not still life...real life

So

I've been busy lately

...

watching my child

watch her child.

It doesn't get any better.

***

Canon 6D

Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 lens

Manual Mode

ISO 1600

f 3.2  1/100 sec

LR preset: kk_barelycolor

Texture: kk_epic

Drawing

done with

Sanford UniBall Fine pen

***

Linking up with

Be Still 52 (week 30)

Texture Tuesday

P.S.
Happy Birthday
to my own
Mom
Great-Grandma Peggie

mary's boy child

Long time ago in Bethlehem

So the Holy Bible say

Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ

Was born on Christmas day.

Hark, now hear the angels sing

A new King born today

And man will live forever more

Because of Christmas day.

music and lyrics

by

Jester Hairston

sung

by

Harry Belefonte

***

LR preset: kk_litely

Textures: kk_waterfront30 and kk_myrtle

Drawing: newborn Fen (from my own photo files that day)

Linking up with

Be Still 52 (week 29)

Texture Tuesday

***

Merry Christmas!

unforgettable: fen meets kermit

Have you ever
been
inspired to
grab your camera
and just
'shoot from the heart'
?

I mean
what's the worst
that could happen?

The photos
might not
'turn out,'
technically-speaking

or you might
fall flat,
not capturing
that special
'something'
that made you
pick up your camera
in the first place.

You might even end up
deleting
each and every
shot
in frustration.

Or...

you just might

end up

capturing

something

truly

unforgettable.

***

I did just that

one afternoon last month

when Fen came over to

Grandma & Grandpa's house

to play.

Recently

I have been reading

The Unforgettable Photograph

by

George Lange

who says,

"Which moment will provide the unforgettable picture isn't much in your control...If you can't see the moments, you can feel their flow, like feeling the flow of music. That feeling is essential to taking good pictures; it's as important as having a good eye...I shoot using my heart more than my eyes."

I highly recommend

this book.

***

Someone's nose is out of joint

whenever

the

'noisy little bald kitten'

comes to visit.

Time

 for a nap

- safe and secure -

in Grandpa's arms

***

Notes:

CAMERA

Canon EOS 6D

Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 lens

Manual Mode

hand-held

ISO 3200

f/4.5-3.5 1/125 sec

LIGHTROOM

Minimal editing:

just a bit of the basics

and minor cropping.

How often does that happen?

***

Linking up with

Friday Finds

birth...of a mother and father

My

favorite captures

from last week's

'newborn portrait shoot'

of our new grandson

Fen

 

1

A spontaneous gesture

(on Kelly's part)

+

being present and mindful

with camera in hand

(on my part)

2

Connection:

father and son

delight and devotion

(this is how Aaron is with Fen)

***

Notes:

CAMERA

Canon EOS 6D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens

Continuous Shooting Mode (silent)

experimented with

DOF, indoor/outdoor lighting

LIGHTROOM

Lots of experimenting with

Develop Module and Presets

to 'refine my vision'

Presets:

1

PRESETS GALORE Rich Lavender

(I desaturated Kelly's bright blue top)

2

LR B&W Look 1

Color was distracting in this shot;

I never even noticed the bokeh

'til I made it B&W!

(I fine-tuned the Split Tones and Contrast)

PHOTOSHOP

Both photos:

one layer of

kk_dollard_softand gentle

(Soft Light ~40-45%)

desaturated to get the effect without the color

***

But my favorite photo of Fen

was captured by my friend

Lidia West

(a new mother herself)

who graciously offered to

help me with our photoshoot.

Fen

10 days old

I didn't do a thing to this photo!

Seriously.

***

Linking up with:

Texture Tuesday

Start to Finish

Photo-Heart Connection

new life

Fenris Kenneth Robert McFadden

June 15, 2014

***

Linking up with

Texture Tuesday

Start to Finish 2

Notes:

In Lightroom

I cropped

did some basic edits

then

preset: kk_likeadream

and

my own B&W split tone

In Photoshop

***

(Grandma 'Mimi')

expecting - part 2

B&W

is

classic

but

the colors

turned out

so beautifully...

Here's

some more
of my
favorite shots:

I handed the camera

to Aaron...

Kelly
with
soon-to-be
Aunt Erin and Grandma 'Mimi'

(the girls call me 'Mimi')


There's been significant speculation
about wee Fen's
haircolor.
We all agree:
the world needs
another
ginger.


***

Lightroom Preset:
Rainbow Pastel
from
Presets Galore

+

kk_waterfront
(Soft Light 24% + Multiply 60%)


Linking up
with
Texture Tuesday
Free & Easy eDition


***

(Grandma Mimi)

expecting...

Kelly & Aaron

and

Fen

May 18, 2014

Soon...

(make that 'Grandma Mimi')

***

Lightroom Preset:

Soft Matte with Vignette Cool

from

Presets Galore

+

kk_laura

(Multiply 30%)

***

Linking up

with

Texture Tuesday

Black & White eDition

new life

2014

is shaping up to be a memorable year.

Sometime in mid June

the world will welcome Baby McFadden.

I made this little assemblage for Kelly and Aaron for Christmas. Kelly had texted me her first ultrasound image in late November; not long afterward I was thinking of it as baby's first portrait and decided to make something to that effect.

I knew the jpeg file would be quite small, so I edited it and printed it out to about 2" square. Then I dug up a small primed wooden cradle board and went to work. The front was already a pristine gesso white on the outside, so I gessoed the back of it since I wanted to use it as a shadowbox. I sanded and scraped it, then added some text fragments and comfy, nest-like cheese cloth, plus a paper flower + freshwater pearl center, for a soft, organic feel. I suspended an old eyeglass lens with wire over the focal area (since I initially had great difficulty 'reading' the image - LOL).

 original image

(sticking out his/her tongue: already some attitude?)

edited image

I played around a bit in Lightroom and then in Photoshop, where I added a layer of kk_isobel (Soft Light 100%). I added a Levels Adjustment layer to lighten it up for printing (necessary because the monitor image is so bright that when it translates it to printed, you have to adjust).

***

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together

in my mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:13

***

Linking up with

Texture Tuesday