Tumbleweed {Shana}

After 2 planes,9 bags, layovers, customs and one lost bag (which was delivered the next day) we finally made it home! I am not sure if it has really sunk in that we are staying here and this isn't just a visit. I am excited to see what this move means for us and the excitement of the unknown!
I really enjoyed this week and all the fun questions. I thought I would share a few things about myself, since I wasn't able to participate last week.

• Lived in Turkey for 1 year and 2 months
• Crocheting is one of my favorite hobbies
• Dr. Pepper (is there any other kind of pop?)
• I love cooking and baking (I wish someone else would clean up)
• Banana Republic is my favorite store - Although Anthropologie may trump that soon.
• Butterfingers
• I have been dubbed the official photographer of the family. Now I know how my mom felt, she was never in any of the photos!!
• Anything that sparkles is for me! (sparkle was a childhood nickname...my last name was Sparks)
• My favorite color is PINK!!
• Had a hard time thinking of things!

Two days after we moved home we left on a small vacation with my husband's family. We found time between the boys golfing and the girls shopping to head over to Silver Dollar City. I am not sure if I have ever eaten that much food in one day. A diet may be in my near future.

Front row: Brother and sister in law Second row: Brothers in law

Brown Flowers -- Who Knew? { Sheryl }

Oh my gosh -- I was shopping for geraniums for my balcony planter boxes and found this brown orchid!  I couldn't believe my eyes!  I am beginning to think that you can find anything in Istanbul!

I always wanted an orchid -- my momma can grow them, well, actually she can grow anything!  So now that I bought one -- I can assure you this plant is in trouble!  If you have any suggestions, please let me know --

This is what I did to get the these shots --

This was quite a contraption.  I made no adjustments to these photos.  I have been trying to shoot in camera raw, using the manuel setting, planning my exposure in the camera.  Trying to grow in my execution is becoming a priority for me.  I really did like how the background read as gray.  I don't have any foam core board, however,  I have heard rumors that it does exist in Istanbul.  I have yet to see any.  I did see an art supply store the other day in a village next to the Bosporus.  That will be one of my adventures next week.

Now the question I was asked was "What brought us to Istanbul?"  My husband took a position with an oil and gas company.  So, for the first time in 30 years he actually has a job where he works for someone else.  We have been self-employed since we were married in 1981, so this has been a real adjustment, for both of us, on many levels.  We have been here a year now.  I was thinking the other day how familiar things are now; compared to what it was for me when we first arrived.  The area, the language and the grocery store are not so scary! (I probably wouldn't have gotten through any of them without Shana!)  I really can go on about this for way too long -- please ask me anything -- anytime!  How many of you have had to look at a map to see where Turkey is?  I had too when Terry asked me if I would come with him --

I am looking forward to more adventures in Turkey and Europe -- Thanks for stopping by -- Love, Love!

Tumbleweed { Natalie

I have to be honest.Tumbleweed was NOT a color I enjoyed hunting for. But I did find one that I love. This is one of the many sea shells my family and I have found on the beaches we go to at least once a week. I know I'm rubbing it in a little but I had to! Also I thought you might like to know a few things about me since we've never met :)

1.One day I WILL adopt a baby girl from China. I really feel like God wants me to and have for a long time.

2. I hate spiders! Something about them just freaks me out!

3. My dream car is a green four door Jeep Wrangler.

4. My mom is my best friend

5. Making people laugh ( either with or at me ) is something I can always do :)

6. I am the oldest of I am the oldest of 6, soon to be 8 grandkids.

7. Reading isn't my thing but lately I've been trying to get into it. Currently I'm reading The Digital Photography Book: How To Shoot Like The Pros by Scott Kelby. There are 3 Volumes and I'm at the 3rd. I love them!

8. I hate watching sports on TV. For me it's like watching paint dry!

9. I am terrified of heights!! If I'm in a plane, fine, but at least I'm safe!

10. I do a weird thing with my lip when I'm taking pictures and I stick my toungue out when I'm concentrating. Sheryl thinks it's funny! lol

11. One of my dreams is to meet and shoot with Nigel Barker. I LOVE his pictures!

12. I hate cleaning and cooking. I'm trying very hard to start liking it because one of these days I will have a hubby and kiddos to take care of.

13. I love helping people.

14. I'm so glad I've joined these ladies on this adventure!

15. I'm a photographer who is seriously in love with what I do! being able to make someone happy by "shooting" them is so rewarding!


Thank you for always commenting on our pictures. It makes us feel so special. Have a great week everyone!

XOXO Natalie

Tumbleweed-Jeana

The question that was asked of me from last week was about my encounter with the professor on my committee... "How did you respond to the lady with the cutting remarks? Do you think she attacked for beliefs on purpose?"

First of all I knew better than to say too much, my degree was riding on this, so I was as nice as I could be but I did let her know that I had worked very hard on the project and felt it was more than "just enough to pass"! I have had her for a couple of classes and she is a very "crude matter-of-fact" women's libber!  She always talked down about her husband and she just has this strong personality that makes no one want to "tangle" with her! She did speak of religion in class but it was obvious it wasn't important to her, it was more a duty to go to church.  Yes, she knew what she was saying....but that is OK, "I know whom I have believed in and am persuaded that HE is able...."

The picture that I am posting is actually Kendall's son! His ball team was playing my nephew's team and so I snapped this as he was sliding home! I absolutely LOVE to take sports pictures and capture action like this. I would live at the ball fields if my husband would let me and just snap pictures!

 

The dirt reminded me of this weeks color! I miss the days of "living" at the fields watching my boys play ball! Those of you who have younger kids....enjoy them! They grow up way too fast!!!

Until next week.....

Jeana

{Kendall} Getting to know you...

This post is really just a place holder... I am hurriedly finishing up some wedding invitations for a client that is picking them up tomorrow. I should be done in an hour or so and will post my real post then. Until that time, here's an answer to a question no one asked... What shows do you have on your dvr that are a must watch? Young and the Restless, Glee, Army Wives, Grey's Anatomy, and Jersey Shore (but don't tell anyone).

So here is my real, updated post!

I was thinking this week's color was a little boring, until I found the PERFECT subjects.



This is my Department 56 replica of Graceland!  In case you didn't know (have you been living in a bomb shelter?) this was the home of Elvis Presley...whom I love.  I have often thought I was born in the wrong era because Elvis and the Beatles are tops to me.  I have introduced my children to the Beatles, thanks to The Beatles Rock Band game and they love them and can pick out one of their songs any time they hear it.  Makes me proud.  Elvis is next on my list to introduce to them, but I am not sure they will appreciate his music as much.  But who doesn't love a little Burnin' Love?!?

Here is my second find, which actually sits directly next to Graceland.

This was my great-grandma's phone.  Her name was Clara and oh how I loved her.  If I had a daughter her name would be Clara.  Makes me tear up thinking about it.  Anyway, I spent hours and hours playing with this phone as a child.  It sat on my grandma's desk and I would pretend I was spelling things out on it...apparently I knew texting would be a phenomenon in the future.  I attribute my ability to text on a regular phone to this phone, which taught me what letters correspond with what numbers.  Even now when I look at this, I am always tempted to spin the dial around.  I love the noise it makes.

Now to the questions!

Scrappy Grams asked if I had a studio in my home.  I WISH!  I usually just make my own little faux studio here for shots of inanimate objects.  And all of my portraits, at this time, are taken in natural light.

Cindy from WyTography asked how often I washed my hair!?!  When I first read the question I laughed out loud because on that particular day, I was actually on day 3.  And I have never before gone three days without washing my hair...well at least not when I planned to be seen in public.  But now, I am pretty much a solid every other day hair washer.  My hair is longer than it has ever been in my life and I enjoy NOT having to dry it every single day. 

Cat @ No Wooden Spoons asked what one of my favorite dates with my husband was.  Well, this is going way back...like 11 years ago.  We flew to Houston, Texas to go to an event.  Now don't laugh...we went to a WWF wrestling match.  The Rock was supposed to be there and he was our fave.  It was the first time as young adults we had travelled alone and the first time my husband had been on a plane.  It was a great time.  And now you know that I used to love the WWF.  We haven't watched it in years, with the exception of the night The Rock came back on.  I have two boys who DO NOT need to learn those kind of wrestling moves.  They have enough of their own.

Side by Side asked when I first started snapping photos and what kind of camera it was.  I was about 7 and it was a Kodak 110.  I was obsessed with Cabbage Patch Kids and took my babies with me everywhere.  Most of the pictures I took were of my babies with various people.  One year, I took pictures of two of my babies with my my Grandma and my Great-Grandma and then made them picture frames with a picture of them and my babies in it.  I think their heads were half cut off and I wrote "To the world's gaetest Grandma," but I know they loved them.  My great-grandma had hers framed.  I have it somewhere but can't find it at the moment to post a picture.  Thank goodness I have come a LONG way from those photography days!

I am glad this is all the questions that were posted or you might be reading for an HOUR!  I was going to post random facts about myself too, like Brooke did, but think I will save that for next week.

Happy snapping.  And have a fabulous week!

Week 18 color reveal {Brooke}

Hey P64ers!

How is everyone doing this week? I hope you are all doing well. This week's round of post might not be near as exciting as the news, but I'm excited for them! If you remember last week we did a little Q&A and although there weren't as many questions as I hoped, there were a few of you who played along! Now it's time for answers!

Cat @ No Wooden Spoons asked:
Well, I like random questions so here goes: As a busy mother, what is your "go to" dinner when life is hectic? Or what do you always have in the cupboard (fridge) to throw together for a dinner in a pinch?

A: Well...if I am going to answer this with complete honesty, since about last September I have kind of been slacking in the home cookin' department. I had surgery in September and was down for a month, then November and December rolled in with birthdays, holidays and attempts to lose weight. When the new year got here I was just out of the swing of things and I've had a hard time getting back. So needless to say our food life has been a little chaotic and inconsistent. However, when I am on my game I have two go to meals baked pork chops, sauteed squash and zucchini with mac and cheese. Occasionally we'll switch out the squash mixture with baked sweet potato fries...this would be my hubby's favorite meal! My second go to meal is whole wheat angel hair spaghetti with meat sauce...this is my favorite! I love spaghetti! I love to make it and add my own blend of spices to the sauce along with extra mushrooms, plus there is always left overs for lunch the next day!

Side by Side asked:
Did you take training or schooling in the arts...like photography classes or fine arts? Have you taken any online photography classes that you would recommend?

A: While I've always loved all creative mediums, the only photography classes I have taken were basic photography course in H.S. during my sophomore year nearly 12 years ago and another class as an elective my first year in college.Both of these classes however were directed towards 35mm film SLRs and focused a lot on dark room development. I loved developing film, very relaxing and magical, at least for me! My passion for the creative started when I was a little girl, I use to draw for hours and hours. Soon it drifted towards photography as I toted around my mom's old 35mm until H.S. approached and I saved up to get my first Canon Rebel SLR!

As far as online classes go, when I first entered the digital world I needed a refresher course since I had put photography on the back burner. I took Faith Raider's Simply Photography eCourse, very helpful and lessons that make sense and are easy to understand. A great source of knowledge that I like to recommend to anyone just starting with a DSLR and wanting to learn more about their camera is Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman and her "What the Heck is Aperture" series. It is broken down in four parts and it is super easy to follow and understand! Most of my knowledge comes from reading, I buy photography books like crazy and I can spend hours reading articles on lighting, techniques and tips. There is so much information and so many things I want to try that it seems like there is just not enough time! Some great books are Understanding Exposure and almost any book from the Lark Photography Books Series. An area of photography that I am super interested in and want to master so bad is night photography, I haven't had much experience in this area and get a little overwhelmed by it, however there is a class I would LOVE to take is one of  Kent Weakley's night photography eCourses!

Thanks ladies for the questions and letting me ramble on with my answers! Thought I'd throw out a few more random things about me before revealing this weeks color...

-I am in no way musically inclined, however I've always desired to learn the violin and piano

-I HATE doing dishes

-I would LOVE to write a book

-I am a super fearful car passenger and I drive my hubby crazy everytime we are in the car

-I have a crazy irrational fear that I could go off a bridge everytime I cross one

-I love giant pretzels, cornbread and lemons with salt...not necessarily together or in that order

-I've always wanted to go rock climbing

-I have recently discovered, well more like realized, I have a fondness for Green in all shades

-I am thinking about going back to school to get my Masters in Library Science

-I forget to brush the boys teeth EVERYday...super bad I know!

-I have went three days without washing my hair before, after all I stay at home, who is going to see it ;)

-I dislike meatloaf, cabbage, and sauerkraut

-My favorite music artist are Norah Jones, Amos Lee, Ray Charles, Bing Crosby and Judy Garland

-My hubby is a certified massage therapist, although its not his chosen profession (OK not about me, but interesting)

-I am going to an I Heart Faces workshop in May, so excited!!!

 

Here is my take on this week's color...well at least as I could get to it with all this dreary weather I didn't get out much! I was matching more of the color on paper vs. the color of the actual crayon! Our family pet,who thinks she is human...Kira.

 

Red Violet Link up, Week 17 and Voting!

Favorite for week 16, pacific blue belongs to Danelle at I Take Pictures!

Picking a favorite for week 16 means it is time for another monthly favorite vote!! Which means it's your turn to pick! Just a little reminder and shout out to our talented sponsor, Cat at No Wooden Spoons and her Etsy shop is the sponosor for weeks 13-16! Make sure you go check out her blog and store!

Polls close on Wednesday night! Feel free to share and get people to vote for your photo! Good luck!

Now that you've voted make sure you link up your Red Violet photo from week 17!

As always, no fancy camera required and flickr linkups welcome! Please link back to project 64 in your post!