Emotion, it's so darn cute!

Emotion, it's every where.  Apparently so is Santa Claus.  At least that's what I've heard.  Which makes this week's assignment particularly easy.   We both decided this week to use the photos we had in our stash.  With our cameras constantly by our sides, snapping away almost daily, we called up a few images from the bench.  And I think we picked some real winners. 

 

Erin's Stash

It seems appropriate that the focus is on emotion this week because my week has already felt incredibly emotional.  There has been some personal news that has given me a heavy heart and then the events in Boston are beyond sad!  It is times like these that I find myself needing to adjust my view and focus on what is happy and right :-)  I hug my children a little tighter, love on my family more and give thanks for the multitude of people who chose to help those in need.  

For the assignment this week, I am going to use many of the images I have photographed for some wonderful families this week.  It has been a busy week for Studio BECK...5 family shoots, 1 event and 2 baseball games!!  As a photographer, I find so much joy in capturing a moment, a look or an event that brings others joy.  Below are some of the images from my family shoots that made me smile. I have many more on my facebook page (studio BECK) if you would like to see more.

And the two images below are from my son's baseball team.  The kid pictured below is not only an incredible athlete, but he is so very focused every play and moment of the game.  He is one of the most fun to photograph because that emotion and intensity always come through.

Vicki's Stash

I love the emotion between children.  It is so natural and unpredictable.  So when we chose that for our topic knew instantly I wanted to capture a playdate with Reese and her friend Abbie.  They were born just days apart, nearly 5 years ago.  Thanks to an instant bond between myself and Abbie's mom these two have spent a lot of time together!  They squeal, they laugh, they make up stories and games.  It's really, really cute.  :)

Spring Day Happy

And then came round #2 of babies.  The little sister and little brother just crack me up.  It's been fun to watch their personalities blossom.  It's very easy to see from this picture who's boss.  :)  Miss Cate keep Davis in line most days.  Can't you just see the emtion in this one.  She's totally telling him to move out of her seat or he's toast!

 

And lastly, a few that I just found too cute not to share.  :)

 

"Did that duck really just fly? "

 

 

"My little sister loves it when I squeeze her tight!"

So there you have it!  Emotion in it's finest form.  With those sweet baby faces.  Next week we are using the sun/moon as our topic.    Which one of us will brave a sunrise session??  You'll have to wait and see!

The first few days...

Anyone who is a parent can understand the serenity that surrounds those first few days of a new baby's life.  Those moments that are quiet and restful, filled with overwhelming joy.  While there is plenty of noise and long nights too, it is all worthwhile for times like these.....

Kelly, these boys are so fortunate to have you and Nick as parents.  They are going to have a fun-filled childhood!  Thank you so much for having me over to spend the morning with you.  Looking forward to watching your babies grow!  ~VICKI

NUMB3RS

You remember those activities from childhood.  The ones where there were 2 pictures and you had to tell what was different.  That's sort of where this weeks challenge started.  We began our conversation with "let's take photos of the same numbers but in different ways!"   Which quickly turned in to "that's gonna take forever."  lol  So we decided to just practice our manual shooting skills taking images of whatever numbers happened to come our way.  I had actually thought we would end up with another Sisters-from-different-mister post.  But turns out we did not.  Lucky you.  :)

Here's the latest from Erin:

I am so excited to finally share a few images from the baseball field.  I take so many pictures from every baseball game but tried to turn a little focus to the "numbers" for this week's challenge.  This weekend my son's team and my nephew's team played each other in what turned out to be a very exciting game!  And I was just as thrilled that the weather was finally cooperating, and we weren't frozen by the end of the game :-)  Here were a few of the fun number shots. 

And here are the cousins...

And we are thankful that they don't seem upset at the end of the game, no matter the outcome.

                                 

Here's the latest from Vicki
Ok first my nephews MUST stop growing up.  This is just to much to watch.  They are supposed to be little toddlers running around asking for juice.  Not these joke-cracking, uniform wearing, super talented little ball players!

Now onto the numbers pics.  So I thought for a few days about how to make this not so boring.  My backyard is not going to cut it.  Then I realized I had an upcoming trip to visit my twin (really my younger sister, but we like to think of ourselves as twins) at her place down in Wilmington.  Perfect, everything looks better at the beach, right?   So day 1 of shooting was beautiful.  The sky was crystal clear and I set out about an hour before sunset to snap a few pics of my kids at the marina.  Camera set to a "sunny 16" aperture, ISO at 400, and shutter speed at 320.

That pretty lady number 992071 is captained by my sister's better half, Mr. Mike White.  If you are in Wrightsville Beach this summer check out his sport fishing business, Offshore Account Charters.  They book full or half day trips all summer long.  You won't be disappointed.

However, I was when I started snapping the following day at the beach and didn't change my camera settings.  Drawback #1 to shooting manual, you ALWAYS have to check your settings.  None of this point and shoot business.  So I had a few blown-out pics before I realized my mistakes and took them all over again.  This day was super overcast and barely any direct sun at all.  My settings were 2.8 aperture, ISO 400, and shutter speed of 640.  I did do some post-processing just because they were so blah....and still kinda are.

That's all for this week!  The moral of the story here is that you must practice.  Find subjects, any subjects and just keep shooting!  Next time we are back with "emotion".  Should make for a fun post!

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