A Touch of Sun | I Heart Faces Weekly Photo Challenge

It's been a little while since I entered the I Heart Faces weekly challenge and I've missed it!  I really love the theme of 'A Touch of Sun', and all the amazing images you can see over there, this week!  I wanted to share an image from a recent senior portrait session .. my first to be honest!  It was nearing sunset, in the country, and when I brought this into LR3 and edited the original in color, I wasn't really happy with the result ... so I made it color-less.  It is quite a bit sharper this way, and she really liked it, as well.  To see some fabulous 'sun-lit' images, just click-n-go now!  Hope you all have a great week!  Fall is in the air here, and I'm lovin' it!

Photo Challenge | Motherhood

Another photo challenge from I Heart Faces!  This week, in honor of Mother's Day, and motherhood!  Hope you all had a blessed day appreciating the wonderful moms in your life! Click HERE to take you over to see more images that will touch your heart at ......

Well, it's been awhile since I've been pregnant, or had a little one to hold, snuggled close to my heart ... I so miss those days of the pitter-patter of tiny feet, squeals of delight, peanut butter and jelly kisses, games of peek-a-boo, toys scattered all around, and their simple childhood wonder of it all!  No, there's nothing like God's gift of motherhood, but alas, time moves forward ... one day they're babies, so dependent on us for their every need, then before you know it, they're grown and out in this great big world, living on their own.  We're left with only the memories of those innocent younger years, forever etched so deeply into our hearts and minds.  Tears come, when I look at photos of my son when he was little ... no matter how hard I try, they just can't be stopped ... it is the heart of a mother, and I wouldn't dare change one thing!  I will say though, enjoy every moment with your little ones, for all too soon you'll find that those days have passed and moved on into your memories of yesterday.

The photo I chose to enter is one that touches a special place in my heart, bringing back memories of my own little one .... again!  It is of my dear sister-in-law and her precious grand daughter, aka: my great niece, Little Rylie.  Here they were, bathed in the late afternoon sun, enjoying a tender moment on the backyard swing ... another memory born.  My son is married now ... recently I might add, and I'm looking forward to the future when I'll be making memories on a sun drenched day in that backyard swing with my grandchildren!

Slow down, make a memory, and have a blessed day!

Photography Challenge | Beverage

Yes, I'm hooking up with yet another photo challenge this week ... I just love these! It's great practice, and I love to hear feedback on my work, as well!  This one is over on Faith's blog, 'Simplicity - my life in mostly photographs', and the challenge for this week is to take a photo of a 'beverage'.  We were out eating with some friends, and I decided to capture the cup ... the coffee cup, that is!  And a great cup of coffee it is over at McAlister's Deli ... not to mention the delicious food!  To see more images, or if you would like to join in and offer us a 'beverage', click the button above.  Have a wonderful weekend!

I Heart Faces Photo Contest . 'Scenic' Black and White

Country, cornfields, and a camera!  Last minute I know ... and unfortunately, I missed the deadline by about 15 minutes, but still, I wanted to share something for this week!  I simply adore black and white images, and this is the one I had chosen for the contest.   Here we have Tim ... the one I spoke about last week ... the 'newlywed'!  (And thank you again, Angie, and Amy for picking my image as one of your favorites!)  Back to this week ... Tim is hard at work here, at a very special, outdoor, country event ... it was a beautiful warm day.  I know the scenery isn't quite in focus on this one, but trust me, it was beautiful!  To check out all the other amazing black and white scenic images, click here on I Heart Faces, or, their logo below!  I'm on my way there now! 

Love Your Shot ... Favorite Faces

This week, over on Love That Shot, is a new contest with the theme of 'Your Favorite Faces'. There are some pretty amazing entries over there, all good enough to win this week's prize of a $100 gift card to Florabella's Actions and Textures! I certainly wouldn't want to be Angie or, Amy, the guest judges from I Heart Faces, trying to pick the winner of this one!!  Florabella is definitely one of my favorites when it comes to enhancing any image!

Here is my 'favorite face' photo for this theme ... my adorable niece, Rylie.  She's such a joy to be around, always brings a smile to my face, and so fun to capture with all her expressive moods. She also has the prettiest blond curls, and I love catching them in the natural sunlight. I extracted all color in this image, added a taupe layer, tweaked the brightness, and contrast, along with adding a slight diffused glow, to give her somewhat of a halo ... all serves to give it a soft and dreamy feel.  Currently my editing program is PSE7, but, I am hoping to upgrade soon.  You just have to head on over to Love That Shot, scroll down to the bottom of the page and check out all the fantastic faces ... just click on their button below!

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge >>Vroom Vroom >>

Another photo challenge is going on this week, over at I Heart Faces ... the theme: 'Vroom-Vroom'!  My entry is of a friend of mine, Miss V.  She has an amazing eye for photography, and, she's a great gal, too! In this image, we were downtown, with a group, for a photo-walk.  Well, when she saw this Mini-Cooper, she figured that posing with one was the next best thing to owning one!  However, I'm not quite sure how much 'VROOM' a Mini-Cooper has ... still, I imagine it gets ya where you're goin'!  To see more fun 'Vroom-Vroom' images, just click the link above to the page, or, the button below ... I know those'll get ya where you're goin'! :)  Thanks so much for dropping by, and have a blessed week, y'all!

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge . Got To Wear Shades

Eye Spy .... a very cool guy!  Believe it, or not, this was captured at a friend's wedding, and no body guards were necessary! Lol! This is a friend of ours, who was standing against this column, in a brightly lit sanctuary, (hence the 'shades'), watching everyone file in to grab a pew before the wedding began. He drew quite a few looks, including my own, and I couldn't resist grabbing this for a great memory!  Just click the logo below, and head on over to I Heart Faces to see more of those who "got to wear (some pretty cool) shades"!