Hermann Park and The Chinese Squat

One of my favorite parts of my photography job is that it forces me to explore parts of town I might not otherwise visit and when available, I take the fam with me.  I was few minutes early to my Hermann Park shoot on Friday so I snapped a few of Ruthie while she played.

Before I go too far in these pics I wanted to share something that makes me smile every time I see it- the Chinese Squat.  If you have ever been to China, you have seen it.  Grown men, women, and children squatting wherever they are.   I have heard it said that it is because their toilets are in the ground, but Ruthie doesn't know that.  She just naturally does it.

And here are a few more of my girl from our time together.  

Wondrous Wednesday

The end of the day is better than not at all right?  It was just one of those days.

Okay so on with Wondrous Wednesday.  Trent sent me a link yesterday with some great thoughts on remaining enthralled with God.  You can access the full article here. 

I will share a few of my favorites with some pictures I took of the sunsetting on my way home last night.  It was so beautiful, I chased it through the neighborhood and then parked my car at the golf course and ran out to catch a few more.

"I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event, filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence, but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood."

"I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their “divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic” existence."

"Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life on the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the architect who calls himself Alpha and Omega."

Double Digits!

My baby boy turns 10 today! We celebrated with a mother/son weekend at Pine Cove Outback.  It was a great time of connecting with the little guy.

The speaker session was on the life of David.  In the second session she talked about the story of David and Goliath and how David was tough but not because he was bigger than his opposition but because he had a tender heart toward God.

That is so my boy.  He is one of the toughest 10 year olds I have ever seen and it has nothing to do with his size and everything to do with his heart.  This poor little guy has had to come up against way too many challenges in the first 10 years of his life, but his heart is what got him through them.

I love you Jack Henderson.  Happy 10th birthday.

I am looking forward to what the next 10 years hold for you.

Wondrous Wednesday

I spent part of last weekend at a women's retreat in east Texas.  That area is known for its towering pine trees.  I was walking in the woods, listening to the wind in the trees, and wishing there could be an audio Wondrous Wednesday when I saw this little guy.

As I started pondering the complexity of the pine cone, I wondered how anyone could really believe that we are all here by accident.  It was what I learned after I got home, that solidified that impression.  Did you know (from Pineconesplus.com)?

• Pine cones are the reproductive parts of pine trees
• There are both male and female pine cones
• Male pine cones are soft and small.
• Female cones are the ones we generally associate with pine cones.
• Female pine cone start out soft, green and sticky. They grow into the hard brown cones to protect the seeds after they are fertilized.
• The female cones grow for a few years while the seeds mature, then they open up to let the wind distribute the seeds.
• Pine cones that you find on the ground are female pine cones that have completed their reproductive process.

Oh Lord, how wondrous are your ways...

Sunday Snapshot- Waffles!

Saturday was my birthday so we tried out this new place called Seabrook Waffle Company.  They are belgium waffles with some extra goodness mixed in and a lot of extra goodness on top.

I am a sucker for a restaurant with outdoor seating.

And the games entertained the kids while we waited.

This is the only picture I have of Jack's order because he ate it so fast.

When we woke up this morning, Sam asked me if we could go back today.  Great spot!


These were taken with my 5D mark iii and 85mm.  The top image was taken at f 2.2, ISO 200, 1/400th.  I edited them using Florabella Classic Bright and a few other tweaks and brushes.  The rounded corners was from a Paint The Moon action.

Wondrous Wednesday

"The heavens show forth the glory of God' not by speaking in a voice audible to sensible ears but by manifesting to us through their own greatness the power of the Creator, and when we make comments about their beauty, we give glory to their Maker."   -John of Damascus (ca. 650-750)

I really did look for places this week that showed me the wonders of God, but I never had my camera with me when I noticed something (like the sunset on the drive home last night).   So I got to thinking about times in the past when the beauty around me stopped me in my tracks (and I did have my camera).   One of those times was a year ago when we were standing at the top of a mountain in Monterrat, Spain.  How beautiful is this view?

Feel free to link up and share your wondrous sitings this week. 

Been Tryin' Some New Things

I don't like to get stuck.  The fear of stopping to grow in any area of my life haunts me.  I think it is easy to plateau in photography and it is important to take steps to prevent that.  I told my neighbor the other day that the more I learn about photography, the more I realize I don't know and that is what I love about it.  

This week I wrapped up Lisa Furey's Get out of Your Comfort Zone class where I have been pushed to try some new things with my photography and now I am starting to read Photographically Speaking which was recommended by Stefanie over at Ni Hao Y'all.

Here are a few outside of the box images I have taken lately.

I set up my tripod and set the timer for a few self-portraits with the kids...

played with silhouettes...

and have tried to look at things from a different perspective...

I am also playing with the HDR function on my camera.  It is where you take several pictures at different exposures and then combine them to get the just right exposure all over.  Here is my first attempt...

My camera combined them to give me this.

Pretty cool huh?

Sunday Snapshot- Galveston

This week my neighbor and I took our girls to Galveston for an outing.  We had a great time discovering new places and checking out the train museum.

As I am trying to do a better job at capturing my children in their natural state, I am fighting off telling them to smile.  I can't figure out if it looks more artistic or if they just look angry. :)

The top photo was taken at ISO 200, 1/2000th of a second, and f 4.0.  It was edited using Florabella and a gaussian blur.