5 on friday (eyes and ears and mouth and nose style)

(Yes, I'm a day early. Crazy weekend ahead).

It's a well known fact that I've perfected the walking away shot, especially when it comes to photographing the Tiny Tornado. I mean, my 4th grader could take most of the pictures I post on my blog. So... as a personal challenge I wanted to snap at least 5 pics of TT this week, face included.

1. Now let me just say, I thought Livia's fishy face below was totally cute, so I sought out my 9-year-old for some positive reinforcement.


Collin's reponse to the fishy face: "Hmmmmmm......... {VERY long pause}........ Well, it's medium, heading toward good. I think the problem is the lighting. You see how her white shirt is too bright? Yeah, it's the lighting."

(Blown out white shirt? OK, I'll give him that).

And he also didn't like the fact that one side of her face was lighter than the other. I tried to convince him that was because she was sitting next to a window, and that was called side-lighting. He was not convinced. Nor impressed.

2. Next. Here's sis being herself.


The feedback: "Well. It's better. Now see?... you still have that same problem with the shirt, but it's better. Actually now that I look at it, her hair looks kind of bad. You just need to fix the ponytails."

Note to self: From now on, only ask husband for feedback. He lies.

Some outtakes:


3. OK. This shot is a total gimme. Toddler restrained in car seat.....Veggie Tales DVD playing.....
Hey, it includes eyes, ears, mouth and nose so I'm counting it.


4. Moving right along. Here's a shot of TT playing with her Polly Pocket doll.


The look I got when I asked her to 'play in better light.'


The look I got when I asked her to smile.


5. And last but not least...... and I'll translate...... "you better pack up your fancy pants camera, cuz this is your LAST shot."


I totally overexposed that last shot in camera, but how could I not include it?? ;-) I wish you guys could know the force that is the Tiny Tornado. This child keeps me on my toes 24/7 and she's not even 2 1/2! Love her so much! ♥♥

I'm a day early, but everyone have a great weekend! XO

5 on friday (kc style)

I was so much more excited about my iPhone shots than the ones that I took with my Rebel last weekend. The 5D was not invited on our Kansas City getaway. He had to stay home where he was safe from grimy amusement park hands and soda spills. My new G12 wasn't invited either because.....{gulp}....I think I don't love it as much as I thought. (a story for another day)

I don't know what it is that's so appealing to me about the iPhone lately. Maybe it's the fact that you are so limited in terms of camera settings that you have to rely on creative composition and lighting to make your shot interesting. And you know I love a challenge! :-)

1. A few random roller coaster rides at Worlds of Fun...


2. The final shot I took as we were leaving Planet Snoopy.


3. One of my favorites from the next morning shopping with the family.


4. This silhouette makes me feel quiet and calm. And you know how quiet and calm is a hot commodity around the Bonnie household.


5. I took this shot as we were leaving our favorite arcade. With all the lights and sounds, Dave and Buster's feels like a G-rated Vegas and the kids love it!


And for those of you that are bummed because you stopped by and don't like iPhone shots, how about a before & after to tickle your fancy.

(Did I seriously just say tickle your fancy?)

Here's my before shot, taken with the Rebel.


And here's the edited version, processed with Nelly Nero's Autumn Vintage. I wanted to mention it because it's a great action for carnival/fair shots...and it's that time of year!




OK! I'm really feeling this 5 on Friday thing. My posts have been too looooong lately. Goodbye 10 on Tuesday...hello 5 on Friday!

Have a great weekend! :-)

5 (state fair grievances) on friday

First off, a BIG thank you to everyone who left a comment on my smoke pictures! ♥♥ That's something I had been wanting to try forever, and your comments just made me feel great! :-) I'm so sorry that I won't be able to do any blog visiting until next week. We're leaving this afternoon for a long weekend in Kansas City, and I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I haven't even started packing. Really friends, thank you so much for your encouragement!

Now on to the grievances at hand. On Wednesday, I dropped the kids off at Doron's office as he was getting off work, and took a little road trip (by myself) to our state fair. Before I delve into how things started to go array, first a quick iPhone snap.



No clue why that looks purple. Anyway, on to the 5 reasons why I'm a bit miffed with the state fair.

I....

1. wasn't there 5 minutes before I stepped smack in the middle of a horse patty.

2. didn't realize it was going to be nine bazillion degrees at the fair, and actually sweated a little bit. There was moisture, (visible MOISTURE, people!!) on my shirt.

3. bought a microscopic Diet Coke for three dollars that tasted like some kind of cleaner.

4. took 2 tiny sips of the drink before chucking it into the trash. OK, FINE...10 tiny sips. You and I both know I'm too cheap to throw a drink away that easliy.

5. got HECKLED while taking pictures. OK, so I was only heckled by the dunking tank guy, and the age guesser guy...but STILL.

6. just realized there are a lot more than five reasons, so let's keep moving along.

7. almost sat in an unidentified body fluid on a metal bench.

8. didn't use the restroom for seven hours.

9. didn't eat for seven hours after seeing a sign for "beef sundaes."

10. probably looked like a complete moron chasing after the shuttle that was supposed to return me safely to my parking lot. It kept making all these little stops ahead of me, but the horse-patty-dodging slowed me down.

11. realized that I am not smart enough to follow directions backwards. (ie: Map Questing the directions to the state fair, but not being able to find my way home).

And now, just a few shots of my favorite attraction! :-)

(processed with Florabella's Gypsy action)


(processed with Florabella's Hibiscus action and Vintage Film by Fallout 75)


(processed with Florabella's Vintage Spring action, one of my orginal actions called Karli's Vintage (such a creative name, I know), a warming filter, another of my orginal actions called Warm Me Up, a navy blue fill layer with the exclusion blending mode, and a couple other small tweaks)


OK, I really need to start packing so I'll share more state fair photos next week. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend, and I'll catch up with you when we get back! :-)