Trying Something New: Part Dos

Sundays are dedicated to my fitness {NGP} hurdles and accomplishments.  Wednesdays will be for our general family updates and doings.

And right now.  JD has the flu.  I have to admit when he first started feeling sick last Thursday, I was expecting the usual man cold (Man Cold - YouTube).  And I, as usual, would have to cater to his every need, and baby him more than I would do for CJ (Wait a second.  Did you just say that you would cater to my every need like you USUALLY do????  I will definitely remember this).

Saturday morning came and JD felt like he needed to go the doctor, CJ also has gymnastics on Saturday mornings.  But I decided that I would drive JD to the doctor since he was feeling especially ill.  I dropped him off at the doctor's office and headed to Target with CJ (partially to keep her out of a doctor's office full of sick people and partially to let her run around)(But wait, I'm sure the catering part is coming up soon....).  The next text I get from him is this:

Not ideal, but that's one way to move to the front of the line

Um, yeah, so I guess I can't make too much fun of JD and his 'man cold', which has officially been diagnosed by and official doctor as the FLU.

Other than the flu pestering our family this week, there has been much more going on since my last post.

Thanksgiving has come and gone, so has Christmas and the new year too.  And with all those, CJ turned 3, my family came to visit, Sophie is still loving karate and CJ started gymnastics.   Below are a few photos (picture overload!) to round out the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016.  Oh, and JD and I got to go to Hawaii with some friends!  I'll do a special post on that later (and knowing me, later means a year after it actually happened).

Hawaii in October 

trying to get family photos....

Soph and CJ singing Jingle Bells by the fire

Happy Birthday CJ!

I'm pretty sure CJ photobombed this one...

Ice Skating at Atlantic Station

Making Christmas cookies with Maemae

First broken board!

Virginia Beach wedding

Me, JD and his siblings

Prepping for her first Father/Daughter Dance

Happy {LATE} New Year!

P.S. For those you just joining in, JD likes to proof my posts and make his 'corrections/additions' in red.

Photography Lessons

I love photography.  I have always loved photography.  I do not claim to know all about it, and I am not even close to ever knowing half as much as other photographers out there. 

My love for photography started when I was in….um, well, I don’t ever remember not loving it.  In high school I wanted to take photos for the yearbook.  At family reunions, I wanted to take pictures of everyone and the activities.  In college, I took a few classes and even learned how to process my own negatives.  And I love it all.  Here's a few photos that I've taken (and/or developed all film).

Atlanta, GA ~ Downtown (2010)

Bosco (2010)

close up time! (2010)

ready to pounce (2010)

JD may have a cigar addiction....(2012)

somewhere in Georgia (2010)

Galveston, TX pier (2004)

Mokes, Hawaii ~ cliff diving (2003)

Hanauma Bay, Hawaii (2003)

420 Festival, Candler Park, Atlanta, GA (2011)

420 Festival (2011) 

JD playing soccer (2011)

JD & the ATL (2010)

Key West, FL (2005)

Ok, I didn't take this one, but I love it all the same
My mother, my aunts, and my maw maw (1960ish?)

Segovia, Spain (2004) 

San Sebastian, Spain (2004)

I know some of these photos are not great, but for some reason I can't help it.  I always feel that the color and the look is so much more 'real' than any digital photo.  Any other film enthusiasts out there feel the same way?? Or am I just a weird one?

When digital media hit the world, I refused to shoot anything other than film for the longest time.  I didn’t even buy my first digital camera, it was given to me.   My second digital camera was a gift as well.  It took me a good few months to even begin experimenting with my digital cameras.  I loved shooting old school with film.  If I had a darkroom, I would still be shooting film and I still love it.  But, yes, the digital world has got it grips on me now, but that doesn’t mean I’ll always shoot digital.  I would love to do more film shooting, I even have my grandmother’s vintage Olympus that is in great shape and the last time I took photos with it, they turned out amazing (majority of the photos above are with the Olympus).

JD has always known that I love photography; he is the one that bought me my 2^nd digital camera and my first DSLR.  He also paid for me to take a few photography classes.   I haven’t taken as many as I’d like, but the ones I have taken have helped me learn a ton and has given me a good foundation to really start shooting digital.

I’ve taken so many photos of my kids, that CJ tells me ‘no cheese, momma’ when I tell her to smile.  Kids.

I recently (this was last Thanksgiving....) took a few photos of my neighbor and her kids.  She needed some pictures for their Christmas cards and for her new business card.  I was so happy she asked me to take the photos.  I’ve never taken photos of another family in a semi professional manner.  This was new to me and I was eager to see how it would go.

We took the photos in Grant Park and it was a great experience.  It showed me how I was doing a lot of things wrong and how they could be better. 

So it's been a year since I've taken and edited these photos, and looking back at them, I already see things I could have and should have done differently.  Only took me a year!  Thanks to the Trimbles for being my guinea pigs.

All you real photographers out there, I welcome your input on how I can up my game!!