Two Boys - Faces of Brazil

These two are good friends of ours and good friends of each other - which is great since they are related!

Praying Mantis - Postcard from Brazil

     This is actually a tiny baby Praying Mantis that we found here.  It's entire body was hardly half-an-inch in length and so I it was a challenge to get a macro portrait of him, but he finally looked into the camera - not sure if he's smiling or not, though!

Adalia - A Maine Girl

     We had the privilege of visiting some friends in Maine.  I was just going through some photos I took of their daughter and came across this gem.  She is a sweet girl from a great family. I wish I'd have a picture of the entire family to share here.

This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

High Key Portrait from the Archives - Wordless Wednesday

Linking this WW with:

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Quote of the Day:
     Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.
             - Winston Churchill

Friendly Camper - Faces of Brazil - Wordless Wednesday

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Quote of the Day:

     If you live to be one hundred, you've got it made. Very few people die past that age.
       - George Burns

Looking In - Before and After

   This is a before and after of a recent photo of mine.  As shown in the graphic, I used three textures by Shadow House Creation.  I shoot RAW and then use Adobe Camera Raw with Photoshop Elements 9 for Mac.
   For this photo I also used a B/W gradient map, boosting contrast.  Then I used a slight warming gradient map on his skin, leaving the background a slightly cooler tone.

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Quote of the Day:

      “Knowledge is like money: to be of value it must circulate, and in circulating it can increase in quantity and, hopefully, in value.”
          -  Louis L'Amour

Little L - Wordless Wednesday

To see more Wordless Wednesdays, go here and here.


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Quote of the Day:

     When you are eight years old, nothing is any of your business.
         - Lenny Bruce

I Heart Daydreaming!

     This week the theme at "i ♥ faces" is "People's Choice" meaning that we get to choose our favorite photo to enter.  I liked this one of this young girl.  You may remember her, as I posted another photo of her a while back which you can see here.

-----------------------Quote of the Day:     There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it.        - Mary Wilson Little

Little K - I Heart Faces 2010

I had a great time photographing all the kids at our Christmas gathering.  This little girl is my wife's cousin's daughter and she had fun "hiding" from the camera while still wanting to have her photo taken.  I'll try to post a lot more photos soon!

       Entered in the photo contest at "i ♥ faces" as the "Best Face of 2010."  Please go to their website to see more entries!

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Quote of the Day:

    “Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy."
         ~ Gretta Brooker Palmer

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Thought of the Day:

    "If you're too open-minded, your brains will fall out."

Ready or Not - Here Comes Winter!

     I am not ready for the cold weather - but it seems to be coming anyway!  I guess that's another reason why God is moving us to Brazil; no more winters!

     I took this picture of my nephew with my Nikkor 135mm F2.8; which must be used fully manually on all Nikon DSLR's.  But it is such a sharp, crisp lens!


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Quote of the Day:

     Someday we'll look back on this moment and plow into a parked car.

        - Evan Davis

Joyful - Wordless Wednesday

To see more Wordless Wednesdays, go here and here.


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Quote of the Day:
      Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, their lack of good fortunes or the quirks of fate. Everyone has within them the power to say, "This I am today, that I shall become tomorrow." The wish, however, must be implemented by deeds.
             - Louis L'Amour (1908 - 1988)

Fall Roundup - Wordless Wednesday

     To see more Wordless Wednesdays click here and here.

Black n White Portraits

Here are a few of my recent B/W conversions.