Square Root Photography

Dark skies

2011-11-17T22:01:00.004-05:00

I shot these while out trick or treating with my daughter a few weeks ago. I didn't have a tripod, so these are all handheld shots. The two lighter ones have pretty slow shutter speeds, while the darker ones are faster. I like both looks.

Which came first: leather or chrome?

2011-10-26T09:41:00.008-04:00

I got so many great shots of just the motorcycle(s) that I knew I'd need a separate post just for them. While the Indiana Jones theme shoot was a lot of fun, I loved getting to really capture these machines as well. It was fun and different, as well as challenging.

Chrome is difficult to photograph. I didn't realize it fully until I loaded these onto the computer, and noticed unintended reflections in many of the chrome surfaces. Some of them bothered me, but others added character to the shots. I also had to be careful from what angles I shot, because there is such a thing as too much sun flare. When much of your subject is reflective and it's sundown, you're going to get a lot of bounce-back.

I love these black and whites.

A self-portrait of sorts. This one I like.

Harley Davidson: nothing but the best.

Gorgeous sun flare.

This is the first motorcycle, the smaller one.

This is where this shoot became really challenging for me, in a good way. I definitely had to go outside my comfort zone for the rest of these pictures. Admittedly they're not professional quality, but I feel good about them. At the end of this shoot, I was very satisfied, and pleased with what I had accomplished.

See, the new bike not only looks amazing in the daylight, but it has blue lights reflecting off all of the chrome surfaces when you turn on the lights at night. My father-in-law really wanted to capture the blue light. I've never shot in the dark before (not effectively, anyway), and trying to capture specific light in the dark is difficult. Add to it that I didn't use a tripod. These shots are all hand-held and experimental. We parked the bikes out under a streetlamp, which added a little bit of ambient light, without distracting from the blue. You can see in some of the photos that the light colors play off each other interestingly, actually -- the blue from the motorcycle and the orange from the street lamp.

This was one where the reflections in the chrome bothered me a little bit. Not only can you see me, but you can see my husband and father-in-law as well, if you look at the reflections on the pipe at the left.

Both the Harleys together.

All in all, this whole shoot was a lot of fun to do, and I feel like I grew a lot and pushed myself with it. That is a bigger sign of success to me than whether all my nighttime shots are sharp or blurry. (Though for photographers interested, the slowest shutter speed I used on any of these nighttime shots posted was 1/5 second, and remember that I was working handheld -- sitting on the ground, 8 months pregnant no less -- not with a tripod.)

Why did it have to be snakes?

2011-10-25T15:55:00.000-04:00

Once upon a time there was a family. This family was into both sci-fi and adventure, and sometimes a meshing of the two. One year, this family went to Walt Disney World for Thanksgiving. They ate huge turkey drumsticks and wore matching pirate t-shirts that said, "Beatings will continue until morale improves" on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Two of the sons in this family decided to buy their father a gift while at Disney World. They bought him an Indiana Jones hat. It fit his interests and personality perfectly.

Years later, the father, who had been saving much of his life to buy a Corvette (he'd once owned a red Camaro) bought a Harley with his 'Vette savings. Well, his wife bought for him, for Mother's Day (odd, yes, but that's how this family is). He bought a smaller one, uncertain yet of his ability to comfortably control a larger bike. Many adventures ensued. A few years later, he came into a small sum of new money, and found another --bigger -- Harley, gently used, right in his price range. After thinking about this particular bike for a whole 24 hours, he bought it.

When he took pictures to send to his family (now spread across the country), his oldest son, one who had bought the hat for him, pointed out that the bike looked like the style Indiana Jones rode in the last (fourth) movie. Though the colors aren't the same, the style is quite similar.

A week after buying the newer bike, the man's (third) son and daughter-in-law came to visit. The daughter-in-law is a photographer, and the man has a sense of humor. He dressed up in his Indiana Jones hat and rustic brown leather jacket, put on his toughest face, and asked her if she would do a shoot with him and the bike, inspired by the snark of his oldest son.

Mini session: Nutter family (2)

2011-10-13T11:19:00.005-04:00

Okay, so this isn't the shoot that I'm really excited to share with you -- that one is still in the works. This one still features the awesome motorcycle I teased in my last post, though.

Admittedly, most of these are pretty much the same thing, but this little mini shoot is very characteristic of the family. I'm a little disappointed in the coloring/lighting though, but I can hardly complain. Though it was still light out when we did this shoot (and we only spent 10-15 minutes), the sun was behind the houses already, so we didn't really have much "real" light to work with.

Sneak peak

2011-10-11T22:45:00.004-04:00

This was a really fun shoot. I'm excited to edit more of it and post here. Let's just say it involved this beauty:

Clayton's senior/graduation session

2011-09-14T16:01:00.007-04:00

Well, I'm finally getting around to blogging the quasi-senior session I did with my brother back in June. He never had real senior portraits done, and my mom wanted some "nice" graduation pictures. So the night before his graduation party, he and I picked out a few outfits for him, and then we spent an hour in my parents' yard the next morning...three hours before we expected about 50 people to show up for a cookout. Perhaps not the best planning in the world, but I was leaving the next day, and it had been rainy and gloomy all week long. So this is what we ended up with.

First you should know that like most teenage guys, my brother detests having his picture taken. He hates how he looks, and his smiles end up feeling forced. I kept having to get him to scrunch up his face to relax it, or have him make funny faces (yes, at himself) that made him laugh and look natural afterward. When neither of those tactics worked, I resorted to making fun of him myself, in a loving sisterly manner of course.

This is his "yeah, I'm cool" smirk. I think this was in response to my mocking.

This was the front of his class t-shirt for the year. I appreciate the pun.

He rolled his eyes when I asked him to do this series. He thought it was lame. For me, however, I think of high school graduation as a great accomplishment, so I wanted the illusion of height. There's also a lot to balance, especially for this particular senior (more on that later). It felt like it fit, at least for him.

One of the things my brother has balanced throughout his high school years is active participation in the Boy Scouts of America. He received his Eagle Award just a week or so after these pictures were taken, and since my dad was the one to present it to him, we snuck it onto the uniform in the meantime.

Every good Boy Scout knows how to start a fire. Years ago my sister started a tradition of burning homework and essays at the end of every school year, in a pit in my parents' backyard. Clayton continued that tradition.

This is pretty awesome. Clayton was selected as one of 141 graduating seniors across the country to receive the honor of Presidential Scholar. He and my parents traveled to Washington D.C., where he received this medal. His name, the president's signature, the title of the honor, and a relief of the White House are on the back.

So this is kind-of a funny story. It is to me, at least. I wasn't going to suggest pictures by the flowers, because I figured he'd scoff and not like the idea anyway. To my surprise, Clayton said he liked these particular flowers and wanted a couple of shots by them. He had actually planted them himself, so that might have had something to do with it -- I'm not sure. This face came about while I was making fun of him about the flowers, and also teasing him about his lady-charming dimples. This is really one of my favorite photos of him to come out of this session, though he might disagree. It looks very natural to me, my brother as I know him.

"Take a picture of me staring off into my future." Pretty much that's what this is.

Oh yes, he was valedictorian. Did I also mention that he scored a perfect 36 on the ACT (on his first try), participated in the soccer, swim, and tennis teams for four years each, and is now attending the University of Southern California on a full-ride scholarship? Yeah, I'm pretty proud of my "little" brother.

Coming soon...

2011-08-26T23:45:00.002-04:00

I'm finally getting around to editing pictures from the senior "session" I did with my brother a couple months ago. Here's a sneak peek.

Cleveland's ice storm 2011

2011-02-24T16:43:00.007-05:00

Please excuse the really long post. I love so many of these images and wanted to share all of them.

Last week in Cleveland, we had three days in a row over 50 degrees, and we almost hit 60 on one of them. The next day it went back down into the 20s or 30, and began to snow again. That much was expected. An ice storm and power outage the following day, however, were not expected. They certainly weren't welcome, either, especially with a sick husband and a sick toddler (which basically means two big babies to be taken care of). The storm was Sunday night/Monday morning, and I got out and shot these on Tuesday. The sun was out that day, so the ice glistened beautifully, but also started melting. It also snowed again on Monday night, so there is snow sitting on top of the ice, which was also very pretty.

No, I never finished pruning in the Fall.

I couldn't decide if I liked this next image better in color (albeit sparse) or black and white.

A little sun flare love:

More pruning that didn't happen. Here are my hydrangeas.

Introducing...

2011-01-26T13:28:00.007-05:00

I am really excited to introduce the official and brand new logo for Square Root Photography. I worked with Emily of Emily Gilmore Designs to create a logo.

I had a couple of elements I wanted to include. I'm not sure I've ever explained on here the background behind the name. I wanted to start a photography business. I didn't want it to simple be "Janelle Nutter Photography" because, frankly, it's boring. I also didn't want something that was trite or overly cliché, such as "Captured Moments" or "One Thousand Words." I wanted something that would be meaningful to me, memorable, but not too weird or difficult. I was talking to my husband about this one night, and he thought for about 30 seconds (if that), and threw out Square Root Photography. It was perfect, for two reasons.

You see, my husband is a mathematician. That's only the secondary reason, though. My maiden name is Rountree (no 'd'!). Growing up, everyone seemed to think it was hilarious to call me Squaretree or Squarebush. My brother thought he was clever by calling us Triangletwig. Needless to say, this was all quite frustrating, and entirely un-amusing. In ninth grade, my geometry teacher (who had a fabulous name of his own -- Mr. Coke) one day called me Square Root. I'd never heard it as a nickname before. It didn't bother me. Even then, I appreciated a good pun, and this one worked. I think part of why it never grated on me was because it didn't sound forced.

Square Root didn't become a nickname for me. I think Mr. Coke only actually used it the one time. The memory stuck with me, however, so when my husband suggested it as a business name, I thought it was perfect. It was also pretty original, I thought, and easy to remember.

I told Emily all this history, and I told her I wanted a tree with square roots, but I also wanted to work the square root mathematical symbol in somehow. Four pages of sketches and some back-and-forth later, she came up with a logo that I absolutely love!

Emily was very pleasant to work with and very prompt, despite the fact that our timeline went right through the holidays. She's delightful, and her fee was very reasonable. I highly recommend working with her if you have graphic design needs.

Project 365 (15): Wheat berries

2011-01-18T21:00:00.003-05:00

I work with the young women at church. Tonight we had an activity at which I gave them all a small bag of wheat berries that they could take home and plant, to grow wheat grass. We'll see the results in a few weeks.

Project 365 (9): Old Man Winter

2011-01-12T21:00:00.001-05:00

We have easily over a foot of snow in our yard right now, from the last 24 hours. It's not stopping, either. Well, the big part of the storm is over, but we are expecting more snow for pretty much the next week. It might as well be until the end of eternity. This is the first winter of my life that's been really rough on me.

This is the azalea bush in my front yard. The same one you see here. Not wanting to trudge through the foot-plus of snow, I shot this through my living room window. Not too shabby.

Project 365 (4): Oregon coast

2011-01-07T21:00:00.002-05:00

Clearly, I didn't take this picture on January 7. It was really not a good day for me. This picture is where I wish I was that day. I took this picture in the summer of 1999, with a cheap old point-and-shoot film camera my mom had bought for me, that a boyfriend accidentally dropped in the sand that same day. This photo was taken from the top of the sand dunes in Pacific City, OR, looking across the front/far side of the dunes. It was a gorgeous view. I think I stayed up there for three hours, and almost missed my ride home. That day is one of few that I have clear and distinct memories of, and it was a most excellent day.

Not international nativities

2010-12-20T12:19:00.008-05:00

Here are the rest of the nativities I photographed last week. These are all either made in the USA or are otherwise not "cultural."

I thought I'd start out this post with the history of the nativity. If you click this photo to make it bigger, you can read the whole thing. I think it's pretty neat.

This piece was gorgeous. It's no more than three inches tall, and it's one of those cool etched-inside-the-glass blocks.

I've never seen a nativity of Santas. It's cute, but I think it might defeat the point of a nativity.

These next three aren't even two inches tall or wide, each. They are tiny and delicate.

I love the blown glass.

This one of so simple, but still portrays the powerful scene.

This one was interesting. The tall narrow figures are different than the usual, and the baby Jesus is usually in a manger, rather than being held by Mary.

My friend really liked this Mary. Mary is often portrayed as older and wiser, not the teenager she likely was. My friend thought this Mary looked young still.

This set was pretty cool. It's hard to tell from the photo, but each of these big pieces was five or so levels deep. Each line shows not just a line, but a new layer of wood. In the photo, you can see it best on the angel at the left.

I like the angles (not angels) of this set. Everything points toward and focuses on the babe, including Joseph's beard and Mary's hands.

These next two were really neat. I liked the scenes incorporated into the words. They are each a good reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

Finally, a portrayal of the Last Supper. It is still Christ-centric and was on display as well. It may not be a nativity, but I liked it and this is my blog. So there. :)

International nativities

2010-12-15T14:29:00.008-05:00

Last night I drove out to Kirtland. I went to the visitors' center for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints historical sites. Every December, they host a nativity display called "Wise Men Still Seek Him." I went out there last night with a couple of friends and I took lots of pictures. There are two display areas -- one for international nativities, and one for, well, not international nativities. First, I'll share the foreign ones with you. There were so many that I'm not sure I even saw all of them, but I took pictures of one that really interested me, for varying reasons.

This one is owned by a friend of mine, who is from El Salvador.

This one is also owned by my friend from El Salvador.

There's way too much detail going on in this set to see it all, but it has special meaning to me. You'll want to click on the photo to see it in better detail, but this is a retabalo from Peru. This style of image box was brought from Spain to Peru. My dad lived in Spain for a time, and has one (non-nativity-related) hanging on the wall in his office. I grew up looking at it, and noticing all the different elements to it, so seeing this made me think of my dad.

This collection was really neat. It is owned by a woman who said that she found most of these stamps online. Each of these little charms holds a postage stamp. They are all international stamps. There was another display of domestic ones. Looking over some of these was interesting, though -- Solomon Islands and Tonga are just a few I remember.

The sign is hidden, but this set is from India.

There were many sets made from olive wood, hand carved even, but I liked this one best. It was probably only about 6 inches tall, if that.

I didn't get a specific country on this, but it was made in Africa. It is recycled Coke cans. There was another from the Philippines that was similar, but made from recycled newspaper. The lines went vertical on that one instead of horizontal.

Aesthetically speaking, this is my favorite picture of the evening. I liked that the stamp was from the Vatican, and thought that was unique, so I captured it by itself. It wasn't necessarily my favorite stamp, but I thought it noteworthy.

Mini-session: My family

2010-12-13T19:49:00.005-05:00

These three people are me and my little family. My sister-in-law, who owns Frog Prints Photo, took these pictures for us over Thanksgiving. All images are edited by me.

Squish!!

Mini-session: Nutter Family

2010-12-11T14:01:00.005-05:00

This family is my brother-in-law and his wife, and their children. I thought it was going to be a big challenge to get everyone smiling at once, but it was surprisingly easy. I guess when you're used to having to be ready because there's so many of you, it makes it easier each time. And the little guy, who is only a month older than my own daughter, loved the camera. The hardest part was the bright sunshine, and the freezing cold temperatures. We would take three or four pictures, then run back inside for five minutes, then have another go at it. But everyone was a great sport and we all survived!

When you have five children, it can be easy to forget about being husband and wife, so I took some pictures of just them. These two are so in love.

Nightshooting

2010-12-06T19:58:00.009-05:00

Saturday our weather warmed up a little -- the snow on the ground mostly melted. By the time I went to bed, late that night, it had started snowing again. There was more on the ground. I turned off all the lights in the house, one by one, and ended with the lights on the Christmas tree. As I stood at my front window looking outside, I realized I'd forgotten how light outside it can seem when there's snow out, even in the middle of the night. I grabbed my camera and tried to see if I could capture it.

The tree is across the street from me -- in front of my neighbor's house. I captured these images without flash, through my front window, using 1/4 second shutter speed on shutter priority settings, and without a tripod. Yes folks, this is handheld. At 12:45am. I like the color and contrast so much that these images are also unedited.

Mini-session: Kaestner Family

2010-12-02T17:12:00.008-05:00

This cute little family is my sister-in-law, her husband, and their new little girl.

I Heart Faces: Scenic B&W

2010-11-30T10:20:00.003-05:00

I know I've been AWOL for a little while. I'll have a couple of mini-sessions to blog soon. I took some photos of family over the Thanksgiving break. In the meantime, here's an entry for this week's I Heart Faces challenge, the theme of which is "scenic black and white."

Lincoln

2010-11-16T13:11:00.006-05:00

Lincoln's mom is a good friend of mine. It was fun spending time with her and Lincoln, despite all the craziness going on. Two of her kids and my daughter were playing in the basement and kept going up and down the stairs and interrupting us throughout the shoot. For the most part, Lincoln wasn't much of a happy camper when he wasn't being held close. So while a lot of the shots I came away with were non-traditional, it was a good experience nonetheless.

Lincoln has a great story surrounding his birth, too. You can learn about it here.

Whoops! We forgot to clean sock fuzz off of his toes.

Funny face.

Clark Family

2010-11-02T22:41:00.007-04:00

Remember this little guy and his mama? Well, he's all grown up now. Of course by that I mean that he's two months old. I got to work with the Clark family again, this time doing family pictures.

I love this shot. This little guy is so much fun.

He is mastering the art of "walk softly and carry a big stick."

"Look Ma, no hands!"

We had some gorgeous late afternoon light, and super-long shadows.

One of my favorites from the day:

Tickling was the cause of many good smiles during this session.

Sneak Peek: Lincoln

2010-10-28T15:35:00.002-04:00

Lincoln was definitely not happy to not be snuggled close. I think it's a cute picture anyway.

Sneak Peek: Clark Family

2010-10-27T21:39:00.002-04:00

I got to work this family today for the third time. It was fun. Here's a preview:

Megan & Steven

2010-10-22T15:01:00.009-04:00

Megan and Steven are great. I loved working with these two. I'd never worked with dogs (or any animals) before, and never had pets growing up, so I'm not accustomed to being around animals. M & S were really laid-back as I got used to their "kids" and played with my camera settings. Speaking of which, I shot this entire session in manual mode. I'm pretty proud of that. It would have been much more stressful if I hadn't had such great subjects to work with.

I had a tough time narrowing down favorites for this post. M & S are just so photogenic that everything came out great. Throw in amazing fall colors and a gorgeous setting, and I pretty much wanted to share everything with you. But I cut it down. Here are my most favorite favorites.

First, meet Winston. Winston is hyper and fun.

And Henry. Henry is a little older than Winston, and much more calm. Almost introverted. Though when a squirrel was spotted, he didn't hesitate to chase it.

This shot was accidental. It's a behind-the-scenes shot. Steven was giving the boys a good talking-to about behaving for me.

Isn't she gorgeous?

The poor dogs were terrified to be on this ledge. The bottom of this window is about at the height of my chin.

Graffiti on the castle, but it makes for a cute picture.

My favorite shot of the day, I think.

Location: Squire's Castle

I Heart Faces: Orchard

2010-10-19T21:43:00.004-04:00

This week's theme over at I Heart Faces is "orchard." While this photo isn't in an orchard, it's at a park, and there are apples. Which come from orchards. There's also a face. That's important.

(For more photos of this adorable kid, click here.)

Sneak Peek: Megan & Steven

2010-10-18T15:36:00.003-04:00

This morning I got to have a fun session with this couple and their "kids."

Baby Devin

2010-10-09T15:38:00.010-04:00

At long last, I have finished editing Devin's newborn pictures. I have to apologize to Mary for taking so long. I went out of town for almost a week following the death of a family member, and there have been a number of ongoing other family health crises happening over the last month as well. But, I'm back on track now.

Devin was such a sweet handsome little boy. He was quite alert, but not too fussy. In the past I've tried to go the route of cute naked newborn shots, but with Devin, we decided to swaddle him, which made him much happier to be in front of the camera. Here are my favorites from our session (except for two that -- again -- wouldn't load correctly. You can visit the Facebook page to see them).

Sneak Peek: Devin

2010-09-18T17:51:00.004-04:00

I had another newborn shoot this morning. I feel a lot better about my results than my last one. For one thing, doing a newborn shoot was more fresh in my mind, from just doing one two weeks ago. Devin was awake for most of the shoot, but he hardly uttered a peep. He was such a mellow calm child. We opted for more swaddled pictures than naked ones, though we got a few of those. too. I've only edited one photo so far, so I haven't looked at the rest in detail yet, but I wanted to post this for Mary.

I love newborn body hair. If you click to enlarge this photo, you'll see a little better the hair on his face, especially the whisper of it between his nose and lips.

Baby Alden

2010-09-10T21:01:00.001-04:00

Alden was my second newborn photographed. I think newborns are even more challenging than toddlers, believe it or not. Getting their attention or making them giggle aren't really options. Getting pooped on is an option. I "chose" that one about 5 minutes after meeting Miss Alden. Luckily, she only lives across the street from me, so I was able to run home an change

On one hand, I don't want to feel like I'm giving up because it's too hard or any similar excuse, but I'm not sure I'm at a level to do newborns yet. For one thing, you have to shoot them indoors. My abilities and experience with indoor shooting -- even with good natural light from windows -- is limited. Very limited. For another thing, each one is so different, and it's tough to get them asleep (surprisingly), or to get them to do what you want for photos. I think it's just a completely different dynamic that photographing anyone over six months old.

So overall, I'm not satisfied with my work from this shoot. Alden is a beautiful baby, just like her mama and her sister, but I'm not satisfied with my own results.

This kind-of sums up most of our time together.

Silly girl.

I think she may have a future as a flamenco dancer.

I love this face. It makes me laugh to look at this photo.

Poor Alden's skin was so dry. I loved the flakiness on her feet.

There's one more photo that I've been trying to add all day long, but Blogger keeps rotating it, and it's making me mad. If I can upload it correctly later, I will.

Mary's maternity session

2010-08-25T10:55:00.010-04:00

Mary was one of the first friends I made when I moved to Ohio. Mary is also an up-and-coming photographer, and most photographers aren't excited about being in front of the camera, so I was really excited to do some maternity photos for her. We picked a date, time, and setting for the shoot, and the day before got a little discouraged. The forecast said mostly cloudy for the morning. It turned out to be absolutely gorgeous, though, and more than a little warm out (especially for an 8-month-pregnant woman wearing black).

For those who might be wondering, yes -- Mary is wearing high heeled boots in this shoot. And no, those are not maternity jeans. What we do in the name of looking great for photos, right? But doesn't she look fabulous? I had a really hard time narrowing down my favorites for this post.

Mary was great. To get these next few shots, she climbed up to the ledge she's sitting on, which is almost at the height of my shoulders. I'm so glad she did, though, because I love these two.

She has a very sweet (and cute to boot!) two-and-a-half year old son who came along for the shoot, too.

I really like this one. Isn't this what it's all about?

I like this shot a lot because you can really see Mary's freckles and her natural beauty. I'm not sure how she feels about her freckles, though...

Sneak Peak: Mary

2010-08-18T14:21:00.003-04:00

I had another maternity session this morning. Here's a preview for you!

Rachel's maternity session

2010-08-18T00:46:00.006-04:00

This mama-to-be is my neighbor. She's my first maternity shoot. She was a trooper for this session. We did a lot of walking around. She was up for anything, including sitting in the grass in her white pants, and leaning against the back of a dumpster because I loved the bold blue color.

I definitely don't have the whole golden hour thing figured out yet. I got lucky with a few shots, but this is the second session I've done in the evening, and with both, I had a lot more problems with lighting that not.

This shot is quite ubiquitous when it comes to maternity shoots, but I'm not sure I've ever seen such a perfectly formed heart shape!

I love these next two.

Sneak Peek: Rachel

2010-08-13T23:10:00.002-04:00

Here's a sneak peek at the maternity shoot I did tonight (my first!).

Kat

2010-07-29T10:52:00.003-04:00

My photo shoot last week was supposed to just be the kids, but mom looked so great that day that I grabbed a couple quick shots of her, too.

I was able to get lots of individual shots of the kids, but they weren't very cooperative when it came to taking pictures together. I'm still learning. This was about the best I could get. They were both all over the place -- Jake running from the camera, Lily posing for it, but only for two seconds at a time before moving on. But they both had fun, and really, isn't that what childhood is about anyway?

Lily

2010-07-27T09:00:00.005-04:00

Lily is a funny girl. She would pose for me, but half the time she didn't even stay posed long enough for me to get the camera back up to my eye before she was moving around again. We kept having to tell her to pull the skirt of her dress back down, because she kept pulling it up around the tops of her legs. We played the "don't smile!" game because her smiles were pretty goofy looking otherwise, but still quite cute.

Lily was fully aware -- and terrified -- of the ant coming toward her, but wouldn't move out of its path.

I think she's got a little Old Hollywood in her here:

These are some of her smiles when we told her to smile, before her mom and I started with "don't smile!"

I think this one is my favorite of Lily.

I Heart Faces: Purple

2010-07-26T09:00:00.006-04:00

This is my second week participating in a challenge over at I Heart Faces. This week's theme is 'purple' -- there must be a face and the color purple both in the photo. So without further adieu, here's my beautiful sister.

Jake

2010-07-23T15:52:00.005-04:00

Jake presented a challenge for me. anytime he saw the camera, he turned away or started crying. I had to get creative. I managed to eek out a few smiles toward the end, but I did get a lot of great pouty shots, and I can't get enough of his gorgeous blue eyes.

Clinging to Mommy's skirt:

His mom wanted me to do some pictures before she cut his hair. I can't blame her. Isn't it so handsome?

He was smiling until he realized I was pointing a camera at him. It turned briefly to a grimace and then to a frown.

He's a man on a mission.

Let me out, let me out!

My hands down favorite. I absolutely love this shot.

Mommy, look!

He's making a run for it...

You mean all it took was a rotten apple?

This was when he stopped running away from me. He still wouldn't look at me, though.

The G kids

2010-07-22T13:35:00.003-04:00

It's been a busy week for me. Well, it's been a busy couple of months, but that's another story. I shot these cute kids last week, and I've had a lot going on since then and am just now getting around to editing them. So here's a sneak peek for you, Kat.

I Heart Faces: Over My Head

2010-07-20T11:45:00.006-04:00

I've never entered an I Heart Faces contest before, but I thought I would this week. The theme is "Over My Head." I love the angle in this photo of Sierra, and it's perfect for this theme. It's not a new photo, but I haven't shot much lately.

Sweet face

2010-06-21T15:04:00.004-04:00

I don't normally like to post pictures of my daughter on my non-family blog, but I really like this one and I wanted to share. So here she is.

Old-fashioned patriotism

2010-05-31T12:00:00.005-04:00

This is what my local cemetery looks like at Memorial Day, looking with an old-fashioned eye.

Pink buds on yellow

2010-05-28T12:00:00.004-04:00

This the same tree that produced this photo. I love the tiny, dainty pink buds, but I also thought they were so beautiful against the pale yellow house in the background.

Clayton playing tennis

2010-05-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

While I was visiting my family last month, I also took some pictures at a tennis match my brother played in. He's just finishing up his junior year. He plays soccer in the fall, swims in the winter, and plays tennis in the spring. My sister played tennis in high school, too, but I think this was the first time I'd seen Clayton play.

I love this stance:

Notice the shadows under both of his feet:

After all that, the kid needs a drink! Who wouldn't?

Quiet contemplation

2010-05-25T12:00:00.004-04:00

I found this bench looking a little lonely and thought it would be a nice place for personal meditation. Kind-of a come-back-to-the-middle spot. What I couldn't fit within the scope of my camera lens added to the ambiance: I've hardly visited a more peaceful comforting place in all my life. It's beautiful and lends a feeling of contentment.

Candice

2010-05-22T09:00:00.001-04:00

I recently took a trip to Connecticut to visit my parents. While I was there, I took a few pictures of my sister Candice. Candice just graduated college with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. With a summer term and a study abroad program, she completed her degree in four years, not the five or six it seems to take so many people these days. She already has a job lined up, and I couldn't be more proud of her. She hadn't had any "real" pictures taken since her senior (high school) portraits, so while I was in town, we took a few one afternoon. We wanted to do more, but it was really humid and there were gnats everywhere. I think we did pretty well, though -- all things considered.

A few head shots (sort-of) to start out with:

We had a little fun with the garage door and funny faces. Just sister stuff.

These last three are my favorites.

Spring maple sun flare

2010-05-21T12:00:00.003-04:00

I've never really done much with sun flare. This day, though, I had great light outside, not too much in the way of clouds, and gorgeous green leaves. I don't think it's too bad, if I may say so myself.

(Yes, those are Christmas lights wrapped around the trunk and branches. It's not my tree.)

Tiny Blossoms, black and white

2010-05-18T12:00:00.002-04:00

This tree had the most beautiful and delicate pink blossoms. They just made you happy to look at them. It was situated at the corner of a charming-but-small yellow house, which made for happy pictures. I'll share some of them later, but for now, enjoy this image. I loved the mostly-closed-with-a-few-gently-opened-blossoms, and the tiny water droplet hanging from the bottom.

Asparagus in black and white

2010-05-11T12:00:00.004-04:00

I couldn't resist snapping a few shots of this beautiful asparagus a couple of months ago when I used it in a recipe.

Portrait of holiness (vintage)

2010-05-07T12:00:00.001-04:00

The Kirtland, Ohio Temple

Part of a balanced diet

2010-05-04T12:00:00.002-04:00

This was a fun photo to take. I took it with several background colors, and ended up liking the blue best. This would be another great photo for a foodie. I posted this today because Cinco de Mayo was the first time I ever made these Mexican Brownies, and I wanted you to have the recipe the day before. You can find the recipe for them here (but add more cinnamon!).

Get lei'd!

2010-04-30T12:00:00.001-04:00

I found these silk flower leis at Joann Fabrics last summer, and couldn't resist their bright colors. Can you?

All in the family

2010-04-27T12:00:00.001-04:00

This was the first really good photo I took with a digital camera. I had finally decided not to be afraid of editing, nor of looking through my viewfinder instead of at the screen (I only had a point-and-shoot). This book belonged to a great-great-great aunt. I received it when my great-great-grandmother passed away. The pearls were the great-great-grandmother's, and the cuff links we my great-grandfather's. This photo is special to me because of what it represents both in content and in production.

Jungle atmosphere

2010-04-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

I think these would be great in a bathroom.

Green fronds

Refreshing waterfall

Zoo animals, part 4

2010-04-20T12:00:00.001-04:00

I had never actually seen a koala up close before. I never realized how ugly they are. There's some cuteness, but this is definitely not the stuffed animal adorability that I grew up with. It was very very lazy, too. Hardly moved at all -- hence the "sloth-like" nature. The tree kangaroo shares a habitat with the koala, and is apparently native to Australia. I'd never heard of it before that zoo trip.

Tree kangaroo

Sloth-like koala

Zoo animals, part 3

2010-04-16T12:00:00.001-04:00

Reindeer at rest

Afternoon nap

Ellie's newborn shoot

2010-04-14T12:00:00.006-04:00

This shoot was definitely a learning experience for me. We had a tough time getting E to sleep, and each time she'd dose off, the camera would wake her up. She also wouldn't bend and fold the way we wanted her to. Despite having great natural light streaming through her mom's living room windows, I still had to use the flash, and I've decided that I definitely want a bounce flash and a diffuser, not just the pop-up one on the camera. Too many white squares in the eyes, and harsh light on the skin. I also really liked the pink backdrop fabric when I bought it, but I don't like the results much. It needs to be much much paler, because it fights the pink baby skin too much, plus the dit-dots on it are distracting. Finally, I learned that I have to always pay attention to the settings on the camera. I'm not yet accustomed to having to be so omniscient.

These aren't all the good shots I got, but they are my favorites.

This was where I really messed up my settings. Once I adjusted them, the contrast between baby and black was really harsh. I ended up not liking very many of them at all.

I absolutely love these next two -- just looking up at Mama.

Here's the pink background I was talking about. I think my favorite part of this picture is the krinkly wrinkly leg. Not the top one that's bent, but the one under it.

I love those back wrinkles!

This is definitely a most favorite of mine.

Zoo animals, part 2

2010-04-13T12:00:00.001-04:00

Majesty at rest

Bear in the bath

Zoo animals

2010-04-09T12:00:00.001-04:00

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be posting several pictures of zoo animals. These could be great for a child's room, or just someone who loves animals, especially of the not-typically-a-house-pet variety.

Lazy Rhinos

Awkward Giraffes

Sneak Peek: Miss Ellie

2010-04-07T20:49:00.003-04:00

I did this shoot two weeks ago, and due to sickness and a number of other things going on right now, I'm still working on editing the photos. I really wanted to post a sneak peek for Breena, though.

Rough brick

2010-04-06T12:00:00.001-04:00

I love the detail in this picture.

Vintage columbine

2010-04-02T12:00:00.002-04:00

The flower, not the school or city in Colorado. This is my last flower photo for awhile. I know you're probably sick of them.

The final round

2010-04-01T00:45:00.003-04:00

Some happy friend shots.

Sisters, sisters...

Hot pink azalea buds

2010-03-30T12:00:00.001-04:00

Have you noticed how many of my "fine art" photos are of flowers? They make great subjects: they sit still, they smile when you tell them to, and they don't talk back.

Sierra, whose middle name is not Mist

2010-03-29T12:00:00.004-04:00

Sierra's pictures are the last of the individual shots. I want to share a few more group shots that I like -- not the whole group, but maybe two or three girls together. I also shot a newborn last week, and I'm working on editing that session, so keep an eye out for little Ellie, too. Until then, enjoy Sierra's solo shots.

I once heard Sierra jokingly tell someone that her middle name was "Mist." I was a little slow on the uptake and it took me a few minutes to get it, but I ended up thinking it was clever. She was probably the most laid-back and easy-going of all seven girls. She didn't mind having her picture taken, and also wasn't too worried about how they looked at the end. She was just comfortable. Her natural beauty definitely shows through in these photos.

I love this angle from down below.

Hailey

2010-03-27T12:00:00.002-04:00

Hailey is a junior with band practice and a lot of homework. She hates having her picture taken. Imagine my surprise when -- knowing that the activity involved 2 cameras -- she showed up that evening! It was testing week at school, so her homework load was minimal. Despite initial misgivings, I think she had fun anyway. Here are my favorites from her individual shots.

The second Sarah

2010-03-26T12:00:00.001-04:00

I have a new editing program that I'm using, and Sarah's images were the first ones I tested it out on. So, there are some inconsistencies in the different images.

This is definitely my favorite.

Sarah

2010-03-25T12:00:00.003-04:00

We had two Sarahs in this shoot. I can't even differentiate them by last initial because the first three letters of their last names are the same. Weird, huh? Anyway, here's the first one.

Georgie

2010-03-24T12:00:00.002-04:00

Georgie was so fun to work with. This girl knew how to work a camera! She looked great whether smiling or serious, and -- except for the jump shot -- we didn't have to tell her to pose at all. She knew just what to do. I love her gorgeous hair, too.

Becky's individual shots

2010-03-23T13:54:00.004-04:00

I love this girl's hair. I found it a challenge while editing the group shots to make sure the color and lighting were balanced through the whole photo and on Becky, but it was a good learning experience. I love the shape of her eyes, too -- very cool. Becky has an infectious smile and loves showing it off.

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I'm ready for my close-up

2010-03-22T12:58:00.004-04:00

I wanted to post my favorites of the individual girls in addition to the group shots. Today's lucky girl is Alexis.

The "Shayfield" Girls

2010-03-20T15:52:00.000-04:00

I finally finished editing all the group images from our fun photo shoot the other night. I've posted some of my favorites here. I'll post some individual shots of the girls during the week.

The girls wanted a few black-and-white-and-color photos.

Silliness ensues.

So, for the above picture, Katie told the girls to look surprised. I figured she was going for an excited and happy look. Some of the girls tried to be happy surprised, some disappointed surprised. Either way, it didn't really work. So I took matters into my own hands. I said "Hey look, Justin Bieber just walked in!" His last name wasn't even fully out of my mouth yet when this was what I got:

The Charlie's Angel pose never gets old.

A little casual faded love.

This reminds me of the Girl Scout song I used to sing when I was little:

"Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold.
A circle is round, it has no end. That's how long I want to be your friend."

Hanging yellow flowers

2010-03-19T12:00:00.001-04:00

Teaser for the girls

2010-03-17T19:03:00.002-04:00

Last night my friend Katie and I did a photo shoot with the girls at church. The girls had fun and even the ones who hate having their picture taken enjoyed themselves. I'm still working on editing more, but here's a teaser for you.

Green spider

2010-03-12T12:00:00.002-05:00

I found this guy on the deck in my parents' backyard. He'd fastened himself between the deck railing and the patio furniture (apparently that particular chair hadn't been sat in for awhile). I was fascinated by his green coloring -- I'd never seen a green spider before. He was very cooperative for his photo shoot.

Great for the outdoor enthusiast or an arachnologist (because everybody knows one of those!).

Fresh after rain

2010-03-09T12:00:00.001-05:00

I loved these flowers. I found them around a local shopping center last Summer. It was in a ruthless July rainstorm, and they just looked so bright, especially with the sky still gray.

Abstract basket

2010-03-05T12:00:00.003-05:00

Got beans?

2010-02-26T12:00:00.004-05:00

For the foodie:

Numbers in blue

2010-02-19T12:00:00.003-05:00

For the numbers nerd. Or just anyone who likes a contemporary look or bright colors.

Time in black and white

2010-02-12T12:00:00.003-05:00

This clock is at the entrance to a nearby hotel that my mom sometimes stays at when she comes to visit. I love it!

Brown-eyed Susans

2010-02-05T12:00:00.002-05:00

Believe it or not, these beauties were snapped on a whim one day on my way out to the garage to get in the car to go to church.

Vintage Checkers

2010-01-29T12:00:00.003-05:00

Yes, these are dried out slices of Indian corn on the cob. They are one half of a game of checkers.

Simple daisies

2010-01-22T12:00:00.002-05:00

Rain-kissed Autumn

2010-01-15T12:45:00.006-05:00

I wanted to upload some of the "fine art" photos that I've taken. If you are interested in purchasing any of them for display in your home, please contact me at the email address in the sidebar.

The Huxel Family

2009-12-24T20:21:00.002-05:00

We drove out to Kirtland to take some pictures yesterday. Even though it was cold, there was no snow or rain, so we were able to shoot outdoors, and then run inside when we needed to warm back up. Here are some favorites:

A little boy time:

This might be my favorite from this session:

Daddy-daughter time:
This little boy is just so sweet. He's always such a happy kid:

I love this picture of motherhood:

Unfortunately, it's difficult to get a 19 month old to do what you want:

The Lieby girls

2009-12-22T23:10:00.007-05:00

My very first "official" photo shoot ever. I was a little nervous. My best friend is one of these women (the one in the red) and the other two are her sisters. They hadn't had pictures done together since before the youngest was married, and they were really excited to have them done. No pressure, right? I've never done a real shoot before -- I've only photographed my daughter, and of course I think those photos turn out great! To start out, because of scheduling and time constraints, we couldn't start until 7:30pm. So we had to work indoors, with so-so lighting and the camera flash. Second, because I'm not on my feet yet, I'm borrowing a friend's camera (also test-driving it to before I buy one), and for some reason, I didn't get the battery charger from them, and the battery died in the middle of our shoot. So I had to borrow my best friend's camera to finish the "fun" photos. But here's a sampling of some of my favorites: