2012 was oh-so GREAT !!

And that's all because of you!  Erin and I wanted to extend a heart felt Thank You to everyone out there that has supported us in our journey this year.  We have done more than I think either of us expected.  So whether we had the privilege to photograph your family or you have enjoyed reading our blog, we thank you!  We have big plans for 2013;  more workshops, equipment, experiments!  All things you can read about here.  :) 

Now to enjoy my final few pictures of 2012.  Enjoy!

 

 

What I will be enjoying over the next week!  Yum!

 

See you all in the New Year!  xoxo, Erin and Vicki

Love every day

Finishing this week's assignment has been a little challenging, not because we didn't have so many people and things that we love, but because we have been spending so much extra time loving on our little ones lately.  I have absolutely no words to express my sorrow for the loss of so many little, beautiful lives and equally no words to express my gratitude for all my many blessings.  So, instead of taking photographs for this assignment, I chose to spend my time looking through old photographs of all the little ones in my family.  I then decided it would be nice to put together a slide show of past Christmas pictures using one of my all time favorite Christmas songs.  I know that this song is a little obscure but hope that you enjoy it as much as we do.  Enjoy spending lots of time together this holiday season and we are going to take a little holiday break but look for us to resume the weekly photo challenge in January!

Here's a link to the video:

https://vimeo.com/55885664

Erin

Oh Pinterest, you make it look so easy....

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past year, then you have more than likely heard of a website called Pinterest.  And if not, here's a little intro.  It's a fabulous idea really.  A place where you can share recipes, fashion ideas, decorating ideas, how-to's, jokes, pictures, etc.  The list goes on and on and if you dare to explore you may just find yourself several hours later with a to-do list longer than imaginable.  As for me, I currently have 439 "pins".  Things that I saw online or from others on the site that I deemed worthy of saving.  Saving with the intention of trying.  I wouldn't necesarrily classify myself as a crafty person.  But my online profile certainly makes me appear that way.  So of these 439 pins I have probably tried a dozen or so.  Don't tell my husband this......he is under the impression that the mindless hours of web surfing are put in to use almost immediately.  :)  I'll get to most of them I'm sure, just not today.  lol 

So this week's challenge came from Pinterest.  If you've searched for anything holiday related chances are you have come across the "how-to photograph in front of your tree" pins.  There are several different versions and all claim to make your holidays photos POP!  So we've decided to put them to the test and see how these ideas work.  Here's how things turned out.....

 

Above Images by Erin

 

 

This is Happy Birthday season for my family so Christmas trees have not really been the focus of the majority of my attention. My husband and I decided when we got married that we would make sure to avoid December babies since both of us have December birthdays. Life has a sense of humor and two kids later, we all celebrate our birthdays during holiday season. My daughter was the only one who managed to swing a November birthday, but being the 29th it might as well be December! My son and I share a birthday and then my husband is just a few days before Christmas, whew!! Adding to that my niece was born a day before my son and I, and her father is a few days afterward (My head is spinning again just writing it all down :-). So we have been in full party mode around here and I realized on Saturday during my beautiful niece's birthday party that I had not taken the pictures for this post. Luckily for me, there happened to be a Christmas tree at the house so I took a couple of pictures that included the tree. Everyone just happened to put the gifts in the room with the tree so I grabbed the chance to photograph them. The other picture is of a precious little one at the party who kept climbing up and down these steps with the tree in the background...too cute!

 

Now, I know I was supposed to read up on how to photograph in front of the Christmas tree and I will be perfectly honest that I read nothing..epic fail on my part!! What I did for both of these pictures was simple put some space between my subject and the Christmas tree, set my camera on the lowest aperture (my lens was 2.8), back up on my subject and then use my lens to zoom in on my subject, then focus on my subject and click!

 

 

 

 

 

Above Images by Vicki 

So here is my take on this little experiment.  I tried it with and without flash.  My intentions were to get that glowing tree look.  No overhead lighting, just the warmth of the tree.  I knew this would be particularly tricky since that would require my subjects (a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old) to remain still.  Nearly impossible.  According to Pinterest I needed to have my ISO as high as possible, which for my camera is 3200.   Aperture at it's lowest, using my Tamron lens that is 2.8 and then shutter speed adjusted accordingly.  Keeping my camera set to Aperture priority, the shutter speed determined by my camera ended up at 1/5 a second.  Sounds fast, right?  Not nearly fast enough to stop a moving 2 year old.  So what resulted in my first 2 pictures is a little bit of grain and some slight blurring.  After about 50 shots, these first 2 are the only resulting usable images.  The last picture of the tiniest Hautop actually turned out quite sharp.  I asked him to pretend as if he were sleeping like Daddy.  Something he loves to imitate.  If this had been video imaging you would hear his funny impression of snoring.  But it kept him still long enough for me to snap one photo.  Looking at the pictures side-by-side you can tell what a difference a still subject makes. 

My final thoughts on this Pinterest project.  Sure, it can be done.  With the right equipment, and some understanding of the functions on your camera, you too can take amazing holiday photographs.  But don't be discouraged if it doesn't happen on the first try.  As with most things, it's not quite as easy as it looks!

Our assignment for next week is to photograph someone or something that we love this holiday season.  Should be fun! As always, let us know what you think!! We would love to hear your comments. Or send us you own holiday lights photos.   Email us at hautopblog@gmail.com! 

Please, don't say "Cheese"

You may have noticed that Take Two has taken two weeks off.   Our family beach trip produced (as you can image) hundreds of photos.  The Grandmothers just love having two camera-loving crazies in the family.  :)  And we are happy to oblige.  However, for us that means burning the candle at both ends to try and edit all of these lovely photos in time for their Christmas cards.  Not to mention the countless other sessions we are working on this holiday season.  Oh and don't forget our own cards....yeah! 

So you are probably wondering what has happened to our weekly creative posts.   Well, don't you worry they are still here!  This week after reflecting back on the trip we decided that our topic would be a product of our experience rather than a task.  Picture this, 8 children under the age of 7 yrs old and 14 adults tired of hearing the "1,2,3 smile!" routine.  How did we sustain photographing 5 days of a family vacation?  By capturing the anti-cheese moment.  And with that I give you this week's topic. 

We've all heard it entirely too many times. 
        "Say Cheese" 
        "look at the camera"
        " I'll give you a ___Insert your favorite snack___ if you smile!" 

This holiday season as we are gathered with family and friends we are taking a new approach!  Capture the fun and excitement, the laughter and details all as they happen.  Whether your subject is looking at you or not.  It's actually quite the challenge.  Here's a few snapshots from our first try at the "Anti-cheese movement"!

 

   

                  

It's back to business this week.  Our topic is one you've all probably seen on Pinterest.  How to take those pictures in front of your Christmas tree!  We are looking for that beautiful, out of focus, sparkle in the background.  What the pros call bokeh.  It's time to put those how-to's to test and see if these techniques really work!  Check back in next Monday to see how things turn out. 

Happy Holidays!

Finally :-)

I have been trying to take pictures for my friend and her family for at least 2 months and weather kept getting in the way!  We finally managed to find the perfect day and had a great time playing at the rose garden.  Her kiddos are so much fun, and absolutely adorable!
Erin

Standing Still

"Now freeze!"  That's what we usually say to our subjects when taking their pictures.  This week we turned the tables and challenged ourselves to stay still.   Here's what we thought...

From Vicki:
I've been thinking all week long on where this hula hoop project should start.  Backyard, front yard, at the park?  I knew that I wanted to photograph trees, so that was a start.  It's a little weird, I know, to like photographing trees.  But I love them.  And I love that I am surrounded by them at home.  My love affair with trees began when I was 10 years old. I planted a cedar tree on Arbor Day.  To me they signify strength, endurance, life.  And so I decided to have the first Hautop toss my hula hoop in the front yard.  It took a couple of tries but it finally landed in a spot that Mommy could stand in.  They sky was particularly blue on Saturday and the fall foliage is, to me, breath-taking.  The kids and I spent the morning chasing each other and tossing leaves.  We collected a few for an art project and sorted piles based on color.  Hey every now and then I stick a little lesson in the day, it makes me feel better about drinking wine in the middle of the afternoon.  :)  So here they are, my tree pictures.  Oh and as for the challenge of being stuck in one place to take pictures....it was tough.  I wanted so badly to follow my kids around and snap up close pictures.  But turns out I like the way my images developed.  The hula hoop made things happen more naturally.  I stood in that one place and let life evolve around me.  In some ways like a tree.  Standing tall and strong.....

 Images above by Vicki Hautop

From Erin:
Tis the season!!!  I thought that it would be fun this week to take the assignment on location to the Raleigh Christmas parade.  Attending this event has become an annual tradition for our family.   We are fortunate that my husband's office is along the parade route so we have easy parking, an indoor reprieve from the cold, and prime viewing!!  Yes, we are so lucky!!!  So, as the crowd began to grow I grabbed one of the chairs lined up along the street in front of the office, camera in hand.  As an aside, I did not actually throw a hula hoop in the air (I am not sure the other parade patrons would have appreciated being hit by a flying hula hoop :-)   So, I used my chair as the hula hoop and all of the images are from that vantage point.  I did find it frustrating being "stuck" in the chair.  The kids were in front of me for most of the parade and I desperately wanted to get up to be able to catch their smiling faces.  In the end, I think I was able to get some fun images and appreciated finally having a chance to stay in one place.  As an aside, I would like to share some comic relief from the parade.  I would direct your attention to the two side by side vertical images.  So, my daughter decided to spend the second half of the parade pouting (only thing that finally snapped her out of her mood was seeing the big man at the end of the parade).  Everything was going great until...it started raining candy.  Ok, it wasn't actually raining candy but people were walking along with the parade handing out information and some were throwing candy to all the excited kiddos.  Great in theory but terrible in execution, especially when your kiddo was always a day late and a dollar short in catching the candy.  I have to laugh looking back because you would think that someone had told her that her dog died, she looks so pitiful.  And how bout that lollipop in her mouth, why in the world would she need more candy!!!  I just have to shake my head and smile, the joys of parenting!!
Hope that you enjoy sharing in our fun holiday tradition and are getting excited about the beginning of your holidays.

Images above by Erin Hautop

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Take Two is taking a break this week.  We will probably post a pic or two from our family vacation next Monday, but there won't be a challenge.  As always, send us your comments!  Or email us at hautopblog@gmail.com.  We'd love to hear from you!

Such an incredible family

Had such a great time playing at the park with such an amazing family!  Can't wait to look through all the pictures but wanted to share a sneak peak :-)

Man's best friend



It is in my opinion that the bond between a person and their pet can be the single most rewarding experience in life.  Now there are many that would argue a man's best friend would be something other than a canine.  But for the purposes of today's blog we're talking dogs. 

 

 

Above images by Erin

 

This week has been incredibly frustrating because I was trying hard to finally do something really creative and failed miserably doing it. I thought for a minute that I would just bag the whole thing and have my kiddos take some pictures with our dog, but then I realized that it would not be honest. So here it goes...

 

What I wanted for this week was to talk about the magic between kids and their dogs. I see so many pictures these days from professional photographers that include the family dog in the baby and family photos. And there is something so sweet and innocent about these images. So, what I wanted was to try and take a "magical" picture of our dog with my daughter who is going through her own obsession with all dogs these days (she has even requested a dog themed birthday party). I have seen lots of floating pictures and thought that it would be fun to photograph my daughter and dog together and then have one or both of them floating. I found lots of tutorials online taking you through all the "easy" steps to pull off floating pictures. In the end, I found it really hard to make it look natural! I tried several different locations and poses and ultimately, none of them worked. Maybe it is just really hard to pose kids and dogs (it certainly couldn't be that I didn't know what to have them do :-), or maybe it was my inability to use a tripod well, or maybe even my complete stupidity with Photoshop! Whatever it may be, I know that the picture looks really badly Photoshopped! But despite the fact that I think I failed miserably, my daughter LOVES the picture and is amazed and confused by it. So, from that end I guess I have to call my attempt at creating magic between a little girl and her dog a success! I also wanted to throw in a couple more pictures for a good laugh. Our family pets put up with so much from our little ones :-) Happy Monday and here's to next week being a little more "successful."

 

 

 

 

 

Above images by Vicki

 

Puppy dog eyes can be an incredibly powerful thing.  I would say that puppy eyes make the Magic Eraser look like child's play.  With a single look they can wipe out a bad day, a bad cold, a lonely heart, and so much more.  Dogs make wonderful teachers of life's lessons, for both the young and old.   My beloved Charleston has taught me things my Mother spent years trying.  Pick up your laundry, don't leave food out, think of others before yourself, exercise daily, patience, responsibility.  The list literally could go on forever.  So it is in the eyes of a dog that you can see not only his spirit but yours as well.  And that is why I believe that my canine is most definitely my best friend.  Often taken for granted and sometimes overlooked during the course of a very busy day.  And yet I am always greeted with his version of a smile.  If you can get your hands on a friendship like that, you just might be the lucky one.

 

On a side note how lovely is Chatham, Duchess of Ridgewood?!?!  The beauty in my first two photos is possibly the most gorgeous canine on the planet.  Let's be honest, have you ever seen anything this cute?  Her Mommy adores her and I do believe the feeling is mutual.  :)

 

 

Our assignment for next week is a hula hoop challenge. Pick a location and throw a hula hoop in the air. We can photograph whatever we want but can't move from the inside of the hula hoop.  Should be fun!  As always, let us know what you think!!  We would love to hear your comments.  Or send us you own "best friend" photos.  Email us at hautopblog@gmail.com!  We'll add your pics to our collection!



One Subject, different vantage points

Vicki and I decided to take this week and look at the way we take pictures.  It's easy to get stuck photographing the same way...different subject but same pictures.   So, we decided to focus on one subject but take pictures from many different angles.

Here's what Vicki had to say:

There are certain things that remind us of home.  For me, the smell of a charcoal grill does just that.  You are probably wondering what these pictures are all about.  Well, sometime around the late 1960's my Grandfather built himself the ultimate family gathering grill.  Who wouldn't want to cook 30 whole chickens at once?  He welded it from an oil drum that was no longer being used.  There have been countless uses for this grill over the years.  Family reunions, birthdays, weddings, etc.  It can hold several bags of coals at once and smokes meat like nothing you've ever tasted.  Like 'slap yo mama' good.  So here she is in all her glory, the oil drum grill.  Rusty and battered from years of use and love.  On this day it was being used to grill chicken for our family's church's fall sale.  Just as the sun was rising these beauties were lined up and already smoking to perfection.  I tried to capture all of the parts I found interesting.  Now if only I could share the the end result.  Grandpa's chicken with Grandma's secret barbeque sauce......man, I just got hungry!

 

 Images By: Vicki Hautop

Here's what I had to say:

This week I desperately wanted to delay the assignment because it has been one of THOSE weeks.  We all have them and among the chaos it is so easy to let go of the things that we do for ourselves.  We are in the midst of a kitchen renovation and our house is completely torn apart right now. I know that I will be thrilled once everything is done, but living through the dust, layers of plastic, piles and piles of stuff, and constant people in and out of the house has sent me over the edge many times this week.  On top of that drama, I have been working feverishly on an end of year slide show and coaches memory book for my son’s football team for the end of season banquet tonight.  I am so excited that both of them have turned out so well and can’t wait for the coaches, parents, and players to see them, but have to admit that trying to pull them together has been a little too much on me during an already CRAZY week!!  So, I called Vicki on Saturday to ask if we could just wait until next week to finish the assignment.  In her very loving and firm way she told me that she would not buy the “dog ate my homework” excuse.  And I realized that even though it was not what I wanted to hear, it’s what I needed to hear.   This blog is something that we do for ourselves and with a week of focusing on everyone else I needed some time to focus on something for me.  I knew that I did not have time to try and “set up” something to shoot but I think that’s what made the pictures this week even more perfect.  I actually took a moment to STOP.  My mother in law was awesome enough to have us over for breakfast and my son decided to take the time to sit and relax too.   Looking over at him, in his crazy outfit lying in crazy positions on the chair trying to play his game, I just had to LAUGH.   So of course I had to pick up the camera and share the comic relief of my morning from many different angles.  I hope they make you smile too!    

 Images by: Erin Hautop

Next week we are going to focus on photographing man's best friend!!