Photography by Kerry M-S

3 year anniversary

2011-10-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't used this blog for ages as I set up a new one that I hope to use when I go fully into business. However, as this is an anniversary post, I really don't want to put it on my other blog as I want people to think I was always at the point I am at now, lol!

My anniversary was technically in June which is when I got my 1st decent camera or August when I joined ILP. I did a 2 year anniversary post last year and rather than rehash it all, I will link to it.

http://madhousephotography.blogspot.com/2010/06/2-year-anniversary-post.html

Right, so that post left us off on a family photo I took on 13th June 2010 - my 32nd birthday, exactly 2 years after getting a bridge camera for my 30th birthday.

So summer 2010 went something like this:

J's 6th birthday

Taking part in some copycat challenges on ILP

I did some storyboards

I attempted mixing on board flash and natural light

And to see the funny side of things!

September saw me trying new things. First a composite

I got some soft boxes

Then in October I had my first proper shoot that wasn't my own family.

November saw my baby turn 2 and I tried to remember to take some less posed shots

I really wanted a nice portrait of him for his birthday but being 2, he was having none of it. in the end I set everything up and gave him the remote, lol!

My 1st shot of 2011 was a new family portrait. This was taken using a tripod and a wireless remote and lots and lots of out-takes!

The start of the year also sees a couple of self portraits

This is one of Zack's creations, see the remote in his hand!

I've never been good at backlighting and haze, so gave it another go.... adding the movement of the swing just added to the challenge, lol! (Feb 11)

March was a busy month for me. I got this shot of my eldest while getting in some last minute studio light practice

I went to my very first photography related show at the NEC called focus on imaging. Basically it seemed like I'd died and gone to photographic heaven. They had some models demonstrating the various lighting set ups.

I also experimented with a grunge type processing

I also had 2 more portrait shoots, one for a band, the other for a model portfolio. The portfolio worked as L has had a fair few jobs in music videos!

I also had my 1st commercial shoot. I was so nervous but I must have done ok as I have done further work for the company.

April was another busy month, the weather for the UK was fantastic, so I took the boys out lots and never went without my camera!

I really stuggled with the processing of this one, the colours were HARD!

A rare shot of all my kids together!

I went on a "walkabout" arranged by a photographer that I really admire. The models were fab and the location was amazing

In May ds1 turned 10!

In June ds2 turned 7!

I also went on a photography course through groupon. However my confidence took a knock when the guy running the course told me that my "problem" was that I had no emotional connection in my photography.

So I spent the rest of the month photographing for myself

I tried my hand at stranger candids

I also went on a second walkabout, this time with all male models (yum!)

In July we sold our house, so I was mostly busy with that but managed to fit in a shoot for fun and a repeat commercial job (2 locations)

Which pretty much brings me to this month after having been busy with moving house and all that comes with it. The latest portraits that I did were school photos of my older 2 boys.

Phew! I've had a busy 18 months since my last anniversary!

February 2011 - Wildlife, Nature & Miscellaneous

2011-02-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

My furbabies!

February 2011 - Portraits & candid

2011-02-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

Although not a portrait, I thought it fit in better with the portraits than nature and misc. I took this shot the day that the NHS make public proposals to close down some of the UK's children's heart surgery unit. They propse going from 11 surgical units to just 6 or 7. Although Jamie's unit is safe, I feel for those who will be affected by the closures.

February 2011 - Stratford Butterfly farm

2011-02-28T10:50:00.000-08:00

On an overcast Sunday in February, we had a flickr group meet-up at the butterfly farm. Focusing was a bit of an issue as well as things steaming up to start with, lol!

February 2011 - Charity Abseil

2011-02-28T08:52:00.000-08:00

At the turn of the new year, I had an email from Birmingham Children's Hospitals fundraising team asking for people to sign up to a "Love is in the Air" abseil, 131 ft down the front of the Mailbox in Birmingham. The page that the email linked to had a photo of Jamie in the top corner and I KNEW I had to do all I could to help, even throw myself over the edge of a building, lol! I signed up, then told hubby who thought I was joking. The weeks flew by and before I knew it, the day arrived. Thankfully it arrived bright and calm, unlike the previous weekend which had been horrible with high winds and rain. The time slot I was given was for the last group of the day, so I had all day to think about it and get worked up. I caught the train to the city and made my way to the Mailbox with not much time to spare. I took most of my shots BEFORE I did my abseil, good thing too, I was shaking so badly when I had done. So I check my gear, get my t-shirt and go and wait for the instructor to show us the ropes (scuse pun!). I did feel a little sad that everyone seemed to have people rooting for them, but nobody had come with me, everyone was either busy or unable to make it for one reason or another. I asked Mark to stay at home with the kids as I knew I wouldn't be back until tea time or later.

After our very brief lesson on abseiling, we were going up in the lift and then we were on the roof. The city looks beautiful from the top, made even more glorious by the late afternoon sun shining down on it. Finally the moment arrived, my harness was attached to the ropes I would actually be using, I was given last minute instructions, then I was asked to walk backwards until my heels were over the ledge..... the lean back! How I didn't pass out from fear, I will never know. I did however make a special effort to try and smile at the photographer who was photographing everyone poised at the top. Then I had to "walk" down a few rungs of the downward plank of wood before squatting, getting my knees on the plank and then..... free air! I thought the hard part was over but it turns out that I really don't like heights when dangling in mid air by a harness and rope, 125ft off the ground. I had to work really hard at not hyperventilating, then my arms started aching really badly and I tried really hard to get down as fast as possible. After what felt like forever, I touched the ground and although struggled to stand because I was trembling badly, I felt a huge rush of relief, amazement and wonderment. I DID IT!!! The feeling was indescribable. I was on a high for days. If you ask me now if I would do it again, the answer would have to be no for now, lol! I have raised almost £200 so far!

My 1st view of the building as I came out from under the bridge. Taken with my phone

The chap who got me over the edge is on the left of this photo.

An after shot!

Oh, and I went ahead and bought the shot of me the photographer took, how could I not after all that?!

February 2011 - Shugborough

2011-02-28T08:44:00.000-08:00

I took the boys to Shugborough Estate on one of the few pleasant days we have had this month. It allowed me to put my Tamron lens to the test. Unfortunately the house itself does not open for another few weeks yet, but we had a good walk around the grounds.

February 2011

2011-02-28T08:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been naughty in not keeping up, but as it's been a short month, it won't take too long to catch up on.

On Saturday 12th February I took part in a charity abseil to raise funds for the Children's Heart Appeal. I will post photos from that in a seperate thread.

I have my 2nd band shoot on Thursday. They want raunchy but classy......... I admit so far I am drawing a blank so will most likely fly by the seat of my pants, lol! I think where I am drawing blanks is that they want a white backdrop but all the ideas I have would probably work better on black. Thankfully I reckon they will have lots of ideas themselves and if nothing else, we will have fun. My hubby was good enough to buy me a second hand Tamron 17-50 2.8. Lovely lens it is too.

On Sunday I am going to the focus on imagining show at the NEC in Birmingham. I MUST NOT BE TEMPTED TO BUY ANYTHING! LOL! I really want to go just to look at everything and maybe try some of it out, hold it in my hands, get ideas of things to put on my ever growing wish list, lol!

I also have a shoot next Thursday for the niece of a friend. She wants some glamour shots for a portfolio, I have the space to set up a decent sized "studio" as well as have a backdrop and 2 softboxes. So there will be 3 of us (all friends) taking various shots of the young lady for her portfolio. Hopefully this way she will get lots of variety and the benefit of different editing styles, we will get the practice, get some shots for our own portfolios and have a laugh at the same time.

I will post all the photos in seperate threads, as I also had a trip to the butterfly farm in Stratford, and it will make it easier to keep them all together.

Surreal day yesterday!

2011-02-04T03:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday went the same way most Thursdays go, running around like a blue arsed fly and spending a precious few hours alone with Zack while the boys are busy with Grandma. I dropped the older 2 off, then took Zack for a walk around a local wildlife trust nature reserve (could have gone to Ironbridge, but seems my invite got lost in the post. I wish I could say I'm not bothered, but yeah, I actually am, especially as it is not the 1st time this has happened. It serves to remind me of why I prefer to keep to myself, no hurt feelings that way). Anyway, I digress, lol! I was made to feel like a good parent by some random stranger, who told me that he wished more parents would spend quality time with their kids and get them interested in nature & the outdoors. That made me feel great, so I went about the rest of my day. My husband comes home later on to tell me that his new sales rep has a husband who is an author. He is about to have his 1st book published and wondered if I could help him with his book cover. I think my jaw hit the floor. I'm waiting on a few more details, but I am excited to try and help. Then a few hours later the phone rings, it's 9pm so I was expecting family or maybe my best friend. No, it was another random stranger who got my number from the friends that I did the band shoot for a couple of months ago. He wants some band shots too. After chatting for a while and arranging a meet up before the shoot, he told me that I could go and try my hand a gig photography as they practice every Friday and often have the who rig set up, backdrop, lighting, the lot. Sounds like the perfect way to practice to me, lol!

Now, how to convince hubby that I really need that 24mm fast prime? LOL!

West Midland Safari Park weekend - 29/30th Jan 2011

2011-02-01T04:52:00.001-08:00

On Saturday I decided to drive over an hour to have a drive around the Safari Park. In the winter they are only open weekends. I was surprised how busy it was considering the rest of the park is closed. I pay to get in, start driving around, take a handful of shots and then notice that battery symbol flashing at me. As much as I love my D300, the only gripe I have about it is that it hardly gives you much warning before the battery packs in altogether. I managed to fire off about another dozen shots and then it died. I reached into the camera bag...... no spare batteries. I had charged 2 and forgot to pick them up. I was soooooo mad at myself. I was not even a quarter of the way around the safari park. So I drive around the rest taking record shots with my new phone. Good phone, but has a pretty crappy 5mp camera that can not deal with contrasty situations AT ALL. Then the battery dies in that too. So I eat my lunch and then head home. I made the decision to return the next day and take the eldest boy with me with his camera. It is nice to spend some quailty time with him and nice that he shares the same love of wildlife and photography that I do, lol!

Here are some of my favourite shots from the weekend.

Fvourite shot from day 1 (ok, almost my only shot from day 1, pmsl!)

It seemed to be mating time for these animals. Like other deer like species, the males lick the air to see if the female are in heat.

Is this my best side?

Wallaby

Wolf - took a chance and opened the window a crack to get this shot, shooting through glass was HARD

White tiger shot through mesh fence, turned out better than the tigers who weren't behind fences but had to be shot through glass :-(

White lions, all shot through the car window

Cheetah on day 2.

My favourite shot of day 2, we went around twice and the sun came out in the afternoon.

Is it obvious I love big cats?? I would have brought a cheetah home with me if it wouldn't have mauled me to death, lol! Might have helped get rid of the 2 bloody cats from next door and stopped them from crapping all over my garden, terrorising my rabbits and trying (and succeeding once) to kill my garden birds. Anyway, I digress!

I did manage to get 1 shot I liked off my camera phone, of the boy taken while we were having lunch. Was bloomin' awful of me, so cropped me out, but I like it of him.

Visit with my Grandparents - Jan 2011

2011-02-01T04:46:00.001-08:00

I had a call from my mother asking if I could go and visit with my Grandparents. My Nan has advanced alzeimers and dementia and is going downhill fast. When I first moved back to the UK I lived with my Grandparents while finishing my education, so they are like a second set of parents. I can't tell you how sad I am to see my Nan the way she is now. So while I was there, I made sure to grab some shots, nothing fancy, but I know I will be glad I have them should the worst happen.

Here is a self portrait shot I took later that night, I think it adequately puts across how I was feeling.

Jan 2001 - Improvement?

2011-01-23T02:46:00.000-08:00

I started this year by agreeing to do another 365 project. I thought I was mad at first. However, I came to realise as I was in the last week of the 1st 365 that I learned an awful lot, mostly enjoyed it and had kind of got used to taking a photo every single day. I did set some "rules" for myself, mainly saying that I would not be so anal about it and if I missed a day here or there, so what? If it becomes too much, I can drop down to a 52 week project.

What I have noticed is that my photography seems to have improved again, or jumped to a new level for me. Even hubby commented on it. I don't know if it is just that I'm getting better at knowing what I like, or feeling more comfortable in trying out new photographic & editing techniques, but I think that this has been a good month for me so far, photographically speaking. I find I am taking less photographs to get the shot I am after (ie, my hit rate is better)

Here are just a few shots that I like and have been experimenting with. I am sure it won't go unnoticed that some of this is different from my usual stuff and that much of it is B&W. I do tend to do more B&W in the winter months. Although I had to upload them to flickr to post them here, I have put them on as private. I don't know why I haven't felt like sharing, maybe because it is so different for me, hubby & I like them and that's all that matters really

Jan 2011 - Wildlife & nature

2011-01-23T02:35:00.000-08:00

I admit I have not take as much wildlife shots as usual as now that the holidays are over, I am pretty much limited to weekends and most weekend have been grey and overcast with poor light or chucking it down with rain.

Here are some of my favourites from the month so far.

Jan 2011 - Snow daze

2011-01-22T14:55:00.000-08:00

We had a bit of snow fall earlier in the month, so the boys & I took full advantage of J's new cold weather gear, kitted him up and off we went to play & explore.

Not exactly in focus, between the poor light, the fog & J's dislike of having his photo taken it was hard, lol!

December 2010

2011-01-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

As I am so behind (what's new?!) I am just going to post some of my favourites from December.

Flickrmeet xmas party... says it all really!

Something that caught my eye and made me smile!

Really behind!

2010-12-10T15:13:00.000-08:00

Yep, I have neglected my blog again. As per usual, life is busy, even more so than usual at this time of year. Hubby has decided to change jobs so lots involved with that. Then we want to put the house on the market in the new year, so we've been decorating and sprucing the place up. Now that the holiday season is upon us, we have had to put our plans on hold until we can get everything back into storage, lol!

So, to catch up I am just going to post my favourites from November. I think I am finally starting to become more serious about what I do as I am far more critical and lots of stuff that I would have posted before is not making the cut, but I am getting better at remembering to take snapshots!

So I start with a snapshot of my baby. I LOVE this shot of him, it's so natural and innocent

Little man's 2nd Birthday

Eldest watching the mini-stox at the raceway

Fieworks at the raceway

Early one misty morning

A most unusual find for mid-november, a newly hatched clutch of black swan cygnets

Foxy

Zack's official 2 year (self) portrait. My attempts were pretty poor and in desperation, I set up the camera with a remote and let him take his own portrait. Stroke of genius on my part if you ask me, lol!

In my top 10 favourite shots of the year and one I am thinking of getting printed big for the house.

A bird in the hand...

One of my xmas card shots

And ending on another snapshot, I LOVE the looks on the boys faces!

Bradgate Flickrmeet - The Reds

2010-11-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

After spending some time photographing the fallow deer, we decided to trek to find and get close to the red deer. Luck was on our side, there was a decent sized herd on one of the open bracken covered hillsides.

Bradgate Flickrmeet - The fallows

2010-11-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

On Sunday 31st October, a local flickr group that I am part of had a meet up at Bradgate Park in Leicester. We went with the hopes of seeing a bit of rutting, and hopefully see the red deer stags. Things did not look too promising on the drive over, it was very foggy & misty. It wasn't so bad at the park, but certainly still dull and a bit misty. That has never stopped me before though, lol!

A scenic shot, complete with mist.

First, we came across the fallow deer. These 2 chaps were rutting (clashing antlers)

This deer was quite naughty. He smelled the bread and made a beeline for this man. The deer should not be fed or they have to be shot, they are still wild animals..... despite what some may think.

Possibly albino or leucisitc fallow buck. I am pretty certain his eyes were not pink, meaning he is leucistic.

Finally got a decision about my poor broken lens...

2010-10-26T04:44:00.000-07:00

I didn't blog about it at the time, but I had a run in with another photographer before I went on holiday. He was a BIG bloke (read - fat bastard) who was unable to hold his temper during a heated slanging match and he grabbed my camera by the lens and snapped it straight off the camera. I am willing to bet he's abusive to many in his life. I admit, I was no angel (got to love women's hormones!) but there was no need for what he did.

Here is a pic of my broken lens

I was devastated (after I calmed down) as it was what I got with my POTY prize money, it wasn't flash, actually, it was very basic, but it was sharp and I loved it. Thankfully I had taken out the accidental damage cover on it.... which hubby went MAD about, who's laughing now?! So I called them up, arranged to have it sent in and waited and waited. After a month I called them up to see what the hell was going on as I'd not even had a phone call. Turned out they had lost the paperwork that I sent with the lens and therefore didn't know who it belonged to and left it in a miscillaneous cupboard. Oh man, I was hopping mad. They promised to look at it ASAP and 2 days later I had a call to say it had been written off. They sent me vouchers to the tune of what I "paid" for the lens, bearing in mind it was only 3 months old and was still the same price.

As I mostly photograph nature & wildlife, I thought about getting a bit more zoom. After searching and reading reviews, it seemed the Tamron 70-300mm would fit the bill. I would be able to get it with my vouchers and reviews suggested that people liked it. So I picked it up from the shop and took it out that afternoon, a really bright, sunny afternoon at that. All I can say is that it was an epic FAIL! The good points were that it had a macro function... that was about it. The bad stuff included, SLOW auto focus, no image stabilisation and the most horrific purple fringing I have ever seen.

Here is an example, sooc, just resized and watermarked.

After showing my hubby that night, he said it was absolutely not acceptable and after doing some more searching, we decided that I should go for the Nikon 70-300mm f4.5/5.6 IF-ED AF-S VR. It was a lot more money, so we opted to use the vouchers as a deposit and take 6 months interest free credit and I walked out with it that day. I have to say I am in love, it's a nice bit of glass, the VR is a nice touch, it feels great in the hand and I can't wait to give it a real run in (bearing in mind it is my xmas pressie!) when we have a flickrmeet at Bradgate Park this Sunday.

Here are some shots I have taken with my newest baby.

At 70mm

At 300mm

More nature

2010-10-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

Band shoot

2010-10-26T04:21:00.000-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of my 1st non family, none child photoshoot. In the days leading up to the shoot I was nervous as hell, but on the day I felt good about it all (not good in myself though, had a really bad allergy day). 2 of the members of the group are old friends of my hubby, the bloke & my hubby went to school together, so go waaaaay back. We had fun and I learned a lot as well.

So 1st the main 2 are also a duo so they wanted some casual, some more dressy of just the 2 of them. These 1st 2 will need to be re-edited as the colours are not consistent with the rest.

Then we shot the main group

Then some of just the boys:

Then the threesome:

And an extra one of T because she was so fun to shoot!

Local & wild Red deer

2010-10-26T04:09:00.000-07:00

Where I live are an awful lot of fallow deer, some sika & muntjac and a small herd of red deer. I finally found them about 2 weeks ago but I think I missed their rut :(

Naturally I wanted to get closer, damn you for not being a 500mm lens! I crept quite close before he finally noticed me. I'm surprised he couldn't hear my heart hammering! I'm also surprised this turned out I was shaking so bad! I only had a 200mm lens and this is NOT a crop. Now imagine how close I was to those antlers!

I started to feel very panicky when he suddenly sniffed the air and stood up straighter......

Thankfully he wasn't sure what to make of the camera clicking and walked away

Was just about to leave (as little legs fell into a puddle, lol!) when this young chap appeared as if by magic.

Bradgate Park 10/10/2010

2010-10-26T04:03:00.002-07:00

It was a glorious day and we made a last minute choice to visit the park.

Albino fallow buck

Some macro, some 365 shots

2010-10-26T03:52:00.000-07:00

Opps! Catch-up time!

2010-10-26T03:36:00.000-07:00

Phew, what a busy few weeks. There really ought to be 48 hours in a day. I have finally finished the Heartline Calender although it still needs to go to the printers. I finally got my 1st non family photoshoot under my belt and have been enjoying autumn and all it has to offer.

So here are some of my favourite shots of the kids from the last few weeks:

At the launch of the Red Balloon Donor Board for BCH

Just a couple from Gentelshaw that made me smile...

2010-09-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

Apache landed on a perch that someone (obviously not me) had hung their D300 on. I just had to grab the shot seeing as that is what I shoot with!

Poor non-waterproof barn owl with her devoted volunteer

Tired tawny owl. I think we were boring her, lol!

Gentleshaw Bird of Prey Hospital & Wildlife Centre - Portaits (part 3 of 3!)

2010-09-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

European Eagle Owl

White Faced Owl - Smurf

Mackinder Eagle Owl - Elsie

Great Grey Owl - Apache

Red Tailed Hawk - Kyla

Harris Hawk - Jilly

Back to Kyla as she was my favourite!

Gentleshaw Bird of Prey Hospital & Wildlife Centre - Portaits (part 2 of 3!)

2010-09-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Barn Owl

Common Buzzard - Sky

Asian Brown Wood Owl - Chip

Gentleshaw Bird of Prey Hospital & Wildlife Centre - Portaits (part 1 of 3!)

2010-09-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

Snowy Owl

Tawny Owl - Treacle

Lanner Falcon - Blue

Gentleshaw Bird of Prey Hospital & Wildlife Centre - in flight shots

2010-09-28T06:11:00.001-07:00

Ok. I have been meaning to post these since I took them, but it took me over a week to sort and edit the ones I liked best and most of the time I couldn't decide and so edited more than I needed to, lol!

On 19th September a group of flickrite friends & I had paid to take part in a bird of prey photography experience. I had a fantastic time. I got to spend the day with like minded friends, having a laugh and a natter, taking part in my favourite past time and seeing these magnificent birds up close and personal. The centre is run entirely by volunteers and their dedication and devotion to the birds was plain to see. The 1st part of the day was dedicated to static photos & close ups and the afternoon was were we got to try our hand at in flight shots.

I am going to break the photos down into 2 lots as the post could get unbelievably ling otherwise, lol! I will start with the inflight shots. It was harder than it looked, easier with the slower moving birds. Thanks goodness for Nikon's 3D tracking capabilities!

Not the best background, but there was going to be not such nice looking stuff in the background no matter where you stood.

Some of my 365 shots from the last week.

2010-09-28T06:01:00.000-07:00

My cherry tree has turned a stunning shade of red

And this week I have mainly been messing with my flashgun.

Down at the allotment

2010-09-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

We went over to the allotment on Saturday as it was such a glorious day. I took some snapshots (yay, I CAN do snapshots!) as we harvested 2 of the pumpkins.

This pumkin weighs 20.5 lbs!

And Js pumpkin weighs 9.5 lbs

Comma butterfly

Mablethorpe - Day 7

2010-09-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Friday was our last full day of our holiday. The morning was spent in Mablethorpe. We caught the sand train into town, played crazy golf, walked back, had ice cream even though it was freezing before getting the train back along the beach. After lunch we went swimming, then played in the arcades for a bit. Saturday was spent cleaning the caravan ready for the next heart family that needed a break, before our long drive home.

A funky beach hut:

It was our 3rd visit to mablethorpe and we commented that we had never seen the sea so violent while we've been there.

I braved handing my camera over to a nice man who offered to take a family portrait for us, he didn't do a bad job at all!

Sand train

J bowling!

Our home for the week after we had vacated, many thanks to Heartline & the Needhams.

Mablethorpe - Day 6

2010-09-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we went to Skegness and to Natureland. We have taken both of the other boys when they were little, so it seemed a bit of a tradition to take Z as well. After natureland, we walked along the beach and pier.

Mablethorpe - Day 5

2010-09-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to the Parrot Zoo. Cute little place. We had a blast in the walk in aviary. One particular parakeet was very taken with my hair bobble.

Mablethorpe - Day 4

2010-09-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

It rained all morning, finally stopping an hour or 2 after lunch. J was feeling better, so we decided to go to the seal sanctuary to while away an hour or 2. Very handy, being that it was about 500 yards from the van, lol! The evening turned out to be lovely, although we still had gale force winds. I decided to take a trip out, about 14 miles away to take some photos of a wind farm I had seen in a farmers field.

Mablethorpe - Day 3

2010-09-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

J wasn't very well on Monday so we didn't do much and it rained most of the day too. Shame as it was our 9th wedding anniversary to boot. Oh well! I barely picked up the camera, just snapped Z sleeping.

Mablethorpe - Day 2

2010-09-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

Spent the early afternoon on the beach. Good thing too as it turned out to be the only bit of decent weather we had.

Mablethorpe -Day 1

2010-09-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

Spent most of the day in the car, but convinced the boys to have a wonder to the beach after our tea, I think we all needed some fresh air and to stretch our legs. I loved watching the boys being silly.

Yes, they are supposed to be out of focus!

Before our holiday

2010-09-20T08:18:00.001-07:00

Some more shots from before we went away. Unfortunately I had a couple of unfortunate incidents while out shooting. I got a bit nervous about having my full name on my watermark, so from here on in my name is either cut off or I changed it to a pretty boring do not copy - copyright 2010 watermark.

First of all, I got 2 of my photos made into canvases and I LOVE them.

Just add water!

Z is bread mad!

1st & 2nd Sept, summer returns....albeit, breifly!

2010-09-03T04:11:00.000-07:00

The last 2 days have been beautiful in comparison to the last 6 weeks. The boys and I made the most of the sun and went out on Tuesday to walk around a local nature reserve. I managed to find a great new location, a set of steps that are mossy. Great textures and colours to be found there. I will probably try again as the leaves start turning, see if I can get a shot of all my boys that would be suitable for holiday cards.

As my eldest boy seems to be mid growth spurt and his clothes were ill fitting, I only shot the younger 2 and am really pleased with the shots of J.

Right after I took this shot, Jamie got kissed by a dog and after that, he wasn't in the mood for more photos, LOL!

Yesterday:

The boys playing on my FIL's bike

After this shot, we ewalked a little further up the path before bumping into a couple and their teenage son. I was asked how old SHE is and told SHE is so pretty. I couldn't be bothered to correct her as it's becoming a common occurance. Does he really look that girly? It's the hair, right? I'm not cutting the length till the curls drop out, lol!

And for fun, I put together this story board:

The rest of August: People

2010-09-03T03:59:00.000-07:00

I seem to have got back into people photos and have got better at remembering to grab some snapshots

The rest of august: Nature

2010-09-03T03:53:00.000-07:00

13th-20th August Portraits

2010-08-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

A larger version of one from the rainy days story board

Messing with my wireless remote over the weekend.

Something about this one reminds me of Olan Mills! LOL!

13th-20th August

2010-08-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

Homegrown stuff!

Nature stuff:

Lots of story boards!

2010-08-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

So, this weeks 365 theme on ILP is sequence/story board. I was crazy enough to decide I would do a storyboard every day for a week. I think I have done well, it's Friday today and I have managed 6 of 6 days so far! Yay, go me!

So here they are:

Sunday:

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Today:

My little man - 21 months!

2010-08-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

I am reeling, I can hardly believe he will be 2 in 3 months time. It has gone so fast.... too fast. However, he is such a character, so funny and chatty, I couldn't imagine life without him, no matter how difficult he makes my days, lol!

So, to mark this moment in his life, I have spent a few days taking shots of just him. The first set were taken on a pleasant evening earlier this week. The older boys were inside playing a video game with their Dad, leaving Zack & I to play, lol! The "rainy days" collage / storyboard, was taken yesterday. Zack & I don't get a lot of one 2 one time with homeschooling the older 2. Thursdays they go to the MIL's and Zack & I spend some quality bonding time together.... alone! Yesterday mornings weather was vile, but it presented a perfect opportunity for puddle jumping!

Some wildlife, some life size, some macro!

2010-08-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

So after a pretty unenthusiastic July, I am trying to get myself re-motivated. I enjoy wildlife photography as I can leave the kids at home with dh and just relax, so I thought I would spend some time, getting back to nature. I am also really enjoying my macro converter.

This sweet little fox (I know, I know, not everyone thinks they are!) got into a territorial scrap while I was there. The next shot I got of it showed a nasty bite wound to the eye and bite marks on the face :(

July 2010 - the month my mojo went missing!

2010-08-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

LOL! July was a hard month. I didn't really feel like getting my camera out, but forced myself to carry on taking at least 1 - usually crappy - shot a day for my 365 project. I did get a few shots that I really liked though

Camping - July 2010

2010-08-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

We booked a very last minute camping trip the weekend of 10-12th July. We went to Shropshire, near Church Stretton.

Driving over Long Mynd

Attingham Park

A few of my fellow Flickrmeet members

2010-07-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, some of the members have expressed they they don't mind people seeing their images, which I am pleased about as I thought I had some great shots. I will refrain from posting names to protect their identities.

Do you think we stood out amongst the crowds?

"Santa"

Santa's Brother

The gorgeous F

E

Tried something slightly artistic!

Shugborough Hall - Flickrmeet 3rd July

2010-07-06T05:16:00.000-07:00

Waiting to greet us and tell us about the no flash photography rule. I hate pop up flash anyway, lol!

Bling

Table in the library

Once finished with the main house, we waited outside for the rest of the group to catch up. We spent ages people watching (and commenting on some fashion faux pas) when the bride & bridesmaids arrived. I was quite a long way away, so these are large crops, hencde not the best quality. It made me realise that wedding photography is not for me, lol! It would be fine if I could spend the whole day taking candid shots.

Servants quarters:

Puppet shop

Back outside. Fountain in the gardens

Spotted the Bride & Groom as they came out of the house for photos. This wasn't the official kiss, but I couldn't help myself! He looks a little aloof if you ask me. Won't give my opinion on whether this marriage will last ;)

1st week of July 2010

2010-07-06T04:49:00.000-07:00

Finally managed to catch a fawn hiding in plain sight and one with it's mother. They are probably only about 2 or 3 weeks old.

I admit I was really annoyed to miss the focus on the fawn in the grass. I was wearing my contact lenses and the diopeter in the camera is adjusted to my eye without glasses or contacts. Grrrr! Still, you get the idea. I almost walked right past him/her. If it hadn't flicked it's ear, I would have missed it.

Anyone who knows me well knows I am all for breastfeeding!

2nd July saw me take delivery of my "new" second hand speedlight/flashgun. I was running out of time to take a shot for my 365 project and I had been wanting to try to recreate a shot I saw a friend do.

On Saturday 3rd July the members of my local flickrmeet team met up at Shugborough Hall. However, as much as I have some shots I love from the meet, I have to respect the privacy of the members, many of whom have requested that the images remain for our eyes only. I do have this one shot.

I will post the photos from Shugborough in it's own post, especially as I took some candid shots of a wedding that was happening (which I bet cost a small fortune - it put my wedding to shame, lol!)

On Sunday we went to the allotment and came home with 5lb of food!

Just a small portion of what we brought home

These carrots were like this when I thinned them out. Suggestions for a name include Carrot Cuddles and Twisted Tenderness

Yesterday saw me experimenting with olive oil in water.

The rest of June 2010

2010-07-06T04:40:00.000-07:00

Just a mish mash of stuff from the last 10 days of the month

Hubby & I taken on my camera phone at the Chase Keane concert

The boys and I were sat on the ground about 10 meters away

J's 6th birthday!!

2010-06-24T06:52:00.000-07:00

My amazing little man turned 6 on the 22nd.

Randomness from mid month

2010-06-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

The elusive green woodpecker - a newly fledged female chick

M is for Mine!

Lots & lots of flowers!

2010-06-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

16th June: this was originally just a "grab shot" so that I would have something to post to my 365, but with a bit of editing and post production work, I think it is something that I would eventually print for the wall (like when I come to sell, instead of having personal family photos on the wall)

On Thurday 17th, I took Zack and headed to Bewdley, looking for a poppy feild I had seen on the evening news the day before.

I found it.... so did dozens of other photographers, LOL!

Found our way under the railways bridge to cool off:

And a bonus shot of Z!

Legoland snaps - day 2!

2010-06-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

This shot cracks me up!!

This cheeky chaffinch was doing it's best to polish off Z's lunch!

Legoland snaps - day 1!

2010-06-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

The older 2 boys decided they wanted to go to Legoland Windsor this year, so we booked a 2 days stay to fall between their birthdays.

2 year anniversary post!

2010-06-18T05:12:00.000-07:00

This is bound to get very long, but I thought I would share my photography journey over the last 2 years (basically from when I got my bridge camera, even though I enjoyed taking photos before that)

Here are a few of my favourite shots using various camera over the last 9 years or so.

And 2 I had made into canvases

For my 30th birthday in June 2008 I got a bridge camera, a Panasonic Lumix DCM-FZ8. I thought it was the bomb!

June 2008: One of the 1st photos I took with it. Loving the blown spots & lack of composition, amongst many other errors.

July 2008: I moved on to trying to get nice portraits of my 2 boys.

What do you mean kids are supposed to have 2 ears?

Jamie & his puss eyes. Despite the faults, this is still a favourite of mine.

The selective colouring right of passage! Thank goodness it lasted no more than a few days, lol!

My try at candid portriture, digging the sepia and totally blown background!

I was pregnant with my 3rd baby, so had a go at a maternity portrait at 26 weeks, DIY style! I had no remote so it was all done with the timer.

Nov 2008: I joined ILP in August 2008 and read lots but practiced little. My 3rd baby arrived in Nov and I had a new model to play with! I so wish I had asked a professional to do his newborn shots :( At least I had a new camera, a DSLR. I was the proud owner of a Konica Minolta Dyanx 5D, kit lens & 70-210 zoom.

Lobster baby!!

Feb 2009: I then wanted a mother & baby shot, again I had to do this myself. At least by this time I had a remote release and enlisted the help of my eldest to press the shutter button! I was really pleased with this but got told that I was far too close to the background.

Trying out some B&W conversions

April 2005: DS3's 5 month portrait. What. was. I. thinking? I obviously wasn't thinking!

May 2009: I practiced lots over the next month to get ready for ds3's 6 month portraits. I even got a 50mm f1.7 prime lens & a basket. Baby in a basket makes me a photographer right?! What do you mean he's magenta?

Tried more props, people mentioned the crotch sniffing dog more than my cute baby

He's had enough, but I still LOVE this shot.

It had to be done!

August 2009: Z turned 9 months. I was really happy with the session

October 2009: I started playing with OCF outdoors. Like the green cast in his hair?

Flash, backlighting and tree climbing all in 1 shot!

November 09: DS3 turned 1! 1st birthday portrait & cake smash

Christmas 2009, made my own cards!

Jan 2010: Downloaded the LR 3 beta and messed around with some photos. Couldn't get to grips with it then, but have decided to give it another try this week.

Had a go a a proper, grown up SP.

My 1st attempt at a head swap. Just wish this were sharper.

Feb 2010 started with another self portrait, I am so proud to have been able to nurse my babies and am proud to be an extended nurser. This was taken with no help, just a shutter release and timer.

My gorgeous baby!

Another SP (I must seem like I love myself, lol!) I recently got shortlisted in a photographer of the year competition with this shot.

To end, some of my most recent portrait stuff. I have pretty much moved away from portraiture as my kids are sick of my camera and apart from my eldest, are not great ages to photograph, especially the youngest, he's 19 months!

This last shot was taken last weekend, I was trying out my new gorilla pod and using the timer. This was the very 1st shot taken this way, I'd been wanting to get a family shot, was planning on a studio set up, but I do like this.

Phew, if you made it this far I applaud you! I hope in another 2 years time I will look back and cringe at my current recent photos. I'm sure it can be seen that I still have a lot to learn and work on, like clean processing, colour casts, skin tones etc. I will get there in the end!

Happy Birthday to me!

2010-06-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

I have been thoroughly spoilt. Admittedly I did not have much to open as I had my main pressie, my new camera about 2 weeks ago as I am like a big kid and could not wait! That was fine by me. However I did get a few surprises this morning, one of them was a wireless remote trigger for the camera. So today we went to have a picnic lunch at Shugborough and I thought that I could have a mess about, see if I could get the wireless remote working to try for some family photos. Needless to say, I could not get the remote working (dead battery, lol!) but by this time, I had the idea of a family shot in my mind, so decided to put my other pressie, a gorilla pod (mini, bendy tripod) to use. I ended up setting the camera up on a timer and running back and forth. The very first shot turned out the best, with expressions I would normally see, especially on the boys. If only we had been dressed better. Oh well, you can't win them all, will still be printing this out for a frame.

12th June 2010

2010-06-13T14:31:00.001-07:00

It's the first time in nearly 2 weeks I have managed to get out on my own. There is something so peaceful about being "at one" with nature.

June 11th 2010

2010-06-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

It's the turn of the flowers!

June 9th 2010

2010-06-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

It's all about the birds today!

Although these are not the sharpest, clearest shots, they are by far the best shots I have managed to date of kingfishers and to really make my day, I found out this is a newly fledged juvenile!

June 8th 2010

2010-06-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

Sums up the day I had!

Sunday 5th June '10

2010-06-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

Common Tern, taken before "the accident"

Sat 5th June '10

2010-06-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

It was a hot day, I think our female rabbit had the right idea!

Friday 4th June '10

2010-06-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

Took the boys to the Wolseley nature reserve.

Took a candid shot of this really sweet older couple. They kept holding hands and hugging, it was lovely to see!

Damselfly

This gosling made us all laugh, poor thing was swimming upstream against quite a current

How could anyone ever refer to these as ugly ducklings?

My best shot to date of a flying kingfisher.

3rd June 2010

2010-06-08T11:32:00.000-07:00

Poorly baby!

2nd June 2010

2010-06-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

Common tern

1st June 2010

2010-06-08T11:22:00.000-07:00

The rest of May!

2010-06-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

Connor's 9th Birthday!

My newest baby!

Twycross Zoo

2010-06-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to be invited to the opening of the new Himilayian visitors centre by young at heart. Who can resist a free trip to the zoo?!

More from May

2010-06-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

I've fallen behind with my blogging, there are just not enough hours in the day! It's been a busy ol' month!

My biggest and proudest achievment in photography so far, being shortlisted in the photographer of the year competition in the portraits round!

Sunday 9th May

2010-05-10T04:39:00.000-07:00

Cornflower found on my allotment, such beautiful flowers

Young stag that I bumped into last night.

Zack's 18 month piccies!

2010-05-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

Zack turned 18 months yesterday. OMG, I can't even begin to describe what a HORRIBLE age this is to photgraph. Being Mr Independent, he wanted to be off doing his own thing, but seeing as I couldn't use my zoom lens, it meant I couldn't just photograph him doing his thing from afar.

Things didn't start well.....

Managed to get him to stand still for a moment!

He's off!

I couldn't believe my luck when I saw this on the computer for the 1st time. We were trying to teach him to blow the dandelion seed heads, but he preferred the pinch and throw method!

The demise of my 70-210 lens

2010-05-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

It was inevitable that one of my lenses would eventually become faulty. To be fair, it wasn't like it was a sudden thing. The light meter went screwy early last year. It worked fine in auto, but in manual, it would over expose everything, usually badly if it said the exposure was correct. I usually had to guess. Then over the last few weeks I noticed some of my shots were not as sharp as they should be. At first I thought it was me. Then I did a controlled test, using a tripod, a still life object and a timer to avoid camera shake. It is definitely the lens and not me. Dh & I discussed the pro's & cons of a new camera against just replacing the lens. As much as I am feeling the limitations of my current camera body, I can not justify the price of upgrading when we are about to have our kitchen done. So bought a "new" second hand minolta 70-300mm lens today. I can't wait for it to get here as it is what I use for wildlife... including my wild little Zack, pmsl!

These are the last shots I got with my 70-210. Look how soft the second shot is (photographer speak for out of focus!). I love it though, so processed it in a way to give it a dreamy, soft look.

Some random struff from the last week

2010-05-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

Dandelion seed:

Keyboard

Flowers and landscape

Two from today.

2010-05-03T14:21:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist this shot of my hubby with my youngest, so sweet & tender

Went and picked up a bleeding heart plant today. I remember my mum having 1 when I was little. I love the flowers and it is oh so appropriate. I love how delicate and yet detailed this came out.

I think I have a bit of a thing for Wall-E!!

2010-05-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

I have no shame! I openly play with the kids toys and my favourite by far is Wall-E. He is just so expressive. I have searched high & lo for an Eve. We have one but the boys lost the stand and the flaps on her front. Ebay - here I come!

Playing with light & shadows and cuteness overload!

2010-05-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

I bought myself from fressias the other day. It comes to something when you buy yourself flowers for something different to photograph, lol! They were a lovely yellow but this really had more impact in B&W

The next day I took all the boys to the Wolsely nature reserve and we came across some "fresh out the egg" ducklings. The little fluff balls were just adorable and were attracting a lot of attention

All things heart

2010-04-30T04:14:00.001-07:00

I have spent a bit of time over the last few days thinking of things that I could photograph that depicted hearts and heart shapes. I am hoping to get some printed and display them, alongside other works and the Children's "Art for Heart" exhibition/competition. I wish I could show some of my Wall-E work, I'm sure the kids would love it, but I know it's copyrighted.

My favourite! Guess it's because it combines 2 of my favourite things, photography & tea!

These next 2 shots I am thinking of doing again, 1 in pink, 1 in blue.

Minstrels. Couldn't re-shoot this as I kind of ate the prop, pmsl!

My least favourite. I am going to try it again and try and make sure I get the shaped bokeh the right way up, lol!

Beautiful sunset, 28th April

2010-04-30T04:12:00.000-07:00

I got a macro shot of this ladybird resting, the sunset can be seen in it's wing.

Trip to Birmingham, 26th April

2010-04-30T04:02:00.000-07:00

On Monday, my middle boy had an appointment at the Children's Hospital in the afternoon. In the end i decided to take all the boys and treat them to a morning at the sea life centre. With such poor lighting and having to use high ISO and slow shutter speeds, it's not surprising that none of these shots are very sharp.

After lunch in Brindley Place. I promise I was holding his reins!

A very proud Mummy moment!!

Chasewater

2010-04-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we spent a good portion of the day at our allotment, which is a stones throw from the swag end of Chasewater. When it came to the little ones naps time, I plonked him in his pushcahir and we went for a wonder.

Continuing on the theme of lost things...

The main lake has had to be drained for vital repair work to the dam wall. I found this growing on what was the lake bed

Beautiful mummy to be, she has a clutch of 6 eggs in her nest. Fingers crossed the yobbo's don't trash her nest this year.

I had been told that there were red deer in the area, but had never seen them until yesterday.

Came across this sweet little one on the way back to the car

Early morning on the Chase - for a change!

2010-04-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

As the little one had me up at 5.30am, I decided to get up and see what all the fuss is about early mornings. Yep, it was beautiful, yep, it was quiet, there was the added bonus of the fact that all my kids were still tucked up in bed. Apart from the sunrise, I didn't really see much in the way of wildlife but made some other interesting finds, including some lost things, lol!

Another beautiful day

2010-04-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

spent on the Chase. Somehow it never gets boring, more like trying now that Zack wants to walk!

Went back with just Zack in the evening. Saw this curios little vixen. She stands out with her pink nose. Shame I couldn't get a closer shot of her

Came out of thew woods just in time to catch another stunning sunset

We checked out the car parks to find these waiting for us, nobody else was there. The deer are not far off being ready to have their fawns

Another fox

I wish the quality of the last 2 were better, but alas, it was almost pitch black and I'm lucky I got anything at all. I'll be saving forever for a camera with better low light capabilities and a really good zoom lens.

21st April 2010

2010-04-22T02:15:00.001-07:00

Another day/evening spent on the chase. In the afternoon we went to see if we could find a fox den that we know had 4 cubs about a week ago. We found the den but didn't stay as it as 3.15pm and we figured they would be napping. My eldest boy & I went back at about 7pm, (partly to find my glasses which had been dropped while we were there...d'oh!) we sat for a while a nice distance away but did not see any cubs. We did see some deer and then a little later, we saw a fox in one of the top carparks as one of the regulars we see over the chase had put meat out for it! Thanks Pat, it made a great photo opportunity! All in all, a good evening, lots of pics, a lovely sunset and I found my glasses!

April 2010 - part 4

2010-04-21T05:19:00.000-07:00

PHEW!! That's me up to date now! I think I need to take less photo's!

April 2010 - part 3

2010-04-21T04:54:00.000-07:00

Jamie: 5 years post op!

2010-04-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

The short story is this: 11th APril is a very special day, a day to be celebrated. Jamie was born in apparently perfect health. A heart murmur was discovered when they did the routine checks, but found nothing amiss when they did further tests (BP and pulse ox). Fast forward through a lot of stress and heartache for us, Jamie was diagnosed with congenital heart defects when he was 9 months old. He underwent open heart surgery a week after his initial diagnosis. On this day 5 years ago, the team at Birmingham Children's Hospital saved my baby's life and I can never thank them enough. For now Jamie is happy, healthy and looking forward to his 6th birthday. Fingers crossed his check up goes well on 26th April.

I'm sad this one is soft

The daffs are symbolic. Just before J was diagnosed, we took a pic of him in his pushchair, looking at a bunch of daffs that C had given him. Friends on a parenting board I used when J was little, turned that photo into an picture signature expressing their thoughts and prayers for Jamie's recovery. Naturally, I love daffs! The boys picked these for me and I brought them home!

April 2010 - part 2

2010-04-21T04:29:00.000-07:00

April 2010 - part 1

2010-04-21T04:17:00.000-07:00

March 2010 - part 4

2010-04-21T04:06:00.001-07:00

March 2010 - part 3

2010-04-21T03:55:00.000-07:00

March 2010 -part 2

2010-04-21T03:50:00.000-07:00

March 2010 - part 1

2010-04-21T03:43:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

2010-04-21T03:29:00.000-07:00

We had arranged to spend a few days in Scotland as a surprise for one of my hubby's oldest friends, to surprise him for his 40th birthday. Between the threatened BA strikes and the fact that Scotland, like England, had suffered it's worst winter for 30 years and had a massive snow storm lasting days just before we flew, we were worried we would not make it. We flew out on 1st March and returned on 5th March. There was an absolutely crazy amount of snow in Tomintoul where we stayed and the cottage was FREEZING but we had a good time.

Here are the photo's from our trip.

February 2010 - part 3

2010-04-21T03:24:00.000-07:00

February 2010 - part 2

2010-04-21T03:08:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness!! Feb -part 1

2010-04-21T02:38:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated this blog in far too long. I can barely remember to update my 365 blog (sometimes I am doing 10 days at a time... or more!) I should feel bad as I had this blog before that one.

Anyway, here goes a few pages of a MASSIVE update from me then. Some will be the same pics as my 365, some will be the boys, the Chase, anything goes really. I think I am seeing an improvement in my work since I started the 365, plus I have branched out into taking pics of anything seeing as my boys are not always cooperative! I am learning new techniques, doing composites and trying new post processing stuff as well. Maybe by the end of the year I will have found a "style", lol!

So here is the rest of Some of my favourite stuff from February 2010.

One of my favourites of the year so far, the 1st time I managed to get an image that was pretty close to what I saw in my minds eye before I started.