Lotsa Pictures of Evan :)

I have been busy posting about the photography challenges I have been working on, but I've missed posting some really cute pictures of our boy! So here are some of my favorites from the last few weeks.

Challenge 2 Completed and a Fun Weekend Retreat

The challenge is to learn when I should use a fast shutter speed. For this challenge I put a glass in the kitchen sink to obstruct the water flowing from the faucet. I set my shutter speed to 1/80th of a second and turned on the water to take the first picture. As you can tell in the picture on the left, a slow shutter speed does not visually stop the flow of water. For the next picture I wanted to set my shutter really high (around 1/1000 of a second). By doing this I was able to stop the water in motion. I am really happy with how the pictures came out!

Next week the challenge is all about light... can't wait!

Dan and I had a wonderful weekend. We spend the weekend at my parents condo in Indian Shores and it was just what we needed.


It was so relaxing and I loved having some one-on-one time with my hubby. Evan had a great weekend too... he was at my parents getting spoiled rotten!

12 Weeks to Better Photos: Challenge 1

The first lesson in the 12 Weeks to Better Photos is about aperture. The weekly challenge is to see how much of your photo you want to be in focus and to practice using the aperture priority setting.

1. In this photo I used the lowest setting my camera will go, f/5.6. Very little outside the focus point is in focus. (you can tell by looking at how the rocks and grass are blurry)


2. In this photo I used a f/8. This is my favorite. I like the background blur that separates the subject from the background elements.


3. In this photo I moved my aperture setting to the highest setting it will go, f/32. Pretty much everything is in focus. (It is easiest to see the difference between photo 2 and 3)


My next challenge will be about ISO and Shutter Speed. Yay!

Great Start to 2011

We celebrated Evan's 2nd birthday last weekend at Gymboree. What an amazing day! I loved celebrating my son's birthday with so many of our family and friends. Evan is a very loved little boy! A friend of mine is photographer and took some pictures at the birthday party. I can't wait to see them. I will post some of them soon!

Celebrating the little things...

We are so excited that Evan is starting to work on some of his fine motor skills. He started to put his pacifier in his mouth this week! Dan and I are so proud of our little guy. Check out the video we took to show Aunt Rachel. We miss her like crazy now that she is back in Jax!




Evan has also learned to move around in his walker at my parents. He was going forward, backwards, and even turning corners!! Go Evan Go :)



Dan and I took Evan to his very first concert today! We went to see Jack Hartmann. Dan insists Evan's first concert was the Ludacris concert we went to while I was pregnant... umm I think I will stick with Jack Hartmann for the baby book ;) Jack Hartmann sings children's songs. Evan was introduced to his music by his early interventionist. He was so cute at the concert. He loved watching Jack Hartmann sing and watching the kids dance around. His favorite songs were Alligator Chomp and 5 Little Fish.

Dan and Evan enjoying the show.

Jack Hartmann being silly during his hip hop song!

On a separate note... I am looking forward to starting 12 Weeks to Better Photos (http://sites.google.com/site/biowbiow002/twopeas_12week) I have been wanting to do this for some time. Being able to capture photographs of my son is such a passion of mine. I like to think of how grateful I will be when I am older to have these pictures of my boy. I want to remember every sweet stage he goes through. Taking pictures of toddlers is quite a challenge! Evan does not sit still and patiently wait for me to get the perfect lighting and camera settings. I currently take a lot of pictures, but I want to increase the quality of these pictures and make them better. So I am not going to put if off any longer. I am going to start these 12 weeks lessons. Every week I will post the weekly assignment on my blog to hopefully keep myself accountable. Anyone who wants to join me let me know!

So I will end with this cute picture of Evan I took while he was busy watching his Baby Signing Time DVD :)

Birthday Boy

Happy birthday to my little man! I can't believe Evan is two years old. This year has flown by. It has been filled with so many anticipated milestones. He went from a little cute blob to a moving and grooving toddler right before my very eyes.

It amazes me to see his little personality coming out more and more. He is cautious and skeptical of all new things. Once he acquire a new skill, he will practice it over and over again until he perfects it. Evan is calm and happy going most of the time. He loves being around people and can’t get enough hugs and kisses. Evan will let pretty much anyone hold him, but he saves his best smiles and snuggles for Mom and Dad! Our boy also has a bit of a wild side and fearlessly loves to be tossed up in the air. I would bet he is going to love roller coasters when he gets older! Wrestling with his Dad has become a nightly ritual that we look forward too. Evan chases Dan around and then pounces on him! He thinks it is hilarious. I love his laugh, it is so contagious. Evan blesses our lives every day!

I can't wait to see all the amazing things he is going to do this year!