{Project 26 - 'Once Upon A Time'}

I love this week's theme!  The possibilities are endless, but I had to stick to only one...that was hard.  In my closet I've been storing my old ballerina dress that I wore when I was little.  My mother made it so it has even more meaning.  I didn't think it would fit Brielle yet, but with a little pinning it was perfect!  It was surreal seeing my baby girl in MY ballerina dress.  I never imagined having a little girl that might someday wear it.  It easily became the inspiration for this project. Once upon a time....

Thanks for reading to my silly little fairy tale :) We could've done a cinemagraph like last week again but I opted to just focus on the theme so you may see a few more cinemagraphs in the circle.  Click Val | The red balloon photography to see what Val did for this weeks project.  And don't forget to click through all of the links to complete the circle.

{Project Twenty-Six On Friday's 'let's get close' - Phoenix Children's Photographer}

It's that time again...it's the 2nd post of Project Twenty-Six! Here's the first weeks post.   The theme this time is 'let's get close'.  That could mean sooooo many things, so my mind was reeling with thoughts and ideas this week.  It could mean 'close' as in relationships?  It could mean 'close' as in macro shot close?  It could mean 'close' as in proximity close?  I couldn't decide what route to take so I kind of did a  little bit of everything. The first photo above, I focused on unique lighting but if you look closely you can still see the theme 'let's get close'.  Did you find it?  Keep looking.  Yep, it's Brielle looking closely at a ribbon she was trying to un-knot to put on August our pup.  But this image was taken later in the day than the pictures below.  It was after dusk and her room was dark except for the night sky where the moon was shining in.  I set my camera at ISO 6400 (hence the grain) and I put my shutter-speed at 1/20th of a second.   This picture was a bit haunting when I saw it on my computer screen.  Brielle is afraid of her room.  She doesn't like that she can see herself in the mirror from her bed, she thinks that ghosts will get her and she's afraid of  the tissue pom-poms we had hung up but have since taken down.  I've tried to soothe her fears but it's not working to well...slowly we'll get there.  But in looking at this picture I did find it a bit haunting.  Her room is bright and cheery during the day...at night it takes on a different look.

My other takes on this theme - {below} macro of Brielle's eyelashes.

Brielle looking 'closely' in her toy box for the perfect accessory for August, our boy dog, to wear. ;o)

{below}  August, not too sure about being in her babydoll's high chair - Brielle getting close, trying to talk him into liking it. ;o)

{below}  love between Brielle and Auggy.  He's such a good little dog putting up with her dressing him up.

{below}  I saw Ty & B together on Tuesday afternoon reading and grabbed my camera since they were perfect for this 'let's get close' theme. Brielle reading to Ty one of her favorite books since she was a baby.  This was also Ty's favorite book.  When he was 15 months old he wouldn't sleep in his crib without this book with him.  We always handed it to him turned to his favorite page.  That page is very worn now.  We'll never get rid of it - it's so special to both kids.

Now check out Kara Jo’s  project 26 ‘view from up here’ post – Kara Jo Memphis Newborn and Child Photographer and continue to click through the  links to see the whole circle.  Oh and guess what?!   We have a new member - Jessica Drossin - one of my favorite people. Check back again in 2 weeks for our next theme.

{Project Twenty-Six on Fridays 'View from Up Here' - Phoenix Children's Photographer }

I'm so excited about this exciting challenge I've been asked to be a part of.  And what a great group of ladies to do this with!  As photographers, we're always looking for ways to challenge ourselves.  So this year I am taking on an exciting new challenge - the 26 week project.  It is similar to the 52 week project most of you are familiar with, except this year we are working on techniques along with our themes.  The themes for our 26 week project will be more thought provoking, so it will be fun to see the different interpretations from all the participants in this group (12 of us total).  I am working along with 11 other AMAZING photographers  who will be challenging me as the year goes on.  Each month we will have a different technique we are working on, and each week (well, every other week really) we will have a new theme.

For the month of January, our technique is unique lighting and our theme is “view from up here”. For this challenge I took on the perspective of moving away from lowering myself to my subject's level like most of us do in portrait photography.  Instead, I stayed higher than my subject, Brielle & Tyler, and saw things from a different angle.  The first image (above this) was not taken from up high but instead focused on the light and it's slight haziness filtering around Brielle but not necessarily 'backlit', more side lit.  The images below show more of  the theme - my 'view from up here'.

After reading this post , be sure to continue clicking through the different photographers links (I'll link one below) so you can see the complete circle.  And come back in 2 weeks to see our next theme, you don’t want to miss it!

Now check out Kara Jo's (yes, another Kara!) project 26 'view from up here' post - Kara Jo Memphis Newborn and Child Photographer