I'm Getting Braver!!!

I find myself not taking nearly as many pictures of Dallas lately. Now that I have learned to take the camera out of Auto, I have a tendency to take better quality pictures(or at least I think so!!!) I'm not just standing there shooting anything that moves hoping to get just one good picture!!! I'm getting braver about taking my camera out in public and taking pictures of Dallas when the mood hits "both" of us. I really enjoy shooting in RAW format. I feel it gives me more freedom to do what I want with my pictures. I shot the second picture this afternoon with a Nikon 85mm f/1.8. I think this will become a favorite lens along with the Nikon 50mm f/1.8.

Oh How I Love Her Smile

"Grammie, I Da Bomb"

I finally got into the mood to take some pictures today. There are times when Dallas gets aggravated because I won't stop!!! Then there are the times when I just don't feel like it. I decided to take Deb's advice and bribe Dallas to let me take a few pics of her today. What worked you might ask...Mint flavored Chapstick!!! I swear she would eat it if I didn't watch her. Today was a beautiful day here in South Louisiana. Tomorrow is a different story, with it being about 15-20 degrees colder. She was so proud of her new "Moo Cow" dress from Matilda Jane. When we arrived at my Parent's house to take my Mom shopping today, she looked up at Grammie and said "I Da Bomb". Oh the things kids say!!! The last pic is of my nephew "B" or "Bubbie" as Dallas calls him. She still can't say his name, so "Bubbie" it is. I shot these in RAW today and tried my best to process them. I have a long ways to go but I am quite proud of the start I have made. Before I get emails asking about the Christmas decorations in the yard, it is my Parent's house and half their neighborhood is already decorated!!!

Why Can't They See What I See?

Dallas is my daughter...she was born on the other side of the world..she was born from her Chinese mother...she was born from my heart...she was wanted...she was prayed for...many a tears have been shed over her...by her Chinese mommy...by her forever mommy...by her Chinese family...by her forever family...when I look at her, I see hope...I see love...I see beauty...I see laughter...I see childhood innocence...I see mommy...I see daddy...I see the Chinese family who gave her life...I see the child who makes my gray skies blue...I see the child who is making me go gray early...I see God's answer to our prayers...I see that God does have a sense of humor...I see the child who is her grandparent's joy...I see the child who is adored by aunts, uncles, and cousins...I see the child who puts a smile on everyone's face...I see the most beautiful, intelligent, spirited, loving, creative little girl God put on this planet...most of all, I see my daughter Dallas.

written by Mommy on 11-09-2008

The Things They Say!!!

Daddy: Dallas, are you a goof-ball?

Dallas: Thinks for a second and then says "No, I'm a red ball"!!!

One of those Moments

I was sitting at the computer this afternoon messing around on the internet and I hear Skip yell for me to "Hurry up and bring the camera". I grab my trusty Nikon D90 and run as fast I could to the back door. Dallas was standing there in her school clothes all covered in sidewalk chalk. Wait a minute, she wasn't like like when I picked her up from school 30 minutes earlier!!! Of course I had to remind myself that they are only little once and this is, after all, one of those moments I just have to photograph!!! I'm in the last week of my photography class so I have learned a few things about taking the camera out of Auto. I start going through my mental checklist of what I would need to do in order to take a great shot of this moment in manual mode. I set the ISO too high and I wish I hadn't set the aperture for this much blur. I did a little color correcting in Photoshop, added my watermark, and here is the finished product. While I was getting the camera set to take the pictures, Skip was telling Dallas where to stand and to smile(which she didn't). He was even telling me where to stand to get the best shot. I think I've got him trained!!!

New Layout

I finally finished my new blog layout. I really wanted to create my own background instead of just doing a plain one. I am going to change it more often now to reflect holidays and seasons. It was a real pain but I was determined not to quit. I am still seeing HTML code flash before my eyes!!!