I Heart Faces - Self Portrait

"Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue.
Realize the strength, move on."
-Henry Rollins

Self-portrait, huh? I'll admit it; my first inclination was to take a super adorable shot of myself mugging for the camera, like the school photo I never had.
But then I started thinking more; what did I want this photo to *say*?
My portrait for this week is about more than just my face. The stretch marks, the surgical scars, the tiny dots left by large-gauge IVs... all of them, a roadmap to my life, starting with my kidney failure (and almost instant 150 lb. weight gain) in 2001, then my first transplant in 2004 (commemorated by the green ribbon tattoo) to the c-section that brought my son in 2008, the catheter I used for dialysis for 2 years, and finally the most recent addition, the mark left by my second transplant this past September.
They are as much a part of who I am as my face, and so I share them with you.

This week's I Heart Faces challenge is for self portraits... want to see more great shots?
Click here:

Image shot at f/4.5, ISO 800, 18-70mm @ 40 mm

I Heart Faces - Scenic B&W

Image shot at f/8, ISO 800, 35mm

This week's challenge, a black and white scenic shot, gave me some trouble! We've got lots of scenery around here, but so much of it is based on color! (Golden Gate Bridge, anyone? LOL)
I took Max to a nearby state park/working farm, Ardenwood, and we explored the paths and kept our fingers crossed that it wouldn't rain on us too much! He kept taking off like this to explore... "Come on Mommy! It's an adventure!" and I just had to snap a few like this, as he heads off into the "unknown"

This photo is my submission to this week's I Heart Faces challenge. Want to see more amazing photos? Click here:

"Funny Face"

Catching a funny Max face on camera is a challenge, and the funniest ones always seem to come when the camera is across the room or, worse yet, I don't have it with me at all! LOL
As soon as I saw the subject for this week's challenge, I just *knew* which photo I'd use, even though I took it more than 2 years ago!

November Color Challenge - Rust

From a rainy day visit to Ardenwood Farms

Image shot at f/5.6, ISO 800, 35mm

I Heart Faces - Paper

The inspiration word for this week, paper, is so open ended and versatile, I spent quite a bit of time trying to come up with an idea. The more I thought about it, the more I kept coming back to origami, and the more I thought of origami, I thought of the single thing I can make from memory, a Samurai helmet!
I didn't have any butcher paper laying around, but I do have wrapping paper, so he's a very Christmas-ey samurai!

Image shot at f/2.2, ISO 400, 85mm

This photo is an entry for the I Heart Faces weekly photo challenges... click on the button below to see more great "paper" inspired photos!

"Words"

Image shot at f/4.5, ISO 800, 18-70mm @ 50 mm... and all manual settings, I might add!
I love words; when I was a kid, I was always reading; the cereal box at breakfast, the shampoo bottle in the bathtub, my nose was buried in a book the rest of the time.
The poems of Shel Silverstein were my favorites, and I can't wait to introduce them to Max! He has his very own set of the books, shown here, just waiting for him to be ready for them!
I can't wait.

I Heart Faces - Silhouette

This week over at I Heart Faces, the challenge was to take a silhouette photo. It's one of those things I've always loved, but could never get just right.
With my recent studying and practicing, I feel like I'm finally getting a grasp of the concepts enough to accomplish certain looks on purpose. I dragged Max and Jamie out to the beach this evening to get a chance to get some nice sunset/silhouette shots, and I'm thrilled with how they all turned out!
This is basically SOOC; I couldn't decide what to do in post, other than straighten the horizon... any suggestions?

Here's my "official" I Heart Faces entry for this week:

Image shot at f/22, ISO 800, 18-70mm @ 46mm

"Morning"

The inspiration word for this week was "Morning" and I knew right away I wanted to get some of Max's morning routine; he always sits like this while eating his Cherrios and banana, and he has some quality bedhead!


Images shot at f/7.1, ISO 800

"Taking it Old School"

The challenge for this week was to apply some "old school" effects to a current digital photo. In keeping with the theme, I chose to shoot one of Jamie's "old school" coffee grinders. I had a few plays with this one, just because I was having so much fun!
So here are a few versions with various film effects applied:




And now, for a little "behind the scenes" information... here's what the image looked like, SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera): I used a couple sheets of my scrapbooking cardstock for the background, and then strategic cropping and Photoshopping to make it appear seamless. I'll definitely be using this method in the future to photograph small objects, so it gives me almost limitless options for colors! Goodness knows I have enough scrapbook paper!

And then here's what it looked like after making the ACR and Photoshop adjustments (where I started to then add the film effects):


Image shot at f/7.1, ISO 800, 18-70mm @ 40mm

"Around and Around"

Image shot at f/4.5, ISO 1600 18-70mm @ 35mm
I had some trouble with this challenge prompt; I had lots of ideas, and no realistic ways to execute them. I wanted a spinning record, but have no record player. I wanted something at the end of a string, caught in motion, shot as a long exposure, but I have no tripod and no willing model/assistant to do the spinning for me... Lots of ideas, but nothing concrete enough to actually set up and shoot.
We woke up to pouring down rain this morning (as I mentioned in my previous post) so Jamie decided to make a big batch of chili for this week; as I was helping him straighten up the kitchen (he's an amazing cook but makes SUCH a mess! LOL) I was noticing all the empty cans and the pot and thought "Hey! These are all round!" so he helped me set up the shot. How did he help me, you ask? Well, we have a microwave over our range, so I couldn't get the camera right where I wanted it, at the angle I wanted. He went and borrowed our downstairs bathroom mirror! Check out the pullback:

"The Little Things"

The challenge was for "The Little Things" so I chose to shoot Max's "collection" of Chuck Taylor's. Jamie and I decided a long time ago that Max would always have a pair of Chucks in his closet, starting with his first pair, crib shoes that he had at about 6 months old! Now he's only weeks away from outgrowing his most recent pair... time to start shopping for new ones! Maybe for Christmas...
Image shot at f/4.5, ISO 400, 18-70mm @ 56mm

"On Your Feet"

The challenge subject is "On Your Feet" and since it's World Series time, here's a shot of what's on Jamie's feet! We bought the shoes a few years ago, and I found a couple of old Giants hat patches on eBay for about $6. I sewed them on and voila! Custom Giants Chuck Taylors!
Image shot at f/1.8, ISO 200, 85mm

"A Special Object"

The challenge was to shoot a "special object" and I chose Max's Blue Dog. Blue Dog was one of the first gifts Jamie's mom gave Max when he was born; Blue Dog lived in his isolette in the NICU, rode in his car seat when he finally came home, and now lives in Max's crib and he can't sleep without his Blue Dog.

f/5.6, ISO 400, 18-55mm lens @ 35mm