My Christmas Gift to Everyone!

I was looking through some pictures from my vacation this last summer (probably in an unsuccessful attempt to get warm) and I found this picture that I took. I never did anything with it at the time, but I couldn't resist taking it into Photoshop and giving it a little extra life. Because it was taken on a rainy day, it was very, well, blah - not much contrast and way too boring for my taste. So I bumped up the saturation and I added a curves adjustment layer to really make it punchy (for those of you who aren't familiar with the photographer's lingo, punchy means colorful, contrasty, sharper, and just plain old better.) And then I decided to share it with everyone as my Christmas gift to you. So here it is. Merry Christmas, from me.

So all you have to do to get this desktop (wallpaper, for PC users) is click on the picture below. For Mac users, just drag the picture to the desktop. Then you can set it as the desktop if you add it to iPhoto, click on it in iPhoto, and then click on the Share>Set Desktop at the top of the screen and you're done. For PC users, usually you right click on the desktop and choose either Properties (XP) or Personalize (Vista) and then choose Desktop (XP) or Desktop Background (Vista). You can then click on the Browse button to find the picture and use it as a background.




Here's what this image looks like on my computer as my desktop.

P.S. I make no promises as the accuracy of the included instructions for changing the desktop on a PC. I'm a long-time Mac user and I don't have a PC in front of me to check my steps, so what I'm saying is Good Luck, if you're a PC user ;-)

My kind of gift ideas

I have this very persuasive sister who was able to convince a family of five "kids" (I can say kids because they're all younger than I am) to all pitch in for their parents' Christmas gift this year. Any guesses about what they decided to get their mom and dad? Well, if you didn't guess pictures, then I forgive you, I guess. Some of these siblings have been waiting for years to have their pictures taken again, so I of course was happy to oblige. Actually, these have been done for a week and I've been wanting to post them, but I had this crazy idea that just maybe one of their parents would see them. I know, it's a very, very long shot, but I just couldn't resist anymore. If anybody does know this family, do them a favor and help keep the secret for a few more days.

How to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

I really enjoy reading blogs, especially those of fellow photographers that I admire. It's interesting to see what they post, especially when they're not posting pictures. Yeah, I know that I eat up their eye candy photos like cordial cherries in December, but I'm really intrigued by the other things they post that let you know a little bit about them. Like Jasmine Star's last post about eating organic foods and grass-fed beef (it's pretty funny) and Davina Fear's regular posts about staying healthy. Are you seeing where I'm going with this? Those of you who know me well know that I at least attempt to live a moderately healthy lifestyle, or that I like to think that I do. While this post has very little to do with photography, I feel that I should post a little something that lets you get to know me better. And who knows, this may actually help somebody besides myself this holiday season. It's from a Men's Health article that I read online today called Avoid Mindless Eating at Holiday Parties by Erin Hicks. I know, it's sounds so very riveting, doesn't it? By the way, I'm paraphrasing, so be sure to read the whole thing.

1. Budget your calories. You already know that you're going to be at a party where there will be no shortage of food, so plan ahead and save set aside a few hundred calories for the party. That way, the food you do eat won't be extra.

2. Hit the veggie platter. Appetizers are usually high in calories and they're made so that you eat a lot of them. But veggies are perfect for late night parties because they have very few carbohydrates and are less likely to be stored as fat.

3. Pick protein. Turkey or ham is a good option.

4. Talk more, eat less. Spend more time talking to people and you'll eat less.

5. Shrink your plate. This idea is really basic, Brian Wansink (author of Why We Eat More Thank We Think) has challenged people to eat their largest meal of the day from a 10-inch plate rather than a 12-inch plate for one month, which would equal 22 percent fewer calories and a loss of around 18 pounds per year. Awesome!!! Check out his blog here.

6. Shake up your cheat day. One cheat day a week isn't going to hurt anyone and it can be good for you. If you usually cheat on Sunday (like me) then you can simply rearrange your schedule for Christmas day on Friday this year.

7. Wake up to yogurt. Eat something like the day after and like yogurt and a glass of water so your body can detox itself. And don't overdue it on the leftovers. Keep it light for the rest of the next day too.

8. Burn it off. This was really interesting to me. Workouts simply aren't going to undo what we do to ourselves this Christmas. Check out these numbers to see what it will take to burn off calories from some common foods.

2,100 jumping jacks = 1 cup of egg nog
280 pushups = one glass of wine
1 hour, 30 minutes of calisthenics = one serving of nuts
2 hours of moderate walking = one slice of pecan pie
13 minutes of jumprope = one shot (of alcohol, I guess)


Well, that's the short version of that really cool article. Be sure to check out the full post here

P.S. Be sure to check back soon, as I have some cool shoots coming up and plenty of new pictures on the way!

Nativity Fun

I was setting up my parent's nativity set this week when I had a cool idea. Here it is.

First, we have the whole nativity.


Then, I started taking individual "portraits" of the different statues, starting with the most important.


After the baby Jesus, I did Mary.


And then Joseph.


Now we have the wisemen, in no particular order.





And of course, the wisemen's mode of transportation. "Watch out, they spit!"
Last year, my nephew, Max, called them cows. He was still learning, I guess. But hey, they both start with a C.


And finally, the shepherds and their sheep.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

I finished putting up the Christmas tree Monday night and I thought that I would take some pictures of it since my younger sister Angie did such a fine job decorating it - I put on the lights, though. I guess everybody likes Christmas lights, but I'm especially fond of them, even though for so many years I was the only one who would ever put them on the tree as a kid. Despite the fact that our old tree made putting on the lights an absolute nightmare, I still would put them on every year because I just love the look of it once it's done. Maybe that's why I became a photographer, because I love light! Anyway, it was always a tradition for me to put on the lights while listening to Christmas music. Every time I listen to Traditions of Christmas by Mannheim Steamroller I feel like a little kid again, totally entranced by the hundreds or thousands of lights that gently lit the room. When I say thousands I mean thousands. That's how much I liked those colorful glowing bulbs.

This project was a lot of fun. The exposure times were very long, anywhere from 10-30 seconds, and my ISO was up to 400, but that's what it takes when you're shooting in a room lit only by a Christmas tree. If you want to try taking pictures of your tree and you're using an SLR, be sure to stop your lens down (set an aperture number as high as it will go, say 22-32) and be sure to have a sturdy tripod. Mine would have worked out much better if I had a better ball head for my tripod, but oh well. I guess I'll just have to take some more next year, right?

I really like the picture behind the tree because it shows the real meaning of Christmas. Without Christ, there wouldn't be a Christmas at all. This picture is from the Hill Cumorah Pageant and it's a portrayal of what would have been the first time the Nephites would have seen Christ in person, an event they had anticipated for hundreds of years. While it wasn't on Christmas, it might as well have been because of the significance of the event. Could you imagine such a present for yourself this Christmas?! Yeah, I love this picture and I'm glad that I can see it every time I look at the tree.

Brakes, Stretchers, and iPods

First, let me start by explaining that this post is two or three months past due. Even though I should have written it then, it's very appropriate today. You might be asking yourself what these three items (brakes, stretchers, and iPods) have in common, so I will tell you. About two or three months ago I needed to replace my brakes in order to register my car. Well, I've never changed brakes before and this was a new experience for me. Luckily, I can always turn to my dad, who knows everything about cars. You see, I just have to take a moment to say that my dad is amazing because he can do so many things incredibly well - everything from his career as a professional A/V tech, satellite tech, welder, builder (of anything), designer, and finally, mechanic. It may not seem like much, but he showed me how to change my brake pads and that got my car working, which I desperately needed.

Not only did he help me with my brakes, but he helped me when I needed to build a canvas stretcher. My favorite way of displaying photos is as a gallery wrap canvas, and in order to make one you need a stretcher to stretch (wrap) the canvas around a wooden frame. Well, I knew that it could be built for much less than the least expensive version I had seen online for several hundred dollars. So to whom did I turn to find the help I needed to build my stretcher? Yep, you guessed it - none other than my dad. And help he did. You see, my dad knows exactly where to go for all of the parts, materials, and ideas, so when you need something done, he's the guy to ask. He drew it all up and showed my exactly how to machine the aluminum bars to give me what I needed. It worked out great and now I have two huge (24x36) gallery wraps hanging in my "studio" thanks to the help my dad gave me. He does that a lot, just helps people and that's perhaps the thing that I respect most about my dad. Not only will he help you, he'll go all out when he's doing it. I've seen him help out brothers and sisters, neighbors, work associates, and every time he will do everything that he can (and that's a lot) to make sure you're good to go.

Now to iPods. First I need to thank my dad for the iPod that I already have because it's his old one, and boy is it old. 4 years, to be exact and it's still ticking, thanks to my dad. You might remember my post where I told the story of how my iPod gave me the sad face and stopped working. Well, after my brother helped me fix it once, I broke it again by unknowingly letting it take a long fall onto the cement. Well, I was completely at a loss and just about ready to give up on my 4 year old, fourth generation iPod Photo and accept my fate as an iPod-less member of society. But when I showed it to my dad as a last ditch effort, my spirits were lifted from the proverbial floor when he had the answer. We just had to disconnect the lcd, reconnect it, and leave the battery disconnected for a day and that was it. Now it works like a champ and I couldn't be happier.

These are just a few examples of why I have the coolest dad ever and I wanted to say thanks to him on his birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad! I hope it's one of many, many more we get to share together.

Here are some random pictures of my dad. I have to say that some of them are cell-phone pictures, which I rarely use in posts because they usually are pretty crappy. But some cell-phone pictures is better than no pictures, right?

I told my dad that I needed to post this last picture on my blog and he didn't think that I would do it. And just so you know, he's got a frowny face because we had to throw away those sawhorses that have been around for ever. It was a sad day ;-)

The best part about Halloween

Okay, okay. I admit that there isn't really a good part about Halloween. I mean, think about it. There really isn't any real importance behind it like there are with Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, The Fourth of July, etc. So not only is it an irrelevant holiday, it's also a time where you're bombarded with bags and bags full of high fructose corn syrup. All that candy is really starting to get to me. I can definitely say that all that candy if the last thing that I need!!!

But thankfully, not everything about Halloween isn't totally useless. In fact, it's an awesome excuse to take more pictures of kids. So last Saturday I had fun taking a few pictures of my nieces and nephews. Here they are:

Lily was the cutest little thing with her fairy wings. I love the expression on her face.


Then there's Jacob, who's costume is supposed to be a monkey. I don't know about you, but I was thinking a bear myself.



Brinley was the scary, mermaid, tickle monster. I'll just leave that up to your imagination


I'll bet that all the boys were jealous of Caleb's Iron Man costume. Heck, I was jealous myself. It was awesome!!!

Families in the Fall - Mine

Okay, okay, it's not like these families are mine. What happened was my extended family went to take a group picture and while we were there, I shot some pictures of my nephews, and my two sisters and their "families." So first, my favorite nephews in the world.

Jacob has to be the happiest baby I've ever seen. And can you believe how much he's grown since this?!


Max is a happy kid too, he's just a little camera shy. Well that, and he'd rather be off somewhere reaping havoc. But he wasn't sneaky enough - I got a few good shots of him.




And caleb loved the leaves. I remember when he was one year old we took him to a neighbors house and let him play in the leaves, but he just sat there. Actually, we had to start playing in the leaves for him, and once we started to bury him in the leaves he had had enough. For the record, we didn't actually bury him...just his legs. But look at him now! He's having a grand old time.



And here's my sister Angie and her "family." Yeah, it's just the two of them for now, but we'll see just how long that will last. Any bets?


And last but not least is my sister and her boyfriend, Mitch. He's a good guy, so I decided to take one of the two of them. Believe me, he cleans up really nice. Just kidding! :-P

Families in the Fall - The Neils

I had an amazing shoot with a young family last weekend that Angie and Kyler referred to me. There are two girls and two boys, all between the ages of 6 and 1, so you could say that we had our hands full. Lighting was perfect that afternoon and we came away with some awesome pictures. What I especially liked about this shoot was that we didn't just end up taking traditional family pictures all the time, but we focused a lot on candid shots of the kids, and if you know me, you know that I'm all about the candid shots. They're the ones that will be remembered long after the shoot is over because they're the ones that show real personality. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd much rather take a picture that will not only show how you looked at a specific moment in time, but also included a bit of your personality. The great thing about including these pictures in your family pictures is you can show how a lot of the family members interacted with each other, like mom playing with her little girl, or dad with the youngest boy on his shoulders. These images are proof of one thing, that this family can do more than smile when they say cheese (or cheescake, for the younger boys sake) - they prove that this is one happy family. Scott and Rachelle, I hope you guys like them.

This little guy was loving those pumpkins!






This little pumpkin became everybody's favorite.





Who didn't love playing in the leaves as a child?






And here's the big family picture. I love when sunlight shines through leaves. It makes them glow, deep red, in this case.



It's hard to focus when your subject is wandering in grass as tall as he is. The camera wants to focus on the grass and not on the subject. If this shot would have been in focus, it would have been my favorite of the day.