Just digging into the photos from this session....

But thought I'd share this one that is my favorite so far (I've only edited 7).  My favorite role in life is being a mama, so the joy on this mama's face captivates me!  Just beautiful....

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL...

I hope anyone who reads this is blessed this holiday season and knows how much Jesus love them!  It has been a year of ups and downs for me and mine, but I always count the blessings and remember the One who loved me first.  Thank you Jesus.... Love to you all...

Christmas Blessings...

I will never cease to be thankful for my children.  No matter the stage of life I'm in, or the state of my relationships with them... I choose to be thankful... God has been gracious to me.  I pray he will continue to create me to be a more gracious, patient, forgiving, loving and godly mother.  I can't imagine my life without having had Nicholas (25), Ciara (21), Christina (19) and Annalise (15).  I don't even know what my life would be like if I had not experienced giving birth to them, and loving them their lives through.  I love you, my darlings.  Here is a recent shoot of Annalise for her 15th birthday, which just passed this month.  Enjoy!

I love baby Santas...

And I love shooting photos of Jakyri.. why is it that baby boys have the longest lashes?  Feast your eyes on this little darling...

Ho Ho Ho? Or Bark Bark Bark....

Oh Mutt Fun I had....har.... I had the opportunity to shoot to awesome sweet, albeit a little disobedient, canines this weekend.  Though they didn't necessarily sit, lay or stay on command, neither were they naughty... What sweet little   giant babies they were.  I am accustomed to shooting little 3-7 lbs dogs, so...my perspective may be different than some.

 I had a blast shooting them, and watching their mom dress them in their little outfits.  Hugo, the boxer is just a baby, at 7 or 8 months old... He was amazingly calm and well behaved for a giant puppy. Louis... well, you can see he's endured his mama's ministrations for years...hehe.   Thanks, Erica, for the opportunity to meet and play with your babies....

Family....

I love my family...inside and out.  I'm just so thankful for God's grace and how much He has blessed me.  Best of all... I love the children in our family... Yesterday I was fortunate enough to get to spend time with all my great nieces and nephew!  I went to bed exhausted but happy that I was able to capture their beautiful faces with my camera.... Here are just a couple previews...I've barely started editing and no time today... It's our Christmas Tree Day, which is huge at our house!  The girls will hem and haw and argue over which tree to get at the tree farm, while Mike and I trudge along laughing.  Eventually they will agree, and will take turns at chopping it down... Finally, Mike will take over an finish. UNLESS, Miss Christina manages to get all the way through the trunk this year!  I bet she will try!  Blessings, everyone... I wouldn't want to hoard all this blessing for myself!

Love....

I choose love today....  

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1 Corinthians 13-4-8a

Love never fails. 

Golden Sunlight Overlay

This little birdie was by the shores in California.  I was amazed how many little birds there were.  So gorgeous.  This overlay I created with several color layers and the Mixer Brush tool in Photoshop, plus different blending layers.  I like the effect it had and will be trying it on some of my portraits.

One more Overlay Creation

This one is my favorite and I can see it being used on many images..

On my own...

Today I decided to try to create my own texture overlays.  It's quite spendy to purchase every wonderful texture, action or overlay you find online.  I thought my knowledge of photoshop is surely advanced enough by now to try to create my own.  Here is my first creation... I like it... but am excited to continue experimenting.  The overlay is the little square at the top.  I masked it off of Christina's skin.  I think it enhanced my photo a bit! By the way, you can click on the image to view it larger...
 Have a great day!  It's crisp but beautifully sunny here in Buckley today!

New edit... trying out my Florabella Actions

I had this unedited photo of Caelan that I thought I'd try my new FB Actions on.  It's always hard to figure out exactly the best way to optimize actions on your own images, I think, since everyone has a different shooting style.  This is just what I came up with today while waiting for my girls to shower so we can get to Christmas Shopping!  So just a quick play with Florabella Luxe II.

Happy Happy Thanksgiving...

I am so blessed.  How could I be anything but thankful?  God has been so gracious to me and granted me peace and love all the year through.  When things have been dark and unstable, still He is with me, guiding me, counseling me, pouring a soothing salve on my heart when it hurts the most.  I have no idea what this upcoming year will bring.  But I know this.... looking back upon my life I can see God's handprint all over the place.  Why would He stop now?  So I can head into this new year with full confidence that the God I love and serve will be the same in this upcoming year as He has been my life through.  Thank you, Lord!




 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:17

Happy Thanksgiving to you all...

New Flash!

Yep!  I finally bought an OCF for  my camera.  I got the sb900.  I'm sitting here staring at it wondering how to use it. Put it on the camera.  Wow. Heavy.  Might have to start lifting weights for my forearms.  Haha.  Fortunately a fellow photographer informed me of it's capability in wireless mode...so I will be trying to figure out how to use this flash OFF camera, which was the main goal.  Meanwhile, I did shoot a few with Christina.  She was kind enough to get dolled up for me and pose.  Fun! I experimented with bouncing the flash off my white ceiling.

Wow What a great giveaaway!

http://laurawinslowphotography.com/blog/2011/11/21/10000-holiday-bloggie-bash-laura-winslow-photography/

What a collection of amazing photoprops etc.  Hope I win something!

Creative Itch...

Sometimes just doing a simple edit won't satisfy the creative itch I'm feeling.  So I'll break out and try something new.  One area that I'm exploring, but am by no means an expert or even knowledgeable  in, is digital painting.  Dabble.  That's more what I do as of now.  But, oh my goodness, how fun it is when I end up with something I like and might even want to hang on my wall!  This photo was shot as a test shot before a recent shoot, just to check my settings.  It sat in my camera calling my name.  Now I think I'm going to order a large print or canvas to take out only at Christmas... Here's Santa Bear.  ....which (sigh) makes me think about my long, lost son... Come home Nicholas!! At least in your heart.

My news for the day....

Not necessarily a photo post, though I have a photo to go with it.  We think we might have found my horse.  If the owners will let him go.  He's an Icelandic Pony named Thor...How cute is that????  Pardon these poor images

November Snow Take Two....

Last November I had a blast shooting my three girls in the middle of our huge snow storm.  The photos I got ended up on my Christmas cards.  This year, again we have snow in November, but so far, no one wants their photo taken today.  However, I did throw on my muck boots and head outside for some quickie shots of the snow in my yard.  This is the ONLY thing I like about snow.  Getting photo ops.  I'm a scrooge, I suppose... Sunshine, where are you? NOTE: First image is last year.

Okay, I'm liking how my new design is looking

Wow, this whole blogging thing is way more complicated than people make it look.  But I am determined to figure it out.   I'm  liking how it looks better now, and thanks to Rita at Coffeeshop Blog, I was able to rearrange and resize some things.   So here is my current version...

And here is little Emma...sweetest girl ever with 7 brothers.  She truly enjoyed having my daughter "girlify" her... curls, makeup, tutus, tiaras.... oh such fun!  Ciara and I had a blast too...