Jonah's Song

Jonah surprised me the other day with this song. When I asked him about it, he replied, "Oh, I change the words for people I like and love." I had to grab my camera and have him sing it again.

Honeysuckle Vine

This bloom reminded me of a...giraffe...maybe I'm losing it. Used a macro filter, early morning. There are thousands of blooms this year on the arbor.

A Daisy in the Grass

Sweet Hazel on Father's Day.

Soft Morning Rain

It rained lightly this morning. The light was beautiful. I grabbed my camera and headed outside at 6:45 a.m. and caught the raindrops on the honeysuckle vine.

Snowballs

The snowball bush is in full bloom. Makes me want to have a snowball fight! Also the lilac tree.

I photographed these on the "Macro" program mode. I bought three macro filters insead of a macro lens (which is about $500) and used the +2 filter.

Weston's 3rd Birthday

Carrie created a Pirate Treasure Hunt for cousins and friends for Weston's 3rd birthday, which was on Tuesday. What a fun time we all had! Jared grilled hamburgers, Weston was excited with his new swing set, and all the kids were covered in dirt!

Jonah's Soccer Trophy

Jonah was SO excited on Saturday when he received his soccer trophy. He's a great TEAM player!

Since this is kind of a photo journal, I took these action shots using the little Running Man on my camera. I've found it to be much more successful not only for sports, but whenever there's kids involved.

Brunch and Toads

We made Danish Ebelskeivers for the family one Saturday morning in May. Then we caravaned out to Toads in Slaterville for miniature golf, batting cages, and go-carts. Ezra stretched on tippy toes to barely make the height requirement for the go-carts. Whew! A fun day! We missed Amber and Matt, as they had to work. Weston was not feeling well, so he missed the go-carts. Next time, Weston!

Spring Tulips at Thanksgiving Point

My friend, Cathy Larsen, and I went to Thanksgiving Point Friday. We took an hour off work and were anxious to try the late afternoon light, as other photography visits had always been early mornings. The tulips were late in blooming this year and only 40% were out. We did manage to find some beautiful ones and tried to use some of the things we've been learning in our photography classes.

I experimented with "depth of field." If I shot a picture in "Landscape" mode, then the entire picture was in focus (meaning the aperture was a large f-number). If I chose "Portrait" or "Macro," then just the main subject was in focus with a blurred background (a small f-number).

I also changed my lens. I've been taking most of my photos using the 18mm-55mm lens. I tried using the 55mm-200mm lens during this excursion. I found I had to stand back further, which felt awkward when using the Macro setting. But I felt like I got better results.

I've created a Flickr link to view photos.

Jonah and Ez

One interesting thing I learned from Saturday's camera class was that of "leading lines." This is a line/lines that lead the eye in a particular direction. I think I accomplished that with Ezra and the lawn mower - and maybe even with Jonah on the arbor.

Camera Nerd

After being prodded by a few people that I take lots of pictures, but "Where are they?" I've decided to enter the world of blogging, however a bit reluctantly. Do I have time for one more thing?

I've loved taking pictures since I was a child and was given an old Kodak Junior Six 20 Series II, which I still have. There was something about taking a roll of film to the store and then anxiously awaiting the results.

But digital photography does have its advantages. I've now graduated from my beloved Canon PowerShot S2IS, which had a 12X zoom, to a Nikon D40X SLR camera. I have lots to learn.

Of course, with a new camera comes a new camera bag! After searching far and wide over the Internet for "funky camera bags," I decided on the "Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home Photo Bag." It's not too funky, but different than the standard boring black bag.

Because I bought my camera at Inkleys, I can take advantage of some free classes. I've taken two so far: an intro class and today's: focusing on lenses, composition and flash.

Weston's Song

Weston loves to sing and takes after his mom, Carrie. I captured this little video one day in February - I should have waited until after the recording to give him the candy necklace! Weston is almost three and is a sweet, open and loving little boy.

Cousins Sleepover

We decided to have a cousins sleepover in February. Weston (almost three) and Ez (barely three) are good friends. Jonah is 5 1/2. It was great fun. It snowed overnight. I love the natural light of these photos of the boys looking out the window. These were taken with my Canon camera.

First Granddaughter: Hazel Marie Rice

Finally a little girl! Hazel Marie was born on January 22, 2008.