Winter Returns... and {Mr. B}

Today I am working... a rare Sunday, a favor to someone who has covered a shift for me here & there (not to mention, has helped out with childcare for the last couple of months). I had no problem taking the shift...except that last night, we got 4" of snow!! I left my house 30 minutes earlier than normal and good thing I did... it took me longer than usual to get here, and I had to detour... thanks to this little mess...



In the end, it was worth it though. I had feared the worst... I'd drive all the way here and have no babies to photograph. Instead, I've photographed the cutest little bundle of joy and I'm waiting on another, and a set of twins.

So, while I wait...check out {Mr. B}. Mom & Dad were concerned he might not cooperate. But thanks to my magic basket, we did a little better than okay with his pictures.

Why I love shooting outdoors...

Although I got my start as a "pro" in a studio, and now shoot primarily indoors - and with hospital room lighting! - I love to shoot outdoors with natural light. Its simple. Its beautiful. Its less editing on my part (haha).

This week, Mother Nature has given us a break from this horrid Chicago winter we've been having. 45 balmy degrees on Monday led us to a short trip to the Cosley Zoo in Wheaton, Illinois, where some of the following pictures were shot. On our trip home, I stopped to take some photos along the Fox River in St. Charles.

Even better was the 60 degree day we enjoyed yesterday! I arrived home from work at 1:30, ate a quick lunch, and got the girls in the car for the 45 minute drive to the Brookfield Zoo just outside Chicago. It was one of their February "free days" (every Tuesday, Thursday and weekend this month!), so it was worth it to go for just 90 minutes as we did.

Anyway, we got some time outside, and I got some pictures of my girls!! Enjoy!

Who needs Photoshop?!

So, like any photographer I know, I've always put Adobe Photoshop on a pedestal. It is the be-all, end-all of photographic retouching and editing. You can do anything with Photoshop. I mean, its a verb! "Can you PHOTOSHOP me out of this picture?" Well, I don't think I can Picasa you out of a picture, but when it comes to my everyday retouching, Picasa is the way. Today, I'm gonna share some of my edits...

I've been suffering a LOT of self-doubt. I peruse photo blogs, websites and Flickr on a regular basis and to be honest... I'm not half as good as some of the other photogs out there. I'm not even talking about the masters... I'm talking about my friend Krysten, who picked up the *hobby* around the same time as me. She's amazing now! I'm talking about the dozen or so photogs who joined me at my recent NILMDTS training session. They all had their own websites... I have a blog. I checked out a couple websites. Boy, I hope one of them will take me under their wing and guide me...

I AM a pro photographer, but I don't feel like it! It pains me that I can't share my everyday images. The little itsy babes who keep me going. The little guy I did this week who was so special, so adorable. His parents had tears in their eyes when they thanked me for putting so much time, care, and attention to their son's pictures. The little lady who was small in comparison to the gerbera daisy her mom had me place in the picture. The chubba baby who I placed in my basket to photograph, much to the consternation of her great-aunt (who also shook her head in disbelief at my suggestion of undressing baby for a diaper-only photograph).

But, anyway, today I took some pictures of the park where we played. My husband and I have wanted photographs for our bedroom... something simple; an understated image of a single tree in a field... or something like that. We've seen some stuff we liked, but never wanted to pay the price that was asked. But, today, Russ finally found some images that were worthy of putting on our wall...and the best part? They were MY images from the park. So, I'm sharing them below. Let me know which you like best!!! (Oh, and you knew I'd include bug & lou, right?!)