A Special Place, Lily, Apples and The Setting Sun!

This has become a special place for our family and on this particular evening I couldn't go wrong taking pictures. The light was beautiful and Lily was so comfortable walking around in the warm glow of the setting sun. I took these pictures with apples in them for my husband who right now is learning and loving everything about apples.

Every part of this property is wonderful and so is the couple who owns it. They have been willing to share their piece of heaven with us and our kids. Our kids spend many hours a week playing among the apple trees or finding lizards and snakes in the garden. There is a sweet play house that's just their size and even a "Snow White" style "wishing well." I can't wait to keep exploring this great place.

This last one is one of my favorites. I love when I capture Lily's "true" smile and how cute is the goat watching her walking away?

Thanks for checking out my blog and I'll see you soon.

Day 36, A Recent Walk In Sonoma

Sometimes I think we take for granted the beauty of Northern California. We are graced with beautiful apple orchards, vineyards, rivers and streams, and of course bridges to cross them! I am drawn to the bridges, they photograph so nicely and always have the promise of what might be on the other side?

On this same walk you can see some of the old fruit packing houses which are fading from the landscape of Sonoma county as more and more imports are changing the way farmers have to work to survive. This packing house didn't make it, but will make a nice back drop for me for future photography sessions.

Day 35, Love In Nature!

These pictures I took the other day while my family and I where on an evening walk. I was very shocked to find this beautiful sunflower among many that had already gone to seed. I love the beautiful yellow of it's petals, it's just so cheerful.

One of my favorite things, is to find "hearts" in nature. Last year a man that lives in Bodega Bay came to a memorial at our kids school in honor of his wife and others affiliated with the school who had passed on. He is a surfer and after his wife passed he started noticing "heart shaped" rocks at the beaches he surfs and he collected each one. He brought them to the school and gave them to the kids to place them in the memorial garden. Each one was very special to him and I have paid special attention since that day to the hearts that form in nature. They are like pennies from heaven and make me feel like there is someone watching over me.

Day 34, Cherished Times!

I found a beautiful spot to do family portraits in Sonoma County. This is a beautiful bridge with all of the colors of Fall as well as lush greens of all descriptions, flowing water nearby adds a "babbling brook" feel to the environment that is relaxing for everyone. In this shot my daughter is walking down the path with her wagon, because she really doesn't want to "share" it with anyone... While I was watching her walk away from me, I couldn't help but think about the distant future where one day she will walk away to conquer her own challenges, and will walk alone to challenge the world on her own terms. She will no longer need me to guide her way. I cherish these moments and live in "the now", as this time will come all too soon for me, and for her.

Thanks, for viewing my post.

Day 33: Country Garden

I was taking a walk this evening, specifically to go look at a great spot I have been thinking about using for an upcoming family photo shoot; when I looked through the fence at this garden. This is a beautiful garden, but as all gardens in November it is "winding down". There was a subtle beauty and a timelessness to the scene that unfolded in front of me as I looked at this vintage wagon, and the heart shaped leaves still growing behind it. To me it was beauty through the slats of a fence. I used the opportunity to practice changing my focus. You will note in one frame the fence is in focus, and in the other the wagon....Which do you prefer? I like them both, and am enjoying working with my camera to get the most out of it. I know this will only help me with my shoots down the road.

Day 32, A Simple Photograph!

Sometimes you don't have to travel far for beauty. I took this picture off the landing outside my front door. For me this evokes the feeling of Fall. The trees starting to change colors, and thin out as the leaves drop. Beautiful harvest sunsets and moons which seem to bring the deepest yellows and fiery reds to our color pallets. I love that a simple photograph has the ability to let you interpret with your own "inner voice" what it means to you.

In speaking with my husband, he had his own thoughts about it he was willing to share with me (and with you...) "It looks like the very gateway of heaven..." he said. I really like the range of light exhibited here and love how such a common subject (how many sunset photos in the world!) can evoke feelings like Nick's as well as help you to find a calm place to just think about your day and the people in your life. This image was taken with my 50mm lens and was taken straight from my camera just like this.

Day 31, Crime Scene

Like all parents, we are forever getting on our kids about leaving there toys "lying around". So exhibit A. The crime scene....I was walking down the hall picking up which is what a lot of us Mom/Photographers do, when I realized there was a story being told here....Two toys being played with, two sets of papers being drawn on....The evidence suggests, two of my kids got bored and moved on to other things; leaving their little friends to wait for a more attentive host... I love the hallway shots and the stark feel of black and white; and I also like how you can capture "emotion" even in the lives of toys...

Day 32, Giants First Win in SF 52 years of waiting!

In honor of the 52 years Giants fans have waited for a World Series Title, I will be posting 52 50mm pictures on the blog....I snuck in a couple extra on today's post:-)

Congrats to all of the Giants, and to all of the loyal Giants fans who have cheered them on. They faced three class organizations in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Texas and bested them all....and who could forget those pesky Padres? Great Season Giants....a few Dimond/Anderson Celebration pictures to capture the moment and a great memorable evening for our family and the ages!

Enjoy the victory! Go Giants!!!

Day 30, Time to put our heads together!

My family and I have been putting our heads together to come up with some new ideas for the blog, and for a new slogan for my steadily increasing photography business...I think we have a winner thanks, to a FB friend who correctly observed my affinity for posting "critters and kids" I will be promoting my specialties as "Weddings, Critters, and Kids" I can't wait to show you some of my new badges and logo's I have in the works and will be debuting within the next couple of weeks.....NOW, back to this photo...Yep putting our heads together and enjoying the process, with many laughs and much love!

Day 27- High Steppin' Fall Fun!

A leg kick any NFL kicker would be proud of! The rain was coming down and I wanted to get some pictures, so we found this spot to play in some of the Fall color! Lily was kicking leaves like mad as we took in all of the reds, yellows, and browns that Fall is famous for. So tell me when the last time you saw someone kick like that? Goose stepping Germans from News reels, or Ray Guy from the Raiders!!! Share your high kicking stories with me, and pictures if you have 'em!!!

Day 26, Tippy-Toes!

I don't even know how I got this shot, but it sure is FUN!

Day 24, Snow White and the Apple!

For me, "Snow White and the apple" go together like "peas and carrots" you just can't have one with out the other. With that said, Lia is going to be SnowWhite for Halloween this year.

Today, Lily and I dressed Lia up, took her out to a fun spot with dark trees and took some fun shots of her with an apple. She had so much fun running around in her "Snow Night dress" as she calls it. It was a magical time for all of us.

Day 23, Giants Win!

There is only one kind of picture for me to post tonight and that is of a Giants fan after the Giants won the National League Champion Series. They are on their way to the World Series!!! Go Giants!!!!

Day 22, Hallway Speedway!

Tonight our hallway was turned into a speedway for Lia and her tractor. She was having so much fun pushing the tractor at me and then catching it as I sent it back, she didn't even really notice I was taking her picture. That's the way I like it too, I can get her "real" emotions and not a "cheesy" smile. So, it was a good night, I got my challenge photo done and she and I had fun doing it.

Day 21, Homeschool Science Projects In Black And White and Color!

I'm listening to you Janine, thanks for your suggestion.

This year we are homeschooling our son Erik, who is in the second grade and learning about plants for science. He's been growing an avocado from a pit for a couple of weeks now and he's been keeping this little oak he found in the yard alive in a mason jar so he can transfer it to a pot very soon. I was looking for something to photograph when I saw these two "projects" on our window sill, so I thought I would give it a try. At first I took it in black and white and really liked it, then I took it in color and liked that too. Do you have one you like better then the other and why? I would love to know what you think.

Thanks everyone for all of your comments and I hope you have a happy day.

Day 20, Lovely Music!

I'm 20 days into my 50 day photo challenge and I have to say I'm having fun with it. Without this challenge I know there would have been many days gone by without me even picking up my camera. This challenge is making me think about photography all the time and capturing a special moment in my day is the reward. I like having a blog too and I love when you make comments, they have really kept me charged up.

Here's my photo for today, it is a different style then I usually do, but it was fun to shoot. I will be practicing with this idea more in the future because I like the feel of "art" this photo has; maybe another fun photo shoot idea ahead? Let me know if you try something like this too, I would love to see it.

Thanks for checking in and I hope you all are having a great day.

Day 19, Measuring Up!

Here is a fun picture I took the other day. Curby, like most kids loves firetrucks and when he saw this one he had to be near it. I took this shot and I love it; I love it because I know how happy he was being so close to this beautiful machine. I love how it looks like he's measuring himself up to the truck and the size perspective you get with him next to the tire is so fun, he looks so little! Just writing this is giving me some good ideas for a fun photo shoot. I hope you all have a great day and thanks for checking out my blog.

Day 15, Which Do You Like Best?

Here are three pictures I took yesterday. I have one I like a little better then the other two but I'm not sure if that's just because I'm Curby's mom. I want to know which one you like or if one tells a better story then the others or maybe you think they are all too much the same to have any difference at all. Thanks for your input, I can't wait to know what you think.

Day 14, Lia Looks Just Like I Feel!

Today was another busy day for us in the Dimond household. It was field trip day for our school kids and I was lucky enough to get to go with Curby for his field trip to a local Flower Show. All the kids had a great time there, the best part was watching them all get to buy something of their own choosing just before they left. They took this task very seriously, after all each item was twenty-five cents. They all bought some really cute things and they couldn't have been happier as they went back to school with their purchases. Along with the field trips, Erik had Cub Scouts, Lily had music and all of this happened while it was 95 degrees here again today. So, my photo is this one. In this photo, Lia looks just like I feel tonight....to tired to finish the laundry!!! It's time for me to say, I had a great day, thank you for checking out my blog, sweet dreams and I'll see you tomorrow.

Day 13, What A Face!

Take a look at this face. Isn't it great? How could you pass up a chance to take a picture of her? Well, I couldn't. I hope this picture makes you smile. Have a great day!!!

Day 12, Erik And A Starfish!

Today has been packed. I made five trips to my kids school for one thing or another, we had friends over for play dates, we made homemade zucchini muffins twice today and all that to go with the other non-stop, same old stuff that happens everyday as well. So, it's the end of the day, I'm tired and I'm going to reach for something easy and that is this picture. I took this picture last summer with my 50mm lens. I like this picture for many reasons, it was a fun and beautiful day at the beach, I love how Erik looks in this shot because it's so "him" and I actually set out that day to take this shot and it worked. Days before I took this picture, I was looking in a magazine and saw a photo like it and I really wanted to give it a try. When Erik found the starfish I knew it would be perfect. I set my cameras aperture to 1.8 and focused on the starfish, I then asked Erik to hold the starfish up so I could see it and snap, it worked! So, there you go, my "easy" 50/50/50 challenge photo for today, I hope you like it too and thank you for checking out my blog. Night-night!!

Day 11, My Lily!

When Lily was a little girl I made this poem for her and would sing it to her everyday.

You're my little Lily.

Pretty like a flower.

I will always love you,

And kiss you every hour.

Thank you Lily for filling my heart with joy. You are a beautiful girl inside and out and I am so proud of you.

Love,

Mom

Day 10, Doggie Day 2!

Yesterday there were squeals of joy and smiles all around because a lost dog came to our home for the day. We did all we could to find it's owners, we went on walks around the town, we made a poster and called the animal shelters to report the found dog. Our kids spent the whole day playing, loving and caring for her. This big, sweet, four legged friend slept with all of the kids and really didn't seem to miss her home very much. The morning came early and happily for our kids when they woke up with the dog licking their faces. It was just after breakfast when I heard a different kind of sound, it was a cry from our oldest as she ran into the house, "We found the owner" she said with tears coming down her face. I told her not to worry, we knew they would come for her. Lily collected herself very quickly and took the dog outside to the waiting arms of a man in our driveway. We found out the dog lives right behind our house and her name is Sam. The man was very happy to have his dog back and thanked the kids for taking care of her. I am so proud of how all the kids handled themselves and I love that they can love an animal that wasn't even theirs so much. If a picture can say a thousand words then this one says it all. This is how Lia reacted when Sam had to go and even though the other kids didn't cry out loud, I know that this is how they were feeling in their hearts too.

Day 9, Found Friend

It always seems to happen to us, when ever there's a lost and wondering dog about, they seem to find our house. I was inside and the kids were outside and all of a sudden I hear it, the squeals and screams of joy that only happen when our kids find a lost furry friend. "Can we keep it?" Erik yells as soon as I saw him with her. "What should we name it?" Lily asks next. "We have a dog now?" Curby chimed in quickly. "No, no,no." I said over and over again. "Get some leashes from the garage and walk the dog up and down the neighborhood and find its owner." The kids shoulders slumped down as they went to get the leashes. They put in a good effort to walk the neighborhood and I even walked with them on streets to far for them to do alone trying to find anyone who might know where this dog belongs. A few hours later she's still with us and the kids are liking her more and more. She's been very well cared for by her owners and has a collar but not any tags. Lily made a "Found Dog" sign and posted it in a good spot in town. We will find her owners I'm sure but it is fun to have a furry friend around for awhile.

Day 8, On Track!

This is a picture I took the other day and it seemed a fitting picture for my life right now. I feel I'm on track to something and though I can't quite make out what's waiting ahead for me, I know that if I just stay on track I'll be alright. I feel good about the future and I hope you have a great weekend!

Day 7, Sebastopol Sculptures!

Have any of you heard of the artists Patrick Amiot and Brigette Laurent? They live in Sebastopol and use "junk" and their imaginations to make fun and beautiful sculptures. Today I took some pictures of some of these sculptures. To see more check out their website at http://www.patrickamiot.com/

Day 6, Fairytale Fantasy!

One night a little while back I was wanting to practice with my 50 mm lens so I was taking pictures of Lia reading books in her room. The room is tiny and with the 50mm lens on my camera I had to get back as far in the room as I could just to fit anything in the shot. I wasn't sure how these were going to look but they ended up telling a really fun story. Lia looks so small and the book looks so big and you can just see how consumed she is in it. Thanks for reading my blog and I'll see you tomorrow.