I’ve actually been doing a series similar to this for 18 days … it’s called “31 Peeks into Our Daily Life” and we’ve been having a lot of fun with it. I found myself taking pictures of leaves and trees and me standing on a bench, but I was missing the most important part of my life — the time I spend with my girl.

So this is a way for me to have little reminders of what we do on a daily basis, because this is my real life.

Friday, we played in the leaves …

… went to the park …

… walked on the balance beam …

… and daydreamed a little.

Saturday, we hung some stuff up in the new office/playroom …

including a new bulletin board that is just for Emma’s artwork.

Emma stole Macey’s bone to use as a spyglass …

… and then Macey knocked Emma over.

Sunday, we visited my parents in Georgia …

… walked through the woods …

… drove a bulldozer (i’m kidding!!) …

… visited the neighbor’s cows …

… and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over Lake Hartwell on the way home.

Monday, we looked up.

Tuesday, we had a silly day at home …

… stayed in our pj’s all day …

… and ate turkey dogs and bananas dipped in ketchup for lunch.

And Wednesday … we remembered.

Did you notice that we didn’t clean? That would be why I’m cleaning all day today.

See how everyone else lives their lives over at You Capture.

*deep breath*

I’ve had quite a few people approach me about becoming a professional photographer.

Did that sound totally braggy and pompous?

Honestly? It’s really weird to me, because I feel like I’m just now hitting a groove with my photography. I feel like I’m just now getting a good feel of composition and processing. I just recently started shooting in manual mode. I still shoot in aperture-priority mode a lot. I still come home and trash 90% of the photos I took on any given day.

The number one question I get is – what kind of camera do you use? And while this is a valid question, it doesn’t really explain the pictures that you see.

I’ve been using the same camera (or form of it) since 2005 … an Olympus Evolt. I started with the E-300 and recently upgraded to the E-520. It’s a great camera, and I know every little detail about it.

I also have 2 lenses besides the kit lens [14-45mm] :: a 50mm f/2.0 and a 40-150mm. The 50mm pretty much stays on my camera 24/7. I break out the 40-150mm when we’re traveling or visiting scenic places. And the kit lens still gets some action sometimes.

But it’s not JUST the camera that takes great pictures. Case in point? I will not start a photography business with it. There are so many things about it that just don’t compare to other cameras I’ve been eyeing. Anytime I go over 200 ISO, I have noise. That’s just not cool. The available lenses for the Olympus do not have the types of aperture I like to shoot (wide open, larger than 2.0) and the ones that I would need to start a professional photography business are very expensive.

But … an expensive camera doesn’t always mean great photos.

Honest confession, I rarely (if ever) post pictures straight out of the camera. There are some that I tweak just a little in brightness and contrast, but most of my images include cropping and then manipulation in either Lightroom or Photoshop Elements 5.0 or both.

So here to prove it, here are some of my recent shots … straight out of the camera and then edited.

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after

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after

Also? I take a gajillion pictures each time I hold my camera in my hands. I rarely (if ever!!) get it just right the first time.

So there are a whole lot of things that go into taking photographs. I know many people who can whip out an amazing photo straight out of the camera, and I wish I could get it just right. But for the 98% of the time that I don’t, I’m thankful for processing.

But in doing this office/playroom remodel, I’ve done everything I could to keep it as cheap as possible. I know cheap is often viewed as a dirty word, but I pay for good furniture and electronics and linens and then cheap out the rest. That’s how I roll.

So when I saw this tutorial for making super cute mousepads, I saved it in my delicious bookmarks for the day I would remodel my office.

Lo and behold, that day finally came, and I whipped this mousepad and coaster set out in less than 15 minutes.

And it was CHEAP!

cork boards – 4 for $1.00
fabric – free from my stash*
double-sided fusible web – $2.50

This set was made from one cork board (there were 2 coasters, but I put one on my bedside table) – and the fabric was stuff I already had, but *you could easily do a set of these from a fat quarter. Maybe even 2 sets if you squeeze everything really tight.

If cheap is a dirty word, then at least make something pretty out of it!

The weather is perfect …

The leaves are changing colors …

… and falling and gathering.

Yes. This is definitely my favorite season.

I cannot believe how much that HURT! And then after that, any tiny movement made me want to scream. Which I often did when no one was home.

Monday was mostly spent on the living room floor with occasional visits to the sofa.

Tuesday was spent on the sofa with occasional visits to the Halloween candy bowl.

(well, when your kid looks THIS cute, you end up with a ton of candy)

Today, I was able to get around and do stuff that had been neglected for two days – like dishes and laundry. But if I sit in the same position for a while, especially on a hard chair like I’m sitting on right now, then it screams with pain when I move.

Needless to say, I haven’t been online much in the past couple of days. A little Facebook & short emails because I can do that from my phone or iTouch, but other than that, teeny tiny bits of actual computer work only lasting a few minutes at a time.

So. If you’ve emailed me, I’m sorry if I haven’t been very prompt in responding. I’ll try to get back on track with all of that tomorrow. Or Friday. Or next month.

Okay, I’ll do it whenever I feel like it.

In the meantime, enjoy the soulful stylings of Miss Emma Grace on the empty oatmeal container …

So that article turned into another one.

And another one.

And then they asked me if I would like to turn my “guest contributor” position into a full contributor position.

Quick! Someone pinch me!!

Their contributors are a group of unbelievably talented photographers whose work I have admired for quite some time. And now I’ve been plopped down in the middle of them.

A girl who has just recently started shooting in manual mode. A girl who gets really REALLY bad pictures sometimes because she is still learning how to shoot in manual mode. A girl who is constantly blown away by the talent surrounding her who still wonders if she’ll ever reach that point.

A wife who got a nice camera as a wedding present from her husband so she could take it on their honeymoon.

And in the past 2.5 years, a momma who just wanted to take better pictures of her daughter.

Thank you to Angie and Amy for giving me this opportunity! I am so excited about being a part of this amazing team!

xo

This image took 3rd place in the I ♥ Faces Halloween Dress-Up Challenge! I’m really excited about this, because all of the pictures were SO good this week!

Congrats to all of the winners and author picks!!

So I don’t have the amazing colors I keep seeing everywhere else … but I’m going to suck it up and enjoy the weather. And tell myself that if I moved up north just for the leaves, I’d complain non-stop about the cold weather.

Hrumph.

see all of the autumn entries (and more colorful leaves!) right here

Congratulations to …

gkgirl says:

oh…how i love brandi carlisle…my favorite by her
was the first one i heard…
turpentine…
and i played it over and over
and over and over…
she has such a great voice!

I’m so happy it’s going to a big Brandi Carlile fan – you are going to love it!! It’s coming directly from the One2One Network, so I’ll email you in a bit with the details. :)

In other, really crazy the-internet-is-totally-broken news … I’ve had several photos hit the front page of Flickr explore lately! The first time it happened, I was so excited!! But now, I just think it might be broken.

Nah, a huge thanks to everyone who comments on my images. I’ve gotta be honest, it feels GOOD to have people like my photos … I won’t recite the whole Sally Field speech, but imagine that playing through my head over and over and over again.

And the leaf image was also chosen as the one word project for this month (illuminate) photo of the day at Shutter Sisters (LOVE them!!) and then a funny leaping picture for my friend Kristin was chosen as photo of the day at The Maternal Lens.

See? The internet is clearly broken!

So I’ll leave you with the cutest little itsy bitsy spider around!

Little Miss Muffet
Sat on a tuffet,
Eating her curds and whey;
Along came a spider,
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

except little miss muffet was dressed in taffeta and chucks,
sat on a bench,
the bowl of curds and whey was really holding the camera remote,
and the spider was WAY too cute to scare anyone away.

happy halloween!!

see more fabulous halloween entries here