Mistakes that work

Normally, when I am out on a shoot I know when I have captured a good photo.  I know when my lighting is right, I know when my subject is posed well, and I know if our setting is good.  Knowing all that I continue to take tons of photos.  Why?  Because I am looking for that photo that just stands out.  I am looking to capture the "real" moments, the "real" facial expressions.  And them sometimes you get a gem . . .

I love what happened with this photo.  This is not a special effect, it is exactly as it was taken.  The only thing I know for sure - I was moving.  But I have no idea how I moved or what I did to get "Matthew's 1st Christmas" to be in focus and the rest to be a swirl, but I love it!

Schoondyke Christmas 2010

This year for their Christmas Portraits the Schoondykes wanted to do something a little bit different - Fall Photos!  I LOVE FALL!  So, I was very happy to oblige!  The tree colors were not full blown, but I think we got some great photos anyway!  Here's their sneak peek!

A Snapshot of our Cape Cod Adventure

Our travels this year took us back to Cape Cod, our new favorite spot.  Here's a quick snapshot of our trip.

We visited the home of OCC in Newburgh, NY

The off shoot of OCC - Paul Jr. Designs

 On Sunday, in Hyannis, my car got crunched.  We are okay, but my doors are having some issues.

 Sunday in Sandwich at the boardwalk.

Dexter Grist Mill, Sandwich

Monday, Hyannis Port sunrise

Provincetown whale watching - one of only five whales we saw.

Race Point Beach, Provincetown

A seal pup on the beach at Race Point.  He was being monitored by wildlife officials.

 Chatham Light

 Sarge after our walk to our beach.

 This is how Sarge spent every evening!  We wore him out!

The view from atop Scargo Tower, Dennis

Mom and son on Bass Hole Boardwalk, Yarmouth

Swan Lake Pond off the Yarmouth Boardwalk

Sarge at Paine's Creek, Brewster

I am working on going through the photos and whittling down the number!  Once I get them up I will let you know.

Indian Wedding Reception

On Saturday I shot an Indian wedding reception.  The couple had already been married in India and were simply having a stateside reception.  The ballroom was beautiful and it was a lot of fun to see the women all dressed in their saris.  I also worked these photos with Photoshop Lightroom instead of Photoshop Elements.  I am pretty happy with my results.  Tell me what you think!

Buddha greeted the guests as they arrived.

Beautiful ice sculpture.

The happy couple Vivek and Hema.

A shot of the guests.

Shot of the cake and wine glasses with the head table in the background.  (Antiqued in Lightroom.  I really like this effect.)

The "first" dance.

Momma getting in on the dance action.

The Photo Booth.  This was so cool!  It was a professional photo booth with props.  You  immediately got your picture, plus one to . . .

. . . create a scrapbook page for the bride and groom.  Afterwards the photo booth people put together a scrapbook for the  couple.  Checkout Mr. Photobooth and book them for your party!!!!

Anniversary tier of wedding cake.  In the background the ice sculpture and a photo of the bride and groom during their wedding in India.

KHF Bike Ride

August 14, 2010 - The 2nd Annual Kari's Heart Foundation Karing Fair.  This year I took photos of the bike riders out on their route.  I am already looking forward to doing this next year and making the photos better.  This time I had some issues with my ISO setting and I am not completely happy.  But, here are some sneak peeks.  I hope to have them all up on Smugmug for ordering by Monday.

Bikers at the ready.

The First Climb - right out of the parking lot!  A serious doozy!

A tandem road bike!  How cool is that??!!

The Howmans come for a visit!

I spent the past week with my dear friend Caitlin and her family.  I took them around East Tennessee and here is some of the fun we enjoyed!!  Lord only knows when I will get all of the photos up for you to check out!

We visited a very, sad, little Safari.  I can't tell you the havoc the ostriches wreaked on our trip!

After the Safari disaster we visited Bay's Mountain.  The otters put on a great show for us!

We ended the night with a great swim in the pool - Little Ms. Alana.

Noah - we aren't exactly sure what this pose was about!

The Howmans hanging out in Gatlinburg!

While Joel went through the Haunted Adventure, we took the kids to the Star Cars Museum.  There was a lot of neat things in there, but you could actually get in the Flintstone Mobile!!

Heading towards Cades Cove - hoping for a bear encounter!

Hmm, look at that - a bear encounter!  Did I mention I got a new lens?  Can you say 300mm, baby?!

Love my lens!!!!!!

We had an incredible time!  I can't wait until I have time to go through all of our photos and post them.  Enjoy these for now!