Life In Photos #34

Some snaps from the last couple weeks in January.

Static electricity is the best.

He fell asleep with his tongue out…it was so cute!

While snapping photos for A Day In The Life, I snagged this gem which was her face upon waking from nap and seeing me in the doorway with my camera at the ready!

These were taken from out our playroom window – there was a squirrel party going on! They were climbing all around, right next to the house, and it was hilarious. I love squirrels! Unfortunately the little miss was napping, but my cat enjoyed the heck out of it.

And now a few shots from the ‘snowmageddon’ this past week. Luckily, where I am in NH didn’t get swamped too badly. Only about 10 inches of snow, and it was all super light and fluffy. Perfect for playing in (though terrible for snowman/fort building). Plus, since everything in the entire state pretty much shut down in preparation, the hubs got a free day off from work so we got to spend it as a family. Woohoo!

I love trees in the snow!

Her favorite part of winter is nomming the fresh snow. It’s hilarious.

This is my favorite shot from that day. I love the snow in her lashes, and in general that magical wondrous look that little kids get when they discover something to be fascinated by.

Life In Photos #33

It’s been awhile since a Life In Photos update, and truthfully, it was a much needed break. I love photography dearly, but trying to take pictures enough for a post every week was becoming tedious. Lately, I’ve just been snapping when the mood strikes, or if there is something specific I want to try and capture.

Since it’s been quite a bit since my last post, I’ve actually got lots of photos to kick off my first Life In Photos of 2015! Hope you enjoy some snaps from my daily life (daily life = daughter, kitties, and outdoor adventures).

She picked TV time in the morning one day, and cozied right up.

These two have been buds since she was an infant. He puts up with all her snuggle antics.

We spent New Years with our best friends, and I just can’t resist snapping pics of her new little man when I’m there!

A chubby squirrel in a tree during a recent snowstorm. This picture isn’t as crisp as I wanted; I really need to work on steadier hands. I took this from my living room window with my zoom lens haha!

Her favorite part of snowstorms? Catching snowflakes on her tongue, and eating the fresh snow.

A cute crow couple! Or maybe BFFs? Either way, they stayed together the entire time they were in the yard, moving from tree to tree.

I adore this shot, the main reason being I took it using manual settings! I managed to get the bird in silhouette, with that wing detail peeking through, and I love the light gradient from the clouds.

And lastly, a selfie! I almost never snap selfies unless they are for a specific tag on IG, but we were outside in the snow, the day was just so lovely, and I felt so incredibly peaceful as the snow was falling down. I wanted to capture it! So I just held up the camera to snap a shot. And funnily enough, I actually love this photo of myself. It was an entirely unplanned picture, yet it captured the moment beautifully for me.

Life In Photos #32

I have a few fun shots to share this week!

I just love the way snow looks on the pine trees. So wintry, and oddly cozy looking even though it’s so chilly!

Visited with my BFF and her new little man was wide awake when I arrived! After snapping a few shot, I then snagged him and proceeded to have hours of snuggles.

I was playing around with my manual settings and ended up with this shot, which I love. His peaceful face, the tree in the background – it just gives me that Christmas magic feeling!

My mum’s yard always has some form of animal in it as she puts out food scraps all winter for them! A variety of birds, squirrels and chipmunks, deer, and others are always about. I snapped a pic of these blue jays and then did some partial black and white edits. I just love how the blue pops on the snow! I’m glad these turned out since I shot them through my mum’s door window (the blue jays quickly got perturbed with me). 😉

Hopefully I’ll be able to get some deer shots sometime!

Life In Photos: Newborn Photoshoot

I’ve been thinking a lot about my Life In Photos series lately. I do love it. I love sharing the snippets of my life even if often they are just pictures of my kitties and daughter. However, I have come to realize that I don’t want to do it every week. I think I’d like to scale it back a bit, and only share shots I really enjoy or ones I’m really proud of.

Photography has always been a hobby of mine; I love to document things through photos. That has only expanded since getting my first DSLR camera last year. But I by no means consider myself a photographer in a professional sense. I adore taking photos, and taking them for other people. I love capturing moments for people. But, it’s not something I want as a job. I do it for fun, for the love of it.

Today I’d like to share some photos I took for my best friend. She just welcomed a new baby boy on November 12th, and on Friday I went to do a little newborn photoshoot of him and his big sister. I’m really proud of some of the shots!

This was literally the first shot I took. Sometimes the magic just happens haha! He is such a relaxed baby boy, and he loves to be on his belly!

This was my favorite shot of the two siblings together. The light is a little extreme, even after editing, but it’s grown on me.

This is kind of a strange shot, with a lot of it in silhouette, but I love it! I did another edit where I took the windowsill out and the whole background was white but I ended up not liking it, much to my surprise. It just didn’t look grounded and ended up seeming as if the hands were just floating there. I wasn’t a fan.

The is the same pose as the above photo, but from the other side with the light shining on the little man. Part of me wishes the background were different, but at the same time, I’ve embraced it. The table with it’s few pieces of clutter gives it a personal touch in a way. This is their home, not a studio, filled with love and joy for their new expanded family.

I like so many, but this was favorite shot from the day. He is just so serene and peaceful in his mama’s hands, and I love his little hands in there too.

I could share more, but those were my favorites of the day. I’m hoping to expand on my photography gear and skills with the coming year (in fact, there’ll be a post on that tomorrow!) so Life In Photos will definitely still be kicking around, just not every week.

Life In Photos #29

A week ago we went to the Sandwich Fair and my little met the most content, relaxed bunny I’ve ever seen in my life.

We also saw this absolutely fantastic breed of chicken. New life goal: attain afro chickens.

While reading outside one afternoon, this teeny tiny little bug landed on my book and, even after some gentle prodding, refused to budge. I had to blow him off to avoid smushing when I turned the page!

We took a walk at sunset and I attempted to have an impromptu photoshoot with my little…after a million silly faces I gave up. Sometimes it’s just not happening.

However, walks at sunset are now my new favorite thing as the fall leaves just look so extraordinary! So while the photoshoot with my daughter didn’t work out, I did get some fun fall themed shots!

I found an excellent reflective window (see below for the fabulous schoolhouse said window is from) which made for a fun selfie! I like how the cobwebs and window dust almost give it an old photograph feel.

This old schoolhouse is right next door to my apartment, and I have always found it to be so creepy! Definitely creepy in a good way, though I wouldn’t be caught dead near it at night by myself. I definitely want to come back here in different light and take some photos – it just screams haunted house to me. Although I don’t know when it was originally built, it has been in use since the 1800s. It was restored back in 2011, but the inside has so many class photos from the 1800s and 1900s which to me just adds to the creep factor! Chalk it up (HEH schoolhouse pun) to too many horror movies.

I think this is my favorite edit of the day. I really wish I could get that chain link fence out of there, but my PS skills are just not that good. However on the whole, I love the light hitting the tree leaves, and the paled out school house in the background.

Clockwise from top left…

1. Eli sits like such a proper gentleman kitty sometimes!
2. I’ve started the My Little Pony plushes for my little for Christmas. Coming along nicely!
3. We made some yummy fall Rice Krispie treats. This was my first time making them – I used to hate them as a kid!
4. Drafted four more patterns of plushes for Christmas presents. So much to do!

We were originally supposed to do our yearly family photo shoot today, but it is a cold and rainy mess outside, so that’s been postponed! Instead, a day of lounging and playtime awaits!

Life In Photos #24

Our morning walks are still going strong! We decided to walk up near my mother-in-law’s house this week as she has some excellent back country roads to walk on.

My little miss had a blast collecting as much mica as she could find! She now has her own mica jar to fill to the brim.

We stumbled upon this gorgeous view on one of our walks. I am absolutely having our family photos done here this year! Especially once the leaves start to turn – it’s going to be so beautiful!

This tree in particular. I can’t wait until it turns, and we can take photos with it. So perfect!

I ended up having an little impromptu photo shoot with my miss when we came upon this rock. I am so in love with the pictures! I took about fifty! I have a ton in color too, which look great, but these two black and whites are a couple of my faves. I just love black and white photography.

And lastly, my little is so into ‘reading’ to her stuffies/toys lately. She has always loved to, but lately her stories are getting so much more complex! I love listening to her (though so far my attempts to record any haven’t been stealthy enough haha) and just basking in her imagination. It’s definitely one of the most amazing parts of becoming a parent.

Clockwise from top left…

1. This little fox is my first pattern that I designed myself for a plush! There’ll be a bit more info about him on this coming WIP Wednesday.

2. I attempted to make little French Macarons this week and boy was it a baking fail haha! However, despite looking all wrong, they really did taste delicious.

3. I don’t often do selfies, but I got tagged for one this week and my little had to photobomb.

4. We’ve still been having lovely visits with our donkey friends! The baby’s fuzzy head just kills me!! So cute!!

 

Life In Photos #13

You weren’t trying to read, right Mom?
Eli loves his morning sun in the window.

Grampa with a hose + hot sunny weather = happiest three year old ever.

My little loves to pick me dandelions. Even though they’re weeds, they do brighten up the kitchen. Like little sunbursts!

And another in the red boots series. Some field exploration this time. I’m thinking I need to make a story book for my little all about her red boot adventures! Now to think up a plot. . .

-Kayly

Life In Photos #12

We were pretty busy last week. It was filled with friends, fresh air, and fun – just the way we like it!

Another new photo for the red boots series! I bought my little a new net for the summer, and she is on a mission to catch a fish with it! It’s still way too early for now, but hopefully we’ll get some minnows by the end of the year.

We saw so many of these beautiful iridescent beetles while out walking on the train tracks in the woods! The little miss loved them. So glad she’s no longer too afraid of bugs!

On Saturday we went with some friends to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival. It was so much fun! The kiddos got to pets lots animals (like this alpaca here) and I saw so many fantastic handmade artisan products, including my new favorite soaps ever. There will be a separate post about those!

My two favorite people in the world.

The little is now a Level 1 Bubble Master. Oh yeah.

-Kayly