Embrace the Haze

Nick is halfway through his exams....only two more days to go.
They started last Thursday and the stress is definitely getting to him. I can see it in his demeanor and hear it in his voice. It's so tough.....they know these are their last days, yet they still have to make sure they keep their heads in the game until the bitter end.
We will all be happy when this week is over.


And just as Nick is wrapping up his school year, I am also finishing up my "Push Past Your Comfort Zone", 8 week photography class. Every Sunday, I have been writing the lesson for the coming week and this week's lesson was on Back-lighting, Sun Flares, and Silhouettes. I took Nick in the backyard on Sunday night to do a few quick examples......and ended up really loving these because they are so not my norm.

You can use actions to give your photos sun flare and I DO LOVE using those from time to time, but this class is not about photoshop, it is about achieving things in camera, as I did with these.

I am sort of sad that this 8 week course is coming to an end. I have had such a great time teaching and corresponding each night on facebook with this talented group of ladies. They signed up so I would push them and take their photography skills to the next level......and while doing that, I feel like they also helped to push me as a teacher and a photographer.
Kind of funny how that works:)

The plan was to take a break after this class concluded, but I have decided to run this particular class one more time. Details will be coming soon!

Sunday Snapshot - "Adventures in Grocery Shopping"

After yesterday's trip to the Berry Farm, we had to make a quick stop at the grocery store before heading home. When we got to the front of the store Sarah was disappointed to see that there weren't any "Car Shopping Carts" available. One of the young employees overheard her and he offered to check all the collection areas in the parking lot.
Within minutes, he appeared with a car shopping cart fit for two!


He totally made Sarah's day!


In true Reags fashion, she was a little skeptical at first, but as soon as the wheels of that cart were put into motion, the fingers came out of her mouth.....


And that big beautiful smile appeared!!


There were lots of giggles coming from the front of the cart and they caused quite a stir as we made our way up and down the aisles.

Usually, I do not take my camera to the grocery store but I happened to have it with me because of our trip to the strawberry farm. When I saw the look on the girls faces in that car, I knew the camera was going to come out of my bag. The very first aisle we hit in the store was completely empty so I acted quickly. That top photo was totally caught in the moment and makes me laugh every time I look at it! I also love how the seat between the two girls almost resembles a heart.

Camera: Canon 5d Markiii
Lens: 85mm f1.4
The settings for the top photo were:
f3.2
SS 1/160th
ISO 800

All photos in this series were processed with a touch of Florabella's Classic Color and then they were laid out using her new Color Matte and Design Kit.
And just for fun, I applied a radial blur to the top photo to give the illusion of motion.
Kind of looks like the cart is toppling over, doesn't it?


Make sure you swing by Stef's blog and check out everyone's super Sunday Snapshots.

Strawberry

We have been waiting....


and checking in weekly with our local berry farm.


Yesterday they updated their website and today is the first day they are open for picking!!!


We have our baskets ready and our favorite strawberry pie recipe on hand.

To the strawberry fields we go!!!

~Happy Memorial Day Weekend~

Just Around the Corner

The other day I had mentioned that Nick has been busy with lots of end of the school year activities and last week was one that he was really looking forward to. The 8th Grade dinner dance.....which required them to get dressed up in their finest. He looked so handsome and grown up.

Things are changing so very quickly for him. I can hardly believe that high school is just around the corner and in about a year and a half he will be behind the wheel of the car.

About two months ago when we registered Nick at the high school, we had to go through and select all of his classes for his Freshman year. GOSH, things sure have changed since I went to high school. The choices these kids have are endless. I could not believe the selection of electives available to our children. We are fortunate to live a a great school district where the high school is new. It is so big it looks more like a college campus than a high school.

The catholic school that he goes to now only has about 65-75 kids to a class so it is very small and he knows everyone.... and the local high school probably has about 700 students per grade. I personally thought Nick would be somewhat nervous about this kind of change but he is really very excited and cannot wait to attend the new school.

We met with the guidance counselor to give him Nick's class selections and he spent a good deal of time telling us all the things that would be available to him. Nick was very excited to hear about all the extra curricular activities and clubs they had in place. I anticipate that he will be very busy come Fall.

For now, I think he is looking forward to a summer of fun with his friends.


On Saturday he met up with a group of "friends" to play some mini-golf and when I pulled into the parking lot, he jumped out of the car faster than the speed of light. Thanks to the camera on my Iphone, I was able to capture the two photos above. Check out the one on the right. Notice two of his "fiends" approaching at 11 o'clock? Yes, we are ALL ABOUT THE G!RLS right now. The little boy who never cared what he wore or looked like, is all about his appearance and how he smells. I open his bedroom door holding my breath most of the time so I don't inhale half a bottle of cologne. He has also started working out daily thanks to Mimi and Coachie who set him up with his own gym equipment in our basement. He goes down there and lifts weights, uses the punching bag, and occasionally runs on the treadmill.

Whether I am ready for it or not, there is no denying it, my baby boy is growing up.