The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I volunteered again to produce the class craft for Maben's preschool class.  Here is a sneak peek at what I did today.  The unveiling of the whole project will come next week.

The egg on the leaf.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

A beautiful butterfly.

I took an entire preschool class and told the story of, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," in three scenes using hands and paint.  I think my homage to Eric Carle would make him proud. 

If you are curious what I did last year, take a look here.

Photo 366 #13

I really enjoyed shooting photos this week.  I sought out more opportunities this week, than letting them come to me.  I didn't feel forced to take any photos this, which is amazing!  My trepidation with doing a photo a day for an entire year was losing the urge to want to take photos.  I was really hoping that it wouldn't happen and this week, reassured me that this is something that I am very capable and love doing. 

March 20 - Maben was so excited to have his first pair of rain boots.  He loved being able to splash in the puddles and not have wet feet.  He loves his boots so much that he wanted to sleep in them and wore them for two days, minus sleeping in them.  I have to draw the line somewhere!

March 21 - Colton and I were out and about and decided to swing by a duck pond and found about 20 black bellied whistling ducks.

March 22 - While at the park with the kids, there were a lot of butterflies that kept fluttering through.  I managed to capture this red admiral drinking some nectar from the flowers on the bushes. 

March 23 - The kids, myself and a few friends drove up to Independence, TX again to check out the wildflowers and hit up The Antique Rose Emporium.  That is truly a magical place.  Filled with so much beauty and I cannot wait to try planting some of their roses in one of my flower beds.  Not only is it a nursery, but they host weddings there it's so beautiful.  Here are Maben and Colton standing in front of beautiful wooden doors that belong to the antique chapel on the grounds.

March 24 - The moon was just showing a sliver, but I could make out the shadows in the full moon.  I decided to I needed a better look, so I pulled out my tripod and camera and caught the details that my eyes couldn't quite make out.

March 25 - The whole family hit up the Bayou City Arts Festival with a friend and he managed to score a massive balloon.  Of course my kids were fascinated with it.  I was in good company (lots of artists and art lovers) and no one looked at me too funny for immediately grabbing my camera, laying on the ground and shooting a great perspective of Maben holding a giant balloon.

March 26 - I have been driving around every few days to see if I can find my white hawk again.  Unfortunately, I haven't seen him since I last reported a few weeks ago, but I did find this beautiful scissortail flycatcher. 

The Origin of Keep Calm and Carry On

When I was at Barnes and Noble yesterday, I saw notebooks, coffee cups and other various items stamped with, "Keep Calm and Carry On."  It got me thinking about it's origin.  There is no denying it's impact in the last few years on the crafting community.  It's been customized over and over again.

Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake
Keep Calm and Rock On
Keep Calm and Call Batman
Keep Calm and Love On

You get the point.  Anyways, I wasn't sure I would find the origin of where it came from, but while surfing the internet last night, I came across a video that explains just that.  Enjoy!

Photo 366 #12

I can't believe I have been doing this for 12 weeks now!  I think I am more impressed that I haven't missed a day yet. 

March 13 - I went out scouting for my white red-tailed hawk, I didn't find him, but I found this normal looking red-tailed hawk.

March 14 - I took the kids to the Houston Rodeo.  It was a super busy day and the lines were really long for everything.  I am talking 45 minute wait for the petting zoo!  I let Maben pick the one thing he really wanted to do and we would wait for that.  He wanted to ride a pony, the $6 and 30 minute wait were worth it for the look on his face.  He didn't have any anxiety (which he normally would), he was just so happy and content up on the pony that it melted my heart.

March 15 - Visited a local farm with a friend of mine and we got to see newborn triplet nubian goats.  We are talking only a few days old.  Aren't they cute?

March 16 - I went to scout out the bluebonnet location that we went to last year and it didn't disappoint.  This is the best local spot I know of. 

March 17 - We spent our St. Patty's day up at Fort Hood welcoming a dear friend home from Afghanistan.  We got to cruise around on post and got out to show the kids some tanks and artillery. 

March 18 - This is Phantom Warrior statue in front of III Corps at Fort Hood.  It is based off of a Frank Frazetta illustration.  If you want to read a little more about the statue, you can go here.

March 19 - I got a serious amount of work done last night on the preschool class craft.  Here is a look at a small portion of the work I did.  This is also the reason why this post is getting put up late today.  I was working on this bad boy til 1am.

Nothing Like Experience

There is truly nothing better than experience.  I am probably low balling the number when I say that I have taken 75,000 photographs since Maben was born.  Over my life, it's well over 100,000.  I love being able to look back at photos that I have recreated to see how much I have grown.

Scenery: Beautiful and similar
Pose: The exact same (this is Maben's go to pose)
Lighting: I have learned!

Let me dissect the lighting in these photos. 

In 2010, there is a harsh sun behind the subject, creating harsh shadows on the face.  I had no reflector, did not use the flash, just figured since it was light out that was enough.  Not the case. 

In this year's photo, a thin cloud covered sky, late in the day which gave the great golden glow.  The light is coming from behind me.  Overall, a much better photograph with just a change in the lighting. 

I have grown and learned due to my passion for photography.  My passion and desire drove me to dissect and analyze my photographs with a constructive eye.  I now look for a better photo, wait for the right moment, set it up better so therefore I can take better quality photographs and not worry so much on the quantity.  I mean, why take 20 photos if you can get it in 3?

Now, be prepared to be sick of bluebonnets.  Tis the season for the wildflowers and the bluebonnets are one of my favorites!  I will be taking off for many more outings in wildflowers while they last.