Day 89: Halloween

We took pictures at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz on the morning of Halloween.  It was perfect weather for a photo shoot and so much fun.  Clara chose the theme this year.

Day 87: Performance

 Clara's preschool had a Halloween party and program where they performed songs for the parents.  She was so excited about it and did a great job.

Day 86: Skeletons

Only photo for the day.  Our neighbors decorated their jeep with skeletons and skulls for the month of October.  It was pretty cool seeing it driving around.

ISO 800, 50mm, f/8.0, ss 1/200

Day 85: Ghosts

28mm, ISO 100, f/22, ss 8 seconds

Day 84: Day of Rest

Paul took a good 45 minute nap after church and home teaching this afternoon while Rose napped, Clara colored, and I developed photos.  He is the cutest in his argyle socks.

32mm, ISO 640, f/4.0, ss 1/100

Day 83: Boo!

On Friday night we came home to treats on our doorstep with a "Boo!" handout telling us to take treats to two other families along with a copy of the handout, so on Saturday we made sugar cookies and ding-dong-ditched two families we know from our ward.  Clara was SOOOOOO into it and was thrilled when I let her do the second house totally on her own.

65 mm, ISO 640, f/4.0, ss 1/80

Day 82: Fort Point

I have been wanting to go to Fort Point for a while now, ever since I heard about it on the website of a photography school that does photography tours of San Francisco and stops here as one of their shooting locations.  It did not disappoint.  Paul and I loved these big rusting chains that look like they are flaking away from years of exposure to the saltwater that crashes on the rocks below.  And I'm happy with my composition here with the post on the rule of thirds and then the vertical element being repeated in the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge.  I even got a shot with the water going out from a wave which made the rock on the right hand side of the image darker and larger than when it is further submerged.

28mm, ISO 200, f/13, ss 1/40

 And I just adore this image of Clara hugging herself to stay warm and making a face as she tells me "I'm cold, Mama!"  I always underestimate the drop in temperature that happens right around the bridge, even if it is in the 70's in the city itself.  It wasn't freezing or anything, but it definitely was a little chilly and her cardigan wasn't enough for her.

45mm, ISO 1250, f/4.0, ss 1/160

Day 81: Oven Roasted Potatoes

Another food photo.  I actually took a few other pictures today with my dslr of the girls playing in Clara's room but I just didn't like how any of them turned out.  So I'm posting this one of our favorite oven roasted potatoes.

50mm, ISO 200, f/1.6, ss 1/400

Day 80: Passport

We had to go to Livermore City Hall to apply for a passport for Rose.  Afterwards I took the girls on a walk around the grounds to check out some statues and a little garden area and Clara told me she wanted to "pose" for a picture on this cement block.  Fine by me.  I love Rose's running stance.

50mm, ISO 200, f/2.0, ss 1/640

Day 79: Gymnast

I just love that my girls love gymnastics.  Rose is starting to get the hang of some of the things that have been difficult for her for a few months, like putting both her feet up on the bar and supporting herself on her arms.  This was the first day that she did this unassisted.  You can see her coach, Coach Cindy, clapping for her in the background.

50mm, ISO 2500, f/1.8, ss 1/400

Day 78: Honey Walnut Shrimp

It was one of those days when I hadn't shot anything and just finished dinner and my light was almost entirely gone so I just took a quick picture of my plate so I would have something to post.  Mondays are often like that around here.  Honey Walnut Shrimp - first time making it and it was actually pretty tasty.  I would make it again, although I want to work on the sauce a bit.

50mm, ISO 250, f/3.2, ss 1/800

Day 77: Sunflower

I'm not completely happy with this edit and need to revisit after weeks 3 and 4 of my Lightroom class when we are going to talk about some more advanced techniques but I love Clara's expression and the bright sunflower in this image.  Paul got me a bunch of sunflowers for my birthday, which was a fun first because I've never had sunflowers before, and I took two of them with us on a Sunday afternoon walk over by the historic park.  I saw this hole in the side of an old barn and sent Clara in with the sunflower and then "peeked" in at her when she came to the hole where I was calling her to take the shot.

50mm, ISO 800, f/3.5, ss 1/500

Day 76: Caramel Apple Bar

This was our 6th annual "Monster Mash & Birthday Bash at the House of Nash" Halloween party and our second year doing a caramel apple bar.  Last year I predipped all the apples in caramel and then thought people would just top with melted chocolate, but the chocolate hardened so fast that other toppings like cinnamon & sugar, etc. wouldn't stick.  This year I made the caramel about an hour in advance and then put it in a crockpot to keep it hot.  The first apple we tried to dip didn't work well, but once we realized that the caramel needed to be stirred really well, then it stuck just fine.  I need long spoons for this approach with the chocolate, white chocolate, and peanut butter toppings though, which I kept melted in jars in warm water in another crockpot.  I'm already looking forward to next year's caramel apple bar with the new tips in mind.

45 mm, ISO 2000, f//6.3, ss 1/60

Day 75: Whitewash

We went to G&M Farms' pumpkin patch with Clara's preschool friends and they had this cool whitewashed barn that made such a great backdrop.  Clara makes this face at me all. the. time. when I want to take her picture.

67mm, ISO 800, f//6.3, ss 1/1000

Day 74: Bunny & Blankie

Rose LOVES her bunny and her blankie.  She sleeps with both and likes having them both close by as much as I will let her.  She was just hanging out with me in the kitchen after her nap before we went to pick Clara up from preschool and had pulled her blankie over her lap and I had to take this picture.  

50mm, ISO 3200, f/2.2, ss 1/60

Day 73: Nursery Rhymes

I took the girls to a rose garden that we hadn't checked out so I could try taking some hazy backlit photos for my Mastering Light class.  I wish I hadn't chopped their feet in this image because I think it would be stronger but I still love this photo - the lighting, the look on Clara's face and in her eyes.  It has a nursery rhyme, fairy tale kind of quality to it for me that tells a story or something.

60mm, ISO 200, f/4.0, ss 1/160

There is a park that is right next to the rose garden where they have artificial hills covered in fake turf with pieces of cardboard to use to slide down the slopes.  Clara had an absolute ball here and this picture makes me think of the nursery rhyme "Jack & Jill went up the hill..."

60mm, ISO 250, f/2.2, ss 1/2500

Day 72: Nephews

These guys had to fly back home to Colorado and my girls were super sad about it.  We honestly had such a wonderful time with them out here visiting and definitely need to plan a reciprocal trip to see them.

50mm, ISO 400, f/4.0, ss 1/250

 And after dropping Dave's family off at the airport, the girls and I drove in to pick up dad from the office and eat dinner at Gott's, which is my favorite burger place in the whole world, even if they were out of strawberry milkshakes and I had to settle for some of Paul's chocolate one.

50mm, ISO 1000, f/2.2, ss 1/160

Day 71: Counter

I took this picture for an assignment in Mastering Light where we were trying to get catchlights in the eyes.  I had better plans for a photo and none of them panned out so I finally just plopped Rose on the stool to keep her in one place, gave her a snack of applesauce and milk (you can see what's left of that spilled in front of her) and then bribed her by giving her an Oreo cookie and then holding a second Oreo above my camera lens to get her to look the way I wanted.

40mm, ISO 1600, f/4.0, ss 1/60

Day 70:Trails

Sunday morning in Yosemite is always laid back for us.  We take our time packing up and usually walk over to Lower Yosemite Falls.  I liked the way the morning light was slanting on our our group as we went along this paved trail with Rose and Graham out in front and Paul helping Clara on her bike.

50mm, ISO 1600, f/4.0, ss 1/500

Day 69: Rockclimbers

Clara and Colton were having the time of their lives climbing up the back of this rock and then sliding down the front.  Clara was intimidated and probably wouldn't have tried it except that she wanted so badly to do what Colton was doing.

24mm, ISO 800, f/4.0, ss 1/320

Day 68: Cousins & Stars

I just love the love these kiddos have for each other.  They were just amazing together on our trip.  We were waiting for the Yosemite shuttle bus to take us to dinner at Curry Village.  I need to re-edit this image using the techniques I have learned in a Lightroom class because I can tell just from looking at it that my skin tones are a little off.

50mm, ISO 3200, f/5.6, ss 1/200

After the kids were asleep, Paul, Deborah and I went into a field to take pictures of stars.  I love how it turned out even if next time I would close down the aperture for greater detail (theoretically).

24mm, ISO 3200, f/4.0, ss 61 seconds

Day 67: Shadows

Riding bikes around Yosemite is our favorite and this year we borrowed a bike attachment that turned Paul's bike into a tandem so that Clara could pedal along with him since she can't ride on her own yet.  She was scared at first but ended up loving it.  I love the shadow in this shot.

50mm, ISO 400, f/4.0, ss 1/2500

 This is another favorite image from our first day in Yosemite.  I saw the light streaming through this shadowy area of rocks and knew it would make a perfect picture so I told the girls I saw fairies up in the rocks and they went to look.

24mm, ISO 640, f/4.0, ss 1/640

Day 66: Succulents

The girls and I went for a walk around the neighborhood in the afternoon and I took this shot of some succulents growing in a planter bed of a house a few doors down from us.

50mm, ISO 400, f/40, ss 1/80

Day 65: Bay Bridge

We went into the San Francisco with Dave & Deborah to go to dinner at the Waterfront restaurant.  It was wonderful doing a double date out in the city with them and afterwards we strolled along the water enjoying the time and soaking up the city atmosphere.  The Bay Bridge looked beautiful reflecting over the water.

58mm, ISO 3200, f/4.0, ss 0.5

Day 64: Temple

We went to the Oakland temple for Family Home Evening.  I was hoping to get a picture with the new reflecting pool, but it had been drained.  But I got this shot of Rose giving her daddy a kiss on the cheek.

35mm, ISO 500, f/11, ss 1/60 

Day 63: Grandpa Nash

The kids were having a blast playing in the backyard with Grandpa Nash.  I love that the girls have such a fun time roughhousing with their grandpa and their boy cousins.  I thought the movement in this image made it perfect for a black & white conversion.

50mm, ISO 640, f/2.8, ss 1/640

Day 62: Santa Cruz

We went to the beach on a super overcast morning with Dave & Deborah and their boys.  Clara took a moment to just stare out at the ocean and I liked her straight posture compared to the lighthouse.  Not too long after this shot was taken, Clara stepped on a yellow jacket and was stung in her big toe, which is probably the most traumatic thing she has experienced to this point in her life.

105mm, ISO 1600, f/14, ss 1/1000

Day 61: Playdough

Some afternoons we just need to get tactile with some Playdough.  I don't love the stuff because it bothers me when the colors get mixed together (inevitable).  It's silly, I know, but it gets under my skin.  But the girls have fun with it and like requesting animals or objects for me to mold for them.

24mm, ISO 640, f/4.0, ss 1/160

Day 60: Signature & Zipline

I was filled with mirth when I picked Clara up from preschool this afternoon and noticed how she had written her name with curliques on each letter.  And this is at 4 years old. 

 

Then we went to the park where Clara ziplined her little heart out and I practiced with front lighting, which is not my favorite thing in the world.  Although I like the shadow in this one.

50mm, ISO 100, f/2.2, SS 1/4000