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We like to eat Sunday breakfast as a family. Here’s a bit of our Sunday morning breakfast table…

Shortly after this was taken the table had yummy coffee cake and grapes that were quickly consumed.

Gotta dash – we’re off to game night at church.

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Once again, I did not do scenery for this Scenic Saturday. It’s gray again. Instead I decided to take some photos of my Snack Taxis. We all love these wonderful little things! They are so much better than plastic sandwich bags. And they’re so cute!

Anyway, I was setting up to take some nice photos of my snack taxis – testing light, arranging the elements just so – when someone sneaked in from the side! Apparently the lure of peanut butter dinos was just too much!

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I’m posting a bit late tonight. It was a fairly busy day…I spent a couple hours editing Burger Shack photos today, but I think I was gone for the rest of the day. I had several opportunities for Friday Food photos today, but my favorite was this spinach and strawberry salad we had at our Ladies’ Fellowship meeting.

The Fun Friday photo challenge was to take a portrait of someone without the person being in the photo. I thought this was an interesting challenge. I didn’t accomplish what I really wanted to with this, but here’s my portrait of my teenage daughter.

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Thankful Thursday – spring weather! I’m so thankful for beautiful weather and being able to have the front door open. Caleb and Molly are enjoying it too.

Caleb was “nuzzling Molly’s ear.” I didn’t even know he knew “nuzzling.”

• f/1.8
• iso 400 (because I had been shooting inside)
• 1/4000 (camera was on AV mode – it set the shutter speed for me. If I’d realized what it was at I would have lowered my iso so the photo wasn’t so grainy. Oh well.)
• The photo was converted to b&w with Pioneer Woman’s B&W Beauty action.

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♫I got to shoot at the Burger Shack!♫ I love doing that. Here’s one shot I just pulled out quickly to post…

This is the Ranchero burger with sweet potato fries. I’ve never tried a burger with a chili pepper on it, but this looks yummy!

And here’s the pull-back shot I forgot to take last time…
 
I used my Canon 220ex flash on full power through the umbrella. I used that little mirror as I needed it to direct a little more light on the food – especially with the sandwiches that were stacked up. It’s held on to the paper towel holder (that’s weighted, so it stays put) by the magnet on the back of the mirror, but it’s easy to remove and use as I need it. The white backdrop is a piece of foam core posterboard that’s taped to a metal bookend to keep it upright. I’m nothing if not high-tech.
All the food images were shot with my 50mm lens. They were shot at f/5 to f/8, iso 200. The shutter speed varied depending on the light at the moment. I always do my flash shots on full manual settings. The pull back was done with the 18-55 lens and AV setting – I don’t know what the settings actually were on that (and I’m too lazy to look them up).

Thanks for stopping by!

54/365

I went looking for texture in the linens section of Kmart today. I wasn’t overly thrilled with any of my photos, but here’s what I have…

This is a very fuzzy bath mat. I would love to have one of these – my bath mat is in terrible shape – but I didn’t spend the money today.

Here is what I did with the texture (the photo of Caleb with the banana dog is a few weeks old – just the texture is new).

I put the texture on top of the photo and added a layer mask. I changed the layer blend mode to Soft Light and lowered the opacity a bit. Then I masked out Caleb and the banana dog. After that was done I lowered the opacity a bit more so the texture wasn’t overwhelming.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog!

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I’m totally wiped out today. Ready for bed at 6:21pm. Hmmm. Do you think the kids would notice?

I was hunting repeating patterns today. (Rachel, I thought it was funny that we both shot repeating patterns today!) I like the same-same-sameness in black and white.

 

f/8
1/50
iso 400
50mm

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I waited to post today because I thought I might take more photos…but I didn’t. So if you’ve seen our breakfast on Facebook, I’m sorry you have to be tempted by yummy Peanut Butter Waffle Toast again. Good stuff.

I had one for a snack this afternoon with nothing on it, and it was very good. I think I might like them better without the syrup!

This shot was taken using white foam board as a backdrop and a white reflector as the base. It was lit with a Canon 220ex (full power, as there are no other options with that flash) through an umbrella.
f/5
1/100
iso 100
50mm

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I finally got over to St. Mary’s Mission this afternoon! And there was sun! Here is my Scenic Saturday photo… 

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Day 50! Whoohoo! This is going so fast! Today’s Fun Friday challenge - “Sweet” - fit right into my Friday theme – Food. I made a “sweet” treat for my “sweetie.” This is dark chocolate fudge. I’m not all that thrilled with it, but apparently I’m the only one. Everyone else thinks it’s wonderful!

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It’s another Thankful Thursday! ‘Know what those sparkly parts are?? Sunshine on my apples! I love the bits of sunshine we’ve had this week! We were desperately needing it, I think.

Here’s another thing I’m thankful for…a Chinese New Year dragon. I love this, and I love his enjoyment of preschool. He really loves it.

Felice, Mom, Caleb, and I are headed off to Missoula. It’s sure to be a fun-filled afternoon!

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I should be outside right now – it’s beautiful (if muddy) out there! But I’m too tired from my indoor walkabout! This Walkabout Wednesday gives you a peek into my home…

This was in response the Flylady Olympic Events challenge – this was Event #2.

Here was Event #6…

I got started late on the Events, so I did several today. It’s nice to have clean spaces in my house!

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How’s everyone doing this Texture Tuesday? It’s been a good day for me. I accomplished a bunch of stuff, I actually worked on my photo today, and I haven’t lost my temper yet. Whoohoo!

This is the brick wall at the hospital we go to for therapies (Speech, Physical, and Occupational therapy for Austin and Kristi). This wall has great texture! The only problem is that even at f/14 my depth of field was too small. I’ll try again another Tuesday with a higher f-stop.

We had a bonus while we were waiting for Kristi to finish up. This flock of geese kindly came to see what they could see. They didn’t seem to be too worried about us watching them, but we stayed in the car so we wouldn’t ruin their day.

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This is the second Monday in a row that I’ve just quickly snapped a moment. This one’s purpose is to document that Kristi and Caleb can actually play nicely together for a few minutes. They were sharing The Chair and playing a video game. It was sweet! (For a moment. Then Kristi objected to Caleb touching her or something.)

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Look what God gave us for Valentine’s Day!

The pink Valentine’s sunrise didn’t last long – it got gray and completely overcast very quickly. But this sure was nice to see.

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Today was a very busy day. We spent the morning getting the house cleaned up (well, sorta) and then spent the afternoon having a birthday party for Dale. Apparently it all went well…everyone seemed to have a great time, and I didn’t have to duct tape anyone to a chair. Success!

This last shot shows the Light Saber/Balloon Champions of the World!! These two kept their balloon in the air longer than anyone else! Whoohoo!

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Well, I’m a bit bummed. I was going to do the Fun Friday Foto challenge today – A Loved One – but there was no time. I unexpectedly had to run to the “city” to pick my husband up from work, and I didn’t get a chance to take pictures of the birthday boy. I will do it tomorrow anyway, and post it over at the Project 365 Forum.

My normal theme for Friday is Food. Guess where we went for our Valentine’s dinner? Yep, you guessed it – The Burger Shack. I know you’ve already been subjected to hamburger photos this week, but you’re gonna hafta suffer again. I had to shoot my yummy Stevi (Steev-eye) burger before I ate it. I didn’t have my high-tech lighting setup for this shot but that’s okay because I was only interested in eating it!

Thanks for dropping by! I’d love to hear from you! Oh, and photographers, if you haven’t done so, drop by the Project 365 Forum and say howdy!

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I just took a quick shot of the kids’ Valentines for today. It’s Thankful Thursday – and I’m thankful that I don’t have to write the kids’ Valentine cards anymore. They’re all old enough to address them themselves! Yay!

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Down the street a bit…a 7-minute walk from my house…is a wonderful little place for hamburger lovers. A friend of mine owns it, and she asked me to come and take some photos for posters she’d like to have made. Here are the first two I’ve edited…

(The Classic cheeseburger)

(Mushroom Swiss Burger)

These two actually got to come home with me. The Classic was split between me and Caleb, and the mushroom burger found its way to my mother’s house. I love The Burger Shack!!

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My texture shot isn’t as texturey as I’d like, but it just didn’t happen today. But these flowers are brightening up my dining room, and I love the feeling of flower petals. So that’s my texture. These were given to me by Fancy’s friend Josh when we went out Saturday evening. Nice boy. :-)

(This appears much more orangey to me online than it does in Photoshop. Why?)

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It’s a snapshot Monochrome Monday. I took my camera with me everywhere and never had a chance to use it. I ended up using it to capture a cute moment in my own living room. This was a quick snap just before the majority of the kids got home from school…Caleb and Molly were waiting eagerly for their playmates.

Are they home yet?

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It’s Snapshot Sunday! Here are just a couple snaps from our Super Bowl celebration.

Super Bowl dinner…

With a glass of milk it’s a well-rounded meal, right?

Kristi was really into the Super Bowl.

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The scenery for my Scenic Saturday was a different type of colorful again. I didn’t even go outside to take pictures! I took pictures of the scenery inside. Ken and I took Fancy and her friend Josh out for dinner at the steak house and then to a movie. We all got dressed up a bit and enjoyed a nice evening together.

 

 

 

On another note – I just joined a great group called the SITStahood. It’s a group of bloggers who support each other by commenting on blogs. One of the challenges they’ve offered is to develop our “tribe” (group of like-minded bloggers) by identifying some of our regular commenters. I am so thankful for all of my regular visitors! If you haven’t already checked these blogs out, be sure to stop by – you’ll find great information and probably inspiration!

My friend Sandra is doing the 365 project with me – great photos here! She is constantly inspiring me to do more/better.

Julie is not a photo blogger, she’s a professional organizer! I don’t know about you, but I sure can use help with organization!

Another 365 friend, Leslie, has heart-warming photos and encouraging thoughts. She also has beautiful children!

Amanda and I have been learning and growing in our photography together for over a year. I love how she’s always trying new stuff – check her out!

Don’t miss this fabulous blog by Katie. She is not only an amazing photographer, she’s a sharp entrepreneur. Lots to learn from her! (Katie, I’m thinking about you and your workshop today!)

(Blog friends, if I didn’t mention you today, don’t fret. I will soon!)

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It took me a long time to get around to my Friday Food today. I’ve been very tired all day…didn’t feel like cooking, so we had Freschetta pizza for dinner. Ken and some of the kids love the spinach and mushroom one with a cream sauce. Weirdos.

I lit this by bouncing a flash of a window and filling with a white poster board.

The Fun Friday Foto challenge was The Color of Love.

To me, the color of love is the olive-toned skin of a man from Nazareth. It’s the sun-bronzed, calloused hands of a carpenter. It’s the black hair of the Heavenly who constrained Himself to a human body. The color of Love is the gray-brown color of a wooden cross. It’s the white of celestial robes. It’s the glistening Light of Heaven. The Color of Love is so much more than pigment – it is the glory of Jesus.

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My Thankful Thursday entry is two snapshots – but snapshots of people for whom I am thankful. I had coffee and YUMMY pull-apart bread with my ebullient friend Felice and my effervescent friend Michele today. It was great to sit and talk with them for a couple hours this morning! I am so glad I have good friends.

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Well, as I mentioned on the Project 365 group board, it was more of a Slideabout Wednesday than a Walkabout Wednesday. So instead of walking around the town shooting whatever, I scooted down the sidewalk and took pictures of the ice.

This winter has been so strange here in Western Montana. We had one cold snap, and a couple snowfalls, but really, it hasn’t been wintery. It’s been warmer than normal, but just cold enough to make the streets and sidewalks treacherous. I don’t mind the temps, but I don’t like the ice! But as quickly as time goes, I’m sure it won’t be long before I’m saying “I wish it wasn’t so hot!” lol.

Thanks for dropping by my blog. I sure do appreciate all the visitors!

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Here’s some texture for Texture Tuesday…

These are from my neighbor’s birch tree. Such a great tree!

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Happy February!

Photographers, if you’re not a follower of The Pioneer Woman’s photography blog, you should be. She shares great photos, good info, and a lot of inspiration. If you’re not a photographer and you don’t follow The Pioneer Woman’s Confessions blog you’re really missing out. She’s funny, talented, and a very real person. She must spend a lot of time blogging – she has so much going on over on her site!

Anyway…there is a point to this…The Pioneer Woman has a Charlie. I want a Charlie. He’s beautiful and wonderful!  I know that I will not have a Charlie any time soon, but I sure do love her posts about Charlie. Here’s my very favoritest one.

Since I don’t have and won’t have a Charlie soon, I decided to take pictures of the closest thing in my house. (By the way, Mom, this is actually yours. Barbara got it for you at the auction.) :-)

Thanks for stopping by on Monochrome Monday!

(Oh – lit by a candle and some ambient light, ISO 1600)