October 2008 Top Ten

It's time again for my monthly "Top Ten" list! (Has it really been a month already since my last one? WOW!)

October was different for me as far as pictures go- because of the fall season and the absolutely gorgeous colors, I took a lot of pictures that I love that didn't have any people in them. That's okay with me- I love to appreciate the beauty around us in all kinds of different forms. I hope everyone took a moment at some point in the last few weeks and did some "appreciating" of their own!

The usual disclaimer: Here is my "Top 10" list of pictures taken in October of 2008. Again, they aren't in any particular order, and there are lots of different reasons they might have made my list... Some I like because of things I did well technically, some I like because of the subject matter-- some just make me proud when I look at them, as I grow and learn at this whole photography thing.

So, here they are (and two of them haven't been posted before now):

Chipotle

Oh, Chipotle... To know me well means to know there is nothing I love more in this world than Chipotle (besides my husband and my dog and other loved ones).



Seriously, if you haven't had it, you don't know what you're missing! I've driven all the way to Woodbury and back just to have have a chicken burrito (double meat, no rice or beans, just cheese), because sadly there aren't any closer to me than that-- trust me, if there were, I would know.



I love it so much that it seems completely normal to me to bring my camera there and stand outside and take pictures of the front- even when complete strangers walk by and laugh right in front of me... if they don't understand, they don't know true love comes wrapped in silver foil sometimes.

And I do.

Fall Collection, Part One

Do you follow the fashion world? I definitely do not... not even close. But, I do watch Project Runway and they're always talking about "so-and-so's collection", and it makes me laugh.

I spent an entire day driving around a few weeks ago, taking pictures of the gorgeous colors. I have well over 100 pictures that are soooo pretty-- seriously 100. I would like to share some of them, and I'm having such a hard time deciding between them that I have a feeling I might end up posting all of them at some point... So, feeling inspired by Project Runway, here is my "Fall Collection, Part One."



















So pretty...

Pumpkin Patch

There is a really cool pumpkin patch between Eau Claire and Menomonie... we went there a few Sundays ago- the whole bunch of us.

Not many things remind you more of the fall season than pumpkins, right?





Places like this are all about kids... look how excited the babies are!





Now, here's miss Jayden... isn't she such a big girl on the huge stack of hay bales?



Yep, not ten seconds after this picture was taken she took a sideways roll right off the hay-- not such a good thing and a few tears were shed, but she recovered quickly.

However, she wasn't all that excited to pose by the pumpkin...



But at least there were several playgrounds and slides!



And some animals to feed (reminder for next time, bring quarters to buy food for the animals!).



And here is my favorite shot of the day:



Honestly-- the cute little girl, the diaper hanging out of the pants, the sweet red hair, the cute polka dot shirt, the big strong daddy, the cute little hands on dad's face, the daddy's hands holding on tight to her ankles...

It all gets me.

Birthday Girl

My niece, Natalie, turned 2 this last week!





Okay, I debated posting this next one but I decided there's no rule on my blog that says I can only post pictures that are technically good (otherwise I might not get to post hardly any!). SO, here's a "Frustrating Photography Moment"-- I didn't nail the focus on this one, which is such a bummer because her smile is absolutely perfect. DARN IT! (the blur on her hands and background was intentional but not the blur in her eyes and the rest of her face).



Bummer. This is one reason that photography can be incredibly frustrating! But, I still think the picture is cute, so oh well! I'm still learning and with more and more practice will hopefully come the quickness to get the focus right even when I'm trying to get the picture as quickly as I can...

Luckily there were still some pretty darn cute ones...





Especially love these next four~









Isn't she adorable!?!

Family Pictures

Last week I took pictures of the family of one of the ladies I work with... I also teach her daughter piano lessons, so it was really neat to get to go to their home and bug them with my camera for a little while!







It was so nice of them to invite me to take pictures of them--- I definitely appreciate the practice! Each time I take pictures, I am learning something new. It's a slow process, but it's worth it! Thank you, Shelley!

Reruns

I'm still alive and well... in fact, things are going great!

For me, "things going great" also means I am very, very busy-- hence the lack of recent blog posting! I have a bunch of posts coming up with new pictures I've taken, including a family shoot, some adorable pictures of my niece, Natalie, some pictures from a family outing to a pumpkin patch, and a bunch of pictures of the stunningly beautiful fall colors this past weekend. Look for those over the next couple of weeks!

For tonight, though, I have decided to post some of my favorite "reruns"... These are pictures I love-- just because-- and all have been on my blog before but they're excited to be posted again.

This is my baby, Kenai~



This is a picture of my nephews (and Godsons!) Peyton & Landon and their daddy~



And here is my niece Jayden~



And this is my other niece, Natalie~



And this one... well, these are my sister's eyeballs.
Miss you, Berta! (My sister lives in Hawaii...)




Wishing everyone a very happy week!

Bri's Wedding

There was a wedding last weekend in my husband's family... how fun! I was asked to be there for the girls' hair appointments to take some pictures so that none of the wedding party had to worry about trying to get pictures, which I was more than happy to do! Here are my favorites from the hair salon...

This is the bride and groom's daughter, who is just adorable and was really patient at the hair salon (and since she just turned two last month, that's pretty impressive!)





I absolutely love this next shot-- I love that you can see Bri's face in the mirrors...



This next picture is just too sweet (and I had a little fun with the photo editing):



And here is a picture I took of the girls' flowers. So pretty!