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I hit the photography blog  jackpot. In my quest for new ideas and inspiration I found Shutter Sisters a collaborative blogging project that celebrates woman who have a passion for photography.  The blog was started by the talented Tracey Clark and I am overjoyed to have stumbled upon both of her sites this weekend.

Tracey started a photography project called Best Shot Monday a place to share photos weekly. I am jumping right in today and sharing my contribution. Her theme this week: The Little Details. This morning was filled with little details that are the simple joys in my world:

three day weekend bliss.

sleeping in.

a morning cup of coffee (or two).

an impromptu day off from work by The Calmer. (love him!)

relaxing on the couch with pjs.

These are the little details or simple things in my life right now. What simple things do you have to celebrate?

Hello Autumn! I am so happy you’re here. Scarf weather has arrived! Hurrah!

I have a story today. So I hope you’ll sit back, relax, and take a listen.

I decided this evening that I need to get my hands on an “old school” Polaroid camera. You know the immediate gratification point, shoot, and develop deals.  It all started yesterday evening when a coworker of mine posted this to her Facebook status:

FINALLY found a polaroid camera at the thrift store!! 🙂 now, all I need is film. anyone know where I can find it? 600 film for the one step camera?!

Up until that moment I had completely forgotten about my love for this primative device. My parents bought me my Polarioid instant camera when I was in my teens. I loved the immediate gratification, the blurry finish, the washed out colors. I have no clue why I ever got rid of it. I should’ve knownI would’ve wanted it back one day!

Today this coworker came to me personally to ask about the film. I really haven’t given Polaroid a second thought in the past few years but recalled reading somewhere that they had shut their plants and were no longer manufacturing the film. We sat down, did some internet searching, and WOWIE was I right. The film is hard to come by and man that stuff is expensive now.

Then, by a bit of internet happenstance I discovered that some of our local Walgreens stores still do indeed stock the film.

And this evening I happened to be in a Walgreens.

And they had the film.

Orginally $33

On clearance for $5

Oh happy day!! (for my coworker)

I bought out the entire stock of film.

All 5 packs.

Then in a serendipitious twist of the heavens I came home to this blog from the lovely Susanah Conway.

~ Polaroid news! ~

That’s what the title read. As I read further I discovered that Polaroid will be re-launching some of its most famous instant cameras along with limited edition film.

My love affair with Polaroid has been rekindled. I can’t wait to get my hands on one and see what I can do with it.  My coworker will be lucky if I actually hand over the film tomorrow. I just might have to keep it for myself.

Today I am thinking of Bella.

I should be 26 weeks pregnant today.

Instead it is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day and it’s been 34 days since we said goodbye.  The day we lost Bella I came across this memorial day and committed it to memory. Today I didn’t even realize it was the 15th until a friend tweeted a personal remembrance for her own loss.

The realization of the day brought everything to a screeching halt. I had a wave of guilt for not remembering this on my own. And the irrational thought that Bella would be mad at me. For not remembering. Not caring.

Fortunately the day is not over.

I still have time to honor our sweet baby girl.

Remember her.

What she brought to our family.

Joy. Hope. Love. Emotion. Inspiration.

We miss her and the excitement she brought us as we prepared for a new phase of life for our family. We miss that we’ll never get to know who she is. her smile. her laugh. her personality.

But us losing her has also taught us so much in such a short time.

To not take things for granted.

Enjoy every moment.

Stay strong.

Stay positive.

I may not think of her every single moment of every single day.

But I do I remember her every day.

I hope you’ll take some time to remember her with us today too.

I have an impulse problem.

Remember my recent post about Polaroid nostalgia?  Weeeeeeeelllllll…

I got my One Step Polaroid camera!!!

For 5 bucks on craigslist I might add (gotta love a good bargain).

I actually got the camera on Wednesday (less than 24 hours after that blog post) and have been waiting patiently impatiently for the rain to stop. It’s been VERY rainy here in Virginia the past few days.  And cold. In my world those two things just do not mix well at all! So instead, I’ve been curling up on the couch, cup of coffee in hand, admiring the awesome polaroid loveliness on flickr.

To my delight and surprise the rain clouds actually parted for a little while this afternoon and I was finally able to load up my 600 film (for those of you keeping track I did manage to hang on to two packs) and go for an enjoyable, although brisk, walk.

The fun part about Polaroid film is that you can never be quite sure what you’re going to get. Fortunately today I was pleasantly rewarded with these two shots.

I love how they just go together. And, they totally did not develop as I was expecting them which is all part of the fun.

I could just squeal with happiness right now!

I’m not sure when you’ll see more Polaroid fun from me. I would love to go experiment more but I have to conserve the little bit of film I covet right now.

17 exposures and counting…

I took 100 steps again this morning.  The rain has finally subsided (it’s been raining since Wednesday) but its still way colder than it should be for an October day in VA.   I am sure I was a sight to behold outside in my hooded sweatshirt (with hood on my head), fleece PJ pants, and gray wool shoes. Hopefully everyone was snuggled inside on their Sunday morning instead of looking out their window at the crazy neighbor snapping photos.

My steps this morning did not take my anywhere spectacular. I walked east down the sidewalk on the street where The Calmer and I reside and step 100 stopped me in the middle of a neighbor’s driveway.  I took a 360 degree spin to take in my surroundings.  I didn’t really find too many options. cars in the driveway? ick. the sidewalk? blech. the sky? gross on this gray day.

Then I found it.

I only stayed out long enough to snap 1 picture

The irony of finding flowers in a yard when it was 43 degrees outside was amusing to me!

I am enjoying the vintage like cross-processing on this photo. I wouldn’t say I have developed a photography “style” yet per se but I do tend to enjoy the vintage look on a lot of my still subjects.  What do you think of this “look”?

Anyone else out there take 100 steps yet? I want to see what you come up with. Leave links to all your 100 steps photos in the comments here.

I’m waiting…(taps foot)

Today is Best Shot Monday (BSM) everyone. The idea behind best shot Monday is simple. Take pictures and post the best one. This week’s theme is all about dreams. I have many. They change from day to day.

Right now?

Take pictures. Lots.

Share.

Learn.

Grow.

I dream of growing a photography business.

Success!

But, I do still have quite a bit to learn. Especially capturing photos of people. Their emotions. Their feelings. So practice began today. And I had the perfect subject available. My Calmer. This was the first time I have subjected him to my lens for professional purposes. I am sure it won’t be the last. Here are his feelings on the whole ordeal.

He’s a happy camper right?!

He wasn’t like this the entire time.  Our entire shoot only lasted about 10 minutes. The location? Our own backyard. Sunset. My goal? Practice portraiture. His goal? Get this over as quick as possible! (just kidding).

One of the reasons I love this man so much is that he is such a good sport. He supports me. My dreams. My goals. My ambitions. I have a chronic problem in all aspects of my life of wanting to do it ALL. Biting off more than I can chew. Overextending myself. When I start to do to much, take on more than I can handle he talks me down.  Makes me take a mental break. Guides me. Calms me. I think he knows my limits better than I do sometimes.

When I picked up a camera 8 months ago and started a 365 project he was my #1 cheerleader. He helped me plan my shot of the day. Made sure I wasn’t forgetting to take a picture. He encouraged me to share. To improve. I stopped my 365 in June, but now with my new found passion, inspiration and drive to build this blog and *hopefully* this business from the ground up he is still my #1 fan. He doesn’t think I am biting off more than I can chew and right now neither do I. I have a lot to learn and a long way to go but as long as I have his support I will get there.  He is keeping me sane, keeping me grounded, helping my dream come true.

That is why I love this man, My Calmer.

Have I mentioned before that I’m impulsive? Like super impulsive.

I found my next lens while surfing Shutter Sisters this week. And I just couldn’t wait to purchase it.

So I didn’t.

Welcome Lensbaby!

And, welcome to fall in Virginia!

Ok ok, I know the above photo is a little wild. It’s a little too wild for my tastes. But I had fun shooting it. So it’s here.

Let me tell you a little about how this shot came to be.

Rewind to lunch on Monday. A co-worker turns to me and says “you’re really into photography right? I have an AMAZING tree in my neighborhood you have to go take a picture of!”

I am immediately intrigued.

The co-worker verbally gives me rudimentary directions.

She assures me I will totally KNOW this tree when I see it, not to worry.

I make a plan.

Next day I go!

I’m not going to lie I felt like some sort of undercover special agent driving to a strangers house to take pictures (pictures of a tree!). As I was driving I started questioning myself.

Should I do this? This is silly! This tree can’t really be THAT amazing, can it? It’s just a tree. And do people really go to take photos of it? The homeowner is going to think I am CRAZY. They are going to call the cops and I’m going to be kicked off the premises!

I did not turn around.

And as I arrived on the street where said tree was supposedly living I started doubting that it even was that spectacular. All the other trees on this road looked terribly ordinary. Your normal greenish yellowy brown trees of fall.

Then I saw it.

There was no mistaking it. THIS was the tree!

An explosion of orange fall beauty!

I parked across the road and took  shots from my rolled down car window. I longed to get out and get close to the vibrant yellow and orange leaves but even I was not that brave. Surely the cops would come after me then! So I remained content trying to capture the perfect shots from the comfort of my parked car. One of my favorite captures highlights the contrast of the orange leaves against the blue early evening sky.

I only stayed about 15 minutes. Snapping. adjusting settings. Snapping. adjusting settings. Snapping. changing lens. Snapping. adjusting settings. You get the idea.

Then a car pulled up. And it turned directly into the tree home’s driveway!

Shooting session over.

As I drove away I was happy.  I left filled with excitement over my new lens, overcoming a fear of shooting the unknown,  and the beauty of the fall season.

No stories today.  Juat a post and run.  I am in the midst of editing pictures from my first mother/son photo shoot that took place today (stay tuned for the results…) .  However, I had some play time last night with one of my favorite cats and the lensbaby, so I had to share.

Meet Vincent

He’s one of our two fur babies. Vincent loves back and chin scratches, chasing his own tail, and meowing like a girl. For a cat he’s pretty laid back. We’ve had him for 2 years. He came to us from a local cat rescue when he was a year old.  He’s a very photogenic cat and he’s one of my favorite subjects. Love him!

Today I am celebrating.

Why you ask?

I successfully completed my first family photo session today from start to finish.  Planning, shooting, editing, and now posting.

And I must gloat, I am quite proud of the results!

It was an uphill battle reaching this prideful place though. Yesterday morning I woke up excited with the anticipation of putting my skills to the test. I packed my bag methodically, making sure to include all my lenses, making sure I had a fresh memory card, and a charged battery.

I was headed out that later that evening to take pictures of two very special people in my life. Lexi has been one of my closest friends since the seventh grade and she was looking for some fall pictures of her and her son Alexander. Together we carefully researched and picked the perfect location. We decided on a local tot lot with the potential for fun and fresh colors.

I had all my ducks in a row.

I was ready.

But about 5 minutes into our session I quickly realized the art involved with photographing an independent almost 4 year old is one I may not have been ready for!

I began snapping away and as I looked at the pictures I had captured my thoughts ran a mile a minute. Images were overexposed. They had motion blur. I wasn’t metering correctly.  The colors weren’t quite right and lens wasn’t right either but there was no time to change it. If I changed a lens I might miss a moment that could be captured!  I arrived with ideas for poses. But Alexander had different ideas. He thought was much more fun to play in the sand with sticks, run around in circles, throw leaves, and look for “alligators” in the creek than take pictures with his mom! So I rolled with it. That’s my style. Go with the flow. Capture the moments as they happen. And as I rolled along I did end up liking quite a few of the pictures.

Below are a few of my favorites from the day.  Lexi and Alexander were great sports and we had a lot of fun running around in one of the last and fleeting warm fall days.  I sure learned a lot, I hope I did my friends proud, and I hope they like their photos from our evening together as much as I do!  To see more fun from our outing together click here. Enjoy!

Breaking News – I started a 100 Steps group on Flickr. Go join. Now!

For those of you following along with my 100 steps posts you may remember that I am using the same anchor point each week, my doorstep. Is that crazy? Probably. Will I run out of places to go? Most Likely. Is starting at your doorstep a rule of the game? Definitely not! I just like the challenge and using the same anchor point for comparison each week. You can play along in any way you like.

This week I took a different approach to my 100 steps. I stayed indoors!

And here is where I ended up:

Welcome to my cozy, warm, currently cluttered living room desk nook.

See the Polaroid camera hanging out on the bottom right? I really need to get out again with her this week and experiment. I am longing for some new film images to hang on the fridge.

I hope lots of you will play along with 100 steps this week. I was so excited to see some of you post your images last week and I hope to get even more of you involved this week! Go out (or stay in!). Take 100 steps. Stop. Shoot. Post here. Join the Flickr group. Share.

I can’t wait to see where you end up.