Tuesday 1 December 2015

Life {Unscripted} Blog Circle: November Volume

It always amazes me how fast a month can roll around these days. Everyone
is so busy getting ready for the holidays that the days just fade together.
Then there comes the realization that I have been stuck in winter blah mode and have not shot ANYTHING for this months upcoming blog circle. EKKKKKK what is one to do???

Well of course I decide to fall back on the Hour by Hour Challenge. Last January I introduced this challenge to many of my friends at LU House and it BLOW UP. Everyone was doing the Hour by Hour and I enjoyed seeing it all.
So this month I thought to myself, the hour by hour might just be what I need to get myself shooting again. And maybe others too?

I spent a wonderful Saturday with my hubby and 2 kids ( other little one was gone away for the weekend.)
We spent some time at home, spent some time shopping and spent some time working on a school project. 
the whole time I was snapping away trying to find the best angle for each shot. I thought to myself.....WOW what an awesome day, I got so many shots. I LOVE doing this Hour by Hour!

THEN COMES THE CULLING TIME..........you know what I mean, they all looked so good to the naked eye before they are uploaded and you begin the process of searching through them all, only to realize that out of over 600 image you may of got 10.

My now wonderful shooting mood has been sucked down the culling drain. Please raise your hand if you feel like this too!! because honestly I always convince myself that everyone else is out there shooting nothing but AWESOME, and I am the only one not LOVING everything I shoot. I am always left feeling more in a blah, then I was when I started. And like I always do when I get down like this on myself I start culling through them all as fast as I can trying to find something I missed..........

Well I was sure missing something alright. But it was not the WOW image. It was how WOW they all can be together. That is right, together. As I was culling through them fast I noticed something..... Every single one of those 600 images I captured all together, were telling an amazing story of how we spent our day. So just because I love to challenge not just your technical stuff, but your heart stuff. I decided to post a video at the end of this blog of ALL THE IMAGES. They are all SOOC and all of what I consider my 
A roll, B roll, C roll, and D Roll.  
We all shoot many images that don't make the cut, we all are not shooting  WOW 100% all the time. We all botch focus, we all don't shoot straight and cropped. 
We all have a D roll we would rather not share.

BUT.....

I challenge you to do the Hour by Hour, and to, just like me.... make a video off ALL you shots together, and discover a whole new way to look at the 
images you capture. 


My Hour by Hour

6 AM
"Like a true Canadian, there is no start to a morning with out a bit of Tim's"

7 AM
"Daddy + lil man bonding time.....going on a dump run!"

8 AM
"Snack time with a toddler = smashed crackers + toes on the table"

9 AM
"The first snowflakes of the season falling on her beautiful locks

10 AM
"First & most important stop when your shopping with kids!!! COFFEE + more Tim's"

11 AM
"Quick stop at the Local Firefighter's toy drive!"

12 PM
"Remember that time we had to occupy the toddler while Daddy was in Canadian Tire.....oh wait that is every time!!!"


1 PM
"The best way to keep a tween busy while Daddy find things on her Christmas list!!"

2 PM
 "On the road back home!!"


3 PM
"when you leave the house in the morning to grass, and return home to snow!!!"

 4 PM
"Life is like a snow globe, often it's prettiest AFTER it's been turned upside-down"


5 PM
"car town + cotton balls =  hours of snow blizzard fun!"

6 PM
"Grilled cheese dinner by request"

7 PM
"watching her line her paints all up in a row"

8 PM
"When your see the final product of a school assignment all done and complete, and getting to see how her hard work and plans came together..... **Tear**

9 PM
"Catching the last snowflakes of the night"


My Hour by Hour Video Challenge

TIPS** Video was made with Window Movie Maker.
Uploaded WHOLE folder, and set to .30 sec. 
Added : Best Day of My Life by American Authors.
Upload to Youtube. 

Post your video to YouTube with the Hour by Hour Challenge title. and share it with me 
us at Life {Unscripted} right to our timeline :)


Now its time to keep the circle going by heading over to see all that gorgeous eye candy Tiffany Erb Photography has this month




Tuesday 27 October 2015

Life {Unscripted} Blog Circle : October Volume

"Passions are legendary, you can trace a passion back to generations, or you
can watch it grow through generations. Our passions act as life examples to our children, teaching them more than our advice ever will"


Being a parent we always reflect on our children, and mentally document every step along the way. Since I'm a photography I get to physically document it as well, not missing on a single moment. Well if there is one thing I have learned over the years it is this. By having those memories frozen in time, it gives me lots of time to reflect on each of those moments. 
Like looking through my camera snapshot every night is like
reading a book about our life. I notice the best things while doing this, things I could of missed throughout our day, mere seconds during a busy day could get lost and forgotten. But I don't want to forget! I learn the best lessons from these kids, and most of them are through my lens.
This month while out documenting as we always do, I started to see a theme among my children. CAMERAS,  from one finding an old antique camera she is in LOVE with, to another going through a toddler comfort item phase with an old
35mm film camera. 
As I went looking through and reflecting on what I had documented, I began to notice that they have this passion deep inside of them and it stems from the 
very same passion that's inside of me.
This got me thinking about how children learn more from watching you, then they do by listening to your advice. I too have passions on the inside of 
me that I can trace back through my parents, (and yes photography is in there) and I can honestly say those have more of an affect on my life now then all those mini lecture lessons my Mom used to chat with me about. 
So for this month you get a little Unscripted lesson with your images.
Lead by example, and if you have something you are passionate
about share that with your children. Nothing is more beautiful. 

Don't forget to keep the circle going click on the link at the bottom of the blog, over the always AMAZING Natalie of Act Naturally Photogaphy.

Old Kodak Brownie Hawkeye 















The old Fujica ($5 antique find for lil man)























Keep the circle going, click HERE to see the next blog up 
by Act Naturally Photography!
You won't want to miss Natalie's eye candy for the month.

Tuesday 29 September 2015

Life {Unscripted} Blog Circle: Anniversary Volume

WOW!!! have we really made it a whole year already. It is kinda 
funny how it does not seem like it has been a year since starting out on this adventure, yet it feels like I have known the ladies of L{U} a whole
lot longer.

As with all things Anniversary, looking back is one of the best things to do.
As I looked back through my year I notice the things that we all notice
while looking through the archives, you notice how big
you kids have got, and how much your photography style has changed 
over the year.
I noticed something else on this look back. I noticed the growth I had over the year came from the relationships that also grew over that time.
I see the simple little challenges that we gave each other and the result of how it changed our shooting, I see the advice that we gave each other and how it changed the way I viewed an image. And I see the 
inspiration that we gave each other and how it let all of us grow one step
further in our photographic journey.
I will always say the best advice to give a beginner photographer is,
find a small group of photographers of all levels and 
get to know each other. That my friends is your ticket
to grow as an artist. 
Thank you to all my Life ladies, and the journey you have allowed me
to take with you over the year.

And now I give you my Faves from each month. 

I think to this day, that butterfly is my fave butterfly capture I have ever taken, for me it is all about the colours in this one.

And I just LOVE this next one, first year kindergarten the feeling of excitement mixed with nervousness, eager to run to school, but still wanted to hold the hand
of the 4th grader to feel safe!



Lil man lost in the pumpkin patch, and not just any pumpkin patch
Nana's pumpkin patch, what could I not love about it.

Ohhhhh this next one is an ALL TIME fave. the fog, the colours of autumn, and 
my lil girl walking the dog in the early morning.


This snail photo is one of her fave images, so I naturally had to choose this one.
When I came in the room and asked her what she was doing, my heart melted when 
she replied she was just letting her snail live his dream to catch snowflakes :)

MY FAVE CHRISTMAS card shot. The magic of Christmas.


Every time I see this image it brings me right back to the house full of family.
I will always treasure this shot! It is just all of us being us, and I really LOVE who we all are!!
Ahhhhh Christmas.

How can I not LOVE that tree shot!!!


This month might be my fave session ever. We needed to give her a lil confidence boost 
after she got her glasses, and we had a blast together playing in that library, for me the images are not faves because how they were captured but how they remind me of that day!


WoOt WoOt!! Family day down at the ice rink. Where almost the whole town comes out to go for a skate, eat some hot dogs and enjoy a day devoted to spending time together.


We were coming out of hibernation, and the sight of puddles told us the snow was finally melting, and the sight of the park told us summer was around the corner. I LOVE these shots, So full of colour of life. best combination 
 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This month was all about earth day! It might of only been one day out of the month but we spent the month loving our earth. And I just LOVE the shots captured 
of lil man and his garbage truck.


I don't think I ever had so much fun with puddles before. This was the first session I shot with my new camera, and it did not let me down. All the shots I got that day are my fave, but these 2 stand out the most, that bokeh in the puddle and the happiness on his face LOVE!!


This was a fun month. I don't even have words to describe why I love it, just click the 
link and see all what we captured!!!



July Volume #11
I missed out on this months circle. Summer rush caught up with us, but we did 
visit the beach that month and here are my two fave from that


It always means the end of summer for this month, and that always has us
off on many last month adventures, And these two are by FAR my fave images.


Thank you to all of you for joining us on this journey the last past year, you have kept us going, kept us shooting and kept us snapping images as we go!
Now jump on over to So Nia's fave collection and see all the wonderful eye candy she has captured over the year!!