Supermoon 2012

Last night, according to the news, was a phenomenon called "Supermoon." The moon passed a little closer to earth than usual making this full moon appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than a full moon at its furthest distance from the earth. I missed the rising but I went out around 9 o'clock and the moon was visible above the neighboring apartment building and I was able to get a shot.  I am not sure if it looked bigger to me but it certainly looked very bright! I think the brightness contributed to being able to get a decent shot without even using a tripod.

My Sunshine!

A cold front moved in today and I am missing the nice weather but enjoying a lazy day with my own little Sunshine. Here are a couple of pics from the first really beautiful days of the season. (I edited them using the new Pure Photoshop actions. Google it, they are awesome!)

Sunday's Moon

Another moon picture taken with the telephoto. This may be one of my new favorite subjects! 

52 Week Challenge, Week 3 and Week 4

Week 3, An Item I Love. If this one looks familiar it's because last week I was really sick and was too tired exhausted to do the assignment and instead used a picture from last year. It's my great grandmother's coral necklace and I love it.

Week 4, Self Portrait. Sadists. Why does every photography project have to have a self portrait? I hate doing it. I tried to keep this as simple as possible. I took it at 7:30 am, no make-up, hadn't even brushed my hair yet. Found the lightest room in the house, held out the canon with the 50mm (thus the close-up) and snapped a bunch.  This was the one that managed to include my whole face (well, except a sliver of chin, but my chin is too big anyway.) Self portrait, done.

Snowy Morning on the Sheep Range

So I finally looked it up, the mountains that my apartment looks out on are called the Sheep Range. How perfect is that? Their highest peak is the Hayford Peak at 9,912 feet above sea level. I wonder if it is possible to see any of the range's namesakes, the desert bighorn sheep, through my telephoto lens!

Monday Musings

• The baby is sick again so I haven't gotten enough sleep and can not properly compose a thought. But that is not going to stop me from blogging because this blog is not that fancy.
• My amazing mama came over today to watch Remy so I could go do the shopping all by myself. It was lovely and I was slooooow. 
• I am pretty sure I rock because in addition to grocery shopping I somehow also managed to vacuum and sweep, do laundry and dishes, get the mail, spend a bunch of time playing with  the buddy, turn on my husband's computer, locate files, and copy them onto my mom's flash drive. And this is a MONDAY. 
• Ross and I are totally enjoying Downton Abbey on PBS. 
• On Netflix, Ross is enjoying Flashpoint. Remy is enjoying Gnomeo & Juliet. I am tentatively checking out Portlandia. (Some of it is funny.)  
• I need to make an appointment for an eye exam. I've needed to for a year but suddenly I feel like if I was wearing glasses with the right prescription somehow it would make everything easier. I plan to fully enjoy this delusion until I get my new glasses and my problems do not magically go away.  
• I love reminding myself that this is the heart of winter and it is going to get nicer and nicer from here because, honestly, this ain't bad.  
• Remy is 20 months old. The gap between him and the other kids in his nursery and my online mommy group is showing a lot more now than it did just three months ago. I am so eager to get things really moving with EI. Not in an intense tiger-mom kind of way, just in a help me,  I am in over my head kind of way. 
• My husband just walked in with McDonald's. Peace out, yo. 

Sunday Morning Sunrise

Remy Was Here

Week 2 of 52 Week Challenge: My Front Door

Saturday's Moon

Mountain Crest Park in January

Afternoon Nap

I'm sorry for posting another sleepy picture, I guess it is hibernation season around here!

A couple of sweet pictures from Ross

He took these through the mesh of the pack n play which is why they have that nice hazy look. I should let him handle the camera more often!

52 Week Photo Challenge, Week 1

Week 1: A self portrait without me in it. I thought about arranging a still life but that is so time consuming and then I would actually have to stop and think about what I should include and I hate making choices. So instead I decided to just snap a shot of a corner of my world in its natural state. Here is my kitchen desk. (If I have time I may re-shoot this with a tripod so I can get all a bit clearer but I may not have time before the deadline at the end of the week.)

Misty Sunrise

This was the view from the balcony this morning at about 6:15am.  Made my 5:50 wake-up a little less painful. 

Bathtime

This is a series of pictures I took before Christmas and I already posted one when I was talking about photoshop but I wanted to post the others as well because they make me smile!

Earthshine

Earthshine is when sunlight reflected off the Earth's surface dimly illuminates the dark side of the moon and we've been experiencing some really good earthshine lately so I tried to take a picture from Mom's balcony tonight. Unfortunately I only had my 50mm lens with me, not ideal.

And here's the picture I took before I figured out I should probably narrow the aperture a bit! I think this was with the shutter open for about 5 seconds.  Almost all of these stars were invisible to the naked eye.

Merry Christmas!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas. Our first Christmas in Vegas! Last year I would never have imagined that we would be able to do Christmas in Vegas and still be with family. We are so blessed that Aunt Melody and gang included us in the Christmas Eve and Mom and Dad were with us on Christmas! (The eve of Christmas Eve was pretty great too, but that will have to wait for another post.) And Ross has the week off so the merriment continues!

Photoshop cont.

Ok, here is a more dramatic example of action magic because the photo was taken by me instead of a professional. I took this last night while Rem was in the bath. Thought it was a super cute face but didn't know what to do about the awful white balance and exposure. Applied Whiten Brighten, Cream, Gentle Eye Sparkle (for the bubbles), Studio Pop and a little of The Eyes Have It. Love it!

Check It Out!

Over at chubbercheekers.com Meghan is doing a poll to determine which one of her photos to submit to a summer themed photography competition. The problem is they are all so good that the three leading pictures are neck and neck! She can only submit one, so head over to www.chubbercheekers.com and vote for your favorite!