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There’s been a history making drought here in Texas for the past year, so our backyard grass – well may it RIP. Amazingly, since January we have had many rainy days and even a flash flood warning… and wouldn’t you know that the weeds are the ones drinking up all that water? I have mini-trees springing up all over the place!  Some of these even look like radicchio they have in salad mixes, jeez!

Be sure to follow Elaine Melko, Chicago http://melkophoto.com/blog/?p=238 for her weekly entry, and don’t forget to keep following that circle for amazing entries each week.

{RUFFLES}

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To be honest I was going to throw in the towel this week. With the theme of cold and not much of that to go around in Texas, I was going to skip.

But last night – my honey Emmanuel came home with something a little different for Valentines Day. We’ve never been the couple to do big gestures for holidays – I guess we’re practical. Instead we planned to visit our moms and give them flowers and cookies. We had bought a daily deal for a 3 course dinner at a fancy schmancy place on a discount for later in the month with out the crowds, so I wasn’t expecting anything other than a hug and a card. But he surprised me with  the cutest ice cream cake… with MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP on the inside. Yumm. Before I could even say thank you I ran to grab my camera and jibber jabbered about “cold being my theme this week, and I had nothing to shoot and the ice cream would be a good idea, follow me to the backyard the light is fading faaaasst, yes come outside with the cake, no I’m not crazy!” Not the best or most creative, and I feel like each week I’ve been doing Bokeh everytime… but I love it. Finally a photo of something that will be a sweet memory for me and not a client. I love you Emmanuel for all that you are, and your sweet tooth.

Don’t forget to visit the lovely Elizabeth McDonough from, Apex, NC Family Photography http://www.elizabethmcdonoughphotography.com/blog/?p=698 to see her take on this weeks entry.

{COLD}

I usually dress in four colors: black, grey, browns and jeans. Is jeans a color? haha. The only Pink I see in my daily life is on my face. Ever since last Fall when I bought a Laura Geller Baked Makeup Kit, I’ve been using rosy pinks on my lips, cheeks and eyes and I can finally say I have stuck to one makeup routine for months. Anyway… that’s when it struck me, MAKEUP!

Instead of just shooting my baked blush compact at home – I decided to head to Walgreens (my favorite store ever!) and hit the lipstick aisle. But then, I didn’t stop there… I thought, I wonder how many other pink things I can find in this store! Turns out there is so much pink in Walgreens – probably because so many companies market to women. I ended up getting extremely camera shy after the makeup lady asked me about my camera and what I was up to – so  I didn’t even get to shoot much of the Valentines Day and Baby aisles – and dangit I forgot to snap a photo of Pepto!

{PINK}

Don’t forget to follow Lindsey Culver Photography – Birmingham, AL Photographer to see how she interpreted this weeks topic.

I was given the task last Thursday to call and prepare her final arrangements for we think the time is near. We as a family have had 18 months to prepare, but I guess we have all been in denial. I took on the emotional task because I am not sure my mother or aunt are strong enough. I wish I would have shot a self portrait of the emotional afternoon I had calling funeral homes and learning of their process, or of my younger brother crying at grandmothers bedside, or of my mom wrapping a rosary around my grandmothers wrist, or of my uncle saying a prayer in the ICU, or of us as a family giggling in the waiting room …. but I didn’t even think to use my camera at any of those moments. Does that make me a failure of a photographer or simply human? I’ve become so accustomed to documenting other people’s lives (especially with my wedding work), that I find it strange to do that for my own life. I’m doing myself a disservice I know.

Instead for this weeks entry, I’m posting an image I shot in the days before my grandmother was taken to the ICU.  This photo below is of my two cousins with my aunt Betty from my mothers side. She like many people, became so nervous in front of the camera that she was making a stiff funny face. I mocked her, and told her she had the I just farted and hope no one can tell look, and of course she just blew up with laughter. I wouldn’t tell that to any client, but they’re family – and hey she relaxed after she released all that nervous energy. I love my Garcia family.

{EMOTION}

 Hopefully, your not too sad to continue onto lovely Cheyenne Bell’s entry this week. Check her out at:

Cheyenne Bell – LoveJoy Photography, Fort Worth, TX – http://www.lovejoyphotoblog.com/2012/02/52-wednesdays-emotion.html

Well it’s not the camera, it knowing how to manually use your camera. From any point and shoot up to the most professional camera, such as the ones I use – they all have auto modes. Where you let the cameras computer decide the settings based on how it meters the light environment. For everyday family snapshots, this is great technology. For artistic and heirloom photographs of your family… this is where hiring a professional that knows how to shoot in manual becomes important. I tell the camera where to focus (depth of field),  how thin of a focal point I want (aperture), how much light to let in (shutter speed) and how sensitive I want the sensor to be to the light (ISO).  Knowing how to nail the sweet spot between those values will get you an image with the most dreamy and heavenly bokeh – the artistic blurring of the background. This is my weeks entry.

{BOKEH}

Please follow the link to see this week’s entry from Amy Grace, a beautiful life photo, southern california photographer

http://www.abeautifullifephoto.com/blog/2012/01/24/fifty-two-wednesdays-week-three/

The crazy thing is that I’ve been busy shooting clients this past weekend – a 1 yr old on Friday, a family on Saturday, and a baptism on Sunday. Yet for the life of me I forgot to slow down and shoot my entry for this week. Eyes. The windows to the soul. They don’t wrinkle, smile, or pout – but you can tell how the person (or pet) is feeling by looking at the eyes. We take them for granted don’t we?

So this week I am going to share an oldie but a goodie. I shot this cute fellow a few weeks ago, and like many things it hasn’t been seen on the blog yet. It’s a challenge to shoot pets, they hardly listen to their owners much less to a stranger like me. Meet Tex… he is so adorable. The cutest face ever!

~ EYES ~

Of course, the first week happens when we are neck deep in kitchen remodeling. We are getting a brand new kitchen and went down to the studs. No more 1980′s formica and veener. So life is pretty chaotic with dust everywhere and pots and pans in boxes all over the living room. So I was unfortunately, not the most creative as I wanted to be. There are so many ways to represent mornings.

I love to cook, but what I miss most from my kitchen is a morning ritual I started last fall. I’ve never been a breakfast person; probably why my metabolism has never been my friend. However, after I started working from home I made it a point to slow down eat breakfast and enjoy a cup of chai tea.  Never been much of a coffee drinker, but I love teas. Chai is at the top of my list – I love the spicy sweetness of it. I have insulin sensitivity and the cinnamon is a great herbal supplement to regulate your insulin naturally, so there’s a health benefit (even if tiny) for me.

~ MORNING ~

Please visit the next entry in our circle, to see her interpretation of “morning”:  Lindsey Culver – Birmingham AL Photographer

http://blog.lindseyculverphotography.com/