Audrey Litfin "the blog"

2008-08-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

MOVING TO A NEW BLOG...
I've been debating it for a while but just never did it. Well, I finally switched over to a new blog: http://www.audreylitfin.com/blog. Please update your links/bookmarks!! I LOVE being able to upload larger pictures now!! See you over there!
Audrey

2008-08-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

Adorable Kylee....

This is the second time that I've taking pictures of Kylee and I just cannot get enough of that adorable face!!! She is just too dang cute. It's definitely a challenge trying to get a two-year old's attention long enough to snap a few pictures but I found a couple little things that seemed to work. It didn't hurt that we were close to the railroad tracks either. Every time she'd hear one, she'd get so excited!

Thanks for stopping by!
Audrey

2008-07-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

One Year Old....

We took his one year pictures on his actual birthday, what a treat for me!!! This guy was so much fun. He went through four outfit changes and was in a great mood!! Either he was exceptionally happy or maybe I'm finally breaking through and not scaring kiddos as much as I used to back in the day. I can still remember getting sweaty palms as soon as the baby I was holding would start crying and I would rush to give 'em back. Now I'm starting to feel more and more confident with them. I'm sure that Noah had something to do with it!

TFL!
Audrey

2008-07-23T07:24:00.001-07:00

The "Fam"...

What a great family and what a great time I had taking these pictures!! Thankfully, we started out pretty early in the morning because I was already breaking a sweat by the time we finished (at 9:30 AM)!!! It has been a hot couple of weeks. I got the chance to search for some new backgrounds and I found a few more great spots that I'll definitely be using again!

Anyway, here's a sneak peak at this family session!

TFL!
Audrey

Bone or Treat?

2008-07-17T10:46:00.003-07:00

Bone or Treat?, originally uploaded by alitfin21.

Rudy couldn't decide whether to hold on to the bone or drop it in exchange for the treat I was holding!!
Man, it has been HOT the past few weeks!! Though I've been bummed that I haven't had any sessions lately, it's probably a good thing. I couldn't imagine trying to edit out sweat from every picture!! :) I have a family session lined up for Sunday so I'm really excited for that.
TFL!
Audrey

2008-06-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

FORD RACING......

After almost 9 years, the husband FINALLY got to take his 1964 Ford Pickup back on the race track. With a new engine (460) and a lot of extras, he beat his old time by nearly 2 1/2 seconds!!! Running 15's...not bad for a 3/4 ton pickup! It was All Ford Day so there were Mustangs galore but Brad's pickup stood out, he got a lot of compliments....mostly from the older guys who appreciate the older vehicles. It was a lot of work getting there and I was stressed out (as I'm the worrier) but we made it there and back safe and sound!!

I've uploaded my first video clip so hopefully it works! I apologize for the shaky video, shame on me!

TFL!
Audrey

2008-06-18T13:56:00.001-07:00

Another funny one!!, originally uploaded by alitfin21.

These kiddos were so amazing. Mom is one of my best friends and so Gabby told her brother to be on his best behavior for "mommy's friend." They did so good, much easier to move around then 18 month olds!

High 5

2008-06-16T07:24:00.001-07:00

High 5, originally uploaded by alitfin21.

Cody wanted to say "hi (5)!"
I wish Flickr would let me post more than one picture at a time. :)

My brother

2008-06-09T14:26:00.001-07:00

My brother, originally uploaded by alitfin21.

Never a dull moment with this guy. I'm actually surprised that I got so many shots of him with a straight face. Majority of the time we were both cracking jokes and laughing. This is the 3rd session I've done with him. It's always so much fun being able to chat and know the person already. And when all other conversation fails, we've always got lines from movies to quote. I think that is his favorite passtime.
Til next time,
Audrey

2008-06-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

Going LIVE!!!
I got my bludomain link last night and have been working non-stop to get my site ready to go. Of course, I got the "audrey" site (though I"m no Audrey Woulard). I just put in a request to go live. If you want to check it out early, it's here.
Please let me know if you see any problems with pictures, colors, logo, etc.
Thank you to everyone that commented on my logos, there was definitely some variety. I am using my old logo for the splash page and will probably update it later. I am using the text version of a logo on the actual website right now since I can't figure out how to change my logo colors.
I'm super excited. It was such a beautiful day out and I missed the majority of it. Better go catch a few hours of sunshine!!
Thanks for stopping by!
Audrey

2008-06-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

The Logo Crisis.....
I get so nit-picky over the small stuff. I've changed my logo so many times. They never seem to last more than a few months and I'm ready for something different. So I have spent the last 3 days working on some ideas for a new logo, one that I'm hoping will stick for a while. I'd love to hear any feedback on these and get some help from you on which one you like the best. Right now, my actual website logo is #7 and my watermark logo is like #4. What do you think?????

I'm 27!!!

2008-06-02T14:28:00.001-07:00

IMG_1651 (4x6), originally uploaded by alitfin21.

I might be 27, heck I probably look older (thanks to 27 years of lovin' too much sunshine) but I definitely don't feel 27.
Once a year, I get one day to do whatever I want to do. So on May 28th, we spent the morning on a bike ride, then we took the dogs for a long walk and to play down by the river. Then I convinced Brad to get dressed up and we took pictures of each other. I had to do some fun jumping ones just to prove I don't feel 27. :)
Maybe that is why my back is so sore.....haha
Thanks for stopping by my lonely blog,
Audrey

Totally Worth It

2008-05-01T09:54:00.001-07:00

Totally Worth It, originally uploaded by alitfin21.

They can be such a pain in the butt some days but it's totally worth it!!

2008-04-18T08:18:00.001-07:00

Fave Session......

This was one of those sessions where everything just worked out with ease. The sun was out, we found some great new spots and she was sooo photogenic. I love doing senior shoots, especially girls. Just so much fun. I'm learning that I have a much easier time posing one person vs groups of people!! And definitely easier than trying to get tack sharp shots of toddlers sprinting back and forth with me breathing heavily a few steps behind. :) Awww....if only they all went so well. :)

To explain the picture of her on the bench, that is a memorial for her dad. He was the PE teacher for a small town middle school here and they named the middle school gym after him. So we decided to meet at the gym and just happened to see this memorial as we were walking by.

I'm so happy to see the sun finally staying out longer in the evenings!!! And the past few days of temps in the 70s has been awesome!! Softball is starting up again and we've got a great team, looking forward to a good season!! It definitely is a little hard trying to book sessions around softball tournaments on weekends. I'm not used to people calling 8 months in advance!!
I've committed to taking on my 2nd wedding in September. I've done a few sessions for them already and they are the sweetest couple so I am really looking forward to their wedding. I won't accept any weddings unless I know them ahead of time. It makes me a lot less nervous about ending up in a chaotic situation facing a bridezilla!! :)

Today is my brother and sister's birthday - they are 23!!! Can't believe they could be that old. Seems I was 23 just a year ago but arggggghhhh....I am approaching 27 next month. Happy Birthday you 2!!!!!!

Speaking of aging (haha), I am off to my 2nd micro dermabrasion appt this afternoon. Years and years of enjoying sunshine is finally catching up with me. I've got some age spots that have been bothering me for over a year and I finally bit the bullet and saved up to do something about it!! My first appt didn't really have many results so I'm hoping that I will see some change with this one. I was told that I will need about 4-5 sessions.

Happy Friday,

Audrey

2008-04-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

FINALLY......

It's been about a month since my last session, they seem to come in spurts. None for a month and then BAM.....I had 3 this weekend (maternity, family/kiddo, senior)!! I spent my entire Saturday and Sunday night editing pictures. Once I sit down, I can't get back up until I finish one session. On nights like the last two, Brad usually teases me about disappearing into the computer room for hours on end, wondering if his wife has left him for the computer. :)

Here are a few pics from the maternity session I had on Saturday night. Talk about adorable, I know there is no way that I would ever look this cute. We had a blast and she came very well prepared with an armload of clothes for me to pick through. She had some really cute stuff so I had a hard time deciding. We had a great time though!! I can't believe she still has 7 more weeks to go!!

TFL!
Audrey

Fascinated

2008-04-10T09:02:00.001-07:00

Fascinated, originally uploaded by alitfin21.

Shame on me! I haven't been blogging steadily lately....haven't had any shoots for a couple weeks. But as usual, they seem to come in spurts. I have 3 lined up for this weekend!! I'm excited, I've got a senior session, a family session and a maternity!! I can't wait!!
In the meantime, here's another shot from a few weeks ago of my nephew, Noah. Thank goodness for bubbles, it was the only way to keep him in one place!! :)
TFL!
Audrey

Packed and Ready to Go

2008-04-03T14:01:00.001-07:00

Packed and Ready to Go, originally uploaded by alitfin21.

I had so much fun taking Noah's pictures while I was off from work. But of course the Colorado weather wasn't cooperating so I definitely didn't get to take as many pictures as I wanted to. I had lots of ideas but not enough time.
He did so good during this session. He cooperated much better than the last time I tried to take a few pictures. When "mom" told him to climb in, he listened so well. He's growing up so much. It just amazes me how every time I see him, he has changed so much and learned so many new things.
Til next time....
Audrey

Trying Presets for the 1st time!!

2008-03-31T09:06:00.001-07:00

Retro, originally uploaded by alitfin21.

I bought some new presets and have been playing around with them. It's amazing how what works with one photo looks completely strange on another!! I like how this one turned out!!
I just love the variety of options that I have now. Now that I'm finally getting my own post processing figured out, it's time to expand and try some new things.
Here's a picture of my sister from a few months back. I used Detra's retroFADE preset on this. I only had to adjust the exposure and contrast a tad in Adobe Camera RAW!!

The Cutest Kiddo EVER

2008-03-24T09:11:00.001-07:00

Eye Contact!!, originally uploaded by alitfin21.

Okay, maybe I'm a little partial being his aunt....but seriously, this face makes me melt!!

2008-03-10T13:48:00.000-07:00

E-SESSION + ONE......

I had the opportunity to do an e-session for this adorable couple. I was more than excited when "K" asked me if we could do some of the pictures with their adorable weimaraner, Cooper. Now anyone that knows me knows that I am an animal LOVER, more specifically a dog lover. So I was super excited. I just love big breeds and weineraners are such a unique color. I had a great time, that dog was so photogenic. I even got a few head tilts from him when I made the right whistling sound.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Audrey

2008-03-07T08:11:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post.....

This past Saturday, we had a great WARM sunny day.....finally!! I spent most of it outside soaking up the sun. Of course, I just had to get a few pictures of the boys and since I haven't posted any personal pics in a while, here they are. And of course, one dumb one of me. :)

It's been off and on weather ever since, gotta love Colorado.

Have another e-session this Sunday, will post pics soon!!

Oh, and I finally got a flickr account!!

Until next time,

Audrey

2008-02-29T08:22:00.000-08:00

E-SESSION....

These are quickly becoming some of my favorite shoots. Once we get the uncomfortable first few pics out of the way when everyone is still a little shy, they breaks out of their shells and the posing begins! :) With J & J, they had some very fun poses of their own (which makes my job a whole lot easier). And we were lucky enough to have a few overcast moments when we got to play on the railroad tracks...YAY!

I am sooooo loving this new location I found. So much variety without having to travel so far. Gotta love that!

Thanks you 2, I hope that you like them!!

Audrey

2008-02-25T08:34:00.000-08:00

ON THE GO.....

It's completely different going from shooting people that you can position and pose to kiddos that you're just trying to catch a second of eye contact from. I took at least triple the amount of pictures that I usually take at a photo session with less of them turning out. It's that age, being completely interested in what you are experiencing, not what the photographer is trying to get you to look at. And there's always a moment when you know the session is over, when you know they're just DONE. I love photographing kids but I definitely need to start bringing something to keep them engaged in, even if that only lasts for a few seconds.

With every session there is always something new to learn, always another new experience. I love that challenge.

Thank you to G & A for letting me attempt to capture a few smiles from a few adorable boys. I hope that you like them!!! Here are a few of my faves....

TFL!
Audrey

2008-02-18T08:42:00.000-08:00

TALK ABOUT PHOTOGENIC.....

This is the #1 reason why I stay behind the camera and let my little sis do all the posing. She's a natural. We had such a blast and I found some great new spots to take pictures. :) I'm trying to talk my other sister into posing too but she's not quite as willing even though she is absolutely beautiful. I'll guilt her into it eventually.....

Good thing we went on Saturday. Even though I heard it was supposed to be a great weekend, the weather turned nasty by Saturday evening and Sunday was just miserably cold and windy. I wanted to take some good outdoor pictures of Noah with a new hat I got from Nana Banana Designs but it was just too dang cold. So that'll have to wait. I've decided that his photo is always the picture on the front page of my website and I like to update/change frequently. Oh boy, he's going to hate my camera......

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Audrey

2008-02-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

GETTING THE ITCH.....

It's been a few weeks since I've had a session so I sent out an early morning text to the siblings on Saturday, asking who wanted to be my model for the day. My brother happily obliged, once he got my text after waking up at 11:00 AM. :) I've been really wanting to find some new locations and so we drove all over the place. Found a couple new spots. My sister saw his pictures and is already wanting to do hers so I'll be driving around again hopefully this weekend with her! It's always fun with them, we just get kinda goofy with poses and have fun with it! I'm going to try bringing out my 580ex on my next shoot. There were far too many shadows on his face for my liking. Also, sometimes I focus more on finding the locations than finding the light...shame on me! Always something to work on though....always.

Thanks Tracy!!

2008-02-10T20:02:00.000-08:00

WHO DOESN'T LOVE A SUNSET?

I've been wanting to try to get a sunset shot for sooo long. But it's never until the amazing colors are already hitting the clouds and I'm in the middle of town, blocked by a bunch of houses, telephone poles and trees. But tonight, we were driving home from volleyball and I got the itch. So we drove out of town and I got a few shots. The colors didn't hit quite the way I was hoping but it was fun to actually sit and watch the sun go down. Made me take a second to really take notice of one of God's many amazing gifts. He's a definite artist!!

While editing the pictures, I really got a chance to see how bad my camera sensor needs cleaned. When you're taking a picture of sky, there's no way you can miss seeing all the dust spots. So I had to do a lot of "healing" to get rid of them. Dang it, I don't want to send my camera in somewhere......

Anyway, I'm just bored on a Sunday evening so enjoy!!
Until next time.....

Audrey

2008-02-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

HOLY CRAPOLY.....

I scrapped!! When I first started doing digital scrapbooking, I was doing layouts daily. Over the past year, I have slacked off so bad. Not on purpose, but I spent so much more of my free time studying photography and focusing more on that, though I've missed feeling like I'm a part of the digi-scrapping world so so bad. So it was great to have so many kits released by Heather Ann Melzner and Shabby Miss Jenn recently to push me to get motivated to start scrapbooking again. Thanks girlies!!!! For me, scrapbooking is exactly what I need, getting all my emotions documented. So when I get them printed and start going through the albums months later, I can remember exactly what I was feeling all over again. And when I'm bored and sick of watching TV, I'll usually creep over to the shelf I have my scrapbook albums sitting on and start going through them page by page. I have one album for Brad & I, one for the dogs (pathetic to most of you I know, but no kids so cut me some slack), and one for my family/friends. All of them are getting pretty full so soon, I will need to start up #2 albums of all of them. Not only is it fun to relive old memories, but it's also fun to see how my style changes over the years.

Thanks for stopping by,

Audrey

2008-01-28T13:11:00.000-08:00

OH THE CHALLENGE.....

Getting one of these shots is definitely harder than it looks. Trying to hold a treat in one hand while maneuvering my camera with the other, all while trying to coax the dogs into staying in this position long enough for me to focus and take the shot(s)......sometimes it's more aggravating than it's worth. That is....until a few of them turn out!

2008-01-21T12:35:00.001-08:00

MY NEW TOY!!!!!

I've been wanting a macro lens for a while but kept putting it off as I knew it would be more for fun than business. But I couldn't resist this year! Finally got the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 macro. Along with it, I also purchased a set of extension tubes. Of course, I picked the coldest, ugliest part of the year to buy it so I made a quick run to town and picked up a $1.99 tiny cactus plant to practice on. It definitely is addicting!! And the final product was much more appealing than the shots I had taken in 20 degree weather the day before outside!!!

I've definitely got a lot of practicing ahead of me. I want to get dew drops on flower petals and all sorts of things but the little cactus wasn't holding the water up very well so I settled for just practicing manual focus!! It really is funny how I can waste away 1/2 a day doing this sort of thing. But since I had the day off, I figured it beat cleaning. And since the day's high is only supposed to be 15 degrees (it's only 8 right now), I won't be going outside any time soon.

With the cold weather, I am starting to feel like a caged animal, as I'm sure the dogs are starting to feel as well when I skip a few days of taking them running. It's definitely giving me the itch to move but we are having a horrible time finding houses we like. Everyone keeps saying this is the time to buy but we're so particular about what we want that it seems like we're never going to find it! After having a bigger yard, I can't comprehend how people can live on these tiny lots in newer subdivisions. I guess everyone's different about what they want in a house. I just wish I could find an older house on a large lot, close to the edge of town, near a place where I can go running, with either a large garage/shop or room to build. Sad thing is we have that all now, we're just missing the room inside the house. Some day, I'm sure we'll find something....but it just seems like it's been an eternity already.

Okay, now I'm just rambling. Thanks for stopping by :)
Audrey

2008-01-14T08:59:00.000-08:00

First Session of the Year....

This adorable little girl was my first session of the year and one of the easiest sessions I've had in a while. She was wide awake the entire time and happy as could be. I took a TON of pictures, more than I knew I needed to but I was just so happy to have a session with so much ease. Every year, our local newspaper does a huge special edition print, this year of course is called "Babies of 2008." So she will be using one of the pictures for her little darling's pictures which is exciting for me!

Aside from this session, it's been a little slow which couldn't have come at a better time as I am recovering from a cold that knocked me flat on my butt for a week. I haven't been sick in a while but when I do get sick, it takes it out of me. I didn't eat for 3 days and lost my voice for nearly 4! I did enjoy the not eating part as I was hoping that I'd shrink down a few sizes but that didn't happen. I guess the next cold will have to hit me harder. haha. I've been using the free time to start experimenting on my brand new Christmas present, a macro lens!!!!! Pictures to come I'm sure.

I hope that everyone had a great holiday season. Personally, I can't WAIT for some warm weather again. :)

2007-12-31T12:55:00.000-08:00

BORED....

Am I the only one in the world that can actually get bored when they're on vacation? I spent most of the day pacing trying to decide what to do until the day has passed and nothing has gotten done. I get so excited when Brad gets home and I want to do so many things but that's the last thing he's thinking after a long day. So I spent the evening poking and tickling at him. Poor guy. :) Along with being off work for the last 2 weeks, I have had NO sports. They always cancel games around the holidays so now I'm doubly bored. :) It makes me realize how much I need that outlet to keep me sane.

So here it is, the end of 2007 already. Seems this year went by really fast. It's been a good year, nothing too exciting but nothing bad so I can't complain. I've LOVE LOVE LOVED being an aunt and it's been amazing being able to not only spent time with Noah as he grows but also document those changes with pictures. My only big hope for 2008 is that Brad and I can be able to move into a new house. We've been looking for a couple years now. Brad doesn't want to sell our house first but with the bad housing market right now, we may find the house of our dreams and not be able to get it if we can't sell ours. It's always a gamble I guess. But that will hopefully be our big thing for 2008!!

I'll leave you with a few pictures from the past 2 sessions and of course, a few recent ones of Noah when I babysat him a few days ago. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

2007-12-12T09:28:00.000-08:00

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR......
the hustle and bustle of a December 25th deadline!! Trying to get Christmas cards ordered and praying they get here in time to get delivered before Christmas......

I had a BUSY weekend last week with 3 photo sessions, one being for a corporate Christmas party in Denver. Of course, that was the night we had the Colorado snowstorm hit so it took quite a while longer to get there. But we made it safe and sound thanks to my trusty ole '93 4Runner. It's the one time a year when I don't mind the bad gas mileage. :) While Brad & I were setting up, we had a photographer who was taking pictures at another event down the hall stop by and introduce himself. He was asking A LOT of questions and I thought he was at first trying to bash my setup. But the more he talked, the more I realized he was actually very intrigued by my setup. He asked if he could come back and see a few pictures on my camera. When he did stop by a few hours later, he was really impressed with the pictures. Then he started asking me questions about PhotoShop, etc. What a great feeling to be quizzed by a person who takes those kinds of pictures all the time (this being my first time)!! I need to definitely get more confident in trusting that I know what I'm doing. When we compared shots, I walked away feeling MUCH better about the pictures that I had taken. It was a great feeling!

Here are some shots from a studio session I did with one of my friends and her 2 year old daughter. Talk about entertaining! :) That girl is adorable!

And here are some I took of my sister, brother-in-law, and of course my cute nephew who was enjoying the snow until he tried walking (so we could snap a few shots) and wiped out. Once his jeans got cold, we hauled it back to the house FAST!

And of course, my two boys enjoying the snow......

2007-12-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

MY CRAZY FAMILY......

It's always chaos when we get together (which is often) but we have fun!! This was definitely no exeption. Not only was there a lot of ideas shooting back and forth for trying to pose everyone (which was extremely hard for me - large group are definitely not my strength), but we were also trying to hustle as it was cold out and Noah wasn't feeling the greatest. But we managed to get some pretty creative shots in, enough for mom to get her Christmas Card picture and for all the kiddos to get a few shots of themselves in. My little sister is definitely the camera "queen" as she LOVES the camera. But she has to fight off her twin brother too (and yes girls, that is "Magnum" (for any of you that are Zoolander fans). My older sister always criticizes how she looks in pictures, I have NO IDEA why.....she's beautiful. But we've all got our own issues I guess. I'm always trying to hide my big butt and thighs while trying to stick out my neck to avoid a "double chin." haha, but that's just life isn't it!

I'm so lucky to have a family this close. And for that, I'm very thankful!!

2007-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Since the Christmas Cards are already sent out......

I can finally post this picture. This is becoming a Christmas tradition. Always a 4x8 card with a picture of the dogs followed by a picture of Brad & I (4x6). The dogs enjoy it as they get a lot of treats for their cooperation. It's the only way that I can get their ears to stay up. I always get a lot of comments on how I get them to pose so well but I've got to say, I do have some great dogs. And though there are some people that can't understand why I would send out pictures of my dogs, they are a part of the family. And if they can pose better than even Brad and I, why wouldn't I capture a few pics to share??? :)

All ABout Me - Holiday Edition.

Just something I found on another blog and thought I'd do to try getting in the Christmas Spirit!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper. I take one Saturday afternoon to wrap up EVERYTHING while watching a Christmas movie.

2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial. I'm scared to death of a real tree getting too dry and starting on fire. :)

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually about a week after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? HAHA, the day after Christmas. :)

5. Do you like eggnog? Not really. I can only handle about a sip and I've had enough.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Oh man, I don't even know. There were so so many. Santa always knew exactly what would make me happy. Santa sometimes left us a "family gift" and one year we got a foosball table. That was a great gift!! But like I said, hard to pick. Every year was a great year!

7. Do you have a nativity scene? I have a small one that I set up on my entertainment center but I'm not putting it up this year because I have NO ROOM in my tiny house. I have stuff piled on the entertainment center already (photography props mostly) and I have no where to put those.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My dad and my in-laws. Thank goodness that we have everyone email out Christmas lists now!!!

9. Easiest person to buy for? Brad, and I love to splurge on him. :)

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't remember one really. My parents always made Christmas so special. Though a couple of years ago, Brad had a bad experience. His dad forgot that he had Brad's name and bought something for his brother instead. So his brother got two gifts, Brad got none. His dad felt awful and gave him $ but Brad felt a little forgotten that year.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? I LOVE sending out Christmas cards!! I always do a 4x8 card with a Christmas picture of the dogs and then a seperate picture of just Brad & I.

12. Favorite Christmas movie? "A Christmas Story."

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I am all about shopping on 5AM on Black Friday. Not sure why but it's just become a tradition. I usually go with my younger sister and my mom, then we meet up with a bunch of aunts and cousins throughout the day. I aim to finish my shopping that day but I didn't meet that this year. haha. We always draw names and by the end of Black Friday, I know who 1/2 of the family has. :)

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No way, I'd be scared someone would find out. That's why we always make Christmas lists. So you get some stuff you want!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? FOOD!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Colored. We buy the ones that do different things. It about makes you go cross-eyed when you watch them for too long.

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night. I love playing it on the piano.

18. Travel for Christmas or stay home? We stay close by. Our family lives close by so we never have to drive further than about 15 minutes away from our house!

19. Can you name all of Santa's' reindeer? Sure, if I sing the song. :)

20. Angel on the treetop or a star? Neither, I'm lame!

21. Open the presents Christmas eve or morning? We start with Christmas Eve at my parents house. We trade gifts and open them. Then when Brad & I get home, we open one "small" gift. Then Santa comes and we have our good gifts in the morning. Then we head over to Brad's parents house and do a gift exchange there.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? I hate the sale gimmicks. How you think you're getting some great deal and then find out you can only save $5 if you do the mail in rebate and it takes 3 years to get the money. Just stupid stuff like that.

23. What I love most about Christmas? Of course, I love what Christmas truly represents and that people talk more openly about Jesus. I love that people get dressed up and go to church. I love that people generally have a much happier and considerate attitude. I love it all (aside from the cold weather).

2007-11-26T07:40:00.000-08:00

A BUSY "VACATION"........

Vacation from my "real job" that is. While on Thanksgiving vacation for 2 days + the weekend, I had 4 sessions!! I'm sure that's not a lot for full-time photographers but definitely a lot for me!! A lot of work, but very exciting. Of course, one of those was my own family so I don't know if that counts. I'll have to post pictures for that later on. There's definitely some variety. :)

Meet "A" and "S" and don't forget their two sidekicks, Bridget and Scotchie. We had to get a few shots of the four of them!! It was a cold outdoor portion of the shoot but they didn't complain once. By the time we headed back to my house for the studio shots, my hands were 1/2 frozen. I think I have some seriously bad blood circulation as when we my hands get really cold, my fingernails turn blue!!!! It happens a lot during the winter when I'm on the computer editing pictures. Can you tell I'm cheap when it comes to heating my house? haha

As always, thanks for stopping by and checking my blog out!

2007-11-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

Fun Family Session.....

I had a blast w/ this photo session. Kylie definitely keep me on my toes. She gave me about 1 second of eye contact before she was off running again, it was a challenge yet made things so much fun!!! Her parents were sure she'd sleep good that night, I definitely did. :) I did push myself to find a few new locations and ended up really excited with one especially that I found. Now I'm trying to talk Brad into doing yet another picture session w/ me and the camera timer. :) We were aiming for yesterday afternoon but it got dark and dreary really fast so we pushed it out yet another week.

This was my first session in a month!! Now I've got another one Wednesday and Saturday, they definitely come in spurts! :) I don't mind though, usually at the end of one spurt I am looking forward to a break. My brain gets on overload pretty easy these days and I stress a lot about upcoming sessions.

I couldn't decide which ones to post, there were so many that I love from this session. Hope you enjoy!!

TFL!
Audrey

2007-11-06T06:53:00.000-08:00

OH, THAT FACE......

I am always disgusted with my indoor shots, the flash is still not my friend. I just never think the color looks right so I go back and forth on editing until my eyes are about cross-eyed. So on Sunday afternoon, we got Noah out in the front yard and started shooting away in some natural light (which I just LOVE). It was such a nice day, a little breezy but lots of sunshine and I know that probably won't last too much long so we had to take advantage of it. It is so hard to keep a (almost) 1-year old's attention on you. It took a lot of jabbering, tickling, noise making, you name it! But always in the end, totally worth it. :) Makes me thankful that the dogs are so easy to shoot pictures of with either a treat or a ball. :) And I got a good couple of pictures of my mom and Noah, can you tell she just LOVES being a grandma?

2007-11-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

A HILARIOUS HALLOWEEN.....
When I opened the door and saw this face, how could I not smile? He was even grunting which WE of course translated as a lion growling. :) Even my sister got dressed up!! It was just too cute! Had we been thinking ahead, Brad and I should've tackled Jeremy (Noah's papa) and painted a few whiskers on his face for not dressing up too...haha. That would've been a challenge. :) Of course, we weren't dressed up either. When you don't have kids (and I personally think dressing up dogs is just mean), it's kinda pathetic to see two grown adults dressed up and walking around the neighborhood collecting candy....hahahaha. We were actually outside bumping the volleyball when one of Brad's coworkers drove up. After that, we figured we better head back inside and do things the right way. Though, we only ended up getting about 7 trick-or-treaters. So I brought A LOT of candy to work!!
But the funniest part of their visit was when Brad had him try a lollipop. The look on his face and the wide eyed surprise got us laughing so hard. Then after the next lick, his mouth got all big and he let out a long growl of enjoyment.....it was beyond hilarious.
Enjoy the pics! The last one was the one I really wish would've been in focus, a true photo of the moment. :)

As always, thanks for stopping by,

2007-10-22T10:41:00.000-07:00

Mr. PERSONALITY....

My nephew, Noah, is growing up so stinkin’ fast. Every time that I see him, he’s changed so much, it amazes me. I know that's what everyone says but it makes much more sense after you've experienced seeing it yourself!!! :) It was no different when last Sunday, we had dinner at my parent’s house. He was decked out in a “mini” Broncos jersey and making the funniest faces. Of course, I just “happened” to bring my camera along and got a few shots of a few of the faces he was making. It's hilarious to watch our entire family (11 of us counting spouses, grandparents) being entertained by him for hours. He’ll be a year old in just a few weeks, can’t believe that! Have I mentioned that I LOVE being an aunt……. :) (Don't forget to click on pictures to see sharper resolution!)

I tried to get on and purchase World Series tickets this morning. They went on sale at 10 AM, only available online. It's ridiculous, I've watched the page time out about 56 times. I'm sure it'll make the news how overloaded it was and total chaos. I figured that I wouldn't get tickets but it was worth a shot I guess.

Brad's birthday is on Wednesday. I have to say, I did really good getting him presents this year. I can't spill the beans on what I got him just yet but I'm sure I'll have pictures to post in a few days! :) Not doing anything too over the top this year, I've got a volleyball game that night so we might grab some dinner before or after. Then it's the first game of the World Series so I'm sure we'll have to catch at least part of that!! I can't believe the winning streak them ole Rockies are on!!!
I had a lazy weekend which I so so needed. I have been feeling so exhausted lately, just unable to catch on my sleep. I LOVE LOVE LOVE taking pictures but it definitely still stresses me out knowing that I've got a shoot coming up so it was nice that nothing was going on last week. Heck, I even made dinner twice last week, that's good for me (pathetic I know). HAHA, I've done more rambling in this post than I have in like the last month!!

Til next time.......

2007-10-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

SENIOR SESSION, GIRL STYLE........

Finally, a girl to photograph!!! Have I mentioned that I just love taking senior pictures? They are just so much fun!!! It's always entertaining to see the different personalities, passions, attitudes and styles.....I love it!! This was "T" and what a sweetheart! She was willing to pose in the strangest of places. She was somewhat shy but definitely knew how to throw a little attitude towards the camera at just the right time. :) It was so much different working on posing her versus the boys I've had previously, but the kind of challenge that I enjoy. Definitely one more thing to add to my list of ongoing things to work on though. I love it all, seniors are just a blast!! And I love shooting outdoors and looking for new locations all the time. I drove home feeling very confident that I'd have quite a few good ones so that made me smile! I hope they like them as much as I do, thanks T!!

ALSO, ON A SIDENOTE.........GO ROCKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-10-09T07:11:00.000-07:00

HUBBA HUBBA.......

I know, I know...... no Ford hat, no t-shirt....it's a miracle!! I actually convinced Brad to comb his hair, put on a nice shirt and pose for a few pictures!! He's so good about doing "couple" pictures but it's a totally different story getting him to pose alone. So I was very grateful, very very grateful (if you're reading this honey, smooches). I tried not to take too many as I'm still going to have to butter him up to take some pictures for our Christmas card!!! :) I really should get the pictures while the leaves are still falling. Last year, I waited too long!! :) I love the first picture but he says it looks like he's going to cry or something.....haha. Everyone has their own opinion I guess.

I know it's shocking but I even got a layout finished using one of my fave pictures from the hubby photo shoot!! Seems like I have slacked off so bad from the digi-scrappin' world but photography has definitely been keeping me busier than I expected.....always something new to learn!! But when Shabby Miss Jenn comes out with a new kit, I just HAVE to play. Her stuff is OH SO GREAT!!! This one was using her new Harvest Night Kit. You have got to check it out!!! I don't know where to post anymore. Seems like SBB has slowed down so so much yet digitalk goes way too fast. I feel disconnected from the digi-world, much more now than in the past. Makes me sad but I blame myself for not posting more often.

On a different note, Rudy had his "procedure" yesterday. At this point, I thought we had no other options, we'd have some answers. But the vet called and said that he didn't find any tumors, x-rays looked good and aside from a ton of build-up, he didn't find anything unusual. After dropping $1000, I was more than a little irritated with the whole situation. They had made it sound like they would have some definites with this. They took some tissue samples and will send those to a lab. They also took a sample of the mucus build-up and will actually "grow it." Not sure why. But gut says they won't have anything from that either. So poor Rudy had a camera up his nose for nothing which has caused him some major bleeding and he looks so sore. The vet told me that because he bled so much, he didn't want him sneezing. Now there's a challenge considering that's the whole reason why he had the procedure. Yesterday, I literally wanted to punch a wall. He's been sneezing, reverse sneezing, hacking and all that crap since March.
Alright, I'm done complaining. Not gonna change the situation, right?

2007-10-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

SOMETHING DIFFERENT.......

Aside from seeing my nephew growing up, I have no perception of what to expect when someone tells me how old their child is. So when an old friend from high school called me up to take some pictures, what I imagined was nothing like how it went. She said 16 months old and I thought he was still young enough that he would sit and smile for the camera and we could sit him down and pose him all day long. HAHA. Along with him, she wanted pictures of him with their 4 month old English Bulldog. So when we met, she set him down and he took off running. I broke a sweat, running back and forth, trying to capture a moment. Most times, I'd run past him and then jump in front of him and say "gotcha." He'd laugh and the second I'd bring my camera up, he would turn his head and start running the opposite way. It was TONS of fun and I ended up loving the pictures much more than if we had posed him.

The bulldog, Harley, was just as cute. And the college students couldn't pass by without doing the typical "ohhhhh...." and petting him for a while. Between him and adorable Calen, they could literally stop pedestrian traffic.

The funniest thing was this leash that mom had brought. Calen would start playing with it and ole Harley would see it and run over and start pulling on it. Calen would immediately plop down on the ground in tears. Good thing I love pictures of crying kiddos, talk about "real life." I just hope my clients like them too!! :)

It was GREAT having them as my first outdoor kiddo session. Quite the experience and even though I was so nervous hoping that I had a few that turned out, it was much more fun than worrying about posing. Mama has requested some B&W collages so I've put together a few for the first time and now think I will add them to my website!!!!

2007-09-28T12:58:00.000-07:00

The prescriptions continue......

We thought we had things figured out w/ Rudy. He's been on heart medication since May and we thought it was working because he wasn't coughing anymore. Only I started doing my own research and found that it wasn't a cough at all, but a reverse sneeze. Then, he started sneezing (a regular sneeze and gross as it is to say, yes there was snot flying). I called the vet (for the umpteenth time) and she put him on a strong antibiotic. It didn't do anything. So I finally decided to go somewhere else. I found a vet clinic with the technology I thought we'd need; a brand new facililty that I knew I was going to pay up the butt for. The vet listened to what I had to say, then told me that she thought it was nasal mites. Everything sounded right; the reverse sneezing, bacterial infection caused the mites, etc. So I dropped $150.00 on the vet bill for some stuff to get rid of the mites and some antiobitics. Guess what.....slight change but now it's back...just as bad.

So now, he's on an antihistamine. He's already been on one (one of his previous 8 medications tried) but the vet says that some don't work w/ certain dogs. So here we are again, experimenting. The next stage, spending $800 - $1000 to stick a camera up his nose. YIKES. Anyone know where I can buy some animal insurance? I'm so frustrated with the whole situation. He's spent too too long reverse sneezing. And in my mind, I know that's why Cody attacked him in the first place. Of course, we can't leave them together (when we leave) until we can figure out what the heck is wrong with Rudy. And the longer this process takes, the more nervous I get that it is something more serious. I hate that he's not healthy. He's always in good spirits and we still go for our daily jogs but it's hard to watch him always sneezing. I guess I'm going to have to really start saving my pennies.

2007-09-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

Trying out a new technique.....
I had yet another senior session and yet another boy, even the same name as my last senior, now that's ironic!!! Good practice for me, posing the guys is getting a little easier. And he really wanted some different stuff, not the traditional foliage and water. So we drove around a little bit. I'm really thanking my brother now for letting me scout out some new locations with him, we did find some good ones. I'm so enjoying this senior stuff!! I am noticing how much more I see paint chips and color on an old building now, it's fun! Still needing to find more places though, I definitely don't want my pics to start looking the same. That's my biggest challenge right now. I do want to find a great open area, a field of something or other. Then I can work on some backlighting. I'm hoping that this weekend (which is supposed to be "the weekend" for fall colors), Brad & I can head up to the mountains and find some great spots so I can get some shots of him for my "B-Rad" wall at work. :)

I decided to try doing a little more fixing in RAW. Then not quite as much in PS. I'm liking the finished product a little more with these. Whatcha think? Can you see a difference?

2007-09-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

POSING COMES NATURAL.....

Since posting pictures of my fake-senior session w/ my 22 year old sister, my brother (her twin) has been hounding me to take pictures of him. So we finally set up an afternoon to drive around town and find some funky lookin' places to take some pictures. I love finding buildings w/ peeling paint and tons of color so we had to drive to the old old old areas in town which are not the the "comfortable" to be walking around in. But we had fun!! It was nice to feel comfortable taking pictures w/ someone who was willing to drive around to wherever. We went to a bunch of different locations and found some great spots. I don't want to get in a rut of going to the same location every time.

2007-09-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

SENIOR #2....ANOTHER BOY!

Meet Cody! We had a lot of fun chatting as we walked around. Thankfully, the dark clouds surrounding us didn't spit out much rain but it sure made it hard to keep shadows from his eyes, especially when I realized that I had mistakenly picked up my translucent reflector instead of my regular reflector. OOPS!! That'll teach me!!

I'm feeling a little more comfortable w/ posing the guys. I realized that I shot far too many close up shots on my last shoot so I tried to get some variety on these. I hope they like 'em!

He sounds like a great kid, wants to go into the Marines! I love listening to these kiddos w/ such drive....it's inspiring! I am really enjoying seniors photos! I hope that I keep getting calls. :) I've already had about 3 people talk to me about wanting pictures once the leaves start to change so we'll see!! One day, maybe just maybe, I can leave my 8 - 5 job and do this full-time!!!

as always, click on the photo to see in full-size image!

2007-09-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

My 1st official senior shoot.....

What an absolutely great way to kick off my 1st senior shoot (that's right, my sister's pictures don't count since she was 22). His mom was actually one of my work studies a few years ago so it was a huge honor that she asked me to take her son's pictures. And of course, it was nice that my first senior session was with someone that I had met before. That helped control the nerves a little (although not completedly). We had a great time, and considering how shy he is and how he doesn't like taking pictures (must be a guy thing), he was willing to walk around and pose for the camera all during a HUGE college wide BBQ that was going on all around us. There were people everywhere and of course, the occassional stare. What a trooper.....

We're planning to do another session as well when the leaves start to fall. I can't wait. But now I really need to start scouting another location, one of my biggest obstacles.

Meet Paul!!

2007-08-28T10:38:00.001-07:00

More from my 1st Wedding Shoot......

2007-08-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

I survived!!!!

The stomach cramps are gone which can only mean one thing.....my 1st wedding photo session is over! I did come to a realization that I don't think that weddings will be "my thing." I want to enjoy taking pictures and though there is some good money in weddings, the stress is overwhelming. But I am proud that I stayed sane through the whole thing and actually walked away with some pictures that I am proud of, I just hope that the adorable couple loves them too!

I had some issues w/ my 580ex flash. The flash exposure compensation didn't seem to do anything. The pictures stayed underexposed and there was no difference at +0 or +3 (the highest it could go). Still haven't figured out what was going on....definitely need to experiment more with my flash. Plus, I just plain SUCK at fixing the color of indoor shots. But once we got outdoors, I had a good time. The groom and groomsmen were definitely entertaining and kept me laughing.

So I survived it all, the wedding and reception. But that wasn't the end of my weekend. The wedding was on a Friday and I had committed to play in a softball tourney in Estes Park so we were planning to drive home that night. We stayed until about 11 PM when they did the last "big events"so we didn't get home until a little after 2 AM (3 hour drive). I think that is the worst I've ever fought staying awake!!

We had Brad's cousin watching the dogs and Brad gave him the wrong key so he had locked the deadbolt which Brad didn't have on his keychain. So we arrived home to a locked house that we couldn't get into. Needless to say, we didn't get to bed right away like we'd hoped!
So we were up again at 6 AM and heading to Estes Park for a softball tourney. Did I forget to mention that I had somehow been deemed in charge of the tourney team and had 4 people back on within one week (2 about 20 minutes before I was starting to take wedding pictures). So I was a raging (insert bad word here) all day!! We spent all day there and part of Sunday so there was my entire weekend. Talk about eventful!!! I remember thinking that this would make for a funny story eventually but that for now, it was anything but funny!! haha

MORE PICTURES TO COME.....

2007-08-16T05:41:00.000-07:00

Leaving on a jet plane.....(okay, in a Ford Pickup but it doesn't have the same tune)

I'm heading to Pueblo in about 3 or 4 hours for the wedding. The wedding is tomorrow but I'll spend today driving to parks and trying to find places at the church.....I'm still tackling the nerves which is why I'm blogging at 6:30 in the morning. :) If I don't post a few of the wedding pics by next week, you'll know how bad it went....haha

I enjoy posting all the stuff from sessions I've been having but lately I feel I haven't been able to take many pictures from home. So here are a few that make me smile......

2007-08-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

I met my new sister-in-law.....

My brother-in-law (my husband's baby brother) got married in June back in Tennessee. He got married at the courthouse and we didn't really know he was doing it. So suddenly, we had a new sister-in-law that we'd never met. They were able to come back this weekend so we finally got a chance to meet her! Can't believe that "B" got married!! Didn't think that would've happened for a long time :)

I was asked to take some family pictures at a little wedding reception that the parents threw for them. I came to a very quick realization that I SUCK at posing larger groups. I'll stick to one person or couples I think!!!! Anyway, while I was horrified by the group/family pics I took, I did manage to drag "B" and "L" out for a few pictures when the reception slowed down.....

2007-08-06T06:54:00.000-07:00

My Fave Shoot so far.....
Okay, so she's my sister and an absolute "natural" in front of the camera. Not to mention she's gorgeous, wish I had a smile like hers! It was so nice being able to focus more on the camera settings and stuff as she was striking most of her own poses. All I had to do was do a quick demonstration of where I wanted her and she'd do her thing! I was really hoping to get a chance to work with some full sun. All of the family shots I've done have ended up being when the clouds come rolling in. I just have that need to conquer finding open shade!! haha But alas, the clouds came again. I tried a little bit of everything on these. Some were all natural light, some needed a little fill flash, and for a few I even broke out the reflector for the first time outside.
So I'll be cornering my brother for pictures next. I've got a senior session lined up in a few weeks and that will be my first so even though my sis and bro are both 22, I still think they could pass for seniors....haha

Enjoy.... (remember to click on images to see the full size).

2007-08-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

6 Years.....

On July 21st, Brad and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary. Hard to believe it has been that long already. When we tell people 6 years, their eyes get big. I know they're trying to picture how old I am. Then they ask and I tell them, "26." Then I can see them wondering if I got prego. :) haha, nope and still no kids!!

It's funny because thinking back, I didn't feel young at all when we got married. I was so ready for marriage. After all, I had found the perfect guy!! And in 6 years, that man of mine has only gotten better. Our first year was hard but we knew it would be....lots of people warned us. We've had our ups and downs but nothing even remotely made me regret the decision I made to marry him.

He knows me better than anybody else and I trust him with everything in the world. I can't say enough good things about this man. All I know is I am one lucky lady to have snagged him!

We each took the week off and of course, I had to get a couple pictures of us! So I begged my sister to take the pictures. I'd take us there, set up everything, she just had to press the button. But as funny as it sounds, not many people can work my camera well. Most pics other people take end up horribly blurry for some reason. My sister did a great job though, I love these pics (though I could stand to lose some serious weight)....but that's a whole other blog entry!!

2007-07-31T07:35:00.000-07:00

Honor to be asked....

Granted, they're not the most creative pictures but it was still an honor to be asked to take pictures of the retired volunteers firefighters for LaSalle. It was a lot of chaos, especially with having to drag ALL my equipment and set up just 45 minutes before people starting showing up. But it all worked out. Brad was a HUGE help. He stayed the entire time, helping me set up, tear down, give suggestions. It helped that he knew basically everyone there since he grew up in LaSalle with his dad on the fire department. I don't know how I would've done it without him. Just having him there kept me calm.

I wanted to have the flag cover the entire background but it just wasn't big enough for some of them. Then we took a HUGE picture outside. I used my tripod but far away shots always look horribly blurry to me. I guess I'm just too used to seeing sharp eyes!!

I'm still FREAKING out about the wedding I'm shooting. I sure wish Pueblo was closer so I could go down again. I won't be back until the day before the wedding. I'm wondering, do most people use their flash when shooting outdoors at weddings too? What is it about wedding photos that has that glamour look? I'm curious to know.....

2007-07-26T06:41:00.001-07:00

6 Years.....
Brad and I are currently on vacation this week, not doing much of anything which is wonderful. We celebrated our 6 year anniversary on Saturday. Well, I wouldn't really say "celebrated." More like, he got up, went and worked out, ran some errands. Then I had a softball tournament in Denver that didn't start until 3 PM. He went with me and we didn't get home until about 12:30 AM. But we both took this week off to just spend some time together which has been wonderful. My sister offered to take some pics of us this evening so I'm so excited about that, hopefully they turn out well!
Yesterday, we drove down to Pueblo (about 3 hours away) and scouted out the location where I will be taking my first (and probably ONLY) wedding pictures of a friend of mine on Aug 17th. The church is beautiful but I really wanted to do outdoor pictures for the majority of the poses but I am FREAKING out about where to put them. There are really no trees at the church, the only outdoor shaded area would be by the front doors where they have some brick arches. Thankfully, Brad was willing to be my guinea pig. If anyone has some great ideas for where to pose the wedding couple, I would be oh so grateful!!!!! I am really starting to freak out now.
The bride had mentioned there is a great place called the Riverwalk so we headed down there and aside from walking under the road by the river, there was almost no shade! Now most of the pics will be shot around 5:30 probably, not really late enough to soften the light so I'm really praying for a slightly overcast day now! Oh wedding photographers, give me your wisdom! How do you do it? I'm afraid to do anything backlit and blow-out the church building or sky too much.
I already knew that weddings weren't going to be my thing. I like knowing the location, not trying to come up with places at that moment. But she's a great friend!
I've been trying to really browse ILP to get some wedding shot ideas. But it's hard to really tell where they posed them for some pictures. There's just not a lot of shaded areas unless it's with brick as a background and I'm used to greenery or something. ARGGGGHHHH....now I'm just sick to my stomach!

2007-07-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

Sisters a la Prego....

What a fun session, pregnant sisters! I was scared to death to do this session, couldn't come up with poses. Every time I do an indoor session, I get totally re-energized to start looking for a new house again. I feel very unprofessional having everything set up in my tiny living room with hardly any room to walk in the main door, not to mention the HEAT!! So I'll be scouting out homes for sale around the area again after I get done with my blog! :)

Meet "K" and "L." One is 8 months prego, the other is 6 months prego! One of them had stretch marks all around her belly and I did the best I could to clone them all out, hopefully they will like 'em!

2007-07-12T11:04:00.001-07:00

Time flies....

It seems like I did just H's maternity pictures! Can't believe that was like 5 months ago!! She came back to Colorado to visit so I got to do some family pictures and finally meet little "Z." Isn't he cute!!! Can't believe he's already 4 months old, how time flies! It was also great to see her family again, including her husband's daughter, "E." I haven't seen her since their wedding a few years back!

I'm needing to venture out and find a new place to take pictures, feels like my pictures are all starting to look a little too similar, but I love this location on an overcast day!! We were going to head to the university to grab some shots as I was fearing the sun would be bright, but wouldn't you know....I lucked out with yet another overcast afternoon! So I had to hit the same spots again!! I think I have a fear of change!

2007-07-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

Back to the Real World...

We got back from our softball tournament in Steamboat Springs on Monday and man, it's always so hard coming home. I could've stayed up there another week at least! As usual, I brought my camera bag including my 5D, light meter, external flash, lumisphere, 3 lenses, compact flash cards, extra batteries, polarizer, etc. I always have such good intentions for getting the camera out and snapping pictures like crazy but it just never happens. I tried talking Brad into taking some pictures of me during one game and I think he only shot like 3 during the whole game...haha. So I had to talk him into getting some more pictures during volleyball when we got back home and he did much better!! As much as I love taking the pictures, sometimes it's nice to document yourself as well. Here are a few pictures from the trip and vball:

Brad got picked up to play for a team this year. Makes me feel a lot better because sometimes I feel bad when he spends the whole vacation (our one of the year) going to a bunch of softball games to watch.

Brad got one shot of me in focus, not the one I would've wanted. Try to ignore the chunky legs....haha

Here's the one that I wish he would've gotten in focus.....though the guy standing behind the fence got a nice picture. :)

Here's one just for fun....

Here's "K." She came to watch our vball game. She's not used to sitting on the sidelines though. One more month and she'll be a mama!!!!

And some vball pictures.....

2007-06-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

Oh that face.....

I got the chance to babysit Noah all day yesterday and man, was it exhausting. I have a whole new appreciation for my sister and all mothers out there. I couldn't get a dang thing done. All he wanted was to be up and about, no naps lasting longer than 15 minutes. I'm used to spending the majority of my time at home outside so after feeling cooped up, I grabbed a blanket and some toys, and moved Noah, me and the dogs outside in the front yard under some shade. While I was at it, I figured I'd take a few pictures. Now, most of the time, this is the face we see.....this is typical Noah with his eyes wide open in curiosity, mouth open looking as adorable as ever. But lately, he's created a new face. It's about all I can do not to burst out laughing, it's so stinkin' cute. He tenses his whole body up, wrinkles his face and holds his breath. He's not particularly upset when he does it but that's the impression you'd get from this picture. Sometimes he tenses up and pushes out through his nose and we'll see booger bubbles. Oh, the joy of being entertained by a 7 1/2 month old!!! Isn't this not the cutest?

2007-06-13T13:07:00.001-07:00

Another cloudy day with a cute family.....

I couldn't believe my luck....two cloudy days in a row! I was so happy to get the chance to take these pictures. I took the mom's maternity pictures back in January and can't believe how big her little boy is already!! I've been so fortunate to have the hook-ups from a very good friend of mine who is spreading my name like wildfire. That is how I found this adorable family. And isn't the little guy just the cutest? He looks so much older than 3 1/2 months!!! It's gotta be all that hair! I tell ya, everyone's having baby boys!! Gotta say though, I luv 'em!! I can't wait for my marketing friend to have hers!!
I'm learning that it's hard to feel totally prepared for every photo shoot. I struggled with this one a bit, not feeling as creative as usual. Evan couldn't sit up and I just had a hard time figuring out how to position him. But in the end, I definitely had some faves from this session, some that I used in my PB Gallery on my website.

Speaking of my website, I'd LOVE some feedback from you. My photography website is www.audreylitfin.com. I just revamped it for about the hundredth time and I'd love to know what you think of it, is it user-friendly? I'm having a college web building class do a focus session on my website and am excited to here how I can improve! I can never settle on a logo but this one seems to fit better and it's a lot more simple. Maybe this one will actually stick for a few months! :)

RUDY UPDATE: For anyone that remembers me talking about Rudy being attacked by our other dog, Cody....I wanted to update you. I couldn't figure it out for the longest time. We still keep them seperated when we're not home but when we are home, they are best buddies. About two months ago, I noticed that Rudy started coughing. I called my vet (who I used to work for in high school) and she got me some antibiotics for kennel cough. A week later, he was still coughing so I called her back and she got me some strong medication. Still didn't go away so she put him on a general stronger antiobitic which still didn't work. Her next idea was to try an airway opener (medication in case he had a constriction in his airways) which didn't work. So we were into the 5th week. She asked me to take him off the medication and quit running him daily to see if he lungs just needed to heal. Still nothing so she put him on an antihistamine in case he had allergies. Still nothing. So next, we did a heartworm test and did xrays. She didn't see anything strange. She thought she could hear a slight heart murmur. Now, he's been on heart medication for a few weeks. The coughing seems to have slowed but he still has his moments. It's not really a cough but more of a snorting sound, like he trying to snort in some air. It's horribly scary to watch him go through it. I think our next option is we're taking him to a vet hospital specialist to get some answers. It's just time.
But back to the fighting. It all makes sense now. When we're home, we're the pack leaders. But when we leave, Cody naturally becomes the dominant one and because Rudy is sickly, Cody's instinct is survival of the fittest. So as long as Rudy has these problems, we will have to continue to seperate them when we're gone. Aside from the coughing, Rudy doesn't seem to be lacking much energy though he's always been on the lazy side. I just hope that we can get his coughing figured out completely.
Thanks for stopping by......

2007-06-06T06:45:00.001-07:00

Family Fun.....

I was so nervous to do these, just couldn't come up with any good posing ideas ahead of time. But once we got out there, I was full of ideas. It helped so much that it was overcast. I don't know where I would've gone (shade wise) if the sun had been shining. Hopefully, they're happy with these....the boys definitely kept me on my toes! We took a total of about 30 minutes and I shot over 150 pictures (a lot for each pose). I felt like I was going really fast but I wanted to keep the boys from getting bored. They were great!

2007-05-29T06:51:00.000-07:00

Another year older......

Thanks to everyone that wished me a happy birthday yesterday!!! That means so much that people were thinking of me. I had a few depressing moments thinking of hitting my upper 20's (that's right, 26) but aside from that, it was a wonderful day. I had a lot of fun and got spoiled rotten. :) It's great having the day off for my birthday as well as knowing that most everyone else has the day off too!! Brad and I went on a 21 mile bike ride and then headed over to my sister's house for an evening BBQ....yum! I'll miss using the "it's my birthday weekend" excuse though....it was working well getting me out of doing the dishes. haha

We were supposed to play in a tourney all weekend. I was playing both coed and womens and Brad got picked up to play on a different coed team. Both teams I was on ended up not doing so well so I was out after 5 games on Saturday. Brad ended up playing through Sunday so I brought my camera and snapped some pics. Isn't he a cutie?!!! And yes, those are wood bats (even the one that looks metal is actually wood). Triple Crown has made coed leagues use wood bats to keep players from getting hurt.

I added a lens flare in this one.....does it look a little over the top?

2007-05-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

He's growing up......

I took Noah's 6 mo. pictures on Sunday, can't believe he's already 6 months old!! We have a picture that we did at just a few weeks old and then at 3 months so we took a similar one again and it's just amazing to see the difference.

He was all smiles when I'd put the camera down but the second I'd lift it back up, his smile was gone. I finally enlisted Brad's help in keeping Noah happy and I have to say, he was quite the assistant. I also took pictures of another fastpitch team on Saturday (14's which I'll post later) and Brad tagged along and kept me going by giving me meter readings every time the sun darted in and out of the clouds. He also already offered to help me take pictures at my first wedding coming up in August. I guess I'm going to have to start paying him eventually, that is...if I ever start making any real money!! :)

A little over a week ago, I decided to go to a dark brown hair color. My hair gal warned me that the color I had picked would initially look black but I figured it'd take a few days and lighten up. HAHA, I'm still waiting.....so I figured I'd get some pics of myself in the meantime.

I've dyed my hair a lot of different colors (red, black, blonde, you name it) but this time, it seems to be drawing a lot more attention than before. A lot of people have voiced their opinions, some of which I wish they would've kept to themselves. Some days I like it, other days I hate it. I figured it doesn't hurt to try change once in a while (or does it).....

2007-05-15T07:15:00.000-07:00

Action Shots.....

I haven't had much luck with action shots in the past but I was fortunate enough to borrow a friend's monopod for these pics I took of two girl's fastpitch teams last Saturday. What a difference that thing makes, plus shooting in AI Servo mode and using manual focus points.

It's amazing to me how with every shoot and with PP on each picture, I learn something new.

As much as I love playing slowpitch now, seeing these girlies stealing bases made me miss fastpitch again. It was amazing looking at the stuff these girls had though....bat bags bigger than mine, full jerseys, sponsor banners to hang outside the dugouts, amazing!! As nervous as I was, I had a lot of fun watching the games. It was harder then heck though, trying to make sure I got pictures of all the girls. I ended up missing one completely who sat for both games that I took pics of. So I'm heading to another tourney this Saturday to get a few more shots. Plus, the 14 and under coach wants me to take some of their team too so that'll be fun!! Here are some of the 12 and under team.......

2007-05-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

Precious Pup.....

I forgot how small a 9 week old puppy can be. Bridget was just a bundle of fluff. I was so paranoid because she had fur covering one of her eyes and I just could not get it to stay flat but I finally gave up an decided that was part of what made her so cute! Makes me want a puppy again......

2007-05-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

Just soooo adorable.....

This is Avery, isn't she adorable!!! This shoot was just too much fun. We had everything we needed; lots of outfits, props, bubbles, candy, the dogs outside and of course, a trampoline. :) By the end of the session, I'm pretty sure I made a new buddy! :)

2007-04-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Another victim.....
Well, I guess I can't really call my little brother a victim considering he actually enjoyed himself while we shot these pics which took all of about 3 minutes. What a difference it makes to have someone who actually wants to pose for the camera!!! Isn't he just a riot??? After my little sister heard that I was taking his pics, she said she wanted to pose too sometime.....so let the fun begin!!! By the way, if you can't tell already, he's quite a character. :)
Click on the pics to see the full size.....

2007-04-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

A Love/Hate Relationship......
not with my husband or the dogs but with my camera. Some days I just want to chuck it across the room.....honestly, I can't blame the camera, it's me. But I find it's easier to put the blame on something that can't talk back!! :)
My frustrations are as follows:
I need to get out of the mugshot rut and figure out how to do some full-body shots.

I'm horrible at posing people, just expect to snap the picture and have the angle turn out perfect on its own....haha

Seems like any pictures that aren't close-up result in a blurry face. Could be because my only "human subject" is always wearing a hat.

I can't always "find the light." Took Brad out yesterday evening and thought it'd be awesome working in overcast skies but he had shadows under his eyes almost the whole time. Comments from people tell me he's got deep-set eyes. I just feel so restricted always looking for shade.

Color, oh my goodness......color NEVER looks dead on. I always see too much red or too much yellow BUT when I try to fix, it makes things worse.

So there's my saga story......guess if it was easy, everyone would do it! :)

Here are a few that make me smile......

I was tagged by Beth Maat so here it goes.....

SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks!
Your Name: Audrey

1. Famous Singer/Band: All American Rejects

2. 4 letter word: avid

3. Street: Ash

4. Color: aqua

5. Gifts/Presents: bracelet 6. Vehicle: Acura

7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: American flag

8. Boy Name: Aiden

9. Girl Name: Abbie

10. Movie Title: American Pie

11. Drink: Apple Juice

12. Occupation: Actress

3. Flower: Azalea

14. Celebrity: Amy Smart

15. Magazine: American Photo (had to look this one up)

16. U.S. City: Atlanta

17. Pro Sports Teams: Angels

18. Fruit: Apple
19. Reason for Being Late for Work: Accidentally Overslept

20. Something You Throw Away: Ace Bandage

21. Things You Shout: Ada-Boy!

22. Cartoon Character: Augie Doggie

Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of thefollowing...They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if theperson before you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for theboy/girl name question... Now Go!
I am tagging everyone who reads my BLOG!!! Have Fun!!

2007-04-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

Posing 'em......

I admit, my boys listen very well. They know that when I say "stay," it's not a request. :) But in an attempt to get some different shots, that requires a little more work on my part. I've learned that to keep their ears up and alert, a ball works best. But in trying to hold a ball with one hand and the camera in the other, plus trying to get them on the edge of some good shade and trying to find a good background in my backyard gets me so stinkin' frustrated. I finally convinced Brad to help me out. He gave the commands and held the ball, all I had to do was take the pictures. MUCH MUCH EASIER! :)

Everything from Shabby Miss Jenn's Birds of a Feather Kit!!!

Nothing new these days. Softball season is well on its way so I'm getting pumped up for that. I'm soooo glad to see winter leaving. Being cooped up in our tiny house makes me feel like a caged animal.

I have really been feeling flubbery for a few months now so I'm hoping that with the happier weather, I can really push myself to slim down some. My biggest downfall is food. Hard to eat healthy when I hate to SHOP and COOK. Please, somebody tell me that Qdoba is healthy. haha.

2007-04-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

Back to Frustration.....
Of some 40 pictures that I took, go figure that only one would turn out halfway decent AND only AFTER I changed it to B&W. Even using a whiBal card, the colors still look neurotic. "Bones" was helpful enough to pose for me, only she didn't know she was posing. :)

Does anybody else get frustrated with shooting action shots? Seems that unless I'm in BRIGHT full sunlight, I just can't stop the action. I felt really confident that I got a few that turned out decent but when I uploaded them on my computer, there was just too much dang blur. That LCD screen really fools me sometimes! :)

The whole reason I was taking pictures at this tourney instead of playing was because I was supposed to be playing in a softball tourney in Denver (about an hour south of where I live). We'd played 3 games on Saturday and the tournament (double-elim) started on Sunday. So I got up at 6:00 AM and got ready. I was headed down to Denver at 7:15 AM. Got down there, played 2 games...lost 2 games....and was back in LaSalle by 12:40 PM. The volleyball tournament started at 12:45!! But I had asked Bones to play for me already so I just sat back and watched. It was hard but at the same time, it gave me a good chance to hold my nephew (and get spit up on a few times) and takes a few pictures or at least attempt to take a few! :)

I'm definitely sore again today. Seems every time we start up a new sport, there's new muscles that are being worked. I enjoy the feeling though, makes me feel less guilty about eating Qdoba! HAHA

2007-03-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

He makes me smile.....

I FINALLY got the chance to photograph some humans again!! :) Well, one particularly adorable one anyway. Have I mentioned how much I love this little guy at all?!?? HAHA

I hope these make you smile too!!

TFL!
Audrey

2007-03-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

Nothing Exciting to Talk About......

I've got to start asking people to pose for me or I'm NEVER going to get pics of anything but the boys. And believe me, they're getting SICK of seeing that camera.....

Our softball tournament went pretty well. But man was I sore. You'd think that with playing vball and dodgeball 4 nights of the week and then jogging with the dogs most every night that I wouldn't be so sore but I could hardly straighten my legs on Sunday and Monday!!! It's a good feeling though. :) It made me feel okay that I could eat some pizza that night. :)

Another player's father-in-law brought his camera and took some pictures. He had a Canon Film Camera and a 100-400 lens which looked HUGE. I barely use my 70-200 as it is, don't think I could handle anything bigger. But he got a few pics of each of us....no laughing!!

2007-03-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

Time flies....

Can't hardly believe it's time for softball season already!! I'm not even sure if the snow is melted off the fields completely but we've got our first tournament in Loveland on Saturday...this oughta be interesting. But nervous and excited anyway! :)

Speaking of time flying by, cannot believe how much Noah is growing. He's already 4 months old!! Every time that I see him, he's changing; constantly learning new things....it's amazing!

Here's a quick LO, kinda funny. He's got reflux so he's CONSTANTLY spitting up. Go figure that when I'm holding him, I'm always rockin' him around and swinging him up and down. OOPS! :)

I hope that everyone's having a great day. I am, Colorado is finally warming up!

2007-02-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it helps to be a big baby.....
I had a little breakdown on Saturday, just completed frustrated with being uninspired and feeling like all I do is come home, drag the dogs out for a few minutes in the front yard and get what pics I can before the sun goes down. So on Saturday, despite the freezing cold wind and bright sunshine, I loaded the dogs up and drove around looking for some new locations....but it didn't last long and I was home again.....griping under my breath and sighing in frustration. I must've looked pathetic because Brad offered to drive around with me and look for some new locations. Right as we were leaving the house Brad's cousin, Jairus, called so we met up with him for lunch. He had mentioned having me take some pics of him so he could post 'em on his blog so it didn't take much convincing for him to come with us and surprise surprise, here I was with two subjects. We did end up finding some new locations and I'm totally excited to start PBing now. These aren't very artistic as far as the cropping (they're mostly head shots but I came home feeling better than I've felt in weeks with my photography pics. Here are a few.....

2007-02-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

What a trooper.....

I gotta give B-Rad credit where credit is due. He's been great about letting me practice on him. I snap pictures when he's facing a window, when I need to practice with my external flash, when I'm setting up my studio lighting, when I'm in harsh sunlight, when I'm in open shade......

I'm taking pictures at a friend's wedding in August and I want to be completely prepared for any lighting situation so I've been a bigger pain to him than usual. I'm still trying to talk him into getting dressed up and driving around town to find some great locations.....not sure when I'll convince him to do it though. :)

2007-02-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

Happy Belated Valentine's Day......

I had a great day.....no flowers, no chocolate, just a night out with my man to a small casual restaurant before my volleyball game (which he came to watch). Gotta say, that's all I wanted. I don't need any of that other stuff, Brad makes a point of showing me every day that he loves me and I count my blessings daily for having such a wonderful man as my husband. He asked me what I wanted and I told him nothing. Then I had to give the whole explanation of how I'm NOT one of those girls who says she doesn't want anything but deep down, really wants to get the surprise flowers. I think there are plenty of other things we can save our money for. Totally practical, yep that's me!!!

This past year, I've watched three of my closest friends marriages fall apart. My parents tell me that it's not a good environment for Brad & I to be around but I think we've only have grown closer from it. We've had people confide in us for marital advice and that shows me that people really do see just how strong we are in our marriage.

If there is one thing that I really push for marriages, it is communication. Whether you've done something wrong or have a annoyance with something your spouse does, talking is what gives us the ability to let go of those things. If you hold back from your spouse, you build up a resentment that won't go away and you hide a part of you. Brad & I started out with issues in our marriage just like any relationship but we forced ourselves to talk them out, even if that meant a fight here and there. But we explained our sides and made compromises to make each other happy.

Anyway, there is my 2 cents. And here's my Valentine!!!! He looks unhappy yes, but apparently he needs a cue to smile otherwise this is it! :)

2007-02-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

Just some random pics......of the boys :) I am soooooooo ready for this snow to be GONE!!! But rumor is we could be getting more this weekend.

2007-02-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

The stresses of selling your house....
I couldn't sleep much last night, trying to figure out some sort of plan for selling our house and buying another. Though I think it's more like playing cards, your luck depends on what you're dealt. I want to sell by owner but I'm afraid that when we find the house we want, it won't sell in time, or that we'll sell ours but not find another one to move into.
I'm being really picky about where I want to live. I like LaSalle, a small town just south of Greeley so we're close to everything like restaurants, shopping, sports, etc. But this town is split in half by railroad tracks which wouldn't be a big deal but right in the middle of it all is a railroad switch station so that means trains just don't pass by, they stop and cover the main intersection, forcing people to wait for what seems like forever to get across. The sucky thing is that I prefer the houses on that side....they're older homes but have a lot of character with large yards and potential to really fix up. But I know that as much as I'm coming and going, I'd flip out having to wait on those trains constantly.
I know I want to move but the last few days I've been about sick to my stomach trying to figure out what I'm willing to give up to find a new house. It's hard to find a house with the following criteria (at a low low price):
Large Lot (big yard for dogs)
Window Light (I hate dreary dark houses)
A minimum of an oversized 2-car garage (per Brad's request)
3 bedroom/2 bathroom minimum
Good area to go running (backroads, away from houses)
Close to Work (so I can go home for lunch)
Open Floor Plan

Granted, there are houses in Evans and Greeley that I could probably find but I just want to live in a smaller town.....if I had the money, I'd really want to live in the country but I don't think it's feasible right now and I'm not willing to give up playing sports/tournaments and other stuff to pay the mortgage.
I'm sure no one is really interested in this, but it's helped the knot in my stomach loosen just a little. :)

2007-01-28T17:39:00.000-08:00

My first pictures....

with me and Noah together. Seems like I'm always the one taking the pictures and rarely get to be in them so I begged my sister to take a few of me with Noah. I've taken individual pics w/ everyone else in our family holding him so I was getting kinda depressed that there were none of me and him. Sometimes, it's hard being the photographer at family events!

I can't believe how much he's growing already. I got to watch him for a few hours this afternoon and it was so much fun. He just coos and smiles like crazy. It is so much fun being an aunt!!

I think these are the first pics that I've posted with my new Canon 5D. I can't believe the difference in focus between the 5D and 20D. I totally don't regret buying it.

2007-01-26T07:36:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged.....
Okay, so I have been tagged by Beth Maat and the rules are to list 6 weird things about myself and then tag 6 people to do the same.
1. I cannot sit through an entire movie. If Brad & I decide to have a movie night, we'll put the movie in and as soon as it starts running, I'm up and doing something else. I think it's because for me, the plot takes too long to accomplish.....but I could watch sitcoms (According to Jim, Reba, Friends reruns, My Wife and Kids or my favorite TV Show, Law & Order SVU all day long).
2. I don't like chocolate.
3. I cannot eat at fast-food restaurants. We always always always have our food to go.
4. I am still afraid of scary movies. If a movie gets too intense or suspenseful, I'll pretend I have to go check on something and leave the room.
5. I hate it when people try to give me a neck massage. I tense up and freeze until they let go. Sometimes I even tense up my shoulders and neck so hard that their hands get stuck.
6. When I get to having too much fun, I start laughing so hard I can't hardly contain myself. A few weeks ago, my sister and brother and sis' boyfriend were all playing basketball shootout at the rec center and I was so excited and laughing all out of control that I couldn't even shoot a basket.
Okay, thanks for sticking with me if you are still reading this LOL. Now that you know a few and rather uninteresting facts about me let's find out about Sharon, Cardee, Tonya, Shari, Kris, and Lisa.

2007-01-23T06:50:00.000-08:00

First things first.....

Thank you ALL so much for your kind comments about the "boys." It seems that things are getting better between them. I'm gradually leaving them together for longer periods of time and they seem to be happier together....sadly, I think that Bella had a lot to do with what happened. She was a cutie but very very unstable.

Brad and I are finally getting serious about moving. We're thinking that once the snow melts, we'll be putting our 875 sq ft house on the market and looking for something bigger, so I can have a photography room!!!! There's so many things that I want, it's hard to really decide exactly what we need.

Ideally, I'd LOVE to live in the country....I'm a farm girl at heart. But we just can't afford it so that's out. Brad's only criteria is that our next house have a garage AT LEAST the size of what he has now which is an oversized 2-car. Now my criteria gets a little longer! I want a big yard (for the dogs and of course, for me since I'm a total outdoor person), I want 2 bathrooms, I want at least 3 bedrooms, I want lots of natural light, I want to live in a smaller town but very close to Greeley so I can still play all the sports and be able to pick up Qdoba for dinner whenever (haha). I also want to have a good route to go running so I don't have to be on some big road.

I know, I know....like I said, I'm picky!! So we'll see how it goes. I've been really wanting to move for at least a year but put it off because I'm just afraid of change I guess. But after having quite a few photo sessions, I realized that if I want it to ever take off, I'm going to need somewhere else to put things than in the middle of my living room!!

Here's a few pics from my last maternity session, my first completely unknown couple and boy were they sweet!!!! I even bought a little prop!!! I'm gonna have to name him! :)

2007-01-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

Depressing couple of days.....

It has truly been a depressing couple of days for me, not to mention stressful. It seems that are two boys aren't getting along any more. I can't understand it, they've always been best buddies but I came home on Thursday to see Rudy's face and foot swolllen with multiple puncture wounds, nothing life threatening but horrendous to me all the same. I took him to the vet who confirmed that they were in fact dog bites. I couldn't imagine Cody attacking Rudy, I can't even picture it in my mind being plausible. I wanted to think that another dog had gotten in our yard seeing as Cody didn't have a scratch on him, but it seems they don't like each other anymore and reality is setting in that it really did happen.

I'm embarrassed that this could happen in my house (as a dog trainer). But there was no cause that I can tell unless it was over a ball or someone has been taunting them in the alley and Cody redirected it at Rudy. I've spent hours trying to make sense of it. Cody is strong-headed but very submissive with us so it's hard to imagine it being a dominance issue as Rudy is very submissive. They've always been best buddies so this is really sudden as they're both about 5 and a half years old. Now when one walks by the other, there's this brief exchange between the two of them where they both look at each other and their heads go down and then they dodge each other....not an agressive action but there's some weird communication going on that I can not understand. And they don't want to be around each other anymore. So how do you make two dogs love each other again? Yet when we go for a walk, they act like buddies again. So strange. If you gave me two dogs who were fighting each other and the owner was a timid person who couldn't take control of the situation, I could tell you immediately what was the cause of everything....but our dogs know they're not #1 in our household so I'm confused as to why they fought.

I'd like to believe it was a one-time thing but there have been multiple times that Rudy has come to the door (when I'm home for my lunch break) with small cuts on his face. We thought he was cutting himself on the chain link fence because he goes crazy when people drive by in the alley. We even cornered off one section that we thought might be it but that didn't seem to stop it. But it never looked like a puncture would, always a scratch.

Until I can understand how and why it happened, I have to keep them seperated when I'm gone (they're fine when we're home). It just breaks my heart. So as soon as the snow melts enough, we'll be putting up a crappy fence to split the yard up.

We decided in the meantime that it was too much stress to continue fostering Bella so we put an ad in the paper for her. The next day, I had my phone ringing off the hook....seems chihuahuas are in high demand! I was very particular about the home and we found a great one for her. I'm sad to see her go but I know that it was better for everybody at this point. I don't know if she contributed to the fight but I didn't want to risk it happening again. Miss ya Bella Boo. :(

I'm just not going to feel content about anything until I can have my boys be buddy-buddy again. My heart is broken. I told my dad it's like having 2 children and finding out that one has been secretly trying to kill the other.....I never in my life saw this coming.

2007-01-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

I revamped my website.....
Anyone wanna take a look and give me some CC? The website is http://www.justscrappin.com but I'm looking at getting a new website address sometime in the future. Originally, it was my digi scrapbooking site but I really wanted to add in my photography stuff too. Is it user-friendly?
I have discovered one problem that I can't seem to fix. I want to be able to have a "Home" button in the photo galleries but the galleries are created in PhotoShop and the web pages are created in Dreamweaver and they're not wanting to mesh very well......I guess it wouldn't be right if everything ran smoothly though. :)
Had another maternity shoot last night...will post pics when I finish proofing.
It's supposed to SNOW again tonight.....make it go away already.....I'm already gearing up for softball season to start again. :)

2007-01-08T10:49:00.000-08:00

GULP......

I just pushed the "submit order" button to buy me a Canon 5D!!!! It only took me about 3 weeks to do it. I know I won't regret it but I just cringe at the thought of seeing that moo-lah disappear from my savings account!

I had a friend come up from Florida over Christmas Break to visit her family. We grew up together, even used to think we were cousins. She's 7 months prego so I got to take some maternity shots of her and her hubby, aren't they the cutest couple!!! I'm hoping she gets to move back to Colorado soon. The first shot is my absolute fave one, it was their idea. They wanted a picture of them praying for their unborn child.

I've gotten responses/emails from a few people asking about my lighting setup. Now I am by no means an expert but I'll tell you how I do it. As the photographer, to my left is a giant softbox with an AB 800 pointing at them at about 30-45 degrees. On the opposite side, is a softlighter with an AB 400 pointing at a similar angle but turned down. I also have a big reflector turned straight towards them to help with dark shadows. They are sitting about 4-5 feet away from the black fleece backdrop so the light doesn't spill on the black. Also, I tried using a hairlight for a few but wasn't working too well....still need work on that. Hope that helps!

2007-01-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

Aren't they adorable.......

My parents that is. Despite it being freezing outside, I was determined to get a few shots of them for their Christmas card. I wish I would've gotten some better shots out of the shade, I really need to work on full sun light. But it was cold (if you couldn't tell from the pictures).....haha

Question for you photogs out there - I always think that my picture looks sharp but after I sharpen for web, my original larger photo always looks unsharpened compared to my web photo. I can't tell if my original pics aren't sharp enough or what.

I can't wait for the snow to start melting....Christmas is over, I'm ready for the sun to start shining. It's snowing AGAIN today and they're anticipating another 3-4 inches on top of the other two big snows we've gotten in the last 2 weeks. But in thinking ahead, no watering restrictions on my lawn this summer!

Til we meet again,

Audrey

2007-01-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

He's gonna have to learn....

to love the camera!!!! So far, that cute nephew of mine doesn't know what to think of those flashing lights. No worries though, he'll have LOTS more chances to get used to them.

Our local newspaper has a little addition in the paper sometime in January of the previous year's babies. I think it's called "Babies of 2006" or something along those lines and anyone local can submit pictures of their kiddos. There's always a child that gets selected for the cover. My sis was all excited to get a few good shots of him so we had a grueling photo shoot. He cried for quite a while until I think he was just to the point where he gave us a few poses to get me to go away. HAHA. Anyway, this is what we ended up with. The first one is the one that she's going to submit. I don't think I'm his favorite auntie anymore :)

The last shot we got him flexing for us....I guess he didn't go for the "fragile" theme.

2006-12-22T08:42:00.000-08:00

Baby, it's Cold Outside..........

Yep, it's freezing cold this morning. I wanted to get out early to see if I could get some "frost" pictures but I didn't last long. I suck at nature photos but these do show the frost a little. I also included a few more photos from yesterday's SNOW DAY (including one of the neighbor kids since they were willing to photograph more than my dogs).

Somebody finally plowed our roads and we were able to get my brother to his car and follow him home. Only when we got to his little condo, his HUGE driveway was covered in 4 ft drifts so we spent the next 1 1/2 hours shoveling.....I think I can skip a workout today! HAHA

I can't believe it's almost Christmas already. But I am totally ready. I can't wait for Brad to open his gifts, that's definitely the funnest part for me. I'm trying to get up the motivation to head to town today and finish up the last of my Christmas shopping.

Tonight, we're having movie night at my parent's house to watch "It's a Wonderful Life." Tomorrow night is a Christmas party at a softball friend's house and Sunday night we celebrate and do a gift exchange w/ my family. Christmas Day, we're heading to my grandparent's house for lunch and lots of GAMES. We usually do breakfast and evening on Christmas with Brad's family but we celebrated last weekend with them because they're headed to Kansas to see Brenton (Brad's youngest brother) who is stationed there. It's going to be busy, busy, busy but I LOVE it.

Please try not to laugh at the one of my jumping in the snow.....believe me, I know it'll be hard for you. If you look closely, you can see I'm wearing my green/red/white Christmas socks along w/ Brad's size 11 boots...haha. It's not exactly the most flattering picture, I look like I'm carrying twins. But it pretty much sums up what I've been doing the last 2 days. :)

2006-12-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas.......

everywhere we can't go.....cuz we ain't going nowhere for a while!!! The blizzard of the decade has finally hit and it's about time we had a white Christmas in Colorado!!!! :) Not sure how many inches exactly but I know it's in the 20's. I couldn't find my ski pants that I've never worn or any boots but I had to get outside and take some pictures anyway. With Colorado, you never know.....it might be melted by tomorrow....haha....okay that's a stretch but I didn't want to miss getting some shots before it's gone.

Thankfully, I was already on break for Christmas anyway and Brad was sent home from work early yesterday (and is off today). But my brother was working close by and they wouldn't let him leave early so we had to go pick him up....there's no way his little Eclipse was going to even get out of the parking lot. My 4Runner did awesome considering the amount of snow covering even the main roads. We had to help push out about 4 other cars before we could even drive in the parking lot to pick him up. But we made it home safe and sound.

We've spent all morning digging out vehicles and shoveling the walks. There hasn't been a plow by the house yet so we've been making our own tracks to get out. It's a pain but exciting at the same time. The dogs will play in the snow as long as we're outside but then they're ready to head back in again where it's warm. I'll leave you with a couple pics before I head back out w/ the video camera! :) Just a little FYI: I DO NOT wear a size 11 in men's. I don't have any boots so I borrowed a pair of Brad's....haha.

I'm in the holiday spirit for sure now.....I'm headed out again to get some more pics!!! Will post again soon.

Audrey