Grace Made Evident

Quilty Bokeh...1st week of challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:55:00 +0000

To view my submission for last week's Click-ish January Photo Challenge, click here. Check out the other submissions from last week while you're there! This week's new challenge is "black & white." Watch all week long for our member's submissions for this new challenge.

I'm challenging myself this month

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:27:00 +0000

So, it's 2012, now. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! Most of my photos have been of my family lately, so I haven't been posting a lot of nature photos lately. I'm missing snow right about now. It always provides a lot of photographic inspiration, so it's sad to not have any on the ground right now. But, that's not excuse for not challenging myself, right? That's why the photo group I participate in--Click-ish Photographers--is doing weekly photo challenges in January. Follow along and see what we come up with! And check us out on Facebook as well!

Fairy

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:30:00 +0000

I was recently playing outside with my daughter, and she was running around and playing with sticks, rocks, etc. She loves to run under our neighbors' dogwood tree, which she was doing on this particular day. There was an opening in the branches and leaves, and I noticed her peek her sweet little face out of it. I was inspired, so I ran in side and grabbed my camera, knowing that it would be sheer luck if I captured the picture I was envisioning. I told her to peek her face through again, and I snapped a few pictures. Little did I know I would end up with this "golden" shot. She looks like a little fairy! Now I have a wonderful picture of her sweet little face that I can look at forever, no matter how old she gets.

A Lifetime

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:30:00 +0000

I've posted this picture on my blog before, so if it looks familiar, that's why. I took this picture shortly after I got my new DSLR. I was so excited. I was trying it out on anything and everything. I think I was just sitting there one day, looking at it, and looking around taking pictures of everything from the plants on my patio, to my child, to the ceiling light, to the carpet...everything! I haphazardly looked down and took a picture of my hand on my leg, and here we are! It's funny, because I didn't have a lot of emotion when I took the picture, but the picture evoked a lot of emotion in me. I look at this picture and see years of ups and downs in marriage. I see over 30 years of life and lessons, hardships and joys. I know that's not a lot, but there are times I feel like I've been through a lifetime's worth of experiences in my young life. I look at this picture, and see the covenant of love that I made with my husband in 2001 (do you know we've been married 10 years now?!), and I see the birth of our firstborn. I know this picture may not mean a whole lot to anyone but me, but it speaks many things to me. Who knew that I would end up with such an emotional picture as I carelessly clicked away?

Crazy

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:00:00 +0000

My husband and I can be a bit crazy sometimes. Usually, when one of us is crazy, the other is rational, but there are rare moments when we are both out of our minds crazy. My husband was the crazy one, the Thursday before Labor Day. He convinced me that it would be fun to take a spontaneous, 10-hour drive camping trip to Virginia Beach for the weekend with our two children, both under 3. It sounded fun, but I really thought he was a bit nuts. Not only was it a long drive, but we couldn't afford a huge vacation. His solution...take any food we had in the fridge/freezer/pantry with us. We had an air mattress, and a lot of our own camping gear. We didn't have a tent that would accommodate our family (we had a 2-3 man tent from our pre-children days). He said we could borrow one! My reasons for not doing it were dwindling. Besides, I like that he keeps me young by wanting to do such playful things! I looked online for available campsites at the area state parks. Nothing was available...no wait! There's one! Oops...it's taken. No wait...it's available again! I grabbed it. We were committed. Yikes! So, we threw our stuff together, found a willing friend who let us borrow their family's tent, loaded up the kiddos, and took off for Virginia Beach for Labor Day weekend.

It was absolutely gorgeous, and we made some wonderful memories as a family. Was it a little crazy? Sure! But what is life without a little crazy to keep us sane?

Photo Challenge: White

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:55:00 +0000

I know, I know . . . it's been a while, huh? Since giving birth to my son in June, I've been a bit preoccupied. But, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. I'm still photographing things, so stay posted! I haven't gone anywhere!

I subscribe to several photo blogs, to keep me inspired and thinking of new ways to capture the things I see. This week's theme at I Heart Faces is "White." Here's my entry:

It's one of my favorites from this past Easter. My daughter found these steps at the place we had stopped to take pictures, and kept going up and down them, over and over and over again. On this particular decent, she picked up her skirts—like Cinderella—and very daintily came down the steps. Whenever she's pretending to be a princess, she gets really serious about it, as you can tell by the focus on her face. I love it!

Cuddlebug

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 18:39:00 +0000

Our newest addition came into the world at 7:41 PM on June 14. Our family of three is now a family of four. Wow! I never could have imagined this, in my wildest dreams. It's a wonderful feeling to actually hold a baby who's been incubating inside for so long. It's nice to have them on the outside! Welcome to the world, little buddy!

There's no place like my 2nd home (Part 2).

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:32:00 +0000

There's no place like my 2nd home (Part 1).

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 27 May 2011 21:12:00 +0000

There is a little section of the Southern Gulf Coast that is like another home to me. My heart yearns to return there every year, and when I do, I feel like I have returned to a piece of home. My family made the trip earlier this Spring, and it was delightful.

Flowers getting ready to bloom at the local zoo.

There was a lot of fog when we first arrived, but after it cleared away, we were left with a gorgeous sunset and beautiful surf.

Aahhhhhhh!

That's just a sampling. I'll share more later. Enjoy!

April showers bring May flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:24:00 +0000

Hyacinths just capture Spring, don't they? I took this shot on a recent visit to a local horse farm. This is no credit to my photography, but these flowers look like a painting! The petals are just gorgeous, and so detailed. I love the various tones of purple, and all the curves and curls of the petals. Happy Spring!

We planted!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:52:00 +0000

I hate to say it, but I think the green thumb in my family skipped me. My grandmother is a phenomenal gardener, my mom is a phenomenal gardener, but me . . . not so much. It's so sad! I really want to be a green thumb, but I'm not. I'm stuck following instructions and advice from others. I have no gardening instinct.

But, when we (my husband and I) bought our first house last year (I won't tell you that I almost spelled "house" like "h-o-w-s-e"—thank you, Winnie the Pooh), the landscaping was/is in dire need of help. We've been caught up in a kitchen remodel, so the landscaping has taken a back seat. But, with the kitchen almost completely done, we decided to put a little bit of time into the yard recently. So, we headed up to good ol' Home Depot (our home away from home), and another local garden center, and stocked up on potting soil, mulch, a sprinkler, some various plants (including a gorgeous hydrangea), and our first tree for the front yard—a Kentucky Black Gum. Our front yard is sadly lacking for trees. And while the projects are NEVER done, here's a little preview of some of the flowers we planted. I will post more when the grass gets cut, after the mower gets fixed, and my husband has a chance to take on the jungle in our yard. :) Let's just pray that everything stays alive, despite what I may throw at them.

My new friends...

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:09:00 +0000

One of the things I've been longing to do since moving to Kentucky is visit a horse farm so that I can photograph the horses! I was able to see that dream realized a couple of weeks ago when Click-ish Photographers (the local photo group I belong to) visited Bachelors Barter Farm in Harrodsburg, KY, home of April's Andalusians. Here's a sampling of what I was able to capture...

Jadira DD

Jadira & her half-sister Indira

Katie gets a good shot of the sisters kissing each other.

Tia was a sweetie!

Abby saying hello to Dia & Nobleza

My husband & daughter meet Tia.

Well, hello there!

Katie's son was a natural.

Getting a bit of a shave... how embarrassing for this girl! :)

This is their stallion Campero. He wasn't allowed to come out and say hi, but we enjoyed him from a distance.

The Click-ish girls getting up-close shots of the new blooming daffodils. The grounds were absolutely beautiful!

Campero strutting his stuff near the barn.

Inside the house... was built in the late 1700's, by a friend of Daniel Boone's!

The huge fireplace in the original kitchen, which was in the basement.

My studly husband enjoying the pasture view.

I love all these beautiful old stone walls that are littered throughout Kentucky's horse country.

Katie's son felt a little adventurous, and wandered into the pasture. Thankfully, the owners were quick at jumping fences. :)

Thank you to all who made this fun day possible!!

Atop the Bluffs

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Hello, Sleeping Bear Dunes. I miss you.

Tobacco

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 12:44:00 +0000

Ever since we moved to Kentucky, I've had a dream—a dream of getting out into the tobacco fields just before they're harvested for some pictures, while they're bright yellow. It hasn't happened yet. I'm really hoping for that this year, though!

But, I did make it out (inadvertently) to a local farm last Fall, and stumbled onto an old tobacco barn on the property. And the tobacco was still hanging! Jackpot! It was definitely cool.

The leaves were so crisp, and made the neatest rustling noise when the breeze hit them. It was eerily quiet when you walked deep into the barn. The hanging tobacco just sucked up all the sound.

So, now that I've captured dead tobacco with my camera, maybe this year I'll be able to capture it while it's still alive . . . and gorgeously bright yellow, under the perfect lighting conditions. :)

Construction

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:30:00 +0000

I realize this is more of an industrial photograph than a nature photograph, but it symbolizes about four or five months of our lives. These pieces of wood and nails are no longer laying in our yard (thank goodness), but they were for quite a while.

We bought our first home in August 2010, and began an extensive kitchen remodel shortly after. The house is fifty-five years old, and nothing had been done to the kitchen in a LONG time. I also found out I was pregnant with our second child, just after we began the remodel. We didn't do the construction work ourselves—oh no. We hired a friend's company do that. But, we lived through weeks of loud noises, walls being torn down, all-day sickness from being pregnant, drywall dust, old molding and studs laying in the yard, and trying to corral a very active toddler.

When I look back, it really didn't take very long! But, while we were in it, it seemed to take forever. So, the picture above symbolizes how far we've come, in my mind. We're no longer under construction. We still have work to do, but we're almost there—we're so close! But, there aren't any pieces from construction laying around the yard anymore, and that feels awesome.

The curl above her ear

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:03:00 +0000

My little one has this adorable curl above her ear. It's always there. No matter what we do to her hair—wash it, pull it up in a ponytail, comb it—that curl is always there. Don't get me wrong, we're definitely not trying to get rid of it!! Oh never! It's just this precious little feature, that I love. Sometimes it's a ringlet, and other times it's just a curl. I know that one day, it will be gone, because her hair will be longer, or shorter, and she'll either loose the curl altogether, or whatever, but it's there now. This picture wasn't taken today, but today it's much more of a ringlet, just hanging over her ear. I really treasure that little curl, because it's on one of the most precious little heads in the whole world. I'm truly blessed!

Plump & Red

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:30:00 +0000

Remember the tomato farm I told you about? Here's another picture from that fun day. I'm not a fan of tomatoes (weird, I know!), but these make me want to just sink my teeth in. Don't they look good? I could have snapped pics in this greenhouse for hours! It had the perfect lighting, perfect light diffusion, and the canopy created this beautiful color.

I recently finished listening to Tomato Girl in audiobook. It's definitely not an uplifting read—very tragic and sad. I still can't decide if I enjoyed it or not. I know they'll make a movie, if one isn't already in the works. It's well-written in that you really can imagine everything the author writes about, but it's just a sad story.

Photography Equipment Review, coming soon

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:04:00 +0000

I'm being given the opportunity to once again review some photography equipment from CSN Stores—an online shopping source for just about anything. They have seriously ANYthing you can imagine: swing set, home decor, lighting, home improvement items, hardwood flooring, linens, and so much more.

CSN Stores are offering me a credit toward any of their photography equipment/accessories in exchange for my unbiased, honest review. I was very pleased with my first experience and L-O-V-E the camera bag I purchased! It's really amazing!

So, I'll be sure to keep you posted on this new experience with their stores, and let you know how the equipment stacks up.

Americana

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:07:00 +0000

This picture seems so "American" to me. Does it strike you that way? I was standing on a good ol' American farm, looking around over the rolling hills, and something just make me take this picture. The sky was so blue that day, and there was a wonderful breeze. We were in the middle of Fall. I wasn't thinking "America" when I took the shot, but now that I see it, it just strikes me that way. It transports me back to that beautiful day, and I can almost feel the breeze again.

Tomatoes

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I have a friend who is an extremely talented portrait photography, and a while back she let me tag along on an engagement photo shoot. She knows I love nature photography, and the couple wanted their photos taken on a farm, so I was all in. It was a gorgeous Fall day, with mild temperatures, and a wonderful breeze. The fun, unexpected surprise was that the groom's family has a hydroponic tomato business! So, we got the tour. The canopy over the greenhouse created the most gorgeous morning light on these little, plump beauties, so I had a blast just snapping away while my friend photographed the couple. I got plenty of fun shots of this adorable couple, too, but I was really loving the tomato plants. What can I say, I'm a nature photographer!

Now, I can't remember . . . are tomatoes a vegetable or a fruit?

Breathtaking

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:34:00 +0000

I love Pyramid Point—a spectacular vista in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It's one of my favorite views along the Lake Michigan coast. The last time I was there was this past Fall (2010), and I tried to "drink it in" (as Anne would say) while I was there. The day was beautiful, and the temperatures were mild—a perfect day for nature photography. :)

The Tigress

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 22:30:00 +0000

I wrote about our visit to the zoo the other day. It was so much fun. We met so many fun animals! The beautiful tigers were so close that we would have been their dinner, if the glass wasn't there. This female tiger decided to pose for me. She evidently knew exactly how pretty she was!

Gorgeous! My "secret" childhood dream has always been to have my very own tiger. You think the zoo would consider . . . oh never mind.

Sweet girl—"Innocent Wonder"

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Isn't she too sweet for words? I guess I'm a little biased, but wouldn't you be if you were able to peer into that sweet little face every day? Seriously.

I took this snapshot on a visit to a local park. There was rain coming, so the colors were just popping! The grass looked super green, and my LO happened to be wearing a green t-shirt, too. I just love it! She was running around in the grass squealing, laughing, and having a great time, while we ate a picnic dinner as a family.

She's our first (we've got another one on the way), so it's been amazing to watch her discover the world for the first time. She truly has been full of wonder, as she's explored and experienced the world around her. I love that this picture captures some of that in her expression. After running around a little, she ran back and peered into my camera, just like you see her. I laughed when I saw this week's theme at IHeartFaces ("Innocent Wonder"), because I thought, Well I must have about a thousand pictures that capture just that!

Orangutan

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:30:00 +0000

We love going to the zoo as a family. It's so nice to get outside, walk around, and have close encounters with exotic animals. My daughter LOVES it! She still talks about our last visit to the Louisville Zoo, which was several weeks ago.

This particular zoo is now one of our favorites. While it's not huge, they are doing an excellent job at revamping the habitats, and creating great experiences for visitors. For example, I had a fun encounter with this female orangutan. She was so fun to watch. She started out a little ways away from me, sitting against the fence. She looked like she was deep in thought. I watched.

And then it was like she had a melancholy thought, and began to contemplate it.

And then, she saw me. I believe we may have even made eye contact. So, she came over to say hello, and stuck her face right up against the glass.

And then, she began to think deep thoughts again.

And I could almost hear her start to sing, "What would I give, if I could live out of this ca-age? What would I pay to spend a day, up in a tree? Betcha in the jungle, they understand . . . that they don't cage a wild animal. Wish I could be . . . part of that wooorrrld."

Catching Snow

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:16:00 +0000

I love winter! I love snow! But, I love both even more when I see it all through my daughter's eyes. Here in Kentucky, we don't normally get good snow, but this winter has provided more snow than normal. We even had enough a few weekends ago to go sledding at our local park. It was so fun!

On a brief break from the snow frivolities, my girl took a second to try and catch snow on her tongue—an extremely valuable skill for enjoying the snow. Her cheeks were bright red, and her face was coated with snow. It was a wonderful photo opportunity—and a great memory!