Sep 28, 2009

my husband rocks!



Okay, just a true fact.

My husband rocks! He really does. I'm trying to make some plans to have his upcoming birthday be really special for him. Not that he cares, but because I want him to know how much I appreciate him. I'm thinking that as long as there is chocolate involved, he will be happy.

But thinking about how great he is reminded me of this site, Union 28, that I found awhile back that celebrates marriage. Too often, it's easy to focus on the negative aspects of any relationship and I like it that this couple chose to celebrate each other.

Union28 (formerly From*me Tees) was started by a married couple who knows what it is like to work through hard stuff and yet stay together and stay committed, choosing to forgive and be forgiven, only to grow in our love for each other MORE through it all.

One of the great and wonderful mysteries of life is that loving each other in action--what we do and say--produces romance. Everything in our culture today teaches the opposite, that romance turns into love, but nothing could be further from the truth. Love is a choice and we decide how we're going to treat each other in the good and in the not-so-good times. What a hope-giving reality that a strong, loving, thriving relationship can be built, simply by changing how we interact with our spouse.



So, do you love someone who rocks? Would you be proud or embarassed to wear a tee proclaiming it to everyone?

Sep 25, 2009

the dancing baby

So, you have probably already seen this but I thought it was too cute and didn't want you to miss it.

*** PLEASE NOTE *** There will be an advertisement after the video that is constantly refreshing and I have no idea if it will be appropriate viewing, so be ready with the mouse if this concerns you.



Is Beyonce's video just making the rounds this year or what?

Happy Friday! Hope you have some fun plans for the weekend.

Sep 18, 2009

time-lapse video

Saw this time-lapse video last week when I was blog hopping. Thought I would share it here because I think the idea of time-lapse photography is pretty cool and the mural is pretty great. I'm always impressed with artists.

An introduction:

The “video” is really a series of photographs, one taken every 30 seconds and played back at 24 photo’s a second. A total of 6,357 photo’s were taken, representing over 54 hours of work.

Th Big Boy Room from Creede on Vimeo.



The video was originally posted on Grassroots Modern, which is a new blog I just found and am really enjoying. As much as I love our new home, I've already told Scott that our next home is going to be modern. He wasn't sure what I met, but he thought it sounded expensive. It probably is, but a girl can dream. I've bookmarked this site, Hometta, on Modern Home House Plans for when we're ready.

Sep 16, 2009

The Perfect Picture Wall

I've had this site bookmarked for a long time:

The Perfect Picture Wall

From the site:

What is it?

Simply revolutionary!

ThePerfectpicturewall™series1000 is a complete system for hanging the enclosed 10 picture frames quickly and precisely anywhere in your home or business. It uses our revolutionary and Patented "Pre-View” Template technology allowing you to determine placement, height and character of frames all without measuring and before the first hook is ever entered into your wall.

The easy to use templates safely adhere to any surface allowing you to “Pre-View” what the frames will look like prior to hanging them.

The templates also have a unique leveling system so that all frames will be accurately positioned and level every time. The “Pre-View” templates can be moved multiple times to different locations, above a buffet or couch, around a corner or up the stairs until you are completely satisfied with the location. Apply in just moments what formerly took hours of tedious trial and error! You only need a hammer, everything else is included.

No measuring, figuring or fuss and…no mistakes!

Every detail has been carefully considered. ThePerfectpicturewall™ is architecturally designed to fit industry building standards for walls and stair cases. Additional sets of ThePerfectpicturewall™ can be added to accommodate larger walls and staircases.

Select from a variety of finishes and frame widths to suit any Classic or Contemporary setting.

Classic or Contemporary settings…the possibilities are endless!


I think it's an absolutely fantastic idea. The frames and templates allow you to easily create a perfectly polished photo gallery. You can even buy them 'preloaded' with images. How great are these?



I'm particularly drawn to this gallery that is on the vertical, versus horizontal.



I know. This is something that you could do yourself. But, I've been around the block a few times when it comes to buying and hanging frames and I cannot tell you how much this product inspires me. There's something to be said for the convenience of having it all worked out for you.

Has anyone used this product? I'd love to know your thoughts.

Sep 15, 2009

Trek to The Big House

Been busy this past week getting ready and recovering from our trek to Ann Arbor. We made the drive for the Michigan -Notre Dame game and had a great time. The noise in The Big House was unbelievable and the fact that they won made the whole trip that much sweeter.

On a business side, are you enjoying these videos? Is this something you'd want from your photo session? Let me hear from you.

Sep 9, 2009

Possible Michigan Sessions

I've had my Michigan clients contacting me, asking if I'm making a trip to the Great Lake State this fall for the oh-so-popular mini-sessions. Well, if the interest is there, I'll be there.

**** ONLY THREE SESSIONS LEFT ****
*** 11:00, 1:00, 1:30 ***

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17th
10:00 - DAISY, 10:30 - SEYMOUR, 11:00 11:30 - SMITH, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00 - O'ROURKE, 2:30 - JACOBS, 3:00 - THERRIEN, 3:30 - SARGENT
Location: Our favorite locale at Quarton Lake

-15-20 minute session
-maximum of 8 online proofs
-proofs shown in Rebecca's choice of black and white or color


SUPER SIMPLE PRICING FOR FALL 2009

THE CARD COLLECTION $225
(24) 5 X 7 folded holiday cards plus (1) gift print (size 8 x 10 or smaller)

OR

THE PRINT COLLECTION $200
-includes your choice of
(3) gift prints (size 8 x 10 or smaller)

Additional 8 x 10 prints at $55 each
Additional 5 x 7 prints at $40 each
Additional set of 24 cards at $ each
In addition to purchase of a Collection, complete set of digital files at $300



Checks payable to Rebecca Redman will be the only accepted form of payment and due prior to October 5th. There is no additional purchase required but there is a full pricing sheet for additional orders. Call or Email today to book your preferred time. I would appreciate you passing the information along to interested friends. If all 10 sessions are booked, I will see you then.

Sep 4, 2009

just some fun

I can't believe it's been over a month since I updated the blog. Whoops. And, yes, I always say that. It's amazing how time just slips away. Anyway, here's just some shots for fun. This morning I was reading my friend's blog, Nicki's Thoughts, Art & Friends. She blogged about a photo prompt from Steve Gallow's blog, A Year in Photos. The photo prompt was to take a picture from inside your mailbox. Seeing as how I did a Project 366 last year and only blogged it four about four months, I think it's great that Steve is hanging in there. I grabbed my p&s, hit the self-timer and was in. So, thanks, Steve, for the inspiration to be posting again.

First attempt. The camera on auto, self-time for 10 seconds, and voila.



Tried it again, but didn't care for the neighbor's house. But I did like the off-center composition.




The girls saw what I was doing and wanted in on the action.



And thought I would try moving the camera to the front of the mailbox instead of the back of the mailbox. Yikes, that's a whole lot of my face!



I tried a few more but kept getting the neighbor's house in the background. It seemed that no matter how I angled the camera, it just kept popping up. It wasn't until I was looking at the pictures on my laptop that I realized the difference was where I was standing ... not the camera. The first snap was the only one where I was standing to the left side of the mailbox. After that I was always standing on the right. I thought about running back out and trying a few more from the left side but realized that since this was just for fun and I probably wasn't going to do anything else with these photos except post them here, decided it just wasn't worth the effort.

So, I went back to the first image, tried a square, off-center crop and ran an 'embossing' action in Photoshop to make it pop a bit more. Add a thin, black keyline and a white border and you get this:




Fuji FinePix F50fd

Shutter Speed: 1/530 s
Exposure Program: Normal Program
F-Stop: f 4.0
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 8.0 mm (35 mm)
Flash: Fired

You know, I suppose this didn't have to be a self-portrait. The two examples I saw were both self-portraits so that's what I had in my head. I suppose it could have just been a landscape but didn't think of that until this moment.