as I wanted to enter a photo this week over at i heart faces.

This is the photo I ended up submitting for the challenge – mainly because I adore the light and the fab red flare! Check out my entry over at my Challenges Blog.

The following are photos of him that I loved for one reason or another. Most because this shoot only took 10 minutes and I managed to capture that beautiful golden late afternoon light. Warms me up on a winter’s day!

The shot above was the other that I was considering to enter into the challenge. What do you think?

I call this one ‘Golden Boy’

Love the colours and textures in this and I love the way he is looking at the viewer.

it isn’t.

Another year has been. Mother’s Day is {bittersweet} for me.

Really, I do love it. I have 3 children who love me and love to shower me with affection for the WHOLE day. Sometimes {if I’m really lucky} they might not even argue for the whole. day. Can you believe that?

Showered with breakfast and gifts especially chosen – really it is almost better than a birthday!

But when I really think about Mother’s Day, I get sad. Sad that another year has gone by without my mum. It’s been nearly 12 years now and you know what? It doesn’t get any easier – it just gets different.

I look at my children and see what I would love to share with mum. She would have loved to know them as they are now. They were only young when she left. Well, Bronte was born 17 days after mum passed away – so it is even sadder that they never met.

Mum would have been so happy and proud to know my children. I know I am. {when the arguing stops that is!}

Thank you my 3 gorgeous off-spring (and Stan my husband) for a super delightful day.

xxx

So, here’s wishing that everyone reading this had a lovely, love-filled day!

Photo is of Stan and Bronte – Father and Daughter – on my special day. Love this because it is them.

And here are some photos of my 3 today – not technically perfect by any means but favourites because they show them as they are….

I Heart Faces – I love that blog site!

This week the theme is BLUE. I wasn’t going to enter (see previous blog entry) but then I had an idea this afternoon. Grabbed the willing victim middle child again and we went out to our front yard. I tell you, this boy is a dream to photograph. A dream!

In our front yard we have a treehouse (that rarely got used because “there might be spiders in there mum”). The treehouse has lovely yellow fibreglass slide that takes them down to earth again.

Near that is the cubby house painted like a Brighton Beach box, in front of that an old abandoned tyre swing and Zed boys bedroom which, is in fact an old white and blue caravan from the 1960′s. (Cheaper than a big reno and way cool!)

This photo was taken with Zed sitting on the blue step of his van. He is pretending to play his cool blue guitar. I say pretending because the only thing he can play is, of course, “Smoke on the water”. He gave up lessons. Such a shame.

Check out my other shots I took today of him in the post below….I am thrilled with this set.

Anyway, enjoy and please don’t forget to go and see loads of fab blue shots over at I Heart Faces!

Zed Boy playing his blue guitar!

Partly due to the fact that this blog kept going over its bandwidth allowance as I was getting way too many visitors! I do adore my visitors  and am getting my tech savvy boy, Samuel to organise my upgrade to the next level. This is the reason that I haven’t been entering into competitions or uploading any updates on what I have been up to!

I HAVE been taking tonnes of photos. Really enjoying myself at the moment. I was the ‘official’ photographer for Bronte’s school’s First Communion. Now THAT was a step learning curve that I quite enjoyed.

I decided to enter into this weeks I HEART FACES photography competition today (submissions close tomorrow) as I had a cool idea for a shoot. I grabbed my ever willing Zed boy and you will find my submission in the post above this.

However, here is a shot that I too that I ab-so-lute-ly ADORE. Am I just looking at this through mum goggles (or as the Americans quaintly say ‘mommy goggles’?) Please let me know what you think?

Here are two versions…

Zed boy - My favourite of today's shoot!

This one, I processed in Adobe Lightroom and used a vintage preset. Didn’t need anything done to it at all!

Same photo but processed using Eye Candy Actions - HoneyChild

I do love both but the Vintage Light Room one just does something special for me!

Here are more photos I took from the shoot today. All using Sheye Rosemeyer’s Eye Candy actions!

Zed and his guitar - Honey Child Action - in camera crop

Zed....

Zed - Honey Child Action, in camera crop

I quite like this crop as well....

This week is a fun one over at I Heart Faces – it is Bubble week! I wasn’t thinking about entering as my 3 are a tad beyond blowing the normal soap bubbles…but then I had an idea….

Got an old vintage glass Pint milk bottle that we normally have in our kitchen on display (washed it thoroughly!), put some milk in there along with blue food colouring. Grabbed the ‘easy’ victim um, er, I mean child and went over the road to take photos in the fading light. He still had his school uniform on which I thought would work well because I was going for an ‘old time’ feel to the shoot. A few ok, many shots later and I was happy…enough…

I used Sheye Rosemeyers Eye Candy actions which as many of you know – I adore!

What do you all think?

Blue Milk bubbling in an old Vintage glass Pint milk bottle....

Head on over to the every fun I HEART FACES Blog to see many different types of bubbles!

I know! I know! It is WINTER here but over at I heart Faces they are having a beach theme this week.

Thankfully, I have a couple lots of beach shots from last summer that I can choose from – in fact – I was really torn between two…but finally decided on this one as his face is sooo freakishly silly!

The photo I am submitting, photographically, is not technically great but it is FUN! I took it last September (winter for us Australians) just after I first purchased my DSLR. Aahhhh, the memories!

This is taken at my local beach – we are lucky enough to live 5 mins drive away from here – a famous place, called Brighton Beach. It is known for all of its wonderfully coloured bathing/beach huts. These are all privately owned and if one does happen to go for auction, they sell for over $100,000.00 AUD!!

Anyway, here is Zed boy (yet again!) doing a dive off the little verandah, pulling a strangely weird face. It must be his flying face! I guess what I like most about this shot is the colours and his flying shadow.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I do have other victims children but he is the one who enjoys the camera the most….

Don’t forget to head on over to I Heart Faces to see the many fabulous Beach entries! You will be inspired – although, if you are in Australia like me, you may also be envious of their current warmth!

This week at I Heart Faces it isn’t about Faces at all – it is all about FEET. I love a good foot shot and have a few that I could have chosen but I went for the one below because I just love the composition and the colours.

My son, Zed Boy (who is the daredevil out of my three) was climbing on an old wooden train bridge just a couple of weeks ago while we were on holiday at the beach. This photo is of him sitting at least 10 feet in the air on a large wooden beam.

I love his big ‘hoofer’ dangling in front of my lens and I love that you can see his face in the background along with the beautiful blue winter’s sky.

I am also really happy with this as I took it with my old manual lens – Pentax Asahi SMC 50mm 1:1.7. I am endeavouring to take all of my photos with this lens now as I love the feel of this old glass and ‘stopping’ down (or up). I feel more in control for some reason. This photo is basically straight out of the camera bar a little lightening with curves.

Don’t forget to go along to the I Heart Faces website and see all the other wonderful FEET entries and leave them some comments – because comments are FUN! To give AND receive!

Ever since I saw that I heart Faces was hosting a Sports in Action challenge, I have been dying to tell you all about the sport our family loves and in which we are heavily involved.

It is not a sport that many people here in Australia know of although it is very popular in Europe. It is called Observed Mototrials. What is MotoTrials? I found this great explanation on the Trials Australia website

MotoTrials – The Skillful Alternative

Unlike most other forms of motorcycle sport, Trials is not racing. It is simply you and your bike pitted against the terrain. Trials is a sport of balance, skill and concentration. One at a time, competitors will ride over an obstacle course of boulders, streams, huge hill climbs, logs, drop offs, and nearly anything else they can find.
Trials is the world’s most popular participatory motorcycle sport. In Australia about one thousand riders compete, – in Europe hundreds of thousands compete regularly. Trials riders compete in ALL weather conditions !!!

My 13 year old son, Zachary and my husband are very very keen Trial Riders. Last year, Zachary came 3rd in the Australian Championships – Junior Division. He totally loves it.

The photo that I am entering this week was taken at our local ‘track’.

The guys you see are either A Grade or Expert Riders. I love how they help eachother out. The two on top of the large rock are there to ‘catch’ the rider (can be quite dangerous being a catcher!). A spectacular sport to watch. These guys have nerves of steel!

What I love about this photo is the shadow of the wheel on the rock and the fact that I know the rider landed this without falling or dropping the bike. Amazing! I also love that none of these nuts are my husband or son!!! I would not be able to watch (or take the photo) if it were!

Head on over to I heart Faces to see all of the wonderful Sports In Action photos – there are loads to see!

Update!!

I can not believe it! I WON! I have just woken up (well it IS school holidays, a Sunday AND winter) as it is 9.30am here, checked my emails and there were 2 emails congratulating me! What’s this? I thought – so I went to I Heart Faces and I WON!

I am so amazed. I loved Lori Nordstom’s comments too. Thank you so much Lori.

Did I tell you I am thrilled?? lol

The photos in this competition are inspiring – go and check out the Top Ten Winners here

The Winner of the Adults section – well can I just say – he is lovely to look at! Check him out over at the Ruffner Family Blog.

Cheers (I know this is going to be a beautiful day)

k8

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I have the bug! The bug for entering the I  {heart}  Faces blog weekly contests!!

Week 24′s theme is “Let’s Hear it for the Boys!” in the Kids Category and Men in the Adults category. I love boy photos!

I had quite a few photos of my two boys to choose from and after doing so well in the last challenge {contest} I really felt the pressure to choose well. In the end, I chose this one of my 13 year old, Zachary or Zed Boy. I do love it… Originally I called it “I Spy with my Big Brown Eye…” what do you think of that title?

Zed was just mucking around with an old magnifying filter of mine that belongs to my Pentax ME Super SLR {yep – my FILM} camera and I just snapped the shot with my Pentax Digital SLR. I have run an action over it from Totally Rad actions called Troy. I love the grungy yet old world feel it gives because he is a hands on, grungy kind of kid!

Hope you all like it!

Note: If you would like to see this in a larger size, click here to go to see it at Flickr!

Don’t forget to go and have a look at all of the other wonderful entries over at I Heart Faces – Kids.

Remember – it is fun to receive leave comments!

Cheers

k8 xxx

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I spent a month or so doing a workshop that is run by the fabulous photographer Sheye Rosemeyer called EyeCandy. I met some lovely, inspirational women via the forum and have learnt so much life-wise AND photography-wise.

I have learnt that I am lucky. I have learnt that people cope with diversity remarkably well…many there were/are soooo inspiring. So thank you to not only Sheye and her trusty sidekick Fran but thank you to the many lovely women I met along the way.

I have been delving a little more into actions…specifically Sheye’s BeautyFull set. Gosh they are gorgeous.

So I have been digging around my older photos and have had a ‘play’.

Zed boy. Here I used Film Days B&W

And Zed {again} – Film Days B&W and Vintage Wash Duotone.

This is Zachary. The actions that I used on this were Pretty Gritty and Mini Makeover.

This is Bronte’s friend. I snapped this shot during the last school holidays at our local shopping centre carpark. I love it! Of Sheye’s BeautyFull actions, I used Mini Makeover and Dandelion.

Here is my brother and my friend who also happens to be his wife! Love this photo of them! They look happy.