Dogwoods and Lighting

Let me first say that I am by no means an expert on Lighting.  That said, I did have fun the past couple days shooting a Dogwood in bloom in different lighting and had so much fun with these photos and I have to share them and a couple tips with you.


Morning light, before the sun is overhead:

I love Spring, warmer days, all fresh bright colors, and love going for walks in the morning and in the evening.  One night while I was walking I noticed how neat the dogwoods looked in contrast to the darkness, so I broke out my camera and played with the photos, this was a challenge since you have to use a high ISO and slow shutter speeds.  It would be smart to have a tripod, but I wasn't thinking of that at the time, so I didn't bring the tripod out.  Some of the photos when right into the trash bin as there's no way to hold the camera without a shake for a 3second exposure, but I did get some very neat photos that I'm proud of.  The only light source I had that I used was the street light across the road.

Dogwoods at Night:

A wide angle shot capturing the tree, this is with no editing

Unedited

adjusted the tint and contrast

same image as the above 2 but did a "Low Key" black and white filter

I love the street light shining through the petals and the contrast of the flowers to the night

This image is slightly blurred due to slow shutter speed but with a contrast adjustment and sepia effect I really like it.

Now to compare them with some harsh direct sunlight (which I really do like on flowers at times) Here is afternoon light:

Blue skies, sunshine green leaves and white flowers, direct sunlight is beautiful.

This is not one of my best photos but I love seeing the sun shine through the leaves,

 Tip:  Be very careful on your exposure as this makes all the difference in your lighting, you can take a photo shot in nice lighting and make it look like it's all in the dark.  Below is an example of two different exposures on the same shot, these are both before I edited the images...The top is the one I like the most I think the exposure is very good for the lighting, the bottom is underexposed and while the flower facing left does stand out and have good contrast the rest of the photo is lost to shadows.

Tip: Don't be so quick to delete an image that the lighting isn't perfect in, I don't like the low exposure in the above image but I took that and did a high contrast black and white and added a diffused glow and I like the image it became here:

The Dogwood at Sunset:

I hope you all go out and enjoy the Spring and take time to find the beauty in nature.

Don't wash your jeans??

I am a country girl, as you can tell by my about page.  It's something I'm proud of, I ride horses, play in the mud, hike, and usually end up dirty, so when I saw on the news how you're not to wash your jeans for 12 months, or try to very rarely, my mind went straight to the barn and how bad of an idea that would be for me.  Unless I know I'm going to get just as dirty the next day (and my pants aren't covered in mud) I could reuse the same jeans maybe twice.

I can't speak for all country people, cowgirls, cowboys, and rednecks, but I'm sure this is how their jeans look after a day of fun too.

Sweet Blessings

The sweetest blessings come in the tiniest packages. and those tiny blessings steal your heart.

This is something I learned six years ago when I had my daughter.  In 2012 my family was blessed once again to learn what it was like to have your heart stolen by someone you never met. 



12 weeks

20 weeks

With finally having a nice camera to take pictures with and knowing that this is probably our last pregnancy and baby I took photos to document how I grew.  I loved being pregnant with my first but never had a huge belly, this time I was huge.  Enjoy the photos taken by my wonderful hubby showcasing how the belly grows over time...




28 weeks

From here I had a noticeable growth every two week. 

36 Weeks

Easter 2013 we painted the belly

36weeks.  From the front you can't help but think it looks a lot like an egg!

The day before I was due (40weeks) Big Sister telling the baby to hurry up

The day after my due date....I went into labor a few hours after this photo

I love that my husband and I captured these pregnancy moments.  The 9months that you grow a baby inside you seem both to fly by and drag their feet while you're pregnant, trying to get ready for the baby which it seems overwhelming at the time and by the end with back pain, and swollen feet and all the other things that happen to our bodies the end can't seem to come soon enough we want to meet this baby we've put so much work into growing.

That time came for us 2 days after I was due.  I was in labor for 12+ hours and so tired after labor, all the morning sickness I had with both pregnancies, the back pain, the tiredness, and the long labors and the hard work of labor...I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat for my girls.  They've filled my world with smiles, giggling, and love that you can't put into words.  There are hard times I won't cover that up....but the meltdowns, tears, tantrums, and sleepless nights, are over powered with hugs and kisses and when they finally say "I love you too"

It's hard to believe that those pregnancy pictures were 2 years ago now, the time has flew by.  I'd like to share some of the last 2 years with you, and I'm happy to say that my break from the blog and photography (while I never really retired my camera) is over...I'm looking forward to sharing more stories from Little Deer Photography and capturing many more moments!




 Just can't get over newborn toes and sweet sleeping bliss

And then it seems you blink and the new born baby is already a year old and running all over...hold on to each moment you have

One year old!

That face! and a mouth full of teeth

Of course there are special moments between newborn and one year:

My family photo 2013 

As much as my baby grew and changed so did I (with some work)

I was able to lose almost all the baby weight in a year's time thanks to breastfeeding, babywearing, and eating healthy

My older daughter seemed to grow just as fast as the baby, she went from being my baby girl to my big girl, my helper, and such a sweet heart (when she's not testing out her new older kid attitude)

2012

2014

 I LOVE moments like this.

Words can't describe what it means to become a parent.  Yes there are challenges and your life is forever changed, you're happiness depends greatly on their happiness and you no longer only have yourself to worry about but now the baby.

It's the best thing in the world!  I couldn't imagine my life without either girl in it!  They give me so many reasons to smile everyday.

My husband with our baby

photographer in training

Thank you to my friend Karen for this photo

I realize this is a poor quality image taken with my phone but I love it.. It shows what lazy morning in my house is like, PJs and cuddling