light {you capture}

At the beginning of the year, I faithfully linked up with You Capture each week.  It helped occupy me with something fun and "pretty" to do while the rest of my life was a little disorganized.  But lately, it has been pushed to the side by all the little things in life that make us "busy."

So, why link up this week?

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I'm taking an online workshop that teaches the technical foundation of taking pictures:  the exposure triangle, setting white balance, basic composition, etc.  A small part of our assignment last week was "finding the light," so, part of the reason is because I conveniently had taken multiple pictures that would fit the theme.  While there are probably many things wrong with this photo, technically speaking, I was really proud of it and would like to add that it is completely untouched...straight out of the camera.

And the other reason?

I'm just finishing up my fourth and final week in the Clickin' Moms Shooting 101 workshop and can't believe how much technical knowledge I've gained. The class could be called "photography boot camp," and I feel I have learned more in four weeks than I have in the past three years of scouring the internet.  I can now honestly say I have a firm grasp on how to take a great picture straight out of the camera.  Now all I need is about 50,000 frames of practice and I might be confident in the actual execution of those concepts.  I have known about Clickin' Moms for a couple of years, but was reluctant to pay for information that is widely available elsewhere for free.  But now, I can honestly say, it has been worth every penny spent (even if some of that money was my parents').

So, to get to my point:  I probably never would have signed up for this course if it had not come so highly recommended by Beth (the lovely lady who hosts You Capture each week, as well as being wife, mother to four, and fantastic photographer, for those of you who don't know her).  It is likely Beth has never even visited my blog, but she has played a small part in helping me enjoy something I've grown to love:  taking pretty pictures.  It really makes you appreciate this crazy thing we call the internet and the connections that can be made when it is used properly.

Click here to enjoy Beth's lovely "light" photos, and all the others that have linked up this week.

*** I just want to add that neither Clickin' Moms or Beth have asked me to promote them, their business, or their websites.  I know several women who have recently purchased a camera, or have their eye on a new one, and there is nothing I would love more than to share my love of photography with them.  I would highly recommend either of these sources if you are interested in learning how to take better pictures.

seven days seven photos | you capture

It has been a while since I've linked up with You Capture. I missed it.  So, here I am, a day late, but still here, hoping to get time to visit everyone else who linked up this week.

This week's theme is a photo a day for a week. I did my best to pull myself away from my favorite photo subjects, but you'll see they each snuck in there once. I can't help it.

Monday

Forgotten flowers

Tuesday

Watercolored sky

Wednesday

Sleeping angel

Thursday

My momma's garden

Friday

Sunset

Saturday

My girl and her buddy

Sunday

Grapes

What's your favorite?

sunshine {you capture}

While there was plenty of sunshine outside this week,

this is what inspired me most.

A chubby baby

playing peek-a-boo over the edge of the bed,

with the setting sun shining through the window onto her red? hair.

She is all the sunshine I need.

Linking up with You Capture. 

Next week's theme:  Spring.

chocolate {you capture}

I completely forgot about this week's You Capture theme, what with all the fun we've been having this past week.  So a few minutes ago, literally, while both girls are napping (I know, when does that EVER happen?), I ran to the kitchen and thought, "What chocolate do I have?"

I grabbed an almost empty bag of chocolate chips and tried to come up with a way to make them look interesting.  I ate at least a dozen of them.  Or two dozen.  Or maybe all of them.  I wasn't counting.

I also just happen to have a partially eaten chocolate cake on the counter.  Really.  I can't fake a half eaten chocolate cake.  I left it covered in its fancy cake stand.  Less chance of me eating it that way.  I think it looks like a pretty chocolate kaleidoscope.

How nice that my mother in law buys me fancy cake stands like this.  Because it if were left up to me, our cakes would be displayed on a fancy paper plate, though, it would taste all the same I suppose.

Want an fantastic chocolate cake recipe?  Use the one on the can of Hershey's cocoa powder.  It sounds obvious, but it is seriously so delicious.  And then use the white frosting recipe found here, which beats cream cheese frosting any day.  Unless you're talking about carrot cake, then stick with cream cheese frosting.  Believe me.  I don't joke about food.

For more chocolate photos, visit You Capture. Or, better yet, join in with your own.

easter {you capture}

Sunday.

Four generations of family.

Gorgeous weather.

Fun cousins.

Two of the most beautiful girls on earth.

Perfection.

Linking up with You Capture...a day late.  But mama always says, "Better late than never."

white {you capture}

Is there anything more inviting than worn wicker furniture on a front porch, warmed by the sun, surrounded by a picket fence?  It is quintessential country.  It is my mama's front porch, not mine, though I aspire to create a haven as warm and welcoming as hers.

Our house is like a blank sheet of paper right now, all neutral white, beige, and brown.  It is begging for color, begging for decoration.  I have been watching design shows and scouring the internet for ideas.  There are so many ideas, I am so inspired, but where to start?  I will have to develop my thrifting abilities, but am excited to do some projects.  I will be sure to share.

I'm not sure how a theme of white could take me off on a home decoration tangent, but that's how my brain works these days.  It is almost impossible to follow my thoughts in a straight line.  Even conversations with me tend to wander around, loop back, and return to where they started.  Eventually, all the information is conveyed, but not necessarily in a logical, linear pattern.  I'm almost positive this happened after having children.

That is all for today.

Linking up with You Capture this morning.  Click HERE for more white.

fun {you capture}

Fun for a two year old usually involves something loud, something messy, or something forbidden.  Or, in the best of situations, a combination of all three.

We had a family dinner Saturday afternoon.  Adult conversations leave a little one looking for creative ways to amuse herself.

Laci created a hiding space out of the corner kitchen cabinet.

How cute!  We all congratulated her cleverness.

She smiled.

We returned to our conversations and she quietly disappeared.

Several minutes later, someone asked, "Where's Laci?"  A common, and very important, question to ask when a mischievous two year old has disappeared.

We found her.

With a full container of cocoa powder.

With the lid off.

With her fingers buried in powder.

In the bedroom.

With chocolate all over her face.

Sadly, I did not capture my discovery.  I was more concerned with the thought of having to clean up a can of cocoa from the brand new carpet.

I calmly smiled at her, took the can of cocoa, and placed it on the highest shelf in the kitchen.

Fun!

My only wish is that I would have had better focus in these pictures.  My lens and I have been arguing about focus these days.  BUT, sometimes the story is worth the blur.

For more fun, visit You Capture.

**As if it isn't obvious, I have Internet again!!  Ahhhh, I can breathe.  Here's to hoping I can get time to post again tomorrow...so many pictures, so many things to share.  Hooray!

black & white {you capture}

You Capture has moved to Monday and this week's challenge is Black & White.

Black and white editing is usually my last resort for pictures with strange color that I can't seem to fix, or when a picture is just plain boring and something about removing the color saves it from deletion.  But, black and white pictures require a special eye.  An eye that can distinguish color from contrast, texture, and tones.  I don't have that eye...yet...I'm working on it, because there is more to black & white photography than a quick conversion in Photoshop.

I had some interesting ideas I wanted to try outside involving the branches of the old oak tree in our yard, but the weather did not cooperate.  And I spent most of the weekend moving.  So, I resorted to the objects in front of me - succulents, the ceiling fan, salt & pepper, and a coffee mug.

Yes, another challenge, another coffee mug.  I keep telling myself to try new things, but then fall back on what is easy.  Maybe I'll get all brave next week and try something new.  Like a teacup.