{So much going on...so little time}

So I feel like I've been neglecting my blog a bit.  I'm keeping up with my 'Project 26' - something I love!  And I'm trying to post when I can on 'Shop Talk' Friday.  Every time I move I have to go through the process of rediscovery.  I'm currently location scouting and it's not been very fruitful since everything that looks remotely cool says 'No Tresspassing' in signs that I can't ignore.  But I'm still searching....and searching...and, well searching.  And I have so many secret projects going on that I'm going to burst.  They're so much fun but it kills me not to be able to share.  In time....LOL  In the meantime - Brielle is enjoying trying on close for an upcoming shoot we have.

{Project 26 - 'I don't want to forget'}

Wow, this has been a crazy nutty busy two weeks!  I wish I had more time for this post since the theme means so much to me and I say this almost on a daily basis about my kids and how fast they're growing.  This would be the longest post ever if I could fit in everything I want to remember and hope to never forget.  But I'll make it short and sweet and save some if it for other posts :)

I don't want to forget home much my kids 'like' one another.  How much they depend on each other as playmates, as helpers, as company.  This is what I woke up to find the other morning.  The two curled up watching TV.  Brielle likes to grab Tyler's hand...sometimes (most of the time) he's okay with this.  Brielle sleeps in Ty's room on the weekends in the full sized lower bunk with Tyler.  I went in the other night and they were asleep holding hands.  I tried to get a picture of it but my camera wouldn't focus in the darkness :(  But went back to get Jeff so he could see.  It melted me.

I don't want to forget their carefree summer evenings.  Riding bikes in the street until dinner time.

And the silly things I see Brielle do when she's bored after being in her room for a little 'time out'.  She doesn't get them much but when she does she's either deep into a book, asleep or has changed her outfit, accessorized, or has dress-up clothes on.  And her time outs aren't very long so she's quick!  I've termed these quiet moments 'creative seclusion'.  Thankfully she doesn't get them very much, but when she does she usually comes out happy ;-)  Love my little bug!

There are so many things I don't want to ever forget.  I'm going to put a 'to be continued' on this post since I have so much more I want to share.  Old pictures, memories, stories, etc.

Continue through the circle and visit the talented Martha Schuster and see what she's posted.

{Project 26 - 'a day in my life'}

So this has been my life lately.  This post couldn't have come at a crazier time.  We've moved! Yes, so I'm surrounded by boxes and things that don't fit into spots in the house yet.  We didn't move far only from Mesa to Scottsdale. To add to the craziness this week, we have a broken washing machine, broken ice maker and broken garbage disposal - fun stuff!  The most painful thing right now is the washer...we have laundry piling up so high there's no place to hide it. And to make matters worse there are NO LAUNDROMATS in Scottsdale.  NONE.  Really?  Crazy, so I have to think of plan B.  Plan B, be stinky for a while. ;-)  I never knew how dependent  I was on my washing machine.  Anyway, I'll figure out something and just be stinky until we get a new one (not really, we're going to find a laundromat this weekend).  So as we're navigating through our maze of boxes we've also prepared for the last week of school.  Today was the last day (yesterday now when I actually post this)!  And with that comes projects, making teachers gifts, and just living in the moment with my kids soaking up every last moment of them being in the 1st and 3rd grade.  These are days, hours, minutes and seconds that I'll never get back so I'm living in the them without the worry of all the deadlines I have that I've tried to press pause on.  Those deadlines are still there but they weren't going to take away from the time I wanted to spend with my kids.  Some of these pictures were taken with my iPhone (just a warning).  This is not just 'one day' it's a few....more like the span of a week.  :)

The first picture below was taken the night the kids had their last camp out in the backyard at the June Street house. Serious excitement for these kids and 100's of mosquito bites in the morning.  ;-)  It was worth it I think. {iPhone pic}

The photo below was taken on our last night in the June Street house.  We all camped out in our room.  Such a fun memory for all of us. {iPhone pic crappy...sorry}

Brielle encouraged me to take an unpacking break so she could swim the day we moved in.  :) So funny, she plugs her nose just like me when jumping in the pool.  She used to be able to jump without the pain of doing that but I guess she's seen me do that too many times.  LOL

Preview Changes

Tyler not too sure about our move, feeling a little down we left our old neighborhood.  I never see him down, this was unusual and lasted about 3 days. :(  My heart broke.  But he likes it here now and has a friend in the neighborhood that he loves to play with.  Yay!

Another iPhone pic below.  The only way to keep August from getting in the movers way when we were moving in was to use the counter as a 'babysitter' so their he layed while we hurried around the house moving boxes and furniture in.

The last few days of school....poorly documented but I got a few quick shots here and there.  This has been my life...my kids, their school, their happy little carefree world.   Below - Ty and his buddies in class.

The Kickball Gang:  Tyler and his buddies at recess getting ready to play kickball.   

Tyler getting an award in class :)  MVP - or MVS (Most Valuable Student) award.  He was so proud.

Brielle and her friend Kara.  Playing at recess. So sweet seeing them play.

Hula-Hoop Conga Line Brielle started at recess.  Such happy 1st graders.

 Brielle lost her first upper front tooth the night before and was shaking with excitement eager to show her class her new smile and the wing prints the tooth fairy left for her the night before.

Articles written, invoices sent, photos edited, etc....all fueled with Starbucks Green Tea while the kids are in school. {iPhone pic}

So this week has been a very busy crazy week for this circle so I will be posting links to other's in the circle soon.  It hit us all at the same time.  Check back soon for links :)

UPDATE:  Check out the amazing Martha Schuster for a peek at a day in her life.  You'll be so glad you did.  Love her post!!

{Project 26 - 'Dream, Dream, Dream'}

This weeks Project 26 theme could go in sooooo many directions. The 'dream' theme fit perfect with what my kids have been talking a lot about this week.  Brielle in particular has had nightmares.  She talks about them the next morning.  So we started talking about how she can take control and turns those nightmares into dreams that make her happy and peaceful.  Then she blurted excitedly, 'I can catch my dreams'.   So we did this project's session with that in mind.  She giggled most of the time especially when we played with the stars and the hearts {they tickled her head and her face}.As I mentioned last week, we have a new addition to the group this week!  Sarah Lynn Cornish the talent behind 'My Four Hens Photography' has joined our group! Please click here to see her beautiful take on this weeks 'Dream' theme and continue through the circle of talented photographers.

{Ingrid B. Design's Spring 2012 Clothing Line}

It's SPRING!  And pretty  much summer her in AZ.  And for Spring & Summer Ingrid B. Design's has made some very fun, color outfits for girls...she never disappoints!   Everytime I see something new of hers I'm amazed at her eye and her sense of detail.  She has a very creative and beautiful eye for fun coordinates for every season.  I love love love the yellow top with the black lace, and the stripped dress (the fabric is so soft}, and the ruffling on her floral skirt...um, perfect!!!  I was lucky to have these beautiful friends of ours help model.  Brielle has a hard time being serious around friends (as you can see in the image above) - most of the time it's faces that I can't post here lol.  She's just a goof which makes it a challenge sometimes lol.  But these three girls work so well together.  Aren't they adorable?!  I love their different looks.  The girls were so eager to searching for ladybugs so I ended the session early so they could be 'kids' and find ladybugs.  Brielle modeled the outfits again the next day so we could get more shots and she fell in love with the flowers that I had set up.  Again, she wanted to find ladybugs so she could put them on the flowers.  Here's a peek at Ingrid B. Design's Spring 2012 Collection.  :)

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{SOLD OUT!}

Just wanted to follow-up on yesterday's status about my Critique Class. It  'SOLD OUT' in less than 24 hours - yay!  There may still be some 'silent seats' available.  Let me know if you're interested or if you have any questions.  For those of you who signed up - I'm so excited to work with you.  I would love to be in touch with you prior to the class starting.  You can bounce things off me and ask any questions about the critiquing process  (although I know Kelli will be in touch with you prior to the class's official kick-off).  E-mail me at kara@karamayphotography.com and let me know if you have an active seat or a silent seat and we can do a little corresponding and maybe you can tell me what you're unsatisfied with in your current photos if there's something particular you're concerned about.  I'm looking forward to our class.  Thank you so much for signing up.

{Registration is OPEN in just under 2 hours!}

Can your images be better, but you're not sure how?  Getting honest, constructive feedback with a video showing you how to modify your image may be one of the most valuable next steps for you and your business.  My Chic Critique class registration is open in less than 2 hours!   And I'm looking forward to working with excited photographers that want to take their work to the next level.  The 4 week critique is $69 and if you want to just watch and not have your photo critiqued it's ONLY $34.   Check out the link to sign up and for more information.  I'm so excited to work with those who sign up!  :)

UPDATE:  After registration being open for only a few hours - there are ONLY 2 spots left!  Seats are going fast!  I can't wait to work with those of you who've signed up.  Thank you!!

{Project 26 - 'Takes My Breath Away'}

It's that time again!  We all took a little break this past week so I apologize for the lack of posting.  But we're back and excited about this weeks theme as well as some new, very talented photogs we've added to the group.   Check the circle and you'll see - oh and one more new photog will be joining us starting next week.  I love these girls and I'm excited to see their vision with this project also!

So this weeks theme had my brain spinning 'takes my breath away'.  That could be SO MANY things!  So much these days takes my breath away, some good and some bad.  I was trying to figure out what truly makes me gasp, what makes my jaw drop and what leaves me breathless.  Is it a beautiful sunset?  This week we haven't had the typical beautiful sunsets so that was out.   Is it buying a new house?  Um too stressful to talk  about - its definitely leaving me needing to take lots of deep breathes ha.  Is it when my kids give me kisses and tell me sweet stories before bed? Always, but I couldn't put that into a picture this week.  Is it a sweet note from one of my children?  Yes - I love sweet notes.  But this week I found a home that had tragically been abandoned due to a fire.   THAT took my breath away. A little strange, right?  Not something that would typically cause most to gasp.  I know.   I shouldn't have gone into the home but I couldn't turn away.  I was in awe the entire time as I carefully tip-toed through the remains of this once, beautiful home.  It was sad and eerie walking through each room of the house seeing children's books, stuffed animals, clothes, cards, notes, books, and even homework (times tables) strewn about.  I wonder what happened?  Is this family okay today?  Why were these things left behind?  Where do they live now? I was sad for them - their beautiful home was completely destroyed.  :(  I didn't touch anything.  There was a card from a child to his Grandfather on the ground surrounded in shattered glass, but I didn't open it - I kind of wished I had.  It just seemed too personal and I was already in a home I wasn't invited into so I left everything undisrupted.  It was a rainy day so the picture  below was taken inside my car looking out of my windshield toward the abandoned house.  Once I was inside I saw through one of the broken windows a playhouse in the backyard, a little tattered but it still had a sparkle of wonder.  I'm sure it was the place of many magical memories to the children who once played in there.   There was also a large pool with a built in table and seating area in the pool and a spa that was covered with boards.  It was empty except for rain water and dirt, it was faded and worn.  Again, I was sad for the family that once enjoyed happy times there.  I could've spent hours exploring, but the rain was coming down hard and the thunder rattled the house spooking me a bit.

I also added one more thing that took my breath away this past couple of weeks.  We're planning on moving soon to a neighboring city, so not too far.  But one of Brielle's classmates is feeling the pain of our move already.  The last image below is his note to Brielle.  It melts me.

Anyway, these are the things that 'took my breath away' this week.  Continue through the circle and see what Martha Schuster's  - I see the Moon Photography  posted this week.  Yes, she's new to the group!  *squeal*

One last thing that took my breath away this week.  A love note from a boy in Brielle's class.  I covered his name just in case you're wondering why there's  white space.

{'Shop Talk' - Shadows with Hats}

Yes!  It's 'Shop Talk' Friday! I love these days when I can post anything photography related!  Today...it's hats and the shadows they create.   I love using hats to accessories my clients, unfortunately sometimes those cute hats can create flat eyes and loss detail.  But there's an easy fix to brighten things up that brings life to the eyes in the process.  This is before any edits are made.  I like the image but the visor makes her eyes darker than they are and there's loss of detail as well.

To isolate the area under the visor, I used the lasso tool (feathered at 30-40%) and selected the areas under the visor.  I then selected the 'Curves tool' and only adjusted the shadows and mid-tones up a small amount.  Depending on the image you may need to adjust the highlights as well.  A little goes a long way with this tool.

Once the curves adjustment has been made you'll see that the eyes have popped and her skin from chin to forehead is pretty even with the shadows.  I didn't want to eliminate ALL the shadowing under her visor since I wanted it to look natural and their naturally will be a small amount of shadowing when your subject wears a hat.

After some  saturation and contrast - here's the final image.  :)  Easy peazy!  Let me know if you have any questions.   I love getting your e-mails with comments and requests.  :) Keep'em coming!  kara@karamayphotography.com

{Rocker Baby Nation: The Raven Collection}

Matilda and I have been working hard on preparing for the debut of her latest baby - the stunning 'Raven Collection'.  This new collection  is so well designed.  Not a single detail was left out in her creation - she truly is an amazingly talented woman!  I was in awe over the design, every detail, the black & white combination (it's still so girly), and the amazing construction.   I'm honestly speechless.  Matilda - YOU ARE AMAZING!  Thanks for trusting me to follow your vision.

Click here to go to her site.