Phun Phamily Photos

Okay, so I'm borrowing the improper use of "ph" from my high school physics teacher, Mrs. Damian (Physics is Phun!), thank you very much!

In recent days I have come to realize I have more in common with one Jessica Simpson than just our uncertainity surrounding tuna products (although mine was a confusion with cat food...and before I was old enough to read, but still...). It turns out that Ms. Simpson is a big supporter of one of my new favorite orgaizations, Operation Smile. Now in it's 25th year, the organization provides much-needed plastic surgery to children with cleft lips and palates. There are two things about children that amaze me on a daily basis...Their laughter and their smiles. To know that there is a group of plasic surgeons that volunteers their time away from whaever surgeries they could be doing back home (come on, we've all seen Dr. 90210) in order to litterally bring smiles to these children's faces (not to mention those of their parents) is truly heartwarming. I am so thrilled to now consider myself a part of it too.

With that in mind, here are just a few of the images from the photo shoot...Check out these fabulous smiles!

New Site's Coming Along...

Some of you may have noticed that my claypool photo site is no longer in existance. Well, after a couple years of trying to maintian and update the site my extremely talented brother, Heath, designed for me... I've decided to go another direction and create a brand new flash site with bludomain.com (http://www.bludomain.com/). The new site should be ready in about a week! I can't wait for the big reveal! Right now, I'm waiting on getting lisencing through EMI for the music I want to use, hopefully it won't take too long.

So last night while I was working on the new site, I thought I would go to the bludomain site and check out the status of the contest I enetered about a week ago. The contest was to take a picture of your pet with a "real" can of soda somewhere in the picture. I got excited when I saw that the winner was announced, but a little discouraged when I read that there were over 600 entries. My pictures wasn't the winner, but while I scrolled through the winning images with my husband remarking out loud that , "Wow, these are some really cool photos", I did a double take when I realized that the next image was mine!!! I may not have won, but my picture was still there!

You can visit http://bludomain.com/blog.cfm to see the winners in all categories!

A Little Under the Weather...

So this morning I'm still battling a chest cold/laryngitis. I was actually glad when I woke up this morning with a cough...that means whatever this is is running it's course and should be over soon! The downside of it is that I wasn't able to visit my friends Bob and Sarah, who just welcomed their second child into the world...a daughter named Meredith. Meredith will be joining big sister, Elizabeth! We are so happy for their family! I was honored to have been asked by the two of them to take some photos of the new little arrival, but I wouldn't dream of bringing this cold/cough etc. to one so tiny.

In any event, I've been amazed at how Meredith's mommy has been able to keep her blog updated on such a regular basis in spite of midnight feedings, diaper changes, etc. One of her newest entries is a challenge which I found particularly interesting, it's a challenge for mothers and fathers to come up with their own list of 40 reasons to have children. She's put together a list of her own full of beautiful sentiments and little things about babies and children that really make you think about the little blessings that they are. But little did she know that I was already coming up with my own list to parody hers! So here we go!

Heather's list of Reasons to have Children

1) Princess Pink nailpolish looks just as great on the carpet as it does on your nails!

2) Books with pictures trump books without!

3) I've always wanted to hear myself say things like, "You'll break your neck if you don't stop that"!

4) I love sounding like a broken record.

5) I really love explaining to my children just what a record is (it's not a giant CD)!

6) When you're sick and tell the children you have no voice and can't yell, one steps in and offers (so sweetly) to yell at the other one for you.

7) They help you decorate! When Mommy paints the powder room blue, Emma can paint the kitchen with black water colors!

8) You have to be reminded that children are no longer in the room and you can switch the channel from "Nick Jr". (Thanks to Candi for that one!)

9) You realize the wonder of the 3 year old's compartmentalized stomach (Broccoli section full, Candy section's good to go).

10) It's fun to pull dry play-doh out of the carpet!

11) Privacy in the bathroom is highly overrated!

12) But seriously...They make us better versions of ourselves, they teach us as much as we teach them, they give us more reasons to love than we ever thought possible.

13) They give us an excuse to take photos like this...

And because I can't leave the list at 13...

14) They make us believe in something bigger than ourselves.

Right now, I believe in a nap... I believe that this cold will be over soon! Ahhh...the power of positive thinking!

A Grain of Salt

I LOVE photography. I especially love photography that is emotional. I won't deny that there are some photographs that have made me even cry before, like this Alfred Eisenstaedt image...

Or this one from Dorthea Lange...

Both of these photos became part of our culture...everyone recognizes these images instantly and knows at least a little bit about them. Maybe that's the kind of recognition some wanna be pro-Photoshoppers are hoping for when they create composite images of the top and bottom of an iceberg (taken by a diver in Nova Scotia...yeah, mmm hmmm) or of some random photographer risking life and limb by jumping from one rock formation to another while loaded down with cameras and gear...in flip-flops. Are we, as a culture supposed to believe these pictures and take them at face value? Or do they deserve a little more investigation? Maybe I'm just a little more cynical since I use Photoshop and know of it's powers (for good and for evil). It was with these questions in mind that I went searching. Not up, walking around, "vision quest" kind of searching (I'm much too tired for that), but internet searching for the truth, or at least a reasonable facsimile.

Here's what I found... http://www.snopes.com/ What a resource that turned out to be! It lists both of the aforementioned images and many more. It also attempts to label the images as "true", "false" or "real picture, inaccurate description". The creators of the site even go so far as to determine the origin of the photo and even talk to the photographer. Here's what the photog of the iceberg had to say... http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/iceberg.asp

Eisenstaedt and Lange weren't immune from the myths either. It wasn't long before hundreds of couples came forward claiming to be the couple from the picture in Times Square. It wasn't until Eisenstsaedt himself told the story that the false claims came to an end. Read this story from this past August to see just what the real story was (and a very cute update)... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11909482/

My point is that what you see, can't always be what you get. In this age of information overload we must all be extremely careful about swallowing what we are spoon fed. It used to be "Don't believe it till you see it", but even that adage is being put to test. Don't believe me? Then check this out...

This is a rare family in south Westergoveland Province (on the continent of Anaphalictica), where each and every member has the exact same DNA. It's like they're clones of each other. According to the village doctor, this kind of thing occurs in 1 out of ever 20 gagillion families (so you know it's very rare). Usually, they can't all go out together because the villagers will get them confused with one another, but for this photo they all made an exception...

Facsination!

It's absolutely true! Everything I've heard about front load washers is completely true! After our old dryer decided it only wanted to dry on high heat and bake all of our clothes, we decided we needed a new dryer. If you're getting the dryer, you might as well get the washer (or so my dear husband said) too. After all, it uses less water, less detergent and doesn't damage your clothes like an agitator will. Given our water bills the past few months, I was game. But still not convinced. That all changed this morning!


I like feeling like I'm doing my part. We recycle, tried composting, switched to compact fluorescent bulbs and when the weather is nice, I either walk or bike somewhere close. So it's nice to know that we will be using less water (about a third of what we were using before) and less energy (130kWh as opposed to over 400) to wash our clothes. But the best part is...watching it work!


Remember the scene in Rainman where Dustin Hoffman is counting the number of times the red sock goes around at the laundromat? That's how I felt this morning as I pulled up a chair and a cup of coffee to watch the maiden load go through. The kids and Isaac want in on the action too! Isaac's only request before he left this morning was, "Don't finish all the laundry before I get home". Uh...No problem there! I think I can save a couple loads for him!


In other news...I've just finished my ZookBook layout for Kathy and Tom (July, 2007)! Check out the images below!










These are the most amazing albums, and the potential for layouts is just endless! Due to sizing constraints with this blogging site, I'm not able to post the panoramas, but trust me...they're awesome!

Check back for images from my first ever Operation Smile Phamily Photo Shoot!

Jessica and Jason

Jessica and Jason were married this past Saturday at Deer Creek State Park. It was an absolutely beautiful day with the leaves just beginning to turn! Jessica and Jason were an amazing couple to photograph! Her gown was beautiful, the ceremony music was awesome (she walked down the aisle to "All You Need is Love") and a live band, Mike Perkins Group (http://www.mikeperkins.net/) performed during the reception!


Thank you Jessica and Jason for allowing us to be a part of your big day!