Photography » Mi Vida Ocupada

Beautiful Winter Sunrise over White Bear Lake

Great Outdoors & Weather, Photography 4 Responses »

Jan 122012

One thing that I love about the months of Jan-March is that the sun is usually just starting to rise as I leave my house for work each morning. I often take a very short detour to the frozen shores of White Bear Lake on days that have a beautiful sunrise. Here is what I captured (from my car window!) yesterday morning….

January Sunrise over White Bear Lake

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On this date I have blogged about:

On 01-12-10: Read Tuesday’s Top 10: Favorite Desserts (01-12-10)
On 01-12-09: Read 2009 Bloggie Awards!! (01-12-09)
On 01-12-09: Read Taking it back to the OLD school…… (01-12-09)
On 01-12-08: Read Scrapalicious…. (01-12-08)
On 01-12-06: Read Today at school….. (01-12-06)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Fun Services to use with Instagram Pics

iPhone, Photography 5 Responses »

Dec 202011

Instagram.

Everyone with an iPhone is doing it.

Winter Break Reading Materials ;) (Instagram)

Donuts Deluxe ~ White Bear Lake, MN (Instagram

Instagram is a fun App that allows you to take photos with your phone then apply filters to give it a different look.

What can you do with these Instagram pics?

You can post them directly to your FB, Flickr or Foursquare accts.
You can view all of your photos as well as your friends Instagram pics at this cool site called Ink. (My Instagram photos can be found here)
You can make really cool Magnets at StickyGram
You can publish a Photo Book with your Instagram pics at Keepsy
You can make 2×2 ceramic Tiles at Teeny Tile
You can make 4×4 stickers at Artflakes
You can have your photos printed ona contact sheet at Printsgram
You can frame 4×4 prints with Boo Box Bamboo frames from Hatchcraft

Now you know all the cool things you can do with Instagram….. now start snapping pics with your iPhones!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Fall 2011 Family Portraits

Photography, Portraits 4 Responses »

Nov 162011

My friend Kelly has asked me to take portraits of her family for the past couple of years and it is always fun to meet up with them, especially since she has three very adorable little boys. I took their Fall 2010 Portraits and their 2011 Hockey Photos. About a month ago I met up with them again to take their 2011 Fall Portraits.

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Fall Portraits {Mason & Jonah}

Babies & Kids, Great Outdoors & Weather, Photography 3 Responses »

Oct 192011

A few weeks ago I met my friend Shannon and her two boys at a local park to shoot some fall portraits. It was the most perfect, warm, sunny fall day you could ask for and the trees were gorgeous!

I am by no means a professional photographer but when my friends ask me to take photos of their kids and/or families, I generally find some time to do it.

I have known these two little guys since they were literally days old, as Shannon lived two houses down from me for nine years. In fact, it is all Shannon’s fault that I bought the house I am in since she is the one who brought me to the model home just days after she signed her own purchase agreement.

It was fun and I am glad I got to spend some time with them. I miss having them as neighbors!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Delightful Dahlias

Flowers, Photography 5 Responses »

Sep 262011

I have posted a handful of photos of my flowers from this year (Pink Tulips, Hot Pink Fancy Tulips, Yellow Tulips, Pink Asian Lilies, Star Fire Lilies), are you ready to see my Dahlias? We started these ladies from bulbs this past spring and it took months for them to finally bloom in September.

I took these first two shots shortly after a rain…

Dahlia Full Bloom after Rain

Dahlia with Raindrops

Dahlia Full Bloom

Dahlia Blooms

I love Dahlias, I will definitely try to winter these bulbs so I can have gorgeous blooms again next year :)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Downtown Minneapolis Skyline

Photography 2 Responses »

Sep 202011

Took this shot while riding passenger on the freeway over Labor Day weekend….
Love how the sun illuminated the buildings with the cloudy sky overhead.

Downtown Minneapolis Skyline

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Pink Asian Lilies

Flowers, Great Outdoors & Weather, Photography 7 Responses »

Jul 262011

My pink asian lilies were in full bloom for the past two weeks. We had literally 300+ blooms.

Pink Lilies

Pink Lily 2

Pink Lily 3

Pink Lilies by the dozens

Pink Lilies 2

This is one of the pink lilies early in the morning with the sun shining directly on it…

Pink Asian Lily

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

The Beautiful Ms. Becky {and her baby belly!}

Friend Time, Photography 7 Responses »

Jul 252011

One day last week I spent some time with my friend Becky who is in the home stretch of her first pregnancy. We thought it would be an awesome chance to get some maternity photos of Becky, who is at 37 weeks along. Ideally we should’ve taken these photos a month ago, but Becky is still feeling pretty good and looks wonderful! Neither one of us has had any experience with maternity photos in any regard, so we used Pinterest to get inspiration. We were also lucky that Becky and her husband have a gorgeous yard with landscaped gardens… perfect for posing for portraits!

Here are just a few of the photos I took. The more intimate ones are for Becky and her husband to do with as they please :)

Thanks, Becky, it was a lot of fun!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Photo Shoot { In Manual Mode!}

College Friends, Family Gatherings, Photography 8 Responses »

Jul 162011

Yesterday afternoon my college roomie Laura (brown) and I spent some time with my SIL Michelle so she could give us some lessons in photography. Michelle offered a beginning photography course in the spring of last year, shortly after Laura and I both bought our first D-SLR cameras. The class was a Godsend to both of us! It is from these lessons that I began to understand how a SLR camera works and learned how to do more than set the camera to ‘auto mode’.

My photography has improved in the past year but I still had not learned how to shoot completely in manual mode. While still adjusting almost all the settings manually, for the past year I have shot in Aperture mode. This all changed yesterday when Michelle spent time with us and we forever switched our cameras to Manual Mode. There is no turning back now!!!

I was aiming at getting the proper exposure, composition wasn’t the main focus in these photos but I still got some that are pretty cute. Of course my nieces and nephew make adorable subjects to photograph. Michelle is a lucky lady!

This one is totally overexposed but I still like it

Annika is turning six this week. I can’t believe it.
This little stinker is too cute for his own good. He has the famous “Sauer” disappearing eyes when he smiles. Little whipper snapper ;)

Michelle is so pretty, I took a few shots when she wasn’t paying attention. lol! I probably have more photos of her than anyone, since she is always behind her own camera

Thanks for the lesson, Michelle. I look forward to shooting only in manual from now on!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Cinemagraphs {Photography with Movement}

Photography, Random Thoughts & Updates 5 Responses »

May 042011

Have you ever seen or heard of Cinemagraphs? They are basically still photographs that have bits of movement throughout the image. I don’t know who invented these but holy smokes….

Check these out:

How cool is that?

There is an article at Web Urbanist that explains it really well and has several examples to look at, such as the images shown above. There is also a group devoted to Cinemagraphs on Flickr, you should check out the cool images. These images are very complicated to make and time consuming, something I would love to learn how to do. I am mesmerized by these images, this idea is so new to me that I need to do a lot more research about it. Super cool!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

October 2010 Photo Hunt ~ My Results

Photo Scavenger Hunt, Photography 17 Responses »

Nov 012010

Here are my photos from the October 2010 Photo Hunt Challenge. Please head over to Photo Hunt Challenges to see all of the other Participant Entries.

In Disguise- Optimus Prime

Crisp

Fall Colors {Taylor’s Falls- looking into Wisconsin over St Croix River)

A Jack O’lantern (found at a Halloween party)

a Shot from the Ground (my body-less cat, Pharaoh!)

a Landscape (St Croix River)

a Fall Tradition- Coming ASAP

Books (my stack waiting to be read!)

Dining (Inside the local Red Robin)

Child/Children (my friend’s daughters)

Faces formed in Nature (rock that looks like an animal with stick in its mouth!)

Tilt-Shift Photography (Taylor’s Falls Queen Ferry Boat)

B & W with selective coloring- Coming ASAP
Bokeh

Best Photo taken October 23^rd(Minnehaha Creek)

Something from the Kitchen (freshly baked banana bread)

Something Vintage (Old school Raggedy Ann & Andy dolls)

Something Creepy

Something Golden (Maple Leaves)

Maple Leaves

A Self-Portrait (ran a couple of actions on this one to give it the cartoon-y feel)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Fun Adventures in Minneapolis {with Bradie & her girls}

Babies & Kids, Friend Time, Great Outdoors & Weather, Photography 3 Responses »

Oct 312010

A few weeks ago when I had the day off of work I spent the day with my oldest girlfriend and her three little girls. It was a beautiful, warm October day so we hung out at their house, went out for lunch at Jakeeno’s Pizza and Pasta, hiked around Minnehaha Falls, took a bunch of photos, watched airplanes coming in for landing, and hung out some more. I love these girly days when we get ‘em :)

Minnehaha Falls in Afternoon

Neven 5

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Portraits for a Friend

Photography 3 Responses »

Oct 122010

About a month ago my friend Kelly asked me if I would be willing to come over to her house to take photos of her family. I am not an expert at photography by any means but I figured it was a good opportunity to practice some portraits. While there are many things I would do differently next time, I did happen to get some cute shots. Here are some in B & W…..

Thanks guys, it was a lot of fun!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

An Autumn Day in Taylor’s Falls…..

Great Outdoors & Weather, Photography, Travel 9 Responses »

Oct 102010

Last Sunday we went with some friends to Taylor’s Falls on the St Croix River (the border between MN and WI). We hiked the cliffs and had a picnic in the middle of the woods. It was fun! Oh, and of course I took a bunch of photos :)

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Big Ol’ MOON

Photography 1 Response »

Oct 102010

These photos are from a few weeks ago, a few days after the moon was officially “FULL”. It was very low in the sky when I took these shots, much bigger and with more detail than I have been lucky enough to catch in the past….

Partial Moon

Camera:	NIKON D5000
Exposure:	1/640
Aperture:	f/5.6
Focal Length:	200 mm
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
ISO Speed:	800
Flash:	No Flash

Partial Moon

Camera:	NIKON D5000
Exposure:	1/800
Aperture:	f/5.6
Focal Length:	200 mm
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
ISO Speed:	800
Flash:	No Flash

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

August 2010 Photo Hunt ~ My Results

Photo Scavenger Hunt, Photography 22 Responses »

Sep 012010

August 2010 Photo Hunt complete! If you would like to check out the other Participant Entries, head to Photo Hunt Challenges blog to check them out! Favorites will be posted throughout the last 2-3 weeks of September.

1. A flag that represents you – coming ASAP!
2. Something comfortable – Cowboy boots

3. Something in season – cherry tomatoes

4. Feet – (Tiger)

5. Repetition- Penguins lined up to take a swim at the zoo

6. Culture or ethnicity- Japanese Garden

7. Contrast- Mama Giraffe & Baby

8. An indulgence- Margarita!

9. A macro or closeup -purple water lily

10. Something masculine – Harley Davidson

11. Something feminine- a beautiful bride

12. Light- Texas Sunset

13. Eco-friendly- Pencils made of recycled newspaper

14. Business- The Oasis on Lake Travis (popular restaurant business)

15. An arrow- Darts

16. Something wet – Watermill

17. Something dry- The climate where this lizard lives (taken in July 2010)

18. Butterflies*- Not sure which species this is, found in Austin, TX

19. Heart-Shaped Clouds*- Seen from my own driveway

20. Strength- Using a Crossbow requires it!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

Lions, Tigers, Penguins and a Baby Giraffe!!

Animals, Photography 3 Responses »

Aug 302010

Look at the baby giraffe!! This cutie was born 11 days before I got to see him with his mama

It was cat-nap time on a very HOT August day. Poor kitties (they were all much more alert when I visited the zoo back in February)

I used my 55-200mm lens….. seems like the only time I use that lens is at the zoo!

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

A Goodbye, Texas Sunset…..

Photography, Travel 4 Responses »

Aug 262010

I just realized I haven’t posted these sunset photos yet. I took them on the last official night I was in Austin. I saw the sky start to change color as I was driving west after having a wonderful pesto dinner at my friend Samantha’s house. I pulled over in a local Supermarket parking lot, found a cool palm tree for the shot and went to town with my camera.

Austin Sunset

And then I rode out of Texas with the sunset…….

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

The Impact of Cropped Photos

Photography 4 Responses »

Aug 172010

A few weeks ago I spent the hottest, most sweaty 40 minutes of my life at Zilker Botanical Garden. Unfortunately most of the flowers felt the same way I did….wilted and lifeless from the heat. I didn’t realize that all of the gardens would be outdoors. The light from the sun at noon time is also extremely harsh. Just not ideal for taking photos. I dragged my friend Chaitra out there with me and it was just too dang hot.

Oh well, I snapped a few and then we decided to pack it up and go to a movie where it was much cooler! We saw Inception. Cool movie although kind of confusing.

Anyway, while at the garden I got a couple of cool photos. Wanted to show you how cropping can make a big impact.

Pretty purple water lily……..

Cropped a little closer…… Isn’t it gorgeous?

And cropped even closer!! Looks like it could be a VIKINGS flower, doesn’t it? Yay for purple and yellow!

Purple Water Lily Macro

I definitely like the two cropped photos the best. What do you think?

Thanks for reading, have a great day ;)

These Boots were Made for Walking….

Photography, Travel 5 Responses »

Aug 042010

I went shopping a few weeks ago down on SoCo (South Congress St) with my friend Lee Ann and her teenage daughter. I saw a really cool display of boots in a vintage clothing store that were just begging for me to shoot them…….

Wall of Boots

These Boots were Made for Walking

Cowboy Boots

We spent a lot of time at the Art/Jewelry Flea Market. Local artists come and sell their hand-made goods. Here are a few things that I thought were really cool…..

These feathers are all natural, not dyed. They looked very Native to me and I thought they were gorgeous!