Our luck...

Tim and I have had a heck of a time trying to fit a temple trip in since Ethan got here. For months we had been feeling guilty about how long it had been since we had been to the temple. So we finally just picked a Saturday, and reserved it for a temple trip. August 4th. We had the kids with us, so we were just going to swap- one of us watch the kids while the other went in and did some temple work. So we diligently woke up at 5:00 Saturday morning, got ready, packed our lunch and got the kids up and ready. We were both really looking forward to it!

After a 2 1/2 hour drive, we pulled into the parking lot at 8:15. Hmm, no cars. That is odd- the temple is usually packed on Saturday mornings. Suddenly a vague memory of an announcement in sacrament meeting about the temple being closed for cleaning popped into my head. NICE. How the heck did we miss that one? Honestly, what are the odds of us just happening to pick the one Saturday of the year when the temple is closed? Although I was totally disappointed, I had to laugh. SO something that would happen to us/me.

So we made the best of it and took advantage of having the whole temple to ourselves. Just us and that big, beautiful building. Ah, if you haven't seen the DC temple, it is amazing! It is literally like a beacon to the world (at least anyone that is driving on the 495). Jace loved being there- it was his first trip to see a 'real' temple(although we lived 50 yards from one in Logan, he was too young to remember!) Luckily we were planning to go to the Natn'l Zoo afterwards, so our trip wasn't a total waste. But here are a few snaps from our memorable trip. I have to say, that white gazebo/arch thingy is a pretty popular photo spot- normally I would have to fight the line of temple brides/photogs to get a shot here. Made the whole trip worth it. (Ha- eat your heart out, temple brides!)

BTW, do you like the texture/vintage treatment in the last one? I had fun playing- just took some pics of bark, our sidewalk, our mulch and layered them over my photo in PS, then reduced each opacity to around 8-20%(erasing back the center a bit). It's no Nichole Van, but I had fun!

Self-portrait Fun!

So I mentioned in my last post that I took some self-portraits to update my website. I am having a heck of a time deciding, though. Here are the front runners:

#1- I really liked this one, but I chopped a little too much of the corner of my left eye off. Dang it- I hate to scrap this one!

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#2- This one I thought worked well for a more serious look. What do you think? Would you hire me if you saw this picture?

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#3- This I just LOVE, but I think my focus is a little off. That's too bad.

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#4- I also really like the idea of a smiling picture of me- I just love my smile in this picture. It just SCREAMS happiness.

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#5- But ultimately, I decided on this one. Just too many minor flaws with the others, unfortunately. What do you think? Did I make the right decision? You can check it out live at http://www.mandycarroll.com/ on my about page. I have to give a big thanks to Photoshop for prettifying me a bit (gosh I love the zit blasting, wrinkle smoothing capabilities of PS!)

So, now that I have exposed to my family and friends what a weirdo I am (although most of you already knew that!) I have to say how much fun I had doing this. Self-portraits are fun- especially the weird one! I have to tell a little story of the first time I attempted a self-portrait. When we first moved out to Virginia, we borrowed a friends digital point & shoot. It was my first experience with digital and I took SOOO many pictures with it! One day Jace was getting tired of me taking pictures of him, so for fun I tried to take some of myself. Took some smiling ones, laughing ones, sexy-pouty ones, all in seriousness. Then I downloaded them into photoshop to play with them and I thought they looked pretty good! But when Tim got home, he saw them on the computer and started LAUGHING! Ouch! I was heartbroken. I think I cried- I felt so stupid! He thought it was a joke and he felt really bad afterwards. He said just the image of me sitting ALONE on our front porch by myself making faces at the camera was funny to him. Days later, after I forgave him, I had to admit that it would look pretty ridiculous to see me taking pictures of myself. I guess that is part of what makes these pics so funny to me!

I am way behind on posting- I need to catch up before we head on our vacation to the outer banks (WOOHOO! 8 more days!) Also, for those of you that have heard my what-camera-should-I-get saga, I am still not sure what to do and it is driving me MAD!!! I am seriously TORN about what to do! I would be so sad to part with Nikon- it just fits me so well! But the other day I was trying to take some pics of Ethan and had my ISO on 1000, they were too noisy even on my LCD, so I turned my ISO down to 400 and my shutters had to drop below 100. That makes it pretty tough to get a sharp shot of a bobbley-headed baby! Argh! But I need a backup ASAP- busy season is coming up and I am booking lots of session for the fall and I hate to rely on just one camera. I hate being indecisive! Well, I will let you know what I do!

Hope you enjoyed this! Til next time!

Going Picture-ing

I have had no shoots this week, and I am really enjoying my little break! I've been taking lots of pictures of the kids, which has been really fun! Jace is being so cooperative (at least for him) and I have been taking advantage of it (poor kid!) So yesterday morning I pulled out my camera, and Jace asks me "Mommy, are we going picture-ing?" I had to laugh- such a smart little guy! I actually really like his made up word- might have to start using it myself! So I said yes and pulled out some cupcakes for bribery (a must have!) and we headed out onto our back sidewalk. It gets covered in green moss in the summer and I thought it made for a fun, colorful backdrop! So here are some snaps- I swear I didn't pose him in that first shot! And check out those eyelashes- looks like he has mascara on- I wish mine looked like that! And had to show the foot shot. Kind of weird, but look closely at his big toe- he bites his toenails (I know, disgusting- he gets it from Tim- just kidding). Had to share it!

I also took some self portraits yesterday. I need a new one for my website- I hate that one on there. It is so cheesy- classic Uncle Rico pose from Napoleon. But I might have to try it again because I was having way too much fun making faces at the camera! Maybe I'll post a few of them for laughs later, if I get brave enough! They are pretty funny!

That's all for now, folks! Take care!

A barrell of fun!

I was supposed to have a shoot last night, but it was rained out. But the storm moved out quick, and I really wanted to take some pictures so I dragged Jace out into our muddy backyard to test out this old wine barrel. He was more than willing- he's always begging to go outside after it rains so he was shocked that I actually let him! Tim got this wine barrel from an building that he has been working on- it used to be some sort of restaurant. What a great husband, huh! Shows how well he knows me and my taste! I actually saw it in his car before he said anything about what it was and the first thing I thought was "WOW! I would love to use that for pictures!" So anyways, it has been sitting in our front yard for months acting as a decoration until last night! Doesn't it make a great prop? I just LOVE these- I know I said in my last post that those were my favs of Jace yet, but I think these are now! Gotta love that nose picking one too- what is it with kids picking their noses? It seems like every shoot I do I get a few of those in their! It must be natural- a perfect little finger pocket!

I really needed this yesterday though- I have had some tough toddlers lately and I needed to take some pics just for fun to remind myself that I really do love this! I used to think that taking pictures of my own kids was harder, but not anymore. Perhaps it is just because Jace has finally outgrown the difficult toddler phase, but he is so much easier to take pictures of! Five minutes outside and I got over 20 shots that I loved. I wish I could be this efficient with my clients! Oh well.

So hope you enjoy these! And if you want to see the rest of them, check them out on my flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/91723324@N00/

Thanks for looking!

No more monkeys...

Jumping on the bed!

These pictures are almost two months old and I FINALLY got around to editing them. So glad I did though because they are some of my favorites to date of my kiddos. When Tim's parents came out, we stayed at a Holiday Inn (I think) in Newport News. Well, you know how they have the wall-to-wall window covered with drapes (right above the annoying air conditioner!)? Well, open up those babies in the morning and you get AMAZING lighting! Seriously, I am considering contacting our local Holiday Inn to see if I can use their rooms for sessions! (Kidding, but I seriously think it is a good idea!) I just love the look of these- Makes me wish I had white sheets and more windows! These beds were horribley uncomfortable and worn out, so I told Jace he could jump as high as he wanted!

And the pictures of Ethan started out fully clothed, but slowly item after item came off until he was buck naked- who can resist a squishy baby bum? Glad he didn't pee on the sheets! Love his classic wide-eye expression too! Funny kid!

Hope you enjoy these!