Nic and Leo

We had a great long weekend and I took advantage and got everyone for a photo shoot on Saturday. Here is one of my favorites from that day. I love Leo's face because he looks so cute trying to make Nicolas laugh. And Nicolas was loving all the attention from his Papi.

I'm learning Photoshop Elements 8 (PSE 8) and after taking the skinny mini PSE course I feel a little better equipped. I downloaded The Pioneer Woman's PSE actions and played w/ them tonight. Here is the SOOC picture.

And here are my two edits. One is a clean edit, I ran it through ACR and then played a little w/ the layers and that was it. The B&W was an action and I just tweaked one of the layers, I think it was the bump layer to 70% opacity.

So what do you think? How did I do for my 2nd try at PSE? [my first try was for my Christmas card family photo but I don't want to reveal that just yet :) ]

Have a great rest of the week!

N@

A beautiful foggy sunrise

Foggy mornings really excite me and Monday was amazing. It was foggy and the sun was trying to poke through the thick white fog.

I pulled into my parking spot at work and had to get this shot. This is SOOC and I think once I get my computer space back (we have family visiting and our office is being used as a guest room) I will edit out the power line.

I'm entering this one in Trendy Treehouse Photo Challenge: Fall. The beautiful colorful and foggy sky screams fall to me. To see more great entries click below.


Keep clicking!
N@

Thankful Thursday-Vacation Edition

October 30th I ran my first long(ish) distance race since Nicolas was born. After training for a month or so the day came. The best part was that after jogging 6.2 miles we got snacks and a Blue Moon. It was a little early, 9:30 am, but it was a perfect way to end the race.



The weekend was beautiful; the sun was shinning, the ocean breeze felt amazing and we hung out with great friends.

We drove back to Raleigh on Oct. 31 but before we headed back, we walked along the beach. I was able to get a few cute shots of my two boys. So today for thankful Thursday, I'm thankful for my two boys. Leo is a great hubby and father. And Nicolas, what is there not to love.





Later!
N@

I dedicate this post to...

I dedicate this post to Nicolas. Why? Because I've been in a photo and blogging rut and he is my inspiration.

So...

Nicolas is 20 months old! I can not believe how fast his 2nd year is flying by. Not the greatest picture but it really shows how big he is getting. He is such an independent and adventure seeking little guy. He doesn't like the baby swing anymore, he is a big boy!

When I look back at how far we have come it takes my breath away. The first 3 months were hard, no sugar coating it. Nicolas was a pretty good baby but I was overwhelmed. I was anxious, sleep deprived, exhausted, nervous, etc. It slowly got better but I didn't feel like myself until Nic was 9 months. I'm not sure what it was exactly; Nic was sleeping better, not stressing about nursing as much, picking up a new hobby (photography), jogging again, or a more consistent routine. And although the first 9 months were hard, they are gone and all that is left are memories and pictures. And I'm thankful for that.

And speaking of pictures. Here is a collage of his first year

and his second year up to this point.

(the lighting and editing is all different, sorry. But this post is more to share a glimpse of mommyhood and less of a display of improving photography skills)

I have pictures to unload from my camera and challenges to enter so hopefully this weekend will be a productive photography and blogging one.

For those reading, thanks for letting me ramble and be all over the place.

Have a great Thursday and if I don't blog again a great weekend.

ETA: I don't usually blog hop but found this blog hop through The Paper Mama and thought it would be cool. So if you want to blog hop as well...click on the button below.



N@