Week 31: Vaca Time!!

Well, this week has been all about recovering from our vacation!!! We arrived back home on Tuesday following an 8 day hiatus, and, I must say, between the children and the drive, I am just starting to begin to kinda, sorta feel back to normal. Haha! All joking aside, I've tried to stay off this computer for the remainder of this week and just focus on getting the house back in order and spending time with the kiddos. I even managed to partake of two nap times this week. Whoop!!! Whoop!!!

During vacation I didn't really pull out the DSLR as much as I thought I would. I decided to give my cell phone a try. I've seen other photography blogs about learning to use the camera on your phone, and, while I had my reservations, whipping out my cell phone was a lot less cumbersome than lugging along the DSLR or taking the time to get it all set up. The only time I pulled out the DSLR was when we went swimming with Manatees in the wild...and I didn't even do the shooting! I set up the camera, but I had someone else taking the pictures so I could enjoy the babies!!! So, when you check them out all of the pictures (except the ones in the river with the manatees) are taken with a cell phone. Not to shabby, if I do say so myself!

The pictures above was taken on the trip down...there weren't so many smiles on the return trip. Everyone still had lots of energy left in this picture!!

Excited to see the manatees? Yep. Absolutely terrified, too? You betcha!

So, I was surprised to learn an interesting fact. See how you can see the manatee so clearly in this picture? Yeah, well, that isn't the case when you're actually in the water with them!!! When you're right on top of them like that you can't see anything but brown water. You have no idea where these gentle giants are, even when they're right under your feet, like in this picture!

This is our second "encounter" (i.e., the second time we got in the water with manatees). Joshua was a little scared (no shame there, believe me!) the first time, but he got right in this second time. I was SOOOOO proud of him...so, so, so proud!

Here are two manatees swimming side by side. I think this was the mommy and baby that we saw. We tried to not get too close, because it's really important not to come between or split up the mom and babe.

Miss Priss loved that pool! All cell phone shots from here on out!

Nana and her boy, Joe. Joshua's hand also made the frame, as well as my handsome hubby's dome!

Yes this was with my cell phone, and yes I love it. Beside catching my husband, mother, and child looking into the aquarium, I think it's a great shot of the dolphin. Notice anything different about this dolphin??? Notice it's tail. It's Winter! We went to the Clear Water Marine and Aquarium to see this amazing creature from Dolphin Tale, and all of her friends! It was a great adventure and very educational for the kiddos.

Below is the crazy teenager we took along. I was constantly finding these weird face selfies on my cell phone. And then check out my very own gator boy!!

Week 30: Makenzie

Taking pictures is a passion that I am continuing to develop, and I am so blessed when others allow me the opportunity to take their pictures. When my good friend, Bobbie, asked me to take her daughter's senior pictures, to say that I was excited would be an understatement. I was ecstatic!

Makenzie is a beautiful lady inside and out. She has a sweet, gentle spirit and an air of innocence that surrounds her. She gracefully went along with every whim her mom and I threw at her, and even chimed in a little of her own from time to time! Makenzie and her mom made my job so easy. They had thought about their vision for the pictures, and they came prepared with props and outfits. SCORE for me! All I had to do was point and shoot (well, almost).

Makenzie, I hope you love these pictures as much as I do. Remember to take the time to enjoy your senior year and really savor all the experiences as they come. This time passes soooo quickly, and life after high school just seems to go by at all too fast of a pace. I wish you nothing but the best throughout this year and in life!!

Much Love,
~ M ~

Week 29: Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles!!!

Hey y'all! So, this week's blog was all about me practicing with my baby girl. I tried to include the brothers, but they were not so interested in blowing bubbles. I mean, who can blame them when there's a yard full of riding toys, soccer balls, basketballs, baseballs, sticks, and all other types of fun stuff, right???


I don't know about you guys, but taking pictures of my kids is a million times more exhausting and frustrating than taking pictures of other people!!! When I'm taking pictures for a family member, friend, or client, there's someone behind me jumping up and down, standing on their head, and trying any number of other tricks to get the kids to look at me. And, truth is, it usually works. When it's my own kids; however, there's just me. My (amazing) husband tries to help, but usually he's placing them in the appropriate position while I'm singing, tongue clicking, and all out begging my kid to even glance my way...all the while praying that I click the shutter at the precise moment! I imagine I look like something out of the circus. By the end of it all I'm usually flustered, sometimes laughing hysterically, and other times too over it to give a flip. Just depends on the day :)!



Well, this particular day was different. I started out with my normal antics, but quickly tired. Instead of asking my husband to drop her and roll, I decided to go with it. What I ended up with was simply amazing. I didn't get all the "posed" shots, but I did get to practice my angles and focus. The greatest bonus was this shot I got of her waiting for her daddy to blow the bubbles and then her face...the pure joy and excitement as she looked up at him. You can't pose that---lesson learned!

Then I just started sitting and watching, and I captured this one  of her blowing bubbles that I absolutely ADORE!!! She put the wand so close to her mouth that, by the end of their fun, she was blowing bubbles out of her mouth. I laughed so hard at her, that I finally caught the attention I'd been wanting so many times before (this day included). 

She looked to see what mommy found so funny, and I snagged this straight-on shot of our beautiful baby girl. I learned a valuable lesson today...the motto that I use when I take pictures of other people goes for my family as well. Instead of fretting about the perfect shot, I need to sit back, let them play, let them be themselves, and be ready to click the shutter and freeze precious moments in time that we will cherish for a long time to come. That's my simple goal with every press of the button.

What are you up to this week? Are you doing a Project 52 or 365? Feel free to share below!!

Happy Snapping,

~ Melissa ~

Week 28: Happy 4th!!!

My goal this week was to learn to capture motion...I wanted to see the beauty of the streaming fireworks, not just have the specs frozen. I also wanted to do this totally on manual. Honest disclosure...this was terrifying for me!! Of course, I couldn't post without sharing a few of my babies and our celebratory festivities this weekend. We showed our full U.S.A spirit, as we celebrated the men and women that assure our American freedoms!

Will you just look at those eyes, and that smile??? This one was taken in a fleeting moment as Joseph stopped by the watering trough (a.k.a my stroller) to catch a quick drink of water. We were at the bounce houses while we were waiting for the fire works to begin!


These are my two other babies...well, my oldest isn't really a baby any more (as he will quickly tell you), but he'll always be this mama's first baby! You'd of though it was his first time at the fire works the way he sat and stared with wonder and amazement in his eyes. At one point he even said (without taking his eyes off the flashes of colorful light), "mama, this is absolutely beautiful". Love that boy right there!! And, his little sister was dressed for the occasion in her red, white, and blue. Wish you could see those colors popping on her outfit, but I decided to go with black and white for every picture in this post that was a fire work!

And, here they are, the pictures of the fireworks. I played around with my settings a good bit. I've taken pictures of FW before, but I've never caught such amazing images of the continuous movement. I love the way this first one reminds me of a flower in full bloom, and how the second one captures so many different types of movement and variety of colors. I wish I had more time to keep playing with my settings to see the different types of images I captured. I'm just hopeful there are more fireworks to capture before the summer ends! The third image is my favorite in terms of the shape of the image. I love the full-bodied nature of the explosion, the different shapes of the light...it's just beautiful to me. 

And, just to finish it out, a quick shot of my cutie patootie swimming at Papa William's house yesterday. That girl is a fish, no doubt about it. She loves the water, loves splashing around, and ""wimmin'".  I wish I could say that huge smile on her face was just for me, but it wasn't.

That smile was for this awesome guy, her Papa William. I love the way turning this pic to black and white made him stand out in the image. Before the edits, he really blended into the background. That just didn't do him justice, so I was thrilled with the way the way the b&w looked!

So, that's it! We had a fabulous week celebrating with friends, family, festivals, and fun! This week I'll be posting pictures of my Wednesday session, and then I'm out of town for a week on vacation. I'll be sure to catch up when we get back. Until then, I hope your days are long and full of the things you love!

Happy Snapping,

~ Melissa ~