Where have I been?

I was recently queried as to my absence. So in full disclosure, I will tell you where I have been. First, you must know that I do not vacation like most people. I can only take so much sand between my toes and so many fruity drinks with little umbrellas before I get a little bit twitchy. I don't sit still very well and new and foreign places fascinate me. I like to explore and photograph every new thing I see. I recently had the opportunity to take a 6 day vacation to South Dakota. First off, I will admit to being slightly geographically challenged, but I had no idea that South Dakota was so close. I really figured it to be the other side of the moon. Maybe, after my children moved in so many distant directions (Alaska and Missouri) it all became relative. As I am experiencing a fair amount of stress concerning my mom's terminal cancer diagnosis my husband thought it would be wise for me to get away and "relax". This is how I relaxed in South Dakota.

First we explored Mammoth Site of Hot Springs. It's an indoor excavation site featuring the fossils of 58 Columbian and Woolly Mammoths. (Who knew there were more than one kind of mammoth? Those of you that know me well, know that when my son asked me to tell him the name of dinosaurs I used "Ralph" and "Henry" instead of tyrannasaurus rex and trycerotops. Hey, it worked until he could read.)

We of course visited Mount Rushmore. It proved to be a challenge of night photography to be discussed later. Sadly, I was a little disappointed as I was expecting the "National Treasure" version. There is no lake behind their heads and no city of gold either.

This is Sylvan lake in Custer State Park, a few miles away.

This is the Mountain Goat that was visiting the Mount Rushmore profile turn out at the same time we did. He was just two empty car lanes away from the parking lot.

We visited Cosmos, mystery area where gravity seemed "askew". And we checked out "Bear Country" which was a wild experience of the safe kind. All bears were viewed from behind the safety of our closed car windows but they were close enough to touch.

And if you are going to get up close and personal with bears, you have to check out the cold blooded critters too. We visited Reptile Gardens where according to their own literature you see more species of reptiles and amphibians than any other zoo or park in the world. It was 12 year old boy heaven. My favorite place was the safari room within the sky dome. It was wide open with a number of species of amphibians, lizards and tropical plants just out in the open.

Prairie Dogs are plentiful and it's fun to see the babies out and about.

Only two days out of the year you can get the opportunity to check out Crazy Horse's nose up close and personal. We were fortunate enough to be their to participate in a 10K volkmarch through the pine trees and up to walk out on the arm of Crazy Horse. Remember, I'm relaxing. We also visited Wind Cave National Monument and Jewel Cave. Slept in a rustic cabin, well only one night, after that we opted for beds, cable t.v. and our own shower in Keystone. So you may be wondering, did I return from South Dakota relaxed?  See for yourself, I'm the one on the left.

I suffer from DIY syndrome...

I suffer from "do it yourself" syndrome. Really I'm just cheap. So the projects at my home are never ending. My daughter is due to have a baby in August. She showed me some very cute baby pictures on pinterest. I'm not sure if she was loving the newborn or the little moose cap he wore. So seeing as I'm a photographer and all, I wondered where I could get that cute little moose cap. Isn't the internet a wonder? So after a few google searches I found this delightful web host. (or something, I don't speak computer tech very well) called ravelry.com. There for a small fee you can get instructions nearly instantly by paying a small fee with your paypal account. And if you join, they will even keep a "library" of the patterns you have purchased.
So sign me up and one trip to walmart, scrounging for some buttons etc. I came up with this...

Now granted, this is not a moose. And imagine it looking cuter with a brand new baby head resting underneath it. My advice for all those others suffering from DIY syndrome, there should be a pill for that. And if you go to Etsy it's entirely possible you can find someone to do this for you. As for me? I remember seeing a really cute little owl and possibly a skunk. It would do me no good to freeze my credit cards because paypal remembers them for me.

What I love most about taking pictures....

I love creating memories. When I'm out "shooting" families, I find that they fall into 2 different categories. The one I struggle with the other I enjoy. I struggle whenever a family has unreasonable expectations. Cranky babies are never featured on hallmark cards. 3 year olds will always rumble their shirts and fall in the dirt. That's life. No worries. It's what happens. If you desire that kind of portrait, hire an artist to immortalize you the way you want in oils on canvas. You not only stress me out but you stress out your family as well. And they kind of family I really enjoy? The realistic ones. The ones that are capturing a memory. Not every hair has to be in place. Matching is optional and please show your personality.

It's a great time to get your family pictures before you are too busy this summer. Call me, let's set something up. (Notice the "blogspot" on the pictures, that is my not too clever way to protect the pictures from being hijacked and placed in other venues without proper credit.) Have a great day and make a memory. Remember as far as everyone else is concerned... YOU are part of a NORMAL family.

Photography tips....

So I recently had to do the absolutely unthinkable if you are a photographer. I had to let someone else take my picture. I learned some very hard truths that I want to pass onto you. 1) Never let your children dress you. You see, you are their mother and to them you always look good. You are usually wearing something they hope to never be caught dead wearing, but YOU still look good. 2) Practice your pose in front of the mirror. Again, to your children you may be flawless but on film, it can be another story. 3) If you choose to color your hair, do it before you have pictures taken. You may think you get away with "roots" in your everyday life, but it's mostly that no one wants to rat you out. And lastly, 4) It is not always an option to hide behind a child or spouse so if you are over a certain age ( you insert age here) it's probably best that you wear spanx under everything. Truth be told it's probably not a bad practice for everyday. Kind of along the lines of ... "if you feel like the inside of a sausage casing, then maybe you can forgo one or two bites.".

And the best thing about taking pictures, instead of being in them?

Shots like these. So what if some photographs have more personality than others? Those are the ones you love.

Angry Birds? Anyone....

So my youngest child turned 12 yesterday and my mother had a port placed to begin treatment with chemo therapy. These two activities didn't mesh real well. I had planned to frost his cake at grandma's but he threw a large sized monkey wrench into that plan. You never know what traditions you have started until your children call you on it. I make interesting cakes for birthdays. At least I have ever since my oldest daughter requested a "lady-bug" when she turned 16. These are not your run of the mill "wilton" pans. Most cakes are basic round or rectangle. My son's  cake is usually decorated with race cars, back-loaders, bugs, or legos. But this year, keep in mind I do not have an engineering degree, I created this...

That's the happy ending. Other than that, anything that could go wrong did. I purchased 4 glass dishes to create the birds. It was part of an 8 unit set, but I only got 3 lids. I bought a fondant kit (no that is not american cheese slices) especially for the green. The green was entirely dried out, like a brick. I went to use my color gels because they don't change the consistancy of the frosting. The green was dried out, no worries, yellow and blue make green right? They were all dry too. Don't cry any crocodile tears here because I've had them a long time.

But after creating my frosting (buttercream the real stuff) when you add liquid color it changes the firmness of your frosting. Or I planned it that way for affect?

Also, there was certain "weight" factor that I did not fully comprehend until I had to use glassware to shore up my birds and keep them from falling off. The skewers just weren't enough.

As of now, I have no birthdays in my immediate future. I'm begging all of my many friends and stalkers to make sure and remind me to call a bakery next year. Please!

Now all that is left is the clean up. I've edited these pictures so as not to alarm the health department.

And this is what the birthday boy served himself....

All's well that ends well, now it's time for my nap.

Have a teenager suffering from "senior-itis"?

Remember that magical time in your life when you knew everything, felt like a super hero and couldn't wait to take on the world? By world I mean bills, taxes and voting. My daughter had a really bad case of senior-itis. As parents we had confined her with too many rules, curfews and expectations. She couldn't wait to move out of the house and have ultimate freedom. She soon learned that ultimate freedom is not free and now as a single adult she must govern herself. She has to create expectations etc. and motivate her own self out of bed when the alarm goes off. So just like the Genie in Aladdin...(he had ultimate power but a teeny-tiny living space) she has ultimate freedom to come and go as she pleases but she also has the bills that go with them.

In the interest of celebrating seniors everywhere, I mean the kind that are graduating from High School, not the kind that qualify for AARP, I have created a senior portrait special. Any senior with up to 2 clothing changes at one location for up to one hour is $60.00. This includes the CD, copyright release and even 2-3 collages depending on how the muse hits me as I am editing. Anyone game? I'm scheduling sessions now, call soon. If you want to book with a friend, because two is always more fun than one I will discount each of your packages by $10.00, so call now. And good luck with your amazing future, may it be all the things you have ever wanted it to be.

Names will be included on your personal collages, just not on my blog. ;D

Do what makes you happy...

After many vacation trips to southern California, I mistakenly thought I had done all there was to do. Well with the exception of Legoland, but that's another post. Imagine, my wonder at finding "The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch".  Over the course of nearly 100 years of floral cultivation and several relocations the Flower Fields are open to the public but only from March 1 to May 13. And when you get there, this is what you will see...

These are ranunculus. Originally the flowers were single petal, ranging in colors limited to red and yellow. Through the careful cultivation of Edwin Frazee, the superior ranunculus of the Flower Fields blooms in thirteen beautiful colors. As you can imagine, many pictures have been taken in the Flower Fields.  Mr. Frazee was not impressed with all the picture takers. He once commented, " If I had one penny for every picture that's been taken of those fields, I'd be a rich man." And in deed  he would be. So here's what I got for my 6 cents worth.

You are awestruck by the 50, yes 50 acres of growing flowers. They are set in rows like all gardened things. A row of yellow, purple, white, etc. Bright ribbons of color across the landscape. Walking among them you just have to smile and be happy.

So if the opportunity presents itself that you spend spring break in Southern California, take a break from the salt scent of the ocean, the whale splash zone and the crowd wearing mouse ears and breathe in the floral scent of acres of blossoms, blooming because they were created that way. I promise you will walk away smiling.