more practice

I had a couple minutes to do some practice shots with Siera and Tim the other day. They were willing participants but a bit camera shy. A skill I need to improve is being able to keep up a steady chatter with the shooties to help them feel more at ease. One of my many lists for the big day is a list of things I can say to encourage those on the other side on the camera. "Happier, Happier!"

pratice

This weekend four women gathered at our house to practice dances for the wedding. I practiced my photography skills while a granddaughter practiced patience. I found the granddaughter a much easier and interesting subject to photograph.

fresh squeeze

Jay came home one night this week with a box full of oranges he picked. Yesterday we made fresh squeezed orange juice together...yum!

aftenoon dove

Tuesday afternoon I stopped by our friend's house in time to see the two baby Morning Doves on their first adventure from the nest. They had moved about 10 feet to the front porch railing where they rested while I did a little nature photo shoot.

the chair

I love this chair.

We stumbled upon it in an unexpected place, a little store front church up north with miss-matched furniture. I immediately fell head over heals in love with it. At first I just admired it from a distance, earthy brown with a hint of summer's past sitting on the porch. Then I let it hold me, ample arms around me, soft cushions with plenty of room to snuggle. Then to seal the relationship, it gently rocked me back and forth, back and forth on quiet, cleverly disguised gliders. Alas, when the day was over we had to part...but I haven't forgotten the moments we shared.

smilebox birthday blog

Another slideshow by Smilebox

of peaches & spring

I was delighted to discover
the little peach tree
the one that I had all but given up on
not only sprouting new green leaves
but also tiny pink blossoms.
Hooray for peaches and spring!

3 days in the wilderness-stephanie

3 days in the wilderness-shoe break

A short way into our backpacking trip the soul of Stephanie's book came off. That was the first of many "shoe breaks" when we stopped to tie the first one and then both souls back on Stephanie's feet.

c is for clifton

Jay had an overnight trip to the copper mining town of Clifton, AZ. He invited me to ride along and since the camping gear was still out I tossed my lists aside, threw the tent in the back of the van, grabbed the dog and jumped at the chance to photograph a new venue.

Although Lily and I ended up hoofing it around the little town we were able to find a plethora of interesting photo opportunities.

Clifton is the birthplace of Geronimo.

We camped across the road from the San Francisco river.


Photo credit goes to Jay on this one. This big horn sheep was grazing along the roadside when we drove into town. It didn't appear to be the least bit camera shy.

I didn't see any information on how Clifton got it's name but after viewing the precarious setting for much of the housing it seemed a fitting name.

3 days in the wilderness-nature photos

3 days in the wilderness:daddy-daughter photos

*note: Stephanie's hiking boots had a blow out-
both right and left-
thus we had multiple soul-tying stops/photo sessions.