Happy Birthday, Dianne!

Today is my sister Dianne's birthday. She turned 39, so that's 12 years older than me. She is married to Troy Denter and has 6 kids (Gregory, Elizabeth, Jacob, Brianna, Sarah, and Vance). They live in Taylorsville up the street from my parents.

Since there are so many years between us, I don't have many memories of us when I was real young, but I do have a few. I have more memories during my teenage years. Here they are:

• I remember her taking me to see Willow in the theater when I was pretty young. She met a guy there (I'm not sure she was supposed to…hehehe) and the movie totally freaked me out. I decided to go sleep in the car and wait for the movie to end. To this day, I will not watch that movie.
• She moved into an apartment down the street from my parent's house and she let me have sleepovers with her. She was so grown up to have her own place. During one of those slumber parties she showed me one of her favorite snacks, at least at the time. It was saltine crackers dipped into frosting. Kinda weird, but tasty!
• I remember getting the crib and everything ready when she was expecting her first baby. I was so excited! That feeling was repeated 5 more times throughout the years and I've just loved visiting her in the hospital after each one. She's shown me that babies are beautiful blessings.
• Speaking of babies...she has big ones. She is one tough lady. Greg was over 10 lbs!! She even had Sarah naturally at home and let me be there to witness it. It was such a cool experience. I credit her with diminishing my fears and anxiety about giving birth to my firstborn (NOT naturally) because I knew what to expect and that it was doable.
• She moved to Germany for a couple of years while her 1st husband was stationed there in the army. After they separated, she flew all the way back to us by herself with 2 toddlers. See...tough chick! We met them at the airport and I was so happy that she was back!
• Many of my memories revolve around her visiting with her kids at my parents house. A family function isn't a family function without her and her family present. With 6 kids, there have been a lot of blessings, baptisms, ordinations to the Priesthood, birthdays, etc. We're so blessed to be a part of all these important occasions.

Some other notable things about Dianne now:

• She loves to be around family and wants her kids to be close to us all, especially since they're not that much younger than us. We all just sit around and chat and enjoy each other's company. It seems we could talk forever before we ran out of things to say.
• She is a fantastic mother and she is raising fantastic kids. I'm not sure how she juggles all the stress and responsibility, but she does. She's fully present and participating in their lives. She teaches them to be responsible and obedient, to trust in their Heavenly Father and His plan for each of them, how to recognize and listen to the Holy Ghost, and the importance of family.
• She always tries to help those who have less than the ideal family and living situation. She has taken in quite a few of her children's friends who don't live in a loving home. Sometimes they've been in her home for a few hours, but other times it's been for months. She shows them that someone cares and loves them. She has provided meals, new clothes, and someone to talk to. It's also such a good example to her own children on how to care for others in need. I think that is an amazingly charitable gift she has and I know she's changed lives by her efforts.

Happy Birthday, Dianne!! I love you!!

Erica & Aspen

Some friends of ours invited us to dinner and asked us to take pictures of their daughters. We were more than happy to oblige!

Erica and Nate are so alike. They’re both energetic and happy. They have so much fun playing together, egging each other on. When Nate saw her pictures on my computer, he was so excited and said, “Hey! That’s Erica! Mom, I love Erica.”

Aspen is such a sweetheart. She was awake for most of the shoot, which is pretty amazing for a 2-week-old. It was fun to get to see her beautiful eyes.

If you’ve ever taken your kids to get their pictures taken at a photo studio, you know what I mean by stress! First, you have to get the kids clean and dressed and to the studio on time, then you end up waiting forever in a boring waiting area (aka, chairs in a corner), all the while you’re just praying that the baby doesn’t wake up and need feeding and your toddler/preschooler doesn’t run out the door, and then after you and your kids are at whit’s end, there is such a small window of opportunity to get a smile. Yeah, right…most of the time it ends up being a wet-eyed half-smile. It’s so much more fun and relaxing when the photographer comes to you!! The kids and adults can just play, visit, snack, and wait for the perfect moments to present themselves. Oh, the sweetness! Much better than the alternative!

Here are a few of the sweet shots. Remember to keep us in mind next time you want a fun-filled and relaxing photo session!

Side Note: We blurred out the last name on Aspen's announcement, so that's why it looks weird.

Foto Friday – Around the Corner

Taken with the Nikon D40 in Boise, Idaho on April 4, 2009. Aperture-Priority Exposure Mode, 18mm, 1/20 sec at f/5.0 ISO 800, -2.0 exposure compensation, Nikon Raw Format converted to Adobe DNG format. Edited in Lightroom 2.3

Here is another image from our trip to Boise a few weeks ago.  I (Rob) wanted this to feel really dark so I shot it at EV –2.0 (two stops darker than the “normal” exposure). I came across the dark hallway and got the shutters.  I had to photograph it so I could share that creepy feeling (your welcome). Much of the penitentiary is painted in a sickly green color which really works well with a lot of the photos I took. I slightly emphasized the greens and browns here (with split toning) and increase the blacks a little.  In fact, this image is very dark and I’m afraid that some of you may not really get to see it well without a calibrated monitor.  :(   I guess you’ll have to come by the house and look at the print.  :)  

It has been a crazy week with computer outages with failed hard drives on our main computer.  I’ve also had tons of issues with my work laptop and after two visits from HP (one motherboard and screen later) we decided to ship it out to HP for repair.  :(   Crazy Man!  I got the images from our Southern Utah Trip into Lightroom last night so you can expect to start seeing some of those images soon.  Sweet! Graduation today and Star Trek tomorrow.  The weekend is looking up!  Peace.

Beyond

I’ve (Julie) been sitting on this photo for months thinking I’d use it as a Foto Friday, but we have so many newer photos I can use, I decided to just post it for fun.

This picture was taken in the backyard of the house we stayed in while in St. George last October. The landscape is beautiful and so is the sky. I didn’t do much editing to this photo, as the colors are really that great. We would frequently go to the edge of the backyard and look beyond the fence. We’d look for bugs and lizards on the rocks and just enjoy our surroundings. It brings back good feelings.

For fun, I wanted to contrast the same picture with a different treatment; in this case, a darker one to contrast the bright, happy one above.

In this picture, Nate looks caged instead of curious and playful. The shadows on his face emphasize the jailed-in feeling. To me, it’s a sad picture. The possibilities are endless if he could just break free.

I wanted to show these two pictures to show the importance of editing your photos with both the subject and the mood in mind. What do you want the viewer to feel?

Rob and I went to an art gallery a couple years ago and there was a sculpted piece of a chair with a belt strung over it. In the explanation of the piece, the artist meant it to be cheerful and relaxed, like an evening after a long day of work. As it turned out, it ended up tormenting one of the viewers of the piece. Seeing the belt resting like that had reminded her of her abusive father.

Art is very subjective. That’s one thing I love about it. We hope that some of our photos aren’t just pretty to look at, but evoke some kind of emotion. Any kind, really. Art IS emotion.

Foto Friday - Her Special Day

~Written by Julie~

Obviously, it's not Friday. Last week was crazy. Between Nate getting sick (don't worry, not with the Swine Flu), our hard drive crashing (we knew this was inevitable, yet our new one is still in "Shipped" status. GRRR.), and then leaving on our awesomely awesome weekend trip to awesome southern Utah, it just didn't happen. Did you follow that sentence??

So, since I don't have access to my computer, I don't have access to any new pictures. But here is one that I really like that was taken last month when my sister was sealed to her husband and daughter. I have to give props to Rob for actually lighting and taking the picture, but I edited it and she looks like a little angel! I love the glimmer in her eyes, her rosy cheeks, and the drool on her chin.

To get this shot, Rob and I used our magical powers...
I could do a lengthy write-up on all the tech aspects of the shot, both at the camera and at the computer, but I don't want to. We got home a couple of hours ago and we're tired. If you truly want all the dirt on this shot, you can read it here.

A bientot.

I’m Wondering…

If any of you have the answers, please comment.

I’m wondering:

• Why the kids choose to eat chips right after I vacuum. Every time.
• How I’m bored even though I have a ton of things I could be doing.
• Why it has to rain on Saturday when we’re supposed to be slot-canyon hiking. Now we’ll have to rearrange plans.
• Why Nate has been so, so tired lately.
• Why I can’t ever get a tan, not even a rub-on one. My skin seems to repel any kind of pigmentation.
• Why my orthodontist didn’t install a permanent retainer back when I was 16.
• How we’re going to afford a new camera. Rob’s sick of our “baby camera” and mentions getting a new one at least 4 times a day. Poor guy. Poor me.
• When Madeleine will take her nap so I can shower.
• Why it’s taking so long to get our new hard drive. Obviously, if our hard drive is threatening to fail, we need a new one asap and not whenever they get around to sending one in 3-5 business days.

Any answers????

Nothing is Better than…

• Madeleine copying animal sounds.
• Waking up not remembering any dreams. Means I slept really well.
• Getting a compliment from a stranger on one of our pictures in flickr.
• Getting everything checked off my to-do list.
• Clean bathrooms.
• A good hair day.
• Getting an $80 jacket for $8.
• Nate using his imagination.
• Kissing Rob when he’s freshly shaven. Doesn’t happen that often since he leaves for work right before I get up.
• Getting money in the mail.
• Having a bowl of ice cream and watching The Office.
• Coming up with a plan.
• Being invited to dinner with friends.
• Getting a nap.
• The curls in the back of Madeleine’s hair.
• Having 2 hours to shop by myself.
• Clean kids, including hair.
• Good music.
• A bad hard drive still under warranty (except not having a bad hard drive).
• Getting a little sun.
• A little rain.
• Watching teenage boys box all in good fun in the backyard.
• Cuddling and being lazy with Rob.
• Nate being attentive during scripture study last night.

And all these great things happened in the last 2 days.  I’m SO blessed and feel GREAT!!

Foto Friday – reliable

Taken with the Nikon D40 in Boise, Idaho on April 4, 2009. Aperture-Priority Exposure Mode, 55mm, 1/60sec at f/5.6 ISO 200, +0.67 exposure compensation, Nikon Raw Format converted to Adobe DNG format. Edited in Lightroom 2.3

While visiting my sister and her family in Boise a few weeks ago, Julie and I managed to sneak away for a couple hours for lunch (yummy Greek food) and a photowalk downtown.  I was very surprised to see how cute downtown Boise can be and by how many people ride bikes! Bikes everywhere! I give credit to the residents and city policy to engender such a community (very cool). I had no problem finding a bike with a fair amount of character to photograph and almost immediately came across this gem of a rusty red bike. I tried a lot of different angles to shoot the bike some wide, some close like this one, some of the sweet basket etc. I liked this one the best by a long shot (it took about 5-6 minutes for me explore and finally make this image). 

I shot this at f/5.6 (best our lens can do at 55mm) but still maintained a nice shallow depth of field because I was so close to the subject (you can see just enough of the back ground for it to be interesting).  The curved lines of the wheel are very successful at drawing the eye of the viewer into the image (whether one starts on the bottom or the top). Obviously, I am a big fan of the texture.

The image received a small crop of about 10 percent from the top right corner and I hit the image with my homegrown Urban Grunge preset. I adjusted the black and white points to keep my blacks from clipping and to add some controlled contrast. After the black point adjustment (which was pretty minor because I didn’t want to wreck the contrast I had going for me) I used the adjustment brush to further control the black point in two locations (just below the fender at the bottom of the image and curb on the upper left side). 

 

After painting in the areas where I had clipped blacks I resolved that problem.  I hope that tip helps.   :)

I had a lot of fun editing this image and I hope you enjoy the image I made and also learned something about photography and lightroom.  Remember to make images and not just take them.  Spend some time getting to know your subject; think, explore, and learn.  :)

Yes, a Little Obsessive Compulsive

At least with one thing…travel planning (this is Julie). I love planning the PERFECT trip. I really do believe that it’s an art.

Take, par example, this weekend trip Rob and I will be taking to Southern Utah. Do I just plan where we will be camping and decide on a few hikes? No way. I memorize entire maps of the area. I research every single hike and decide which are perfect for us. I look into any special events or celebrations that may be taking place around the area we’ll be staying. I look at pictures online of where we’ll be visiting to help decide if they’re up to my expectations, I talk to people I know who have been there and get recommendations, study transportation options, and so, so much more. And this is just a two-nighter camping trip! You should see me on a weeklong trip out of the country….INSANE.

I know what you’re thinking, where is my sense of adventure? Of exploring and finding things on my own? Well, don’t worry, I plan time for that into my trip, too! I don’t plan every minute, I leave breathing room to adjust plans, explore, and just relax. What about flexibility? I find it much easier to be flexible with my plans when I know my alternatives. I also make sure to plan something special for each person in the traveling party, something that they’d just really have a lot of fun doing.

I enjoy going somewhere and never getting lost and not wasting time. I know where everything is and the best way to get there. I enjoy knowing the history behind what we’re seeing. I like being the “guide.”

So, yes, it takes me hours and hours to plan a 3-day trip, but I really enjoy the process and the results are phenomenal. Aren’t some of your most cherished memories from vacations?? It sure seems that way with most people. That’s why I put so much effort into planning great vacations. If it is planned well (meaning right location, time of year, accommodations, and activities), if it goes smoothly, if everyone has a chance do to something that really interests them, if there is relaxation time, and it’s planned for the specific family and budget, you’ll have magical lifetime memories.    

You can call me crazy, but I’m not. The payoff is well worth it!!

Sleep, Love, Bronze, and Grass

I (Rob) feel sort of lazy today so don’t expect too many sly remarks and witty quips. I just feel like posting some photos and catching up on some photo back log. First a couple pictures of sleep. Sleep is really nice, it feels so good but I just wish it didn’t take so much time! Can I just say that I’m really glad that I wasn’t drooling in these photos? The first image is fun but pretty blah; however, the second photo is pretty dang cute. Thank you Julie for taking these!

 

Now for some pictures of love.  Here are a few more pictures from the photos we took last year around Thanksgiving.  We have sort of posted photos from this night all over (here, here, here) but these last three finish them off. It is great to be in love with such a great woman!

     

Julie is such a cute and sexy girl. 

Now for some bronze.  I enjoy photographing sculptures in bronze.  I find something interesting and alive in the reflective quality of bronze (another bronze).  This image was taken in Washington City next to an old school house.  I call it the teacher (Samuel Adams).

 

simple things