Where did summer go...

I can't believe it is the last day of August and all those lucky kids who had the summer off have made their way back to school. It's been a while since my last post so be prepared for lots of pictures, my favorite thing as many of you know. So what do you do for the last weekend of summer, host a block party in your backyard of course. Last Saturday was the day and we had tons of help from our great neighbors, The Randall's, across the street. We actually had the easy job of providing the yard and grill, they did all the work of passing out invites, providing tons of food and games. We had a good turnout despite the very windy day we had to deal with. This is what Bob decided to do to enjoy some of the wind we were dealing with.

This was also the last week of the online photography class I have been taking from Karen Russell. I have learned so much from this class and would encourage anyone who has been thinking about it to take that next step and sign up. My last assignment was to concentrate on an area that I thought I needed improvement. Well that left the list wide open in my mind but I decided to try my lighting assignment again because I really felt I could have done better. Bob has been such a good sport during this course and has basically been my only model to practice on that I decided to recruit a different face for this assignment. I owe a huge thank you to Sophie my friend Brigette's daughter. She did a great job, especially considering I woke up a teenager bright and early on a Saturday morning. Here are the results and I am happy with them, now I have to wait for my critique to see if my teacher agrees. The goal is to get great catchlights in the eyes while avoiding harsh shadows on the face. The examples are of direct sunlight, indirect light (basically shade), and indoor lighting using natural light from a window.

And while we are on the subject of what I love to do in my spare time here are a few of my favorite pictures I took of Nic & Shannon's family a few weeks back. It took me a while to get them edited and sent to Shannon, that part is finally done so I think I'm safe in sharing a few.

Now this last picture of the batch you will need to look at closely. If you're a little slow, which from what I heard was the majority of my family, concentrate on Payton's shirt.

That's right, their expecting another baby in March. The good news for me is that there will be another little one to take pictures of!

Blue Ribbons

I finally got up enough courage to enter a few of my pictures into the Weber County Fair. I was nervous and didn't know what to expect, but I'm thrilled with the outcome. The hobby I started to take interest in a couple years ago has quickly become a passion of mine that I continue to learn more about every day. The payoff of seeing some of my results make it even more important for me to continue on this adventure. I'm usually not one to toot my own horn, but I really was surprised by this and wanted to share. Here are the original pictures, because for some reason taking pictures of pictures you just lose some of that fine quality.

Man's Best Friend

How I became a dog lover I truly do not know. Growing up we had a miniature poodle named Poochie that loved my mom and brother Mark but terrorized me on a regular basis. I was scared of this little white dog and we didn't own another dog after that. Based on that experience I sometimes find it strange that these four legged creatures made their way into my heart. Funny how a pet becomes such a huge part of your family. Last Friday Harley had to have ACL surgery and it has taken it's toll on me. I guess you don't realize how special they are to you until you are faced with the major things. He's on a slow road to recovery that will take 3 months before we can let him be as active as he was before. Trying to keep this happy, always looking for a party dog under control is going to be a challenge. Here are a few pictures of my precious dog as he tries to recover. Just breaks my heart to see that smile gone from his face.

Now onto more happier things that just make me smile are the simple pleasures of watching sunsets, especially when the weather is unstable. And now I know I am definitely getting old when I enjoy watching the scenery around me. 

Next time you are watching the sunset, turn your head in the opposite direction and see what is happening on the east side sometimes the colors can be just as amazing.