Photography Class: Week 2

Photography class: week 2. I had a hard time getting out and taking pictures until the very end. I was waiting for feedback on my week one pictures (which didn't happen until after I had to have these done due to technical problems), so I would have liked more time to play and get some good shots. Sigh...I always need more time. 

White balance. AWB and Cloudy

Gosh, I love these two! They are so nice to me for posing for such long periods of time so I can get one good shot.  

I didn't submit these for my class for obvious lighting issues, but Claire's face is still so cute in these two pictures. 

Really...I like this picture a lot.  

On Saturday, Brian's friend asked if we wanted to go to a dog park with him. Our kids LOVE his dog...to the point where we have to talk about him for hours or days afterward. Jared was totally not content watching the dogs from the fence, so we had to go inside and get clobbered for quite some time. Claire got a good knocking over once, which  scared her, but Jared was more than happy to get trampled on more than one occasion. Claire is still upset that we didn't let her go into the "little dog park". We may have to go back. :) 

Getting licked by a great dane.

Brian's friend Jared. Gosh...there are so many Jared's now-a-days. :)

Chasing dogs...

 ...and then running into a horse...i mean a great dane.

Those darn airplanes can get his attention, but I can't.

He was playing fetch, but then all the dogs left. I think he looks a little disappointed. 

An airplane!

 I really wish I had WAY more natural lighting in my house.  

Thank you Nicole's Classes for another fun week of pictures!

Photography Class: Week 1

So, I'm taking an online photography class from Nicole's Classes and I'm really liking it. I've had the book for a few years, but I just didn't buckle down and take pictures for practicing like I need to. The information was all there, but I wasn't really putting into practice what I read. The class has been incredibly helpful to force me to do it and not be lazy about my settings. I really like to learn and be in "school", so this has been a fun break from the norm.

Here are my week one shots. Please remember that I am not a pro....I am learning. Our teachers are VERY constructive criticism minded and I wish they were a little more....uh....helpful with their feedback as to how I can get better. Don't get me wrong, I love constructive comments, but I also know my pictures aren't perfect or where I want them to be, so feel free to tell me what you think. I promise my feelings won't get hurt if you say, "GOSH DARN DIGGITY! What were you thinking taking a picture this bad???" I'll love it. :)


Shutter speed: I couldn't get my shutter speed fast enough to match my exposure in my house on the first two pictures, so I had to take the second two. I think Claire's hair looks cool though.

Slow vs. fast shutter speed and how it affects your moving image.

Depth of Field 

I had to tell a story of a person/object for the day. Claire was the subject because Jared moves too much. Claire has been a dream subject!

ISO: 100, then 400, then 1600.

Sigh....Oh Christmas blog

I'm having a hard time committing myself to doing anything with this blog. It seems like every time I sit down to do anything, I have to rescue a certain toddler from his impending doom of falling from something very high (or save my jewelry from being swallowed, or save my walls from being colored, and the list goes on). Needless to say, when I do sit down I'd rather be reading instead of writing, so that's where I've been.

Our Christmas was wonderful. My entire family was here and endured 5 days of being in a small apartment with sick children. Although I took every precaution to ensure healthy kids, they both got croup, a terrible cold, and probably body aches all over (based on what my dad and brother are now feeling) and we made them go all over the place. Poor kids. HOWEVER, we were home for Christmas, Claire gushed so much love at Grandpa and Grandma that it ALMOST negated the fact that Jared wanted nothing to do with anyone but mom. Plus, he's getting two teeth. He has been a monster. An absolute nightmare....moving on.

After everyone filtered in on Christmas Eve we had our Anderson tradition of gag gifts on Santa's lap. We told Claire that Santa was coming that night and she was so excited! When Santa came in the room she just laughed a little and said, "MOM! That's Daddy! Daddy is dressed up like Santa!" It took Brian years of this tradition to figure it out. She liked it anyway and Jared was still scared of the bearded man.

(Sorry Jason...we didn't get a picture of yours).

Look at him being so wary of Santa.

For all the bugs this year I've had to deal with.

We were more than spoiled on Christmas morning. Claire was excited about EVERYTHING...even the clothes she got. What kid gets excited about clothes? She did and it was adorable. Jared got uninterested in opening presents after his first couple cars. He was content to just sit and play with the new loot while time passed around him. Christmas is SO much more fun with children. Gosh, a billion times more fun! 

Brian gave me the most amazing gift ever made by a man! He gave me the 12 minutes of Christmas. It was basically a scrapbook made by him with a gift for every page. Super adorable and made me cry more than once.

Kindle bucks! Read the Elizabeth Smart story... amazing.

This was hilarious! He put his face on different actors, which most turned out either hilarious or awesome. He makes a pretty good spock and I didn't mind seeing his face on Thor's body either. :) haha. So funny.

He knows me so well.

New jewelry

Brian also enrolled me in an online photography class that I've wanted to take for a long time. I need something to force me to get better at taking pictures and learning new things about my camera. So far I LOVE it...although I've struggled to find the time I need to take the kind of pictures I want. Cheers to learning new things. I love it.

This has been the best lifesaver ever. My kids like trains way too much and now they have one they can tear apart and it doesn't break. Wonderful!

He shoots, he scores!

The next day we saw the Hobbit. Awesome. And then on Friday we went to the Dallas World Aquarium. I was sad that my dad was disappointed about there being animals instead of a world supply of marine life, but we think it's cool. We even got to see the shark feeding, which I liked. :) Went to Rudy's for some good BBQ, and did some outlet shopping (which is always an epic fail for me when I'm pregnant. I buy nothing). 

Also, it's weird that I'm in so many pictures. Trevor and Mom were the cameramen for Aquarium day and I forgot my camera. Who knew that mom's existed on out of the house excursions, right?!

He always looks so excited. :)

Baha!

The manatee. Super cool.

Those are spider crabs....SO COOL!

Who knows what we're looking at. Penguins? This is just proof that Jason was actually there. :)

Miracles do happen, folks!

Jason: "Claire, what are those?" Claire: "MINGOS!"

Saturday was a bit of a dud. I had great plans of spending a very normal day at the most amazing park ever built and playing T-ball with the kids, but now my dad and Trevor joined the sick train and didn't go anywhere. So, that night, the rest of us went to the Chinese Lantern Festival, which was pretty amazing!

She treated this panda just like she did Santa: with a great big hello hug!

Alright, this castle....it's made out of china. Yes, those are dishes! Cups, plates, bowls, forks, spoons, knives, the whole shebang. Pretty incredible! 

 Can we all just notice how amazing my mom looks, please?! What a hottie!

We had a wonderful time! Now that everyone has left, we've felt a bit lonely, but we've been doing a lot more of this....

...and we're finally all better.