i ♥ faces ~ Easter/Spring Amateur

 

 

I took this photo last week of our youngest son, Jack,  during the Easter egg hunt at his preschool.  It isn’t the best photo I have ever taken of him and is far from my favorite.  To most it is probably just an okay photo and doesn’t create that spark you want in your viewer.  However, the reason why this one is so special to our family is because three years ago today we never thought we would have another Easter egg hunt photo of Jack.  You see, Jack was diagnosed on April 13, 2006 with a Wilms Tumor, which is a rare type of childhood cancer.  He was just two weeks shy of his second birthday when we were told this devastating news.  Five days later, the doctors removed his right kidney and the football size tumor that was attached to it.  After six months of chemo and radiation, Jack’s scans showed that he was cancer free and he still is today!! 

Sometimes photos can speak to you in ways beyond your wildest dreams.  Sometimes they can remind you of what you have and what is important in life!  ((Hug)) your kids today!

I ♥ Faces - Constructive Feedback Friday

As you can tell this is my first real post to the blog that I set up back in October 2008. It's crazy that I have never posted anything to it. Life has just gotten in the way :)

I recently found the I ♥ Faces blog and love it. I love seeing other people's photos and learning from them. I have a passion for photography and have become completely obsessed with it for the past three years.

I took this photo last month of my youngest son, Jack. The sky was overcast that afternoon. I love his expression in this shot. This is a typical face I see from him and was so happy to be able to catch it on film.


Here is the SOOC shot. I took it using my 50 mm 1.4 lens. As you can see it is a little dark and the colors are too dreary for my taste. The yellow bush in the background was a brilliant golden yellow during this time, but it seems too muted in this shot. EXIF data : f/4.0, 1/500 sec, ISO 200, 50 mm.


In Photoshop I adjusted levels and ran MCP's Eye Doctor for this version. This edit is just OK to me. I am still looking for that "Wow"!


I decided to try one more action and ran Pioneer Woman's Colorized and love this one. This is from her 2nd set and if you don't have her free set of Photoshop actions, then you should jump on over to her site and download them. They are really fun!

The only thing that I don't like about this last edit is that I completely lost the golden colors of the bush in the background. However, I do love that my son becomes the focus of the shot where the background may have taken away from him before. What do you think?

I appreciate all of your thoughts and I plan on becoming a regular on this site. Thanks for stopping by!

I Am a 'Kept ' Woman.....

You see, there were a few times when I thought I would lose my mind,
But GOD kept me sane. (Isa. 26:3)
There were times when I thought I could go no longer,
But the LORD kept me moving. (Gen 28:15)
At times, I've wanted to lash out at those whom I felt had done me wrong,
But the LORD kept my mouth shut.. (Psa. 13)
Sometimes, I think the money just isn't enough,
But GOD has helped me to keep the lights on, the water on, the car paid, the house paid, etc.., (Matt. 6:25 -34)
When I thought I would fall, HE kept me up.
When I thought I was weak, HE kept me strong! (I Pet. 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30)
I'm blessed to be 'kept '
I'm "Kept" by the Love and Grace of God