248/365: Almost Back-to-School

It turns out I missed posting another day (which made my count off)! Arghh. This workshop and the entire month of August got me out of sorts! LOL Here's the capture that I missed posting--it had a back to school theme for a contest I entered on CM.

It was taken on her last day of the summer program we had her attend. Appropriately enough, tomorrow is my daughter's orientation day at her school! 

247/365: Purplicious!

We're very generous with books around our house. My daughter has the entire Pinkalicious series--but lately she's enjoying the Purplicious one. They're fun and seem to have a good message!

246/365: Reflection

Taking up photography has allowed me to reflect on a lot of things. (I'm not going to get too philosophical, promise!) I get to see the world around me with new "eyes"-- and for that I'm very grateful. Things I might have taken for granted...I can now say that I'm more observant. Photography is like exercising your vision in more ways than one!

This little girl is the daughter of a fellow Clickin' Mom, who we met up with in Waterloo (about an hour from our house). We met up to exchange family photos on what turned out to be a rainy day. We managed to get a few photos but are really hoping to meet up on another day in the near future.

Snuck in a self-portrait! Hey, it counts!

245/365: Thursday's Flowers

It was bound to happen. I mixed up a day in my blog posting. Oh, well! These are the Kalanchoes that came back to life.

244/365: My Guys

243/365: Clifton Hill

Just a night shot of Clifton Hill--a street in Niagara Falls, Ontario. (Yes, I think it's a tourist trap! LOL)

242/365: Little Reminders

These leaves just about stopped me in my tracks. Yes, fall is here. 

I am pretty squeamish about critters. I don't usually chase photos of them, either. But I kinda stumbled upon this one. But they are God's creatures, too. So I'm including this one as another little reminder to myself!

241/365: Shadow Man

Every time I looked toward the door lately, I saw this shadow. It's our coat-rack! It just so happens, I have a shadow related assignment (how convenient!).

240/365: My Little Lady

239/365: Just Wish...

...they could stay small and innocent sometimes. My daughter does not nap very often now. But I still love staring at her when she does!

My fellow bloggers: I'm behind on my blog-hopping, especially since I started taking a class on CM. But I'm hoping to catch up (sorry!). Also, happy to report I just dove into CS5! Yay!

238/365: Another Golden Girl

At our last session with Paige, we lost the sun half-way through (and I had some technical issues, too!). So she came back for another session. She's a great model!

237/365: Fire pit

We had a lovely time at a friend's bar-b-que. After the sunset, they lit up their fire pit.

236/365: Two Teens

These two are siblings.  I enjoyed meeting them!

235/365: Curious Face

234/365: Running with Daisies

I felt a little moody and nostalgic with this picture! 

233/365: The Magic Words!

I have to use magic words lately to get her to look at the camera and smile. Wanna know what they are? Potty talk!

232/365: Close-ups of the Pick Me Up Bouquet

These are the same flowers from my earlier post (Day 227).

231/365: Siblings in the Park

We took the kids to a children's museum that had a lovely park next to it. I managed to snap a few pictures of both kids together--yay!

I also snapped a photo of a flower or two!

230/365: Portrait x 2

I needed to practice a close-up portrait so I had her sit in the doorway to the backyard. These are taken with my 85mm.

229/365: My Birthday!

I really enjoyed my day: a delicious sushi lunch with hubby and one of the kids, a yummy chocolate cake and a night out with some fellow photogs from Clickin' Moms! Five of us met up at Port Credit, Mississauga for some shooting followed by dinner. Gotta do that more often!

228/365: Sweet New Friend

My daughter's new friend lives just a few doors down. After our photo session was done, they did a little baking and performing just like old buddies!

227/365: A Little Pick-Me-Up

From me to me...just cause I needed it today!

226/365: Meet Pascal

Natalie wore her Rapunzel dress today--all day long! This afternoon we had her do some activities with Play-doh, and she decided to make her very own Pascal (Rapunzel's chameleon sidekick for those who are not up on their princess stories!).

225/365: Niagara Falls from Goat Island

We met up with some relatives on the U.S. side of Niagara Falls for a quick visit. For the first time, we saw the Falls from Goat Island (we usually see them from a slightly different vantage point).

The top photo is the American Falls. The bottom one is Horseshoe Falls, aka the Canadian falls (as seen from Goat Island on the U.S. side). See the boat on the bottom right, that's the Maid of the Mist.

224/365: What He Gives Us

So I was looking for something to photograph and decided to sit in our backyard right before the daylight was gone. I stared up and saw some clouds. I began to lament that there was nothing exciting to capture. Then He answered by offering me a rainbow in the east--and a few minutes later, he offered up a beautiful sunset on the west. My captures may not be amazing, but He is.

"Come, behold the works of the Lord, what wonders he has done upon earth." 

Psalm 45, verse 9

223/365: Cool in Her Sunglasses

Sunset hour and some cool shades--what can I say? Ah, summer, I'm going to miss you!

222/365: Inspired Fortune Cookie

This photo was inspired by Jaime (many thanks!). Lucky for me I had a fortune cookie left over from the weekend's take out!

221/365: Lip Smacker

I sat him on a wooden rail right behind my house and started shooting away. He was just smacking his lips when I caught this look. He's mommy's boy!

Taken with the 85mm lens; LR only edit.

220/365: The Little Details of a Blanket

Macro time again! This is a blanket (rolled up) that I picked up at Ikea. I loved its color so I may have to include it in a future photo.

219/365: Safari Time

We took the kids to the African Lion Safari on Sunday. It was a great way to spend an afternoon with the kids--and to get my photo(s) of the day!

218/365: Morning Light + Fun

The light in my daughter's room was pretty bright this morning, so I ran to get my camera. I cleared her bed and let her jump on it so I could get an action shot. Shutter speed was about 1/320 (and still got some motion blur!).

She looks a bit intense reading that book! Two minutes later, she was laughing and jumping around (my little Medusa-head!). I think she would've jumped a bit higher if it weren't for the memory foam topper on her bed!

217/365: Four-legged Neighbor

Lilly is a four-month-old Goldendoodle. Thanks again to my neighbor for letting me photograph the newest member of their family!

216/365: Chalk Play

It wouldn't be summer without little hands playing with chalk!

215/365: Strawberry Pancakes

My daughter does not seem to wake up hungry -- so getting her to be enthusiastic about breakfast is a little tricky. But today, she asked for strawberry pancakes! Well, I was happy to oblige!

214/365: Endurance

This tiny flower captured with the macro adapter is the Kalanchoe. I photographed it several months ago. It had pretty much died but it's coming back to life! 

I also managed to do a self-portrait--mainly to use as a new avatar. These selfies are hard! This one is not perfect, but since it's going to be used in a little bitty size, it will do!

213/365: Buds at Night

These are called Autumn Joy--and I planted them myself in our front yard last fall (since I don't have a green thumb, the fact that I planted them and they've survived is pretty amazing!). I will definitely photograph these again when they bloom!

Taken late at night with the 85mm and the Speedlite.