Heaven for a Little Girl | KE365 | D74

Well... if you ever wanted to know what heaven for a little girl is, it has to be something like getting to play dress up in a bridal boutique. My good friend and owner of Athena's Bridal in Centerville was looking to do an ad for a bridal magazine and called to ask if Kailyn might like to model a flower girl dress and be in the shot. As soon as she heard she got to wear a "princess dress" she was ready to walk out the door and go pick one out at Athena's.

She was very opinionated in what dresses got picked and which ones she wanted to try on. Kailyn can be such a tomboy sometimes, but obviously she is also a girly girl at heart. Here she is trying out her 2 favorites.

She was dancing and twirling and singing to herself, admiring herself in the mirror. It was a riot. She is a lucky little girl.

This is my favorite one, I about passed out when the image popped up on my computer and I realized just how much my little baby is growing up. I appreciate every moment with her and I try to consider how quickly she grows with every stage so I can enjoy the most of it, but no matter what it still surprises me just how quickly it all flies by.

Another Hectic Day | KE365 | D73

With another hectic day where not only my daughter felt sick, I also felt badly. But again I was lucky to remember at just the right time and ran outside to snap this sunset shot.

This summer has been easy to get an image a day, summer is always easy. Looking ahead to the winter I am somewhat unsure of what I will be able to shoot every day to keep my project interesting. So as always feel free to comment or send me ideas, I will start up a list for all the times I don't have something at my disposal to easily photograph.

Facing the sun | KE365 | D72

Facing the sun this time instead of the moon... Day 2 I did a series called Faces with the moon and this very tree I photographed below for Day 72.

This also shows the difference between what kind of shot you can get with what lens. The above image with the sun is shot with a standard 18-55mm lens at 18 mm to get the wide angle look. I cropped the top an bottom in further to add to the wide angle. The below images of the moon were shot with a 70-300mm telephoto lens all the way at 300mm which gives that crisp, fine detail.

Simple Yet Complex | KE365 | D71

I love how something so simple can really appear so complex when you take a close look at it. So many little details go into making it whole.

Here are a more couple little tips for those aspiring photographers and those interested in improving their images, I often get asked how I get such cool angles and perspectives. Well, first off get on the same playing field as your subject, get down to their level. In this case, I was on the ground with the plant.

Second is something so simple, don't always center and take your image from square on to your subject. Tilting your camera to a slight angle often gives it that new perspective that takes it from being ordinary to unique. My graphic designer eye is also at work in the image above adding to that perspective. Since we read from right to left and top to bottom in the US, I composed the image to have the plant run from top left through the bottom right which helps pull the viewers eye across the image. Simple little tools add a lot to make a simple image a little sweeter.

Layers | KE365 | D70

In my life there are so many layers, the hard part is trying to see them all clearly from one perspective.

Day 70 had me stumped, I was so busy working and being a mommy to my sick child that suddenly it was 10pm and no pictures. Huh? That is not like me, my camera is like a third arm but luckily it started storming and I was able to snap a few. Surprised myself that I almost missed a day!

Daddy's Birthday! | KE365 | D69

I think that for both my husband and I the best part of his birthday was the moment when he came home from work and saw his little girl standing on a chair in the kitchen putting sprinkles on his birthday cake. Okay, he doesn't even like sprinkles but the act of his daughter wanting to make him a cake for his birthday and being so excited about it was enough to make his entire day.

She is so thoughtful and caring, the minute she heard his birthday was coming up she requested she make him a painting. In her words "I need to paint him something." ;) Cute. So, she did. I have to say that even after going through art school I think she is better than watercolors than I am! 

Inching Along | KE365 | D68

I feel a lot like this lately too...

Such a long way to go, feels like it will take forever. It's not the project at all, it's really just life in general that makes me feel that way. It seems like a lot of my friends feel like this lately too.

When you look at the big picture, that gigantic hurdle you are trying to overcome at the moment looks so minuscule compared to all the hurdles you have already crossed.

Even if you are inching along too, as long as you make progress then you're moving forward in the right direction. That's really all that matters in the end.