8.22.2011

date stamped

Alrighty friends, so I thought I had a moment of genius: to document my week in pictures and put a cool (yet functional) date stamp on each photo. I liked it for the first few pictures, but after awhile I think it became distracting. With both a watermark and a date stamp on each photo, I think it's a little much. And...since I'm blogging less these days, this is a week's worth of photos which might be a bit of an overload. Maybe grab a snack before you dive in? ;-)

I've continued to be a little frustrated with my style of photography lately. My pictures always look simple, clean and clear, but there's a style that has been inspiring me even more these days. I've been reading Molly Flanagan's blog the past couple months (another recommendation from Ashley), and I love love love her style! Pop over to Molly's blog and you'll see what I mean, and how her photos look different from mine. They're so real life...messy backgrounds (which I love), super wide apertures (when I do that, it looks like I messed up)...I don't know. They have a really cool quality that I haven't been able to achieve.

Even though I didn't get the look I was going for, I still like these pictures, and it IS what we actually did during the past week, so here we go.

A morning with my sweet girl at the park.






A hug for biggest brother.


A little walk through the woods.






The picture below is one of my new favorites. ;-)


Running errands after school...




I'm including a shot of the kids' back-to-school shoes so I can share a little TT tale. It was threatening to rain, so I lined up these shoes on our deck to snap a quick picture. I thought TT was following me outside, but instead I turn around to find her sweetly waving goodbye, a HUGE smile on her face, closing the sliding glass door and locking me out of the house. We have 2 decks off of our kitchen: one with stairs leading down to our yard, and one totally enclosed, a good 8 feet above the ground. (Guess which deck I was trapped on?)


After being trapped outside on the deck for quite some time, (quietly pounding on the sliding glass door to get my boys' attention above the roar of the Wii, but so as not to attract attention from my neighbors - embarassing!) with dinner rolls burning in the oven, and TT coming back to check on me and wave every so often...I headed off to the flower garden to pray for my sanity to return.


Seriously went back to the same telephone wires to re-do my bird shot. :-)
(5 1/2 hours apart, and they look kind of the same).


Go Avalanche! Drew's first game of the season and they won!


No one scored while Drew was goalie. ;-)


Fast forward to this morning. Much of our Monday involved me comforting TT who was missing her brothers. She kept crying "I need my bubbies! Bubbies??? Come back!" Then she proceeded to inform me that she needed to go to school too because she is seven. ;-)


Guess who just moved out of her crib and into a big girl bed!


OK, wait! Now here's more of the look I was going for. Kind of hazy, messy...pretty much the opposite of my regular style. :-) What do you think?


Did anyone make it to the end?? - WHEW! I actually started these pictures last Wednesday, but I think I'm going to stop here on Monday. Too many! If you made it all the way through - yay! And thanks for looking! :-)

31 comments:

Amy H said...

I LOVE your style, and don't think you should ever change it!!!! Congrats on the big girl bed!

Ashley Sisk said...

You're too hard on yourself - if you can't see it...your style is evolving. Still clean, but you're really starting to adopt that photojournalism style we both love. I think you just need to create more messes in your life. HA HA ANd I love that hazy BW. Love!

Tenille said...

I love your style...you are always inspiring me to capture better (real) pictures of my kids!

Ashley said...

Love the very last photo.!.

Amarie said...

Don't change a thing! It's those big, bright, beautiful photos that draw us here every time you post! If they were all murky and hazy, we wouldn't see TT's big, beautiful smile and all those cute outfits! :-D

Sara said...

Love them all!! I have been so uninspired to take photos lately; maybe this will give me the motivation to get back into it. And I love the last one, such a glimpse into real life. Hope the big girl bed transition is going well!

Natalie said...

The last photo is beautiful, but I think all your pictures are wonderful. Your style is great and it is YOU! Be yourself, girl. It works.

BTW - if that is a mess in the last picture then I am in trouble. Want a true mess? Our schoolroom right now might be your dream location. ;-)

Andrea said...

I love that last photo and I can see, in some ways, how that one is different. I think it's the combo of the soft light and the haze and that gorgeous black & white conversion. I love your black and whites! Something antique looking about them...(ok, maybe not the best description, but you know what I mean.) I, too, love that messy, photojournalistic style. I can't seem to find it either. But you appear to be right on track! (And thanks for the blog suggestion. I love finding more blogs to read!) (Sorry for the long comment...tee-hee!)
:-)

Discovery School at First Baptist Heath said...

love the shots.. ALL of thm.. and I think you got style..LOL

Discovery School at First Baptist Heath said...

just visited Molly's blog, very cute.. but thinking some of the difference is that hers are noisy.. whether intentional or or in processing...and that is what adds to the journalistic style...

Casey Martinez said...

I totally know what you mean about getting a little bored perhaps of my own style especially when I see the creativity of others..such as yourself. Shoot girl, if I could get my pictures to be crisp and clean every time that would be more than enough for me;0. hehehe. However; I did check out Molly's pics and I do love her rather lively in the moment feel to her shots. I don't have enough excitement going on to get shots like that! hahaha. I LOVE your style and i LOVE hers. I just love that each photographer kinda gravitates towards their own look. It's so neat! LOVE the floral dress and boots pictures!!

Kristal said...

I totally understand what you are saying. You take awesome pictures, yet not what you are going for. I tried to take my kids portraits on Friday but none of them was what I wanted. I can't get my creative brain to communicate with the other side though so I can figure it out. So for now, last year's portraits remain on the wall...

Thanks for the link to Molly... adding her to my reader!

Tara said...

These are adorable, I love the one of your daughter with her hands over her eyes. So cute! I love your style...everyone has a different style...that is OK. I love your clean style :)

Liz said...

Yes I agree very good as always. I like your style. Do not change you are your own person and it reflects in your shots I love that.

I do know what you mean though I see so many blogs with such better quality or what have you. But in the end you nhave to be you.

I have finally joined the action style editing and I love myself the soft hazy effect so many have in their edits.

well be blessed and know you are one of a kind.

Tracy said...

Oh my! I just about fell off my chair when you said you were frustrated with your photos ;) I LOVE your photos and you are one of my inspirations (as well as photography frustrations...hee hee...in a good way, because I love yours and seem to want to know how you get your photos the way you do...right down to the actions used ;)) So don't be so hard on yourself although I know how you feel. I am feeling the same way right now and feel like I have falling out of my style and in a real rut. Love your stuff girl! ;)

Laughter & Love Notes Photography | Blog said...

Ashley is right... you are way too hard on yourself. I have actually tried to copy some of your photos... like the one with the rain drops on the windshield... and there is a reason that no one has seen them. Mine are just not as good as yours. You have a wonderful style and take amazing photos.

Eileen said...

I truly love your style of photography and find your photos very inspiring. I love them! I think we all go through phases where we question what we are doing. But keep on doing what you're doing! You're amazing! I can't believe she's in a big girl bed!! We haven't made that leap yet. I've been trying to get the bird-on-a-wire shot for a while.. haven't had much luck. I also love the last photo. How did you get that nice haze? Really great shot.

Melissa said...

Your photos are always beautiful to look at and I think there are a lot of us who aspire for the same quality in our family photos. That said, I really like the look of that last edit. Beautiful!

Karen said...

Loved them all! But, my favorite is the "Walk in the Woods". I've been on a getaway so had to catch up with you. Thought of you while away "saw some really neat power lines"! Lots of them! Hope you are having some fun times with TT while the boys are away at school.

Unknown said...

Truly Karli - REALLY???

Be inspired but please continue to BE YOU! Your style is developing nicely!

Your last shot is beautiful! I love it and the editing!!! I love the shots of TT walking in those OMG cowgirl boots. LOVE IT!

We don't need another Molly or Holly, or BY GOLLY! We love you as Karli! :-D

XOOXOX

Unknown said...

What Jill said! :D I love your style.

And I love TT's ponytail! Look at you - something other than those two on the top. ;)

TT in the cowboy boots?? So adorable!

That second pic of goalie Drew is hysterical!! :D

I do love that last pic. And checked out Molly's blog... and wow. I've never visited her before, but now I'll have to start. :)

Cropped Stories said...

Holy Canolli! What great pics! I love the one of her huggin' him and the pic of the 3 pairs of shoes!

DebZorn said...

I love your photography! Lisa's is great, too. You might like Keli Hoskins work at Kidnapped by Subuurbia. Thanks for sharing.

http://www.kidnappedbysuburbia.com

Jess said...

Love the font you chose for the date/time stamps. I don't think they make your photos too cluttered or busy looking.

I adore your soft b&w conversions too.

Molly's work is fabulous. I think it's great to be inspired by others, especially if it gets us trying new things. Everyone has already said it but I will too, you have something in your photography Karli. Your stuff is technically sound, and you're way too hard on yourself.

And you know, you're not the only one to be locked out of the house by a cute tiny person. Mine didn't wait too long, luckily, because my only option would have been to walk a mile and hope the neighbors were home! :)

Natalie said...

Well I love a hazy B&W..and your fav new shot of TT is spec-tab-ulous! I love that little outfit too! And oh my! Trapped on the deck!?! That's one for the baby book! Hah! Glad you made it back inside ;)

Carrie said...

That last shot is gorgeous!!! She looks so grown up with her big girl bed and her ponytail! Maybe she is seven now ;0) I'm sorry to hear you feel in a rut, but I still LOVE your photos!! My FAVs!

Cedar said...

If this isn't great photography, then I'm afraid to click on the link to see even more amazing pictures. I'll never get there!

I do hear you on clean vs. the whole hazy, messy~I always like it when I see it, but I cannot seem to quite duplicate it. I think you did, though.

elizabeth said...

I too am trying to develop "my style" it's hard with so much out there to compare ourselves too
But I admire your work and think it's perfect just the way it is! And the story of TT locking you out had me rolling!

Ashley said...

It's funny how we are all aspiring to something... I am wishing I took pictures more like you and here you are wishing your pictures looked like someone else! You got some beautiful pics of TT this week! I love them. The date stamp is cool but is a little distracting. Especially from her ridiculous cuteness. I do love the shot that you think is "messy" haha but not any more than any of your others!

Lori Allberry said...

Karli, before I forget - I LOVE the hazy look, but I also LOVE your look!

I love your favorite picture of TT, but I also love the view of her from behind with those adorable boots on - to die for!

The pictures of the boy in the car - ADORABLE!

And the rose, that rose, that rose, that rose - OH EMM GEE!!!!!

You are STILL AMAZING!!!

♥Lori

Michelle R said...

Ok, dear!! I've opened this post up several times in the last few days, to always be inturruped and not able to comment. So, I'm commenting tonight to say, I'm gonna be giving you some real lovin' and a comment soon! lol!! <3

But really (hey, here it is! lol)

These are beautiful! And I echo Jill -- you need to be YOU -- and really - you have so many wonderful stunning portraits, shots, memories, captures... whatever you wish to call them! I love how you're learning to just go with the flow, and not try to have it all posed and "forced" cause really, the shots of TT just doing her thing -- those are awesome! Whether she's running away, hiding her face, or smiling sweetly... Whether is seeing the boys taking a hug around their game, or them just being good in the back seat.... or rocking the soccer game!

Love the story of getting locked out... only cause you were trying to hard not to be noticed trying to get back in! lol! Sneeky kids!!

Yay for the big girl bed, and yay for mama starting to capture the shots she's dreaming of!

Yes, I made it though to the end!! Of course!

xoxoxo
Me