BSM: Brothers Redux

Back in January I posted this shot one week for my BSM:



Welcome to this week:



Yep, it's the older three brothers of the ones in the first shot. I love that I caught them doing the same thing the younger ones had been doing weeks before on the sidelines of the basketball game. The boys are even in the same order in each photo -- how's that for luck? It's actually been a while since the older and younger boys' games didn't overlap, so they all got to see each other play. Well, I'm not sure they actually watched any of the games, but let's not get too picky.

Team-Up Thursday Update & Tutorial: Week Six

Well, well, well. Everyone moaned and groaned about SELF PORTRAIT, but did you guys ever come through!! Wow! Looking through everyone's diptychs this week was such a treat. I felt like I got a glimpse into your personalities and lives in all your self portraits. So thank you, everyone, for digging deep and working with a challenging theme. It was a great one to do together.

I thought I'd post a quick how-to on my levitation shot from this week. Those of you who already know these steps can just skip to the end of the post :).

Here is my first shot:



Here's my second:



"Aha," I hear you all thinking. All you do in photoshop is layer photo #1 on top of photo #2 and then erase the stool (with the eraser tool). That's all it takes to make someone levitate. Even my kids thought it was pretty cool :). To polish it up, I square cropped it and added a cool free texture on top as an overlay.



Now, on to the upcoming week. Melody and I have chosen WALK for our theme. We're back to "choose your own theme," so don't feel obligated to follow ours.

Looking forward to seeing your next creation...

Team-Up Thursday: Week Five

I don't know about you, but I am so looking forward to seeing everyone's images of themselves this week. I almost said "everyone's faces," but since a self-portrait does not necessarily include the face, I can't wait to see all the creative interpretations of our theme.

Since I have done a few self-portraits of my face close up -- in fact, one was just my eye -- I wanted to stretch myself creatively this week. I kept coming back to the floating pose (you can see it better close up on flickr). I was worried it was too gimicky, but I really wanted to try it. It's surprisingly easy to do, and I thought that this represented my inner wish to be able to be in that zen moment. In reality, I was in my backyard, with the stool sinking into the wet ground, trying to keep my lotus position balance long enough to fire the remote. Ahhh...zen enlightenment -- NOT.

Melody's is just brilliant. I'm always on pins and needles, waiting to see what she'll send me for the week, and she never disappoints. It's uncanny that her car looks as though it is floating off in the sky...maybe she'll meet me floating around my backyard?

What do your self-portraits tell us? Check out our flickr group for all the diptychs in one convenient location.

P.S. If you have asked for a partner or would like one, please email me at monamegs@hotmail.com. I have a couple of lovely ladies who haven't left me any way to contact them, and I would love to get you started. Shelly, I haven't forgotten you :).

Best Of...

Just a few shots from our fantastic trip to Hawaii. We were in Oahu again this year, so we tried to do some of the things we didn't get to last year: kayaking, hiking Diamond Head, seeing dolphins, going to the Polynesian Cultural Center, seeing and swimming with sea turtles.

The family shot in the middle is the one shot that I set up and use my remote and timer for on every vacation, so that I actually appear in at least one photo. Timer photos always end up looking a bit stiff, but at least we're all in the shot.

Here's what happens when someone else takes the family shot:



It's cute, but the fact that we're all bunched in the corner, ready to walk out of the photo (and it was worse before I cropped more off the right side) drives me bonkers. That's what I get for being a photo snob, I guess.

This last shot sums up why I'm so glad Hawaii is a state:



How can you not love a state that dolls up the stick figures on their airport restrooms? How's that for some Aloha?

BSM: Aloha Monday

Could you think of a better way to spend a Monday?



Me neither. Granted, it was last Monday. And now we're home and back to regular life. But what a great memory to carry me through many Mondays to come.

P.S. Shameless plug: If you haven't already checked out Team-Up Thursday (see post below), check out our flickr group and come back here on Thursday to play.

Team-Up Thursday: Week Four

Melody and I chose "NINE" this week for our theme:



I adore Melody's candle shot; I didn't ask how many takes were necessary to get them all lit at the same time. I decided to go with a simple photo this week, a view of NINE from around the house. I liked how the texture of the desk set off the smoothness of the domino.

I'm actually on vacation right now, so if I don't comment on your dip immediately, I might be soaking up the sun instead. I will get to them all, I promise. I'm looking forward to the creations, even if I have to bring my computer out to the pool :).

Now, a bit of business: Melody and I thought it would be fun to have everyone work with the same theme this coming week: SELF PORTRAIT. Self portraits are a great way to get creative with the camera, and it would also be really fun to "see" who's playing every week. We'd love everyone to play along, so get those reflective surfaces and self timers ready to go!

BTW: I do have one person waiting for a partner, so if you have a friend who'd like to play, I've got a partner in the wings -- just let me know!

Team-Up Thursday Update: Week Four

Melody and I are running with the theme "NINE" this week, in honor of her older daughter's birthday. That sounds great for the kids, but count me out for the number theme on MY next birthday...

On a side note: how's this for a bit of synchronicity...



Melody and I are on the same page in the most recent edition of "Artful Blogging," a little unplanned diptych in print! We were lucky enough to be in an article about Best Shot Monday, hosted by Tracey over at her blog, Mother May I. What a treat...and what a fun coincidence for the two of us. I've never had a photograph published before, so I'm pretty excited :).

Can't wait to see what you all create this week.

Team-Up Thursday: Week Three

Melody and I did "LOVE" this week, and we came up with really different photos:



The sprinkles of the donuts just pop in this pair, especially since mine's in black and white. Yum:).

Last weekend, I was trying to figure out what angle I should take for the theme: photos of the boys? pictures of nature? chocolate? Too many things to love, I say.

Then, on Monday, I did a one-year-old shoot for a friend. When I was looking through the photos on my computer, I saw this one...and it spoke to me. Even though it's in silhouette, the expressions on mother and child are so full of joy and love. Just perfect for this week's theme.

What do you have to show us this week? Check our flickr group for full coverage :).



(p.s. Here for the first time? Drop me a line at monamegs@hotmail.com if you need a partner.)

BSM: Concentration in Action

Question: What is the most useful part of the body for playing basketball??




Answer: It's the tongue, dummy.
(You really have to see this one large to appreciate it.)

Team-Up Thursday Update: Week Three

Loved looking at all your fabulous diptychs this week -- thanks for all the great support and participation in this project! This coming week, Melody and I are working on LOVE. With the big V-Day coming up next weekend, it seemed appropriate. So if you'd like to join us, show us what you LOVE this week. Otherwise, we'll be waiting to see what other great themes you tackle.

Latest From Owen, Man of the World

The latest mind-boggling Owen exchange:


Owen: Mom, wouldn't it be cool to know all the people in the world?

Me: Well, that sure would be a lot of people. There are billions of them, you know.

O: I wish I could speak all the languages, too.

Me: Yeah, that would be really cool! You could speak Spanish, Chinese...

O: And especially robot.



Yep, I'll check to see if Rosetta Stone has a quickie course on how to speak Robot...:)

Team-Up Thursday: Week Two

Melody and I chose "DARK" as our theme this week, and I admit, this one was a puzzler. I took a few shots I wasn't really happy with, but I couldn't figure out what I wanted to create. I finally realized that "dark" is quite the enigma, because in photography, you have to have "light" in order to photograph "dark." Hmmm...the dilemma.

The other night, I peeked in on Harrison, who was engrossed in his book. I loved how he was bathed in soft light, nestled in the the dark room.

While my photo is relatively straightforward, Melody's leaves everything up to the viewer. The girl in the door: is she entering or exiting? Where is she going? I could create multiple narratives for this photo.

Show us your photo stories today: what do your diptychs have to tell us?




And now for a fun update: you may have noticed something new on my sidebar. Leah, a.k.a. Killlashandra, was kind enough to design a button for Team-Up Thursday. If you'd like the code to post the button on your own blog, zip over to her place and grab it. I'm just not good with the coding business yet, so I'm lucky Leah offered her expertise. Thanks for the great button, Leah!

Remember to upload to our flickr pool as well as to your blog. If you are new this week, welcome -- if you need a partner, just drop me a line at monamegs@hotmail.com. I know there are a couple of people in partner limbo; don't despair, I haven't forgotten you :).