knittens

Update

Just a quick note to let you all know that I received honorable mention for Week 20 at iHeartFaces!  I am so excited.  This is the second time that I have been selected as a finalist, and I would have to say that this time is just as exciting as the first.  It is really such an honor and a thrill to have an established photographer recognize one of my captures out of hundreds.

I just want to say "thank you" to Angie and Amy for running such an awesome site and giving almost anyone the opportunity to participate in weekly contests and giveaways, providing some great tutorials and "hands-on editing".  I know they put so much time into making the site work, and I certainly appreciate all their efforts!

I'll be back tomorrow with some shots from the week.
xo
meg

End of May - Lets have a Giveaway!

Time to say "goodbye" to May and "hello" to June! What better way than with a giveaway?  Where my last giveaway was one of my own products, this giveaway is for a camera strap slip-cover from Designs by Jessie a shop that is operated by (you guessed it!) Jessie. 

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get my hands on a brand new Mark II.  I was SO excited to try out my new camera.  Unfortunately my reaction wasn't of pure joy when I put the strap over my head.  I guess I'd really broken in the strap on my 10d because the new strap really left a lot to be desired.  The first thing I did was head over to Etsy to search for a new strap.  When I came to Jessie's store, I was excited to see all of the cool fabric choices, fun add-ons, and that she was adding new products regularly.  After a quick "convo" with her, I knew I'd found the shop where I'd by my strap slip cover.  Even though I wanted to buy every single fun, bright, chic cover that I laid my eyes on (and let me tell you, they are so affordable it is hard not to), I decided to start with one.

I was not disappointed.  The slip-cover is comfortable because it is lined with fleece interfacing.  The pictures in her shop don't do these straps justice, as the fabric is brand new, bright, and soft.  She clearly takes a lot of care with her products as her craftsmanship and finishing touches are outstanding.  You would be hard pressed to find such a great cover anywhere else, I'm sure.

So, onto the contest!  I am giving away ONE of Jessie's designs to ONE lucky reader!  The slip-cover is black and white.  One side is a floral pattern, the other is polka-dots.  The cover includes two accessory pouches which are perfect for keeping extra batteries, memory cards, or lens caps within easy reach.  The cover is 2 3/4" wide and 21" long.  The pictured strap cover (which is the cover I am giving away) works with many different kinds of straps.  Please measure yours before you enter the giveaway to make sure that the cover with fit! 

In order to participate in the contest you need to leave ONE comment that describes your "must have" shot for over the summer.  My must-have shot is going to be an action shot of my little one splashing in the ocean this summer.  I can't wait!

**But Wait! There's more!  You can get more entries!**

For (1) additional entry, follow me on Twitter (or tell me that you already to) and leave ANOTHER comment saying you do
For (1) additional entry, Tweet about the giveaway! (For Example:  Have you heard the news?! @TeaAndBrie is having a giveaway for a chic camera strap! Enter today! http://tinyurl.com/nz6ka7 Please RT!) and leave ANOTHER comment saying you do

(for those of you who already left it in one comment, don't worry, I'll count them as three separate comments!

That is a total of three possible entries! (One comment describing your must have shot, one comment saying you follow me, one comment about your tweet). 

This is a quick contest.  I will pick a winner on Monday, so get those comments in!  I will pick a winner using a random number generator.  Just as a reminder, this contest is only open to my friends in the US and Canada.

Any questions? Just shoot me an email.  And, if you don't win? You should go over to her shop and buy one anyway.  What a great way to dress up your camera, support handmade, and get a whole lotta fashion for not alotta cash!

Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
xo
meg

iHeartFaces :: Week 20 :: Silhouettes

This week at iHeartFaces the theme is silhouettes.  This came at a perfect time.  I picked up Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson and there was an entire area of the book dedicated to silhouettes.  Metering has been something that I sort of winged in the past, and after reading this book (from cover to cover on our trips to LBI and back this weekend) I picked up some amazing tips.  In fact, I am so smitten with this book and the information that he has provided that I signed up for this class at his online photography school.  If it is anything like the book, I know I will walk away with tons of useful information.  I don't know, even the shots I took this weekend after reading the book seem to be a step up for me.  I'm proud of myself :)  Anyway, back to iHeartFaces.

This is my submission for week 20.  As I mentioned yesterday, we spent Friday and Saturday on LBI with some of our friends.  I really wanted to get a picture at sunset before we left, specifically for this submission.  The sun is usually down by 8, and once it hits the horizon it seems to go down even faster.  As it was 7:45 and we were just saying our goodbyes, I didn't think we would make it.  But, sure enough Matt got us to the bay so I could get my shots (no ocean sunsets on the east coast, but boy, the bay doesn't disappoint).  He took Tea to watch the sunset over the water and play for a few more minutes, Brie was wailing in the car because she thought we left her, and I stood on the edge of the playground snapping away.  Though I love the pictures I have of Matt and Tea agains that firey sky, something about this image stood out to me.  Maybe it was because i have no idea who this little girl is, or the fact that she was in her PJs, or perhaps because she was frantically trying to jam in as much playtime before bed.  It just screamed to me of those youthful summer days that I had as a kid. I remember swinging out in my backyard, my mom telling me that I could stay out until the sun went down.  That feeling of anticipation as I tried to reach the sky, wondering how many more swings I'd get in, and if I'd be able to steal a few more minutes before my mom came out to get me.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and have some special things planned for this week!

xo
meg

Beach Day

We have had such a remarkable couple of days.  Matt took off of work on Friday and we spent the day at the beach.  Although there are beaches as little as 20 minutes away, we usually take the 45 min trip to LBI because we have some friends there who own a house.  It is a beautiful drive through the NJ country side.  We pass countless horse parks (did you know that New Jersey has more racing horces than Kentucky?), and the roads are littered with farm stands and nurseries. 

New Jersey has more to offer than people know.  If you are ever in the area, be sure to look me up.  You won't be disappointed!

We usually head to Surf City.  My favorite part of these beaches are the jetties.  A few years ago they had this huge beach restoration project and the beaches were closed for awhile.  The added so much sand to the beach that the jetties were completely covered, and although it would mean erosion, I really looked forward to seeing the jetties again.

The beach restoration project actually took them longer than expected because in the area they were dredging sand a mile or so out happened to be where there was a net of WWII munitions.  They dredged over 900 of the munitions onto the shore!  The cleanup took awhile, lol.  They still have the signs up that recommend not digging holes in the sand!

That didn't stop us.  How else would I be able to get shots from this perspective?! I wasn't going to dare put my Mark II that close to the sand.  The only solution was to dig dig dig :)

We remembered how much Thaya loved her time at the beach last year, but Brie had never been before.  We were a little nervous about her and the sand because she is at that "everything in the mouth" stage.  Surprisingly, she couldn't care less about putting things in her mouth.  She had so much fun crawling in and out of her little tent, playing with the sand toys, and crawling after her sister.  It's official, our girls are beach bums!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend.  We're going to spend the rest of our day doing some things around the house and playing at the park.  I really wouldn't have it any other way :)

Oh, and a side note, I spent the better part of yesterday trying to figure out how to add a blog to my website.  Thanks to many tutorials and hours and hours later, I figured it out.  I will now have a professional blog that will be separate from my personal blog.  I just didn't feel that it was appropriate to have client's images mixed in with my personal images.  I'll be sure to let you know when it is up and running!  My first post will be a sneak peak of the Baptism I shot last week.

xo
meg 

iHeartFaces :: Week 19 :: Blurb Book Contest

I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb book photo contest. If chosen, I grant I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites.

I had a really hard time choosing which photo to use for this contest.  I absolutely love taking close up shots of faces.  I love making the face, the eyes, the mouth, the center of attention.  I rarely crop the "up close and personal" shots because I have a tendency to fall in love with the sooc framing. 

I took this shot back in January, around the time that I was thinking about opening my Etsy Shop.  When I posted the shot, I was just beginning to overcome my PPD, and was feeling this fire come alive inside of me.  I felt determined to improve my photography, to pour my heart and soul into it, and to make it a defining part of who I am.  I really think that it gave me something to focus on to get me out of those down days.  I decided to enter this shot because it isn't just an image of my beautiful baby girl, but it symbolizes a turning point in my life. 

I decided to process it again because I feel that my postprocessing skills have improved a bit since January.  I'm happy with the results, though the pink may be a little more... bright... than I intended.  Oh well.

Hope you have a great night :)  I'll be busy busy busy processing from my FIRST shoot on Sunday and another shoot I had today.  I'll post some teaser pics soon!

xo
meg

Brie was caught in a beautiful patch of sun flare the other morning.  I was so happy to pull out my new camera to capture the moment :)

I had a nice long post planned for today, but I've come down with a case of Mastitis, so my plans have changed a bit.  I have a Christening that I am shooting on Sunday so I need to make sure I get some rest.

Before I go, just a note to say that the Spring Garden cards sold out on Etsy.  Winter Garden cards are now available in the shop.

The Winter Garden Series Includes:
*Black Eyed Susans
*Hydrangea
*Winter Warmth
*Awaiting Spring
*Hydrangea Flare (exclusively for this series!)

For more information on the cards, including specs for the photo and cardstock/envelopes, please click HERE

*New*New*New*

New in the shop! I hope you'll go and check them out :)  I'll be back later today or tomorrow with a new post on... well... mommyhood, what else?!

xo
meg

JPG Submission

I decided to submit to JPGmag.com (omg make sure you type it correctly into your browser!) this month.  It would mean a lot to me if you would head over there and vote for my shot.  They have a "zen" category, and I feel like this is perfect for it.

You should be able to simply click the image and it will take you over to the page.  I'm also going to put a button on my sidebar which will bring you there.

Thanks so much!
xo
meg

I am always going to remember the way my girls look at their daddy when he comes home from work.  How they drop what they are doing and frantically head towards the stairs when they hear the door opening.  How they all laugh and play, and when they are not laughing and playing, the girls sit with great anticipation, wondering what daddy will do next.

They love him in a way that can't be explained, it can only be experienced.  I feel blessed to be able to have a glimpse at their relationship, and honored that they try to include me.  I like how they have their own special relationship.  I love how, in some respects, I am an outsider.  I take advantage of this and record the special moments that they share so that they will always remember them and hold them dear.  The smiles, the giggles, the hugs and kisses, the excitement.

iHeartFaces :: Week 18 :: Laughter

I was so excited about this week at iHeartFaces. First of all, the guest judge is Ree Drummond.  Other than being an amazing photographer (and totally inspiring), a true cowgirl, and an amazing mom, she is also behind PW Actions (google them, I'm too lazy to link right now. I've got 2 sick kids, don't judge me!).

When I found out this week's theme is laughter, I knew I had to play along.  I desperatly wanted to use my new camera to capture a shot of the girls laughing, but I started to get a little nervous because my camera arrived yesterday morning and I didn't have much time to learn how to use it, upload and edit the captures, and post.  But here I am!  I spent all day today trying to figure out how to get the 5d Mark II RAW files to open with ACR, Bridge, and CS3.  But, I did it.  And, one quick edit later, here I am. Probably one of the last to enter (if I'm not already too late!)

The following is my submission for the kids category.

It may be hard to believe, but this shot came out almost exactly how I wanted it to.  A little distortion from the lens, vignetting, noise, blur.  I love how the water is so reflective of how aggressively she is splashing.  I love how the picture is full of grain, grunge, vintage.  I love how crystal clear the water is, how smooth it is, but how rough the rest of the image feels.

I love that girl, I love her smiles, but I love her laughter even more.  Laughter is ACTION, and she sure shows it :)

Off to see everyone else's submissions... well, that is after I take Tea's temp to make sure it isn't as high as I think it is, and change Brie's diaper, and feed them, and put them to sleep...

Ok, I'll be off to see everyone else's submissions later tonight :P

xo
meg