's new puppy that my sister picked up for her on the way to Tulsa at the beginning of March. I've only heard great things about him and was so excited to meet him for the first time this weekend.

He is a Maltese Shih Tzu mix and is SO cute. He is four pounds of cute fluffy white and brown fur and so sweet.

So without further ado, I want to introduce you to our new addition to the family.

Besties.

This weekend I made a trip home to Tulsa, OK where I was raised for MOST of my life (2nd grade +).

My mom still lives here, and my sister, Katie, lives in OKC which isn't too far away so I always love coming back so I can get some family time in every once in a while.  Especially on Easter weekend since I missed it last year (my b-day/friend's bachelorette party fell on Easter last year- priorities first...)

As usual, we usually go out to dinner one night and then get a home cooked meal the other night.  Tonight was the going out to dinner night.

We had a blast at dinner with my mom, my sister, and my sister's best friend, Carissa. Lot's of wine flowing  as were the laughs which made for a GREAT first night back.

Unexpectedly my sister announces she wants ice cream.  She basically leaves me no choice by to drive her and Carissa to get ice cream at a Braum's near by.  Even at this moment I cannot believe an ice cream shop remains open until 11:30 p.m..... Regardless, I take her and Carissa there for their "night-cap."

This is the result:

Love these two together. They crack me up!

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Picnik Anyone?

Has anyone heard about this  FREE photo editing tool called Picnik?

I first came across it on the Running on Happiness blog that I follow and love!

I was intrigued by its teeth whitening, sunless tanning brush, mascara applicator, and eye brightener.  Who knew you could make yourself look 10x better but the click of a button? This new editing tool is awesome!

Now... some of the functions you DO have to pay for as part of the "premium" package which is $2.08 a month, but heck if you are posting pictures frequently to either Facebook, your blog, or sending them to the family try it out!

Here is my attempt to edit a picture of Walt and me at the engagement shower this weekend.  In this tool you can even add the polaroid appeal to pictures. This. Is. AWESOME.

Something else awesome....  I just introduced you to Walt for the first time! He refuses to pose like a goon in my crazy antics to come up with different pictures so I opted for a normal one of us this time.

On this same photo editing note, my mom was recently telling me about a camera, yes a camera, that adds makeup to your photos now.  What is the world coming to!?

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I See, You See.

Today was our last day of photography class at the Kansas City Art Institute. I'm sad, but happy.  Having my Tuesday nights back is going to feel great! I feel like lately my week's have been filling up and getting so busy so even on extra night a week is a relief.

When he mentioned taking part 2 of the dSLR class Megan and I immediately thought maaaaaaaaaybbbe in the Fall.  Jumping right back into having our Thursday nights taken away in the middle of summer just isn't ideal. Especially with our half day Friday's at work!

Our final assignment: Pictures at the zoo.

As I mentioned on Sunday, we went to the zoo to work on all the skills we have learned up until now taking pictures of all different types of animals.  Sunday I showed you the picture I took of the female lions.  Now I want to show you what else I saw and what Megan saw as well.

What I saw:

What Megan saw:

These pictures wrap up our assignments from class, however, Megan and I loved having this assignment/challenge every week, so we decided we are going to continue on with the "I See, You See" Tuesdays!

What does that mean?

That means we are going to think of something for to take pictures of and post them every Tuesday, but are ALSO looking for suggestions of themes of pictures to take.  For example, last week we decided on "shoes."  Give us your best idea and we'll go out take a picture and show you our perspective on it every Tuesday.All you have to do is leave a comment on this post OR email me at lmajor9@gmail.com.

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Engagement Shower

This weekend I helped put on a couple's engagement shower for our friends' B.J. and Katie.

It was an absolute blast! They loved their gifts and all of their best friends were there (well most of them).

While opening presents I wanted to work on getting some candid shots of the happy soon-to-be married couple.

Groom-to-Be B.J.

Katie and B.J. 

Katie

Field Trip

This morning I had to wake up bright and early to make it to the zoo, that's right, the zoo, in time for our photography class.

As I mentioned Tuesday we didn't have class this past week, and that's because we had a field trip to the zoo today!

After four long hours of taking pictures of animals I was exhausted as was Megan. I basically forced her to stay so I could see the giraffes and came to find out that they had been relocated due to construction that was going on in their area.  Boo....

But while we were in Africa, the zoo version, we had to see the lions before we left. All morning/afternoon I felt like ALL the animals were napping. I do mean ALL of them.  After seeing sleeping animals all day and finally getting to the lions after a long walk what did we see....?

Sleeping lions.

They were pretty darn cute though. They were cuddled on a rock together taking their afternoon nap too!     They looked just like sleeping humans.

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New to Photography?

I was surfing around the different blogs out there I stumbled upon Little Miss Momma.  After reading through her posts I fell in love with her blog.  Her's a little bit about her:

Hi, I am Ashley Stock! I blog because I believe in "sharing what I love". While there are so many things in life that I love (making lists, a good book, peanut butter on a spoon, my sons dimples, Michaels 40% off coupons, Mod Podge, Christmas morning), this blog will focus on my greater passions: being a mommy, family, creating and everyday life lessons.

She did an interview with a woman named Kellie who is a amazing photographer.  She, like me, wanted to know the basics of photography and how to use her fancy camera. Kellie was nice enough to give 10 tips on the basics of photography which I felt were extremely helpful, even after going through an 8-week photography course.  It's a good refresher and a great thing to bookmark so you have it on hand!

I highly recommend you visit this blog post.  It lists out basics and can improve those pictures you've been taking with a few simple adjustments! Happy Friday Everyone!

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I See, You See.

As I mentioned on Tuesday, we didn't end up having our photography class, therefore no assignment.

Megan and I decided to to make our assignment for our "I See, You See."

With no further ado, our assignment "I See, You See" this week is: Shoes

Mine:

Hers:

You like?

I was personally having a hard time deciding between a shot I got of heels and running shoes.  Then I saw Megan's and I was thought, "Nope! Her's kick my heels butt!!!" Love her photograph!

All and all I am happy with my running shoes photo since running has been such a huge part of my life and its way easier to portray my love for running with a picture as opposed to a picture of me running (not so pretty...)


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Sick Day.

You know... I've always been one of those people who says, "I never get sick." For someone who hates to drink water, doesn't take ANY vitamins, and is terrible at eating healthy, no getting sick tis a big deal.

Then comes the day I DO get sick.  When work is crazy, I have two nights to do whatever I want not having any commitments, and BAM. Sick.  All night, all day.  Not fun.

This left me little time for leaving the house today to get any pictures, so I opted for an indoor photo shoot. Of MYSELF. Yes you're imagining me sick and disgusting looking.  You're right. Hence I covered my face with the camera!

Turns out that Megan was out of town for one more day so there is a slight delay on the "I See, You See."

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Bad News and Good News

This week Megan is out-of-town for work and we didn't have class tonight so no assignment for today.  HOWEVER, Megan and I are working on a "I See, You See" idea to post tomorrow instead for when she comes back to town.  Any ideas?

I've also been crazy busy, making it harder and harder to get a picture in when I know I really need to work on my photography skills. Good news is that I have stocked up on a few that I have taken during the week and I would love it if you took a look :)

During our last photography class we went across the street to the Nielsen Atkins museum and were taking pictures from the back instead of the front.  I LOVED this view and this walkway. It's one of those things when you look through the lens, snap the picture, and look at your result in the screen it doesn't even do it justice until you see it uploaded onto the computer. I love when that happens.  I took a few of these from different angles and this one was my favorite.

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Happy Monday

And I do mean HAPPY.

I took a day off yesterday to recover from a FABULOUS wedding Saturday.  As I mentioned in my last blog post my friend Kristin got married this weekend!

I'm SO excited for her and Adam and their future together.  They are both absolutely adorable and I love them to death.

Their wedding was gorgeous as was she so I couldn't resist taking it upon myself to become her photographer towards the end of the end.  Given I was a few glasses deep in wine, I think some of these turned out pretty good/funny!

Meet the happy couple Kristin & Adam:

Announcing Mr. & Mrs. Akin

Their 1st dance as a married couple

LOVE this picture.  They are hilarious together!  

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Spring is FINALLY Here

I'm so excited for today.

For two reasons:

1. Spring is finally here
2. My friend Kristin is getting married today

The weather couldn't be more perfect today.  Its going to be 87 and sunny for Kristin's wedding! 

Even walking outside my front door made me even more giddy.  Look what I found:

Remember this last photo from a while ago?

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Park It

... and have a nice weekend. One of the best things about the weekends are that you can just relax.  Just sit back and relax. Enjoy it while it's here.  It's only here for two days....

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Blue Skies

So earlier this week I couldn't resist pulling my car over on the way home from work and snapping this photo.  The clouds looked like cotton candy and the sky was bright blue! Beautiful, right?

Lately I have really loved taking pictures of the sky; whether it's sunset, thunder storms, blue skies... After I get that perfect picture I feel so fulfilled and makes blogging about the picture that much more fun for me!

Have you seen any great views lately you'd like to share with someone?  Send it over to me and I'll post it up!

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Meggy D.

So yesterday in our photography class we got to take a little field trip... across the street.

Our mission was to capture something for our final class photo, which I did, but am going to show that off on the final "I See, You See," so you'll have to come back for those.

What picture I CAN share with you is a picture I took of Meggy while she was trying to get her picture of me! Let me just tell you... she looked much better on the other side of my camera as opposed to the picture she was gonna get of me yesterday.  Just one of those delightful days you decide to dress down and not care what you look like when someone wants to take a picture of you...

I love how this is sharply focused on her while it blurred the background. This is still using the standard lens on my camera... haven't quite purchased that fixed focal lens I have my eyes set on.  I had it set on the lowest F-Stop, 5.6 on my camera, and zoomed out completely to get this picture.

Want to learn more about her outfit?  Check out her post today!!!

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I See, You See.

You all know what day it is!

I See, You See Tuesday!

Assignment: Take a reflection photo

So whether it was in a mirror, on a crystal ball, on the water, in a window, in sunglasses... you get the point!

Here is what I saw:

Yes I know the windows are dirty... But Harley just looked so gosh darn cute looking at herself!

Now what Megan saw:

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Happy Birthday to ME

As some of you may or may not know.  Today was my birthday! The big 2-6.

In the years past we got our birthday's off from work, sort of like a free vacation day that doesn't count against any of our vacation.  This year they decided to do away with that policy and take on other random holidays which are equally as good, but of course when it hits my birthday I'm wishing I had the day off!

The best part about having a birthday on a work day is the fact all my co-workers/friends bring in treats when we celebrate birthdays.  I was up to my ears in yummy food that I stuffed in my mouth all day long, and was given some beautiful flowers!

After work I headed to dinner and a movie with my girlfriends.  We saw "The Adjustment Bureau" which was pretty good, a little cheesy at moments, but kept my attention.

All and all I had a fantastic birthday, aside from the fact Walt is not here to celebrate with me.  He's watching the practice round of The Masters which I GUESS is sort of a big deal :)

I got me some great gifts to boot too! Check out one of them here.  I guess my family and friends know me pretty well too because both my co-workers and my sister got me a camera strap from PaisleyPeepers.  Check them out here (co-workers) and here - the red rose camera strap (my sister Katie), both of which will go perfectly with my two cameras I've been taking all my pictures with!

Good Morning. Good Morning.

This is how I started my day this morning.

This is Harley.  Remember her? She's my little sister Katie's little bundle of joy.  Katie came down to celebrate my birthday early with me (I turn the big 2-6 tomorrow) and brought along Harley.  She's the cutest boston terrier I have ever seen and she is SO LOVEY... especially when it comes to sleeping in bed.

Every night when Katie and I would go to bed Harley was right there with us.  Not only that... but she would wiggle her little crooked tail underneath the covers and sleep right between us. She acted as a little space heater all night.

Well this morning when I was waking up look who crawled up between me and Katie and decided she not only needed the covers but a pillow too! (and yep that's Katie still sleeping in the background)

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Canvas Deal for the Weekend

For the next two days you can get this great deal on a canvas from Canvas On Demand.  This is the Groupon I usually buy and highly recommend them.  The canvas I did of Mia a while back was a 20x20, originally a 20x24 but due to the size of the picture I wanted to put on the canvas they called and worked with me on which size would be best.  Great customer service!

Here's the deal (If you are not a member this will be under Lawrence/Topeka, Kansas Groupons)

$45 for One 16"x20" Gallery Wrapped-Canvas Including Shipping and Handling from Canvas on Demand ($126.95 Value

Let Me Try

 In class this past Tuesday our teacher came back from break after taking a picture of a piece of artwork that was in the hall.  He put it up on the screen and showed us all and I thought it was a really cool piece of art already, but taking a picture of it still looked pretty awesome too.

So I went to try to get a picture of it myself to see if I could master the shot as well... Still think his looked better, but I do still really like mine too!

It was originally dark and light browns, but I liked the black and white version of it better!


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