My 365 Project - Day 29

This is my first picture ever of my new niece Hannah. I usually snap happy from day one with the babies but she had a rough go of it in the beginning,so I didn't really have the opportunity until now. It was well worth the wait. Isn't she a cutie!?

My 365 Project - Day 28

I brought my camera with me today to drop my kids of at their dads house. While we were sitting in traffic on the highway,(280 for the locals)my daughter took my camera and shot this sign. She liked how colorful it was compared to the dreary gray sky, and the dull colors of the highway and buildings in the background. It made me so proud. So I decided to use her picture for my post today. :)

My 365 Project - Day 27

So as I've said in past posts, I've been crocheting scarves and selling them online recently. I wanted to take some pictures of my latest scarf, and I asked my daughter to model the scarf for me. This picture was one of my cast offs, but I'm posting it because it makes me smile. My daughter is a funny kid. I told her that her face wasn't going to be in the picture, that I was just shooting the scarf, and that she didn't need to smile. But in every frame,right before I hit the button she would pretty much say cheese. It was just funny to me because she was so committed to the picture. It was as if she thought that by smiling, it would somehow translate onto the scarf, even if her face wasn't in the shot. Well,I didn't zoom in enough and ended up catching her smile.And you know what....I think it did make the scarf look better. :)

My 365 Project - Day 26

Soooo, we got hit with yet ANOTHER snow storm here in Jersey and unfortunately I got caught driving in the middle of it! I didn't have my camera on me, but I did manage to get a shot off with my cell phone. Yes, that is my dashboard, and yes that is my windshield wiper in the right corner, and yes, it was dangerous and stupid to take this picture while steering.

My 365 Project - Day 25

This is Bella. She is nothing like her brother Max.Paul picked her the moment he saw her because she was the only one of the three siblings that wasn't sleeping, or trying to at least. Nope, she was jumping around the cage messing with her brother and sister, and when she saw Paul looking at her she stopped and looked right at him as if to say,'You looking at me?!'. He loved her mismatched coat and her patches. She has the same big round green eyes as her brother Max, but she is tiny. Tiny and BAD. She is the most vocal cat you have ever seen, and she acts more like a dog. If you are missing something, chances are Bella has swiped it and put it in her hiding spot at the bottom of the stairs.

My 365 Project - Day 24

This is my kitty Max. Actually his real name is Maximus. Maximus Decimus Meridius ...yes I named my kitty after The Gladiator. We got him and his sister about 3 or 4 years ago when they were just 10 weeks old. They are actual brother and sister from a litter that belonged to an old couple who just couldn't keep every kitten. So they gave up 3 siblings, and we adopted 2 of them. We would have taken all three but in reality our landlord only gave us permission to take one....so ya know. lol My Max is beautiful. He's got big round green eyes and the most beautiful gray and white coat. He reminds me of a scared little mommas boy. He sleeps on my feet every night, he follows me everywhere and he likes to watch t.v. My husband calls him fatty because he has become quite large, yet his head doesn't seem to have grown.I say he is just fluffy.

My 365 Project - Day 23

I took my girls shopping today. While they were trying on clothes, I found myself the perfect pair of socks.
It's funny how how the littlest things can make you feel good. :)

My 365 Project - Day 22

We are having one heck of a cold snap here in the North East. The temperature was 11 degrees today around noon. I snapped a picture of my son while we were walking through our parking lot to get up to our apartment. It is nothing but solid ice.
I'm over it.
lol

My 365 Project - Day 21

I've spent the past few days crocheting scarves that have been sold. So being surrounded by yarn, it was only natural that I took this picture. I mean I haven't gone anywhere! lol

My 365 Project - Day 20

This is my girlfriends dog 'Pepsi'. He is very jumpy and can't still for a second. I actually shot like 4 pictures of him and this was the best one. lol He didn't stand still long enough for me to get his ears!

My 365 Project - Day 19

So yesterday I snapped a picture of a work in progress I'm talking about the scarf I was crocheting. Well, my sister-in-law convinced me to try selling some of my pieces on line, and told me to send her pictures for her to put online. So I got to thnking, that this would be a good opportunity to practice my Product Photography,and get my day 19 picture out of the way.

So this morning after the kids left, I setup some studio lights ion my kitchen, laid down some large sheets of white paper and went to town. Armed with my 'Nifty Fifty'50mm lens, I took several shots and then I combined the three best ones to show off my product. This is what I eventually sent to my sister-in-law to put online and hopefully we'll get a sale.
Feel free to take a look at some of the lovely things she has for sale, and 'Like' her on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/#!/CM.Crafters or check out C&M Crafters on the web at : http://cmcrafters.weebly.com/
:)

My 365 Project - Day 18

I love creating....anything. I've always loved crafting. I've made candles,jewelry,home decor,toys, costumes, you name it I've probably tried to make it!
Growing up we had a little old lady neighbor named Netty. And it wasn't that I was young and just thought she was old. She was already old when we moved in, and she was really really old when we moved out almost 20 years later. lol She was great, she used to tell us stories and show us pictures of how our house used to look when it was first built. She told us about how different the town had changed throughout the years, and she gave us ice cream.One day when I was about 9 or 10 I saw her crocheting a blanket, and I asked her if she could teach me, and she did. I've been 'hooked' ever since. She passed on a few years back after we had moved away, but she remains in the heart of my family in funny stories about her, and in the little lessons she passed on to each of us. I think fondly of her whenever I pick up a crotchet hook.
I've been working on some crocheting projects all day today, so I thought it only fitting to take a picture of one. This one is a scarf I'm working on. I think she'd be proud. :)

My 365 Project - Day 17

On the 17th day of every 365 since 1999, we celebrate my oldest daughters' birthday.She is 1/3 of my redemption. She has inherited my love of all things art, and everyday she develops her photographers eye a little more. One day we'll be following her 365 Project...and it will be far better than mine.
Happy Birthday Monkey.

My 365 Project - Day 16

My daughter got a new shirt,and she just loves it. So I took a picture of it for two reasons, one, she asked me to and two I have a couple of friends who really love Fleur De Lis. This one is for you Veronica & Pete. :)

My 365 Project - Day 15

Remember at the beginning of all of this I said they can't all be gems? lol Well, sadly this is one of them. I wasn't feeling very good and this was as creative as I could get. It's the window in my den that pretty much overlooks the roof of the building next door, and there is still lots of snow melting. I like watching the snow melt on windows. Each droplet starts in pretty much the same spot but each drip take them in a new direction.

My 365 Project - Day 14

This is a picture that my father took of me when I was about 2 or 3 years old. It's one of my all time favorite pictures from a vast and I mean vast archive of photographs that my dad took throughout the years. I guess it's no secret where I get my love of photography. I always thought it was so cool, because it wasn't your typical 'say cheese' moment, and you can see my brothers hand near my head. Lord knows what he was about to do to me. lol
I've seen this type of picture done a million times over the years, but none of them sticks with me the way this one does. So, for the heck of it I thought I'd give it a shot with my own kids, try to recreate the magic of his photo.

Well, we all know that rarely anything ever goes as planned. But I did learn one thing; If your kids make you laugh really loud at least once a day...you are doing something right.
Happy Friday.

My 365 Project - Day 13

I knew when I decided to do this project, that it was going to be a tall order coming up with a picture everyday. But the cool thing is with every new day I'm presented with new opportunities to get a good photo, and it's taking very little effort. I have made it a habit to have my camera with me even if I'm going to drop my kids off at school. This morning on my way out the door I heard the dripping from this icicle and I knew that would be today's shot. I was so excited when I took this picture because I was lucky enough to catch the icicle in mid drip on my second shot. :)

My 365 Project - Day 12

New Jersey had another snow storm blow through here last night. It wasn't as bad as the Blizzard we had around Christmas, so at around 1 am this morning, while my whole family slept, I went up on the roof of our building to take a few quick shots. I usually take pictures during the snow storms and post them on Facebook, because everybody likes to compare notes about how their town is being affected. I live right on the main street of our town , right in the heart across from the train & police station and post office so I have a nice view out of my bedroom window of the town and what's going on down on the street. This morning instead of hanging out of my bedroom window, and letting all the heat out, I went up on the roof. It was so quiet, and everybody knows how pretty snow is when it's falling. The streets were covered; the parking meters,benches everything was white. All of the sudden this very loud rumbling started, and it felt like the building was shaking. A fleet of snow plows were coming down the street one after an other. I was looking down on them from the roof and manged to snap this shot of one of the big ones. Of course I had to convert it to black and white and apply some filters to make it more cool looking. My mother always said I have a flair for the dramatic. lol

My 365 Project - Day 11

My daughters' bracelet. I was in the mood to play around with post processing again.
Can you blame me? lol

My 365 Project - Day 10

Here is something we all could use a little more of these days...change.
I hope you are enjoying the pics!

My 365 Project - Day 9

This is part of the branch on a tiny Christmas decoration, that we have yet to take down. It's a little gold, glittery Christmas Tree that stands less than a foot tall, with tiny green and red bells on them. If this picture teaches me nothing else, it's that I need to dust more.

My 365 Project - Day 8

It's snowing in Jersey again.
My daughter and I took a ride to a park in town and found this small cluster of leaves resting on a bank of plowed snow. It caught our eye because pretty much everything is white or gray,and this was the only pop of color out there. I must have looked ridiculous to anyone who was watching because I was on my knees in the snow getting really close to get this shot. My knees are still thawing out, but it was worth it.
Enjoy!

My 365 -Extra

Since I decided to focus on Macro photos this week I was doing some practice shots last night and well you don't really have much to work with at 10 o'clock at night when you are pretty much ready for bed. So I poured a glass of wine, and while looking straight down into it, I thought, 'that looks really cool'. So I picked up my camera. I took this shot on Day 7 of My 365, but I had already posted my pic for the day, so this is just a bonus. :)

My 365 Project - Day 7

Mother nature lent a hand in finishing off the week with my photo today. We woke up to a fresh blanket of snow on the ground and it was still falling. After I dropped the kids at school I ran a few errands, and then just went for a drive before returning home. There is a little one lane bridge on the way to the practice field where my girls did their cheer leading this past summer. That's where I stopped and took today's photo. If I had taken this just yesterday, it would have been a drastically different picture. Most of the snow from the blizzard last week had already melted,and this spot was nothing more dead branches and some water. This fresh batch of snow turned it into a winter wonderland.
So here we are at Day 7,one full week of My 365 down! I didn't stick to any particular theme this past week, but for this next week I'm going to focus on macro photography. It's not something I do very often, so I think it would be fun to see what I can come up with and also polish my skills. Be sure to check back everyday for a new photo and as always feel free to leave a comment. If you have a particular theme or type of picture you'd like to see me try, I'm open to suggestions!

My 365 Project - Day 6

I live next door to an upholstery place, and everyday when I pull into my driveway I see this chair. It reminds me of a bigger version of a little rocking chair that I used to have when I was growing up. The thing about this chair though is that it sits on the roof to the back entrance of the shop,and it has no seat. The guy that owns the shop or at least I assume he owns it but I never asked, is really nice. He says hello to me every morning when I'm taking the kids to school. We have never really had a full conversation except a few short words about the possibility of snow but he always has a smile on his face and he is always pleasant. Maybe I'll work up to asking him what made him put the chair on the roof, or maybe I'll just continue to look at it everytime I pull into my parking spot as it welcomes me home. I love that damn chair.....so I took a picture of it.
Enjoy!

My 365 Project - Day 5

So for today's picture I decided to do something a little different. I wanted to take a picture of something very ordinary and turn it into art......I give you, a bowl of water. Sure I jazzed it up with some color filters in post processing, but it's just water. lol
Enjoy!

My 365 Project - Day 4

Anyone with a pre-teen or teenage daughter or son for that matter knows that this picture pretty much represents my worst nightmare. Could you imagine if they started cloning people?
I had a lot of fun with this one. It took some patience from my daughter and I thank her, but she really loves the end result, so it's all good!
Hope you enjoy it! Don't forget to bookmark this blog, or even better yet start following me. ;) Check back everyday for new pictures, and tell your friends!

My 365 Project - Day 3

I had absolutely no idea what to photograph today. Because of this terrible cold I'm carrying around I was sure that I wasn't going to come up with anything to post. Ah, but fear not! My children have always provided me with cute portrait opportunities in the past so I went to my son. I told him that I needed his help and he agreed, but only if I took a picture of his new action figure for him first. Well,mission accomplished. I didn't need to take the portrait of him that I originally planned. Here is his creepy new toy.

My 365 Project -Day 2

I'm still nursing this awful cold, so I'm pretty much stuck trying to find things to photograph in my home. I bought this bracelet a few weeks back and I fell in love with it because it has such a vintage feel to it. I decided to take a black and white picture of it and while doing so I discovered how the complete lack of organization in my jewelry box actually helped make the picture more interesting. It reminded me of when I pull out all my Christmas decorations.

My husband puts the tree up and then dumps the boxes of ornaments and all the trimmings at the foot of the tree and tells us to have at it. So I titled this picture, 'All The Trimmings'. I took the picture in color and then converted it to black and white with a subtle green filter in post processing.I also added a little vignetting to highlight the bracelet, since after all, it was the original inspiration for the picture.

Picture Info:
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi
f/1.8
1/15 sec.
ISO-100
Focal Length 50mm
Flash,compulsory

My 365 Project - Day 1

Happy New Year!! I have been fascinated with taking pictures for as long as I can remember. I recently found some pictures that I took with a point and shoot 35mm when I was probably around 12 or 13 years old. When I get a chance I may scan and upload them to this blog, just for kicks. Some of them weren't half bad, although I'm probably a little biased! Seeing those pictures made me think about how much I love photography, and how little time I really devote to it. So I decided to do this little project.OK, so this is not an original idea,but I think it's a great idea regardless. I have decided to take at least one picture per day, for every day of 2011.It's kind of a big commitment, since I don't usually carry my camera around with me, but who knows, maybe I'll catch a few cool shots from my phone! I can't promise that they'll all be gems, but hey I'm challenging myself to do this, so good or bad, at least one picture is going up everyday.

So here is Day 1. What a way to start off the year,I woke up without a voice. I'd love to say that it is a result of some pretty crazy New Years Eve Partying, but really it's just an annoying cold that doesn't want to go away. Here is to a happy healthy New Year! Don't forget to check back everyday...oh ok, at least once a week to see what's new.
Cheers!

Picture Info:
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi
f/1.8
1/50 sec.
ISO100
Focal length 50mm
No Flash