Black and White Wednesday - "Overwhelmed"

I bet you thought you would be viewing some scenic shots of the beautiful desert? I thought so too, but I am completely overwhelmed at the moment.

I arrived back home this weekend and it took me a few days to recover from the time change. Add to that the Easter holiday rush and lots of work to catch up on here at the house and at work......and it is complete chaos.

Yesterday, I finally had a few moments to download the pictures that I took while away and have yet to do anything with them, but I promise, I will be posting them and telling you all about my Arizona Adventure as soon as we return from our Easter break......

Yes, you heard me correctly....I just got done unpacking, but I didn't put the suitcase away, because tomorrow we are headed to Cape Cod for our Easter Holiday.

My intention was to jump back on the bloggy bandwagon this past weekend and catch up with everyone, but I have been enjoying some quality time with my family. I really missed them while I was gone and the last thing I felt like doing was spending extra time on the computer......so I have extended my bloggy break a bit longer.



Since I have been a total slacker with the camera......I had to go digging again to look for a few more favorites to convert. I had posted these in full color just before Christmas when I was searching for an area to do our Christmas Card Photoshoot. I love how Sarah is completely face forward in this particular shot. It is rare that I capture her straight on because she is always on the move...... The girl is in constant motion!! I often wonder where she gets her energy....and am quite envious how she never seems to tire.



I also thought this one lent itself well to black and white....... with the big iron fence it really has a nice vintage feel:)

Okay.....off to work I go!! I hope that everyone has a wonderful Wednesday and a Happy Easter!!

I apologize, I did not make it around last week to anyone that linked, but hope to make it around this week before we head North. I will be back to the regularly scheduled program come Monday. Can't wait to tell you all about my trip!!

Black and White Wednesday - "Digging Through the Archives"

I am traveling this week and currently in Scottsdale, Arizona. I have been out of the bloggy loop since last week, but did not want to miss out on Black and White Wednesday. I have been in meetings the last few days, but plan to get my camera out tomorrow so I can capture some of the serious beauty that is surrounding me.

Before I left home, I didn't have much time to play with my camera and take any new photos, so I went digging through the archives to see what I could come up with......




This picture was taken last summer when I met up with a sweet friend and fellow blogger to help her with her camera while our girls played. I don't know how, but this one slipped through the cracks. There is something so sweet and innocent about it that has always made me smile.

In addition, I have always loved this saying.......and it seemed so fitting given that they are walking side by side, holding hands.

Okay.....I have to run. The three hour time difference is really throwing me off. I should be back in the swing of things this weekend when I return home.

Hope you all have a wonderful week:)

April Classes Now Forming

Now that I have completed all scheduled March Classes, I have gone ahead and scheduled 3 more classes for the month of April.

Again, this month's schedule is all photoshop CS3/CS4. A few of you have asked me about Photoshop Elements and at this time, I am only teaching CS3/CS4. If the demand is great enough, I might consider doing a very basic elements class in one of the upcoming months.

I have not had many people ask about Lightroom instruction, but if there is anyone looking for Lightroom classes now or in the future, please contact me via email.

Class Description
Photoshop CS3/CS4 Basic Photo Editing and Enhancement
This class will give you an overview of the basic tools for everyday editing. You will learn how to brighten and sharpen the eyes, make your subject pop of the page. It is an A-Z of my work flow or the series of things I do to enhance my photos. I will also show you how to install and use actions.

Photoshop CS3/CS4 Beyond the Basics
In order to participate in the class, you must have either completed my basic photoshop class or have a good understanding of the software. This is a level two class where you will learn how to do some more creative and artistic things to your photos. In addition, I will also teach you how to make and create your own actions.

Class Dates and Times for April
{Note: I am limiting class size to 4 People}
Thursday, April 8th - Basic Photoshop - 8:30-10:30pm Eastern Time
Thursday, April 15th - Basic Photoshop - 8:30-10:30pm Eastern Time
Thursday, April 28th - Beyond Basics, Level 2 - 8:30-10:30pm Eastern Time

Fees
Classes are $75 per class for group instruction or $125 if you are looking for one on one instruction. Payments will be made via paypal. Once you notify me that you are interested in a class, I will invoice you. Your payment is what will secure your spot in the class. After I receive payment and before your class, you will be sent a guide or outline of all the areas we are going to cover in your two hour session. This is going to help you follow me and navigate through the instruction while allowing you to take brief and simple notes without having to write everything out.

Classes will be held online via "Go To Meeting" Your location or proximity does not matter. If you have a computer and internet service, you can join in. Everyone will be sent a link to attend the online meeting. During that meeting you will be able to view my computer screen to see what I am doing and you will have a dial in code so that you can hear and speak to me and others on the call. It is a very fun and interactive way to learn.

Thank you all for your continued support and interest. If anyone has any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to me.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Black and White Wednesday - "Half Gaelic, Half Garlic"

Six years ago on this day, Pat and I traveled into New York City to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! We had talked about it for months and thought that it would be such a fun way to celebrate the big Irish holiday.

Leading up to this trip, there had been lots of talk about marriage and starting our life together. We had been dating for a little over two years and I knew he was ring shopping, becuase....well, a girl just knows.

Based on the little things I saw going on, I thought I might have received a ring that year for Christmas, but Christmas and New Year's came and went and no proposal. Then I thought maybe Valentine's Day. Pat had planned this big elaborate night and took me to this great restuartant where we had the best table in the place. I was so positive he was going to pop the question and produce that little jewelry box.

When our dinner was said and done and we left to head home, I was kind of disappointed. I know it sounds shallow and silly, but I was so convinced that he was going to propose. That night all of my girlfriends were all calling my cell to see "if it happened" because of course, I had spread the word that this was going to be the night. Looking back on it now, it is kind of funny, although I didn't think so at the time. I felt like Pat was teasing me by building me up to think it was going to happen.

Little did I know he had a master plan......

So now here it is St. Patrick's Day and we are headed to the big apple. When I met Pat that morning to travel into the city, I could tell he was not himself. He was so fidgety and nervous...so not like him. He also had maps printed out from MapQuest of different places that he wanted to visit. Again, so not like him....he is a fly by the seat of his pants kind of guy and when we go on trips, we are not the intinerary type.

As we traveled into the city, I kept thinking.....Could this be it?? Is he going to FINALLY propose in NYC? He had a couple places starred on the map. One was St. Patrick's Cathedral and the other was The Empire State Building.

My first thought was St. Patrick's Cathedral. Being that it was St. Patrick's Day, his name is "Patrick" and he was raised in a strict Irish Catholic family, I kind of thought that was the direction he was going to go. To my surprise, we went in to see the beautiful cathedral, walked around for a bit.....and then left.

The weather that day was very cold and it was actually snowing on and off. It was not the best day to be walking around the city, but it sure was fun stopping in at all the Irish pubs for green beer! Everywhere you looked in the city you saw shades of green and people having fun.

We eventually made our way to the Empire State Building. I had traveled into NYC many times, but never went up to the top. Keep in mind that this was now after 9/11 and security was extra tight. As we approached the metal detectors, much like the ones at an airport where you have to put your bags and coats in the tray to go through the machine, I saw Pat's face turn completely white!

He nonchalantly pulled the security guard aside and pointed to the inside pocket of his coat. She took the coat and put it through and handed it back to him with a big old smile on her face.

After a long elevator ride to the top of the buliding. We found out that they had closed the observation deck due to the bad weather. So we were all stuck within the confines of the little store at the very top that has floor to ceiling windows. Pat and I moved to get closer to the windows and finally made our way so we could take in the view. As we are standing there, he turns to look at me and I felt my heart in my throat. I knew this was the moment and suddenly he began to speak........

Thank you for your patience, as I waited for this day
It was not my intention, to keep you at bay
My Parents got engaged, 49 years to this day
and I'd love our lives to follow in much the same way.

I have this ring, which soon you will see
In hopes we can start our own family of three,
Nick, You, and Me.

I brought you here, the highest building I know of
To express my true feelings and unconditional love.

I promise to honor you, all the days of my life
So, I ask you this question, never before have I asked
Lisa, will you be my wife?


Of course I said YES, YES, YES!!!! He then had to dig into his pocket and find the beautiful ring being careful not to drop it as we were being bumped and pushed from the swarm of people around us.

We spent the rest of the day celebrating in the big city and made many phone calls to our family and friends to make the big announcement!

In the end, it was worth all those months of waiting. He had selected St. Patrick's Day for a very special reason.......and I am so glad that he did. It is a day that neither one of us will ever forget. The time and thought that he put into that proposal is just one of the many reasons I truly love and married this man.



Unfortunately, I never carried a camera in those days and don't have any pictures of our trip to New York, but I thought I would share our engangement photo that was taken a few months later.

So there you have it.....that is where "Half Gaelic, Half Garlic" began. Pat, along with his large and fun loving Irish family was about to be molded together with my loving, yet very loud, Sicilian Family.

In keeping with the holiday tradition, we got married that year on New Year's Eve. It was a party like no other and til this day we still get calls from family members and friends that say there will never be a New Year's Eve bash like that one.



I have always loved this picture of the three of us. Nick got to be a part of our big day. He had recently lost his front teeth and was showing the photographer. He actually then lost another tooth that night at our wedding reception. Word got around and people were giving him money left and right for fear the toothfairy would not find him. By the end of the night, his pockets were overflowing with dollar bills. No need for the toothfairy, he did just fine on his own:)


All of the pictures I have shared today were taken by our Wedding photographer. I just scanned them into the computer so I had a few images to go along with our story.

Today, we not only celebrate the Irish holiday, but the day we officially decided to start our life together as husband and wife. We have experienced many blessings along the way, I just hope the man upstairs has a couple more headed our way.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Spring Getaway

As you can see, the fabulous Rita of Coffeeshop Photography, was able to complete my blog overhaul this past weekend. I had mentioned in my last post that in order to avoid having two separate blogs....one family blog and one photography blog, I was hoping to combine the two and get a blogsite.

She certainly delivered.......This layout is exactly what I had in mind and she was so fantastic to work with. Even though I have been doing my own blog design these last few months, I could have never pulled this one off. In the whole grand scheme of blog code, I know just enough to be dangerous, but nothing as sophisticated as this. If you are looking to make a change, I highly recommend her. After she finished up, she sent me all the instructions so I can make future changes. So from here on out, I will be able to do things like change the pictures in the flash header, change my papers, my logo, my fonts, and colors.

So, now that I am officially up and running, I have some serious work to do. I need to go back through and label and link all of my posts so they go to the appropriate place. I also need to create drop down boxes on my menu bar. It is going to take me a little time, so bare with me.

You may have noticed that my sidebar is gone.... well, not really....scroll all the way down to the bottom and you will see most of what was on my old sidebar. That is still a work in progress too!!

Needless to say, I am feeling a tad overwhelmed at the moment. Of course I want this all done yesterday, but that just isn't going to happen. I have lots on my plate right now, so I am going to need to be realistic.

Last week I had my first online class and it went better than expected. A big thank you to the 5 ladies that were my first official students......they made it so easy for me and I can tell they learned so much in just one session. I have another class scheduled this Thursday night and I have a jam packed work week, so I might be kind of scarce around these parts.

So, are you wondering why I have a beach picture up there?
Last year at this time, Pat and I were at The Atlantis in the Bahamas. That is where this picture was taken. I am sad to say that we are not heading back to the Bahamas, but I am going to be heading somewhere warm and sunny!

Next Sunday, I am leaving for Scottsdale, Arizona........ it is not the beach, but it will certainly be very hot and anywhere I can wear flip flops and capri pants works for me:) I am traveling out there on business. I have meetings for a few days, but my boss has graciously exteneded my trip so that I could get a little extra R&R before returning home. I have never been there before, but I am very excited. I am staying at The Phoenician and have heard nothing but wonderful things about it. As soon as the business meetings commence, I plan to be poolside with a nice fruity drink in my hand or visiting the resort spa.

I feel somewhat guilty leaving Pat and the kids at home.....okay, really guilty, but sometimes even us Moms need a break. My daily schedule keeps me hopping, so from time to time, a little downtime is just what the doctor ordered. Fortunately, I have an amazing husband who realizes this and is happy to pick up the slack in my absence.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

I will be here for Black and White Wednesday, but I other than that........my next post might be from warm and sunny Arizona.....and you just never know who I might run into along the way:)

Nick and Alicia

This weekend, I did my first real shoot of the season. I have quite a few lined up already and am looking forward to booking more sessions in the coming weeks. I have had a separate photography blog in the works since January, but have not really done much with it........ the truth of the matter is that I don't really have time to keep up with two separate blogs.....it is hard enough keeping up with this one. So at the suggestion of one of my wonderful friends........ this one is about to be completely overhauled.

Big changes coming to "The Long Road to China"....... my blog is about to be turned into a blogsite, with a navigation bar and drop down menus. I plan to post about our family, food, and photography, just as I always have, but I will now be able to separate and categorize my posts. You will see what I mean once I am up and running......which will hopefully be in the next week:)

Anyway..... with the permission of my clients, I plan to post some sneak peeks during these next few months.



This lovely lady is the first one that will be going under the new "Photography" Sneak Peak Session. Most of you probably remember Alicia.. She is the daughter of a good friend of mine.



Alicia has not been in front of my camera since last summer and I cannot believe how much she has changed in a few short months. I see her at least once a week and I guess I didn't realize how much she has changed and matured until I saw her pictures staring back at me.



I have so many favorties of this beautiful girl...... her Mom is literally going to be able to wallpaper her house in photos.



Nick is so funny..... He hates having his picture taken, but is always happy to come along with me when I do shoots. He likes to help out.........I guess he will do anything as long as he is not the one that has to be in front of the camera. Well.... I also think that he and Alicia have a secret crush on each other. Whenever they are together, they are so shy and bashful at first, then they get super giggly. Oh yeah..... it is starting!


I used a few textures that were made by my friend Colleen for this particular photo. If you are a texture fanatic, you must check them out. Click HERE for more info.

After watching me take pics of Alicia, he let me snap just a few of him as he sat there taking a break. I love him in this shade of blue.....it is a great color on him:)

As for this location..... It is the side of a "Napa Auto Parts" store that is in the town where Alicia lives. We went after the store closed and had the entire parking lot to spread out. I love the peeling wall.....it brings so much texture to the pictures. In addition to the wall, there was on old trailer with a lift gate......Nick was sitting on the edge of it and that is where I snapped those photos. This is also the same location where I took the pictures of Sarah with the bubbles.

The parks aren't quite in full color yet, so places like this are a nice change until we see that Spring and Summer are definitely here to stay!!

I ' ve gotta run..... I have a full day ahead and then tonight is the first online photoshop class and I am super excited! All of the March classes have been filled and I currently have a wait list started for April. Those classes should be posted here very soon!!

Have a great day!

Black and White Wednesday - "Amish Country"

Because of the nature of my job, I am constantly on the road driving.......and on any given week I travel through PA, NY, NJ, MD, DE, and sometimes even VA. That much driving can be a big pain during the winter months, but now that spring and summer are approaching, I actually look forward to my time on the road.

It was about this time last year when I really started to kick the photography into high gear. After I attended my first workshop in January of 2009, it quickly became a passion. From the second I left that workshop, everywhere I went and everything I saw while driving in my car I thought about in terms of photography......or as if I were looking at everything through my lens. In my brain I saw photo opportunites or "pictures" everywhere!!

Yesterday I had to drive through Lancaster, Pa.....also known as Amish Country. Do any of you remember the movie Witness, starring Kelly McGi!lis and Harrison F@rd? This is where they filmed a majority of that movie and it is so beautiful and scenic. In addition to the beauty of the old farms and wide open spaces, I am also intrigued by their way of life.

Everytime I drive through that area, without fail, I pass about 5 or 6 families riding horse drawn buggies......and never have my camera with me, so this morning as I was backing out of our driveway, I remembered all those times I wished I had my camera. I put it back in drive and pulled back up the driveway and quickly ran in and grabbed my camera bag.

I didn't want to be late for my appt, so I figured I would do a little sightseeing on my way back.



This farm was screaming to be photographed..... I was drawn to the varying heights of the three silos and the way the trees were perfectly placed to the right and left of the farm.



I had to be super quick with this one, because there was not really a place to park or pull over....so I had to roll down the window to snap before another car came up behind me. This is one of their one room schoolhouses. You can just barely make out the name above the door.



Another old barn...... I took this one through the front windshield... good thing the windshield was clean:)



While I didn't get to see a family riding in a horse and buggy, I did see this little guy waiting for his owner to come out of the store. Just as I pulled into the lot out came the owner. I wasn't really dressed to be running around outside taking photos in my normal fashion, which means crouching down low and sometimes even lying on the ground, so I didn't really get the perspective I would have hoped for, but this will have to do for now.........there is always the next trip!!

One of the things I love most about my job is that each day is an adventure. I never know where I am going to be or what I am going to see, but the one thing I know is that I won't be leaving home without my camera anymore. Not only am I looking for cool places to take some scenic shots in my travels, I am always scoping out new areas or places to take the kids and/or clients for future photoshoots.



This past weekend I found a gem of a spot practically in our backyard. I thought I would give you a sneak peek......love this shot of Nick in Black and White so I had to include it!!! More Full Color photos coming tomorrow:)

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!!

{Colorful}

The sun has been shining and the air has been warm.........



There was no need for bulky winter coats, hats, gloves, or scarves....



The snow piles are just about gone and it looks as though Spring is just around the corner.



We spent a good part of the weekend outdoors just soaking it all in.....and the only way I can describe my mood.......

COLORFUL!!

I have looked around for the past few months and seen brown or dead looking grass, trees without leaves, rose bushes minus the roses. Everything looked to be lifeless and colorless, but this weekend, I began to see little signs that winter is just about over and it definitely put the spring back in my step.....PUN INTENDED:)



I believe Sarah was feeling just as {colorful} as I was until she realized she had more bubbles down the front of her outfit then left in the container. Our outdoor adventure quickly came to an end!!

It is amazing how a couple of nice warm days can do so much for your spirit and I am looking forward to many more weekends just like this one.

Hope you all have a happy and {Colorful} week:)

Black and White Wednesday - "The Save"

I thought I would change things up a little today and give you a behind the scenes look and show you the transformation of a photo from Camera to finished product!! Actually, I am going to show you how I fix mistakes and in the end salvage a photo that at first glance would have landed itself in the trash bin on my desktop.

Anyone who has taken any kind of photography classes or lessons knows that you should always strive to get the best picture you can straight out of the camera, but let's face it, when you are dealing with little ones, it is just not that easy. They move WAY TOO FAST and there is so much to think about when shooting. In addition to your camera settings {Aperture, ISO, and Shutter Speed} you need to look at the way the natural light is illuminating your subject, and last but not least, you need to figure out how you are going to compose the shot. That is an awful lot to be running through your mind at once when you usually have a matter of seconds to capture the moment. As a result, sometimes you end up with a few mistakes.

Then you download your photos to your computer and you fall in love with a particular photo......but you see those mistakes or errors and want to hit the delete button. Well, maybe you don't, but I do. The perfectionist in me wants well, perfection, but if I see an expression or a very cute photo, I have a hard timing trashing it. When this happens, I turn to my good friend, PHOTOSHOP:)

Let me show you what I mean........

Keep in mind that I shoot in RAW format, not JPEG, which means that nothing is compressed. In My Opinion, everything looks like it has a haze on it until you run them through lightroom or photoshop. If you are not familiar with the difference or you want to learn more about RAW vs JPEG click HERE.

If you saw my post from Monday, you know this cute little guy is my nephew, Aidan. The kids were playing in Sarah's room and they were watching a video. In order to get a better view, Aidan was leaning over the footboard. Of course, I saw the perfect picture as I saw him sitting there so contently so I did what any one of us camera lovin mommas would do.......got right in his face for the shot:)

Sarah's room has nice sized windows that provide lots of natural light......you can see that coming in on the right side of Aidan's face, but the left side of his face is pretty dark and shadowy. If the kids were not playing and I was really setting up the shot, I would have used a reflector to bounce a little light back onto him to help lighten up his face, but again, we are dealing with a spur of the moment kind of shot and sometimes you don't have all the extra tools at your disposal. Plus, it was me and three kids.... no help and not much time to fuss. I am lucky I got to take the few photos that I did that afternoon.

In addition to the shadows, there are a couple of other things that I would fix up too, but we will get to that soon enough.

Okay, so let's move to the next photo.........




What a difference!!
Can see how much brighter his face looks?
The darker side of his face was lightened, but I still left a little shadowing because I wanted it to look somewhat natural. I removed the cut from his chin and a few other trace evidents of food from his face:) His eyes were sharpened and brightened. Wouldn't you kill to have those beautiful eyelashes?? Why is it that the boys always get those long eyelashes. I also enhanced his left eye a tad. Go back to the first picture and look at the catchlights. See the difference? A little cloning was all that was needed there. I also took care of that overexposed section of his shirt near his right shoulder. After a few tweaks, he pretty much just pops off the page and I am thrilled that I did not hit that delete button.

Now, do I go to all this trouble with every single photo??? NO WAY!!!
I just wanted to show you that you can "Save" a photo if you really love it and have made a few errors when you are behind the camera.

Last step.......




Here he is in black and white!! After I made all the "fixes" to the color version, the only thing I needed to do, was a simple conversion.

So there you have it........ From "Straigh out of the Camera" to Finished Product.




I couldn't post a black and white of Aidan, without converting one of my other adorable nephew, Ashton. I caught this moment as he was patiently waiting for his snack at the kitchen table. Not the best composed shot, but that face, those curls, and those big beautiful eyes get me every time. He is such a little sweetie!

You will be seeing much more of these two cute little guys on the blog. They are moving into our neighborhood and will only be two doors down!! What a fun spring and summer it is going to be around here!

Fun With My Cousins

We had some visitors yesterday......
My nephews Ashton and Aidan came over to spend the afternoon with us. As you can see, Sarah was thrilled to have her cousins in the house!!



After my Sister left it took a little while for Aidan to warm up..... he was missing his Mommy, so I tried to distract him and we went upstairs to Sarah's room to see if we could find some new and intersting toys to bring downstairs.

**Notice the missing eye on the teddy bear? Another thing victimized by our dog Rudy. If any of you follow me on FB you saw what he did to the barbie doll. It is a bad habit.



One thing led to another and next thing you know, the two of them were beginning to jump on the bed. What you can't see is that little Ashton was sitting up there too {I was using my 50mm lens so I couldn't get that much in the frame} so I quickly ended their fun for fear that one of the three would end up on the floor with a broken arm or leg. It took some convincing, but they finally caved when I told them they could pick out a snack from the pantry if they came down.

Aidan led the pack to the kitchen and he was the first one to declare his snack choice. The other two were happy to oblige. Can anyone guess what he picked?



Maybe this little cheesey grin and fingers bowl will give it away......
They picked Doritos!! One of Nick's favorite snacks!! We buy the baked ones so they are not quite as bad for you, but they are still kind of messy. Actually Ashton was eating Doritos and Goldfish mixed together.....YUMMMM.... what a combinations!



Within minutes they were all complaining that their hands were sticky and cheesey..... I went to grab a wet papertowel and before I could clean them up........



Somebody else did the cleaning for me......
I don't know who was laughing harder, me or the kids. Aidan was giggling as Rudy licked his fingers clean!!

My wet papertowel was not going to do the trick after Rudy spread his doggie germs...... we needed to do some serious scrubbing with soap:)

After I got them all De-Cheesed, they played in the family room while I worked on dinner. Gotta love a kitchen that opens to the family room. I can get so much done and still keep an eye on them.



Chicken Pot Pie
Recipe Courtesy of The Barefoot Contessa
Click HERE for the printable recipe.



I made this last year and it was awesome, so I decided to give it a whirl again. {BTW, not an easy food to photograph} The recipe called to make it into 4 separate serving dishes or ramekins. I made one large casserole dish and two little ramekins. It made so much!! It was SO SINFULLY GOOD and very hearty. Although I felt awfully guilty eating it after I saw everything that went in it..... Butter and Shortening in the dough for the crust and another stick and half of butter and some heavy cream in the chicken mixture...... WOWZA!!! I don't even want to think about the calories consumed in this baby. No dessert needed after that kind of meal.

Well, it is Monday Morning and I am getting ready to head to work.......
Hope everyone has a great day!!

To share or find more great recipes, stop by The Crazy Eight.