Day 23-Facebook Picture (a Favorite)

Day 23-Facebook Picture (a Favorite)

I know I have said this before, but this time I really mean it: this was the hardest prompt for me to choose! This prompt asked for you to find a picture of a loved one that is your favorite from Facebook, and that was a hard task for me--as I have MANY favorite pictures from Facebook of my loved ones! I decided to narrow it down to Matt--which was not narrowing it down that much, considering he has hundreds upon hundreds of pictures on Facebook, mostly thanks to camera happy me. Although one may think it would be frustrating looking through all of the Facebook pictures of Matt to pick out a favorite, but it was fun for me. I am quite a nostalgic person, so looking through old pictures brings back floods of memories and its nice to remember "oh yeah that was fun when we first went to that restaurnt, etc.". It also teaches you to live in the moment, and not take anything for granted, because a special day, trip, occasion, etc. only lasts for a few hours, days, etc. so one should enjoy it and make the most out of it!

I decided to choose a picture of Matt on Pine Lake which is in Northern Wisconsin where my family is from, at my Aunt Anna's family's cottage. This picture was taken July 4th 2009 on our annual trip Up North, and Matt came up with us again for the second time. This was also a few days after I got my first DSLR camera, the Nikon D60, and I spent most of this vacation experimenting with my new camera and trying to figure it out. I remember I was taking pictures of Matt on the pier on Pine Lake during Sunset, and I was messing around with different settings, and I took a picture of Matt where he was silhoutted against the sunset, and I was in shock and was happy that I took a picture like that--and it gave me confidence to try new settings on my camera and try to be a better photographer each and every day--and that is still my mission.

Day 22-Portrait (Face)

Day 22-Portrait (Face)

Where has February gone? It feels like I just started the Joy of Love Project yesterday, and now I am almost done with it, and February ends tomorrow! Some months seem to go by faster than others, and this month was definitely it for me! Part of the reason it has gone by so fast for me is because I have had the Joy of Love Project, a few photo sessions, and a winter wedding that have been making my month busy for me! I am so happy that I have this opportunity!

For the prompt of Portrait (faces) I decided to ask my boyfriend Matt to be my model for the the picture, although part of me did not think he would comply! Sometimes he doesn't like me to take pictures of him too much, although dating me guarantees you will be in a lot of pictures, and Matt is a good sport! Matt agreed for me to have his picture taken without having to ask twice, so I did not want to pass up this opportunity!

Day 21-Hands

Day 21-Hands

The prompt for February 21st is "hands". I decided again to photograph Kava for this prompt. So instead of a hand its a paw instead for me! I just love Kava's little paws, and how resilient they are. They go through snow, rain, sand, etc. and it does not even faze her. If I were walk through the snow and ice with my bare feet I would be in pain and also be freezing! Kava's paws are also webbed in between her "toes" and the webbed part also is covered with hair. That is an evolutionary trait to help them go through the snow,and acts as snow shoes for them. Siberian Huskies were breed in Siberia, and still retain many of the traits that they had when they were bred in Siberia that they needed to survive the cold winters. This makes her already equipt to enjoy a snowy day, and Kava does not understand why it takes us so long to get ready for her walks in the winter, because we have to bundle up nice and warm while Kava has her built in snow suit

Day 20-When They Are Home

Day 20-When They Are Home

In my previous blog post on Day 19 "When They Are Gone" I mentioned that my Siberian Husky Kava is a pack animal who loves her family, and is happiest when they are all around her. For Kava that includes my boyfriend of over three years, Matt. Kava loves Matt as much (if not more!) as my parents and I, and she greets him like he is another "pack" member. The feeling is mutual, as Matt loves Kava, and I love seeing them interact together! Whenever Matt comes over to my house, Kava gets up and gives him her greeting howl and goes up to him so he can pet her. This following picture shows how happy Kava is that Matt is over.

Day 19-When They Are Gone

Day 19-When They Are Gone

Whether it is a job, school, work, or going out to the store or hanging out with friends your loved one(s) leave the house and return at a later time, whether it is a few hours or a few days for a business trip or vacation. Although it is nice to sometimes have time alone, your loved one is also missed when they are gone as well. For this prompt I decided to take a picture of my dog Kava on my parent's bed. During the day when my mom is at work, or if my dad is out doing errands, and if at least one of us are gone, Kava goes on their bed and just relaxes until we get home again. Kava does like her quiet time when she can just chill on the bed by herself, but she is very much a pack and family animal, and she loves it the best when we are home, so she lays on the bed and waits for her pack to return to her.

Day 18-Going Out

Day 18-Going Out

The prompt for Day 18 was going out. The picture could be taken anywhere but home, and taken by someone else as you and your loved one were out watching a movie, going to the beach, going out to eat, going to a party, etc. I decided to pick the picture of Matt and I taken at the San Diego Zoo in San Diego,California that was taken by my mom when we went there this past January for Matt's 21st Birthday and to see my mom and my family as well. This was Matt's first time going to San Diego, and my second, and it was an awesome vacation with good weather as well! I choose the picture of us at the San Diego Zoo because that is one of the memories that stands out from the trip, as we all had a good time going to the zoo and seeing all of the animals, including the Giant Pandas, and just having a good time with family!

Day 17-Staying In

Day 17-Staying In

This was yet another topic that I struggled for a while to come up with an idea for. Matt and I stay in a lot, as he has school and work, and also sometimes we just like to spend time together relaxing. I decided to take a picture of the Wii games that I own, because when we stay in for the night, we like to play the Wii, as it is an interactive video game that we both like, and some Wii games are the only games that I have a SLIGHT chance of beating my gamer boyfriend! There have been times that I have played his racing games on his Xbox, and he has to hold back his laughter as I run into literally everything in sight! At least with the Wii games I have a chance to stay in the game, especially Wii Sports Resort, where I have actually won a few games on several occasions! For someone who has not played video games a lot in her life against someone who has always loved video games that is a big accomplishment!!

Day 16-Together

Day 16-Together

I am still very very behind, and I don't know if I will catch up to get the picture done on the day the prompt is given, but I will complete the Joy of Love Project, as I am having a lot of fun with this! Day 16th's prompt was "Together", and I wanted to capture Matt and I with this day, since I had to be in the photo! This was the first day where the prompt asked to have the photographer in the picture as well, so this is my offical debut in the Joy of Love Project! I decided to take a picture of us holding hands, and since my camera is a bit heavy and hard to manipulate with one hand, I took the picture with my little Canon "point and shoot" camera, which was much easier, as it is very light! I love pictures of us holding hands, and when I photograph couples that is a picture that I always love to capture. I think that holding hands is a very simple yet rommantic picture that can really show how a couple feels about each other.

Day 15-Kiss

Day 15-Kiss

Wow have I gotten behind!! I have been very busy lately, so I have been behind yet again on my posts! Something new and exciting that has happened with my photography lately has been my new indoor photography equipment! It has been exciting and also tiring as well trying to figure it out! Last Wednesday I had the chance to watch my boyfriend and my niece Lauren who is five years old. We always love spending time with her, and she is a big part of our lives. I wanted to capture how much Lauren means to her uncle Matt, so I wanted the kiss theme to be with Matt and Lauren. Right before Lauren got ready for bed Matt gave her a kiss on the head and Lauren is hugging him--I thought this picture really captured how strong their bond is, and how much they both love each other!

Day 14-Jewelry

Day 14-Jewelry

Happy Valentine's Day! Today's theme for the Joy of Love project on Valentine's Day was jewelry. A suggested photo to be taken for this day was of your spouses wedding ring or band either with your own ring or band or alone. Since I am not married, I did not take this suggestion, however I did want to do a marriage theme jewelry picture of Valentine's Day! This was because of Valentine's Day, and because I took pictures for a wedding today! I decided to take a picture of the rings my mom wears for today's theme. She wears two rings, her wedding ring, and on her right hand she wears her mother-my grandmother's-wedding ring, and she has ever since she has passed away in 2002. Both of these rings mean a lot to my mother and to me as well. My mother's wedding ring she got from my father is also representative of his mother and my grandmother as well, as the main diamond from the ring was in my grandmother's wedding ring to my grandpa. I never got to meet my paternal grandparents, so looking at the ring makes me think about them, and although I have never met them, they are always with me.

My grandma's wedding ring (my mother's mother)

My mother's wedding ring

Day 13-Routines

Day 13-Routines

Routines are something that are a constant in life, although routines can and do change, they are a famililar thing to hold on to in a busy and ever changing world. Many people have routines, and my family is no exception to this rule! In fact, my family has several routines that define our day and are constant. Some of these include taking out Kava for her walks (morning, afternoon, and night), watching TV when coming home from school/work, exercising, etc.

The routine that I chose to photograph is a routine that my parents hold dear: the coffee routine. Both my mother and my father have their coffee in the morning to start there day off right. Mom and dad both use the same coffee mugs for their coffee, however my mother will sometimes bring her coffee in a thermos to bring to work with her. I decided to take a picture of the coffee maker and my dad's Green Bay Packer mug because he is the one that makes the coffee most of the time. Every day after the brewed coffee is done, dad will make the batch for the next day, and then brew it the following morning. This has been a routine that has been around since before I was born, and will continue throughout the years. Although I do not drink coffee myself, I know my life will always have those routines that keep the busy world in check.

Day 12-Eyes

Day 12-Eyes

First off, I have to say that I am so happy to be using the logo I won from a giveaway with Soshables, which is a company that makes logos, etc. for people and businesses!! I feel as if my blog is more personalized now!

Alright, now back to Day 12. Today's theme was "Eyes". When I think of eyes, I think of expression, thought, and of various emotions. I again decided to use Kava my Siberian Husky for this theme. I have always loved her unique eyes, as she has one parti eye (half blue and half brown), and one brown eye that is a beautiful shade of brown. Her eyes are also always full of expression. They tell us when she is hungry,tired, content,concentrating,wanting to go for her walk, etc. The most important thing that her eyes show us is love. When she is with all of us she

has this happy and content look in her eyes, and you can't help but smile!

Day 11- Dreams

Day 11-Dreams

I admit that I cheated a bit for Day eleven's theme! In thinking about the theme for this day, Dreams, only one picture came to mind. For my boyfriend's 21st Birthday this January we went to San Diego with my mom and visited with my mom and my family that lives out there, and to take Matt someplace warmer for his Birthday! One of the days we were there we visited a beach, and in the car lot Matt spotted his dream car, which is a Corvette. The car was parked by a rock, so I had Matt sit down by the rock and take a picture of him with his dream car in the background. Matt personally loves that picture, and even has it as his profile picture on Facebook! Hopefully one day Matt will have the car of his dreams!

Day 10- Spaces

Day 10-Spaces

When looking for a space for the Joy of Love project day ten, I looked no further than my Siberian Husky Kava. Kava has many spaces throughout our house that she finds rather comfortable, and where she enjoys spending her time. However, she has two in particular that she loves--her doggie bed in our living room, and her doggie bed in my parent's bedroom. On Day 10, she was laying in her doggie bed in the living room, and I felt it was the perfect opportunity for me. We got this particular doggie bed for her back in 2007, and when we first got it, she would not go in it! No matter how hard we tried to coax her to try out her new bed, she just would not go in it much. A year ago or so, after the bed had been collecting dust in our living room, she found a new found love in it--and now she curls up comfortably in it almost every night!

Day 9- Passions and Hobbies

Day 9-Passions and Hobbies

Yet again I am behind on the blogging!! I am still new to the blogging world, so it is taking me a while to get in the swing of things! Day nine's theme was "Passions and Hobbies". It took me a long time to find a topic for this one, and then it dawned on me: my mother's bell collection. For as long as I can remember, and most likely before I was born, my mother has been collecting bells from areas she has visited, or from gifts from areas other people have visited. I love my mother's bell tradition as each bell brings a memory and a story. For example, the bell that she got from the mission in San Diego in 2009 is where she was baptized, and she went back there for the first time in many years! She also has several bells that she won in running races in the 1980's before I was born. For my mother and for me, bells are not just a decorative piece for a house, or for a means to make noise, but links to our memories and our past.

Day 8- A Gift(s) From the Heart

Day 8- A Gift(s) From the Heart

The theme for the 8th day of Febuary is "A Gift(s) From the Heart". I wanted this theme to be about something Matt has given me that meant more than the price of it. I wanted this item to be something that represented how he feels for me, and the love we share. I decided on choosing a special item for this theme--my card and big stuffed teddy bear that he gave me for our one month anniversary on November 1st, 2007 (Wow I can't believe it has been over three years!!). Although we had only been dating a month at the time, Matt still took the time to get me a nice card and a gift to show how much I meant to him. That really meant a lot to me, and was exciting as well, as Matt is my first boyfriend. It shows that he had faith in our relationship although it was very young, and enjoyed spending time with me. As the months and years go on, I love him even more, and I am so happy that I am with a man who I can trust, love, and who treats me like a million dollars! Since then he has given me many gifts from the heart--but this was one of the first ones he gave me, and one I will cherish forever!

Day 7-Generations

Day 7-Generations

I have been a bit behind on my posting for the Joy of Love project! I have been busy the past few days, but I am trying my best to catch up now! Day 7's theme was generations. My original plan was to take some pictures of Matt and his family or of my mom and my grandfather, but I didn't get a chance to do that. So I decided on the next best thing. I took a picture of Matt holding a picture of his dad and him when he was a young boy. Matt says that they were probably on vacation when the picture was taken. I am a very sentimental person, so this was a fun theme for me! I also love history and family, so generations are very important to me!

Day 6-Who They Love

THE GREEN BAY PACKERS ARE SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS!

In honor of the Packers winning the big game today, I decided to make dedicate my dad and his love for the Packers in the Who They Love theme. My dad is the biggest Packer fan I know--he goes to games, follows them year round, and is a Packer fan through thick and thin! He was beyond thrilled when the Packers won tonight, and I am so glad that the game was so close to his Birthday as well!! I took a picture of the hat he bought when the Packers won the NFC Championship game against the Bears.

Day 5-What You Love to Hate

Day 5: What You Love to Hate

I love to hate my boyfriend Matt's video game playing! He loves most video games, and especially loves his new Xbox 360. Matt has always loved video games, and when he plays his games he gets in the "video game zone", and when I ask him a question he'll be half listening to questions. I could tell him something like are you hungry, and he'll look back at me and respond, "What?" I do love how happy the video games make him, and how it gives him a release from school and work, and he does do a good job of balancing his time with his family, friends, and I, video games, school, and work. Although there are games that I am not fond of, such as the Call of Duty games, there are some of his games that I do enjoy watching, and sometimes even play as well!

Day 4-What They Wear

After much thought, I finally came up with the perfect picture for today's prompt. I choose to take a picture of the necklaces that were made by my mom in memory of my boyfriend and my niece who passed away in December at the age of 16 months. The angels represent her, and how she is now our little angel in heaven. Mom saw the idea in a classroom at her school, and made them to be worn in honor of her. Many people who I love have worn these necklaces or have them in memory of her (including my boyfriend, our five year old niece, my mom,Matt's family), and they symbolize someone that I love very much. I wanted a way to integrate her into my Joy of Love project, since her life had such a strong impact on me, and her and her sister both have inspired my photography, and I doubt I would be where I am today if it was not for their impact on my life. Not only do they inspire my photography, but most importantly they have taught me about life and love, and those lessons are priceless.

Day 3: Then and Now

On to day three of the Joy of Love project! It is so much fun, and I am glad I am participating in it! It makes me go outside the box and look for the picture that fits the theme of the day. Today again I decided to make Kava the subject of my photography! Today's theme is then and now so I decided to use a picture that we took a few months after we got Kava, and I took a picture today of her.

Then:
This picture was taken in June of 2001, and I can not believe it has been almost ten years since we have adopted Kava! Kava has been such an important part of my life, and she has been through a lot with me! When we adopted Kava she was only 35 pounds, was recovering from a broken hipbone, and had a washed out color from probably being outside a lot. We gave her nourishment, and she flourished and has gotten even more beautiful with age!!

Now:
This is Kava today, almost 10 years later!I still remember the day we got her when I was only 11 years old! Where does the time go? She is even more beautiful today then she was when we got her! She is a happy and healthy dog, and she does not act her age! She is still loving her walks, being with her family, and just being a joy to our family!

The Joys of Love Days 1 & 2

I am catching up on my new blog, and posting my entries for the first two days of The Joys of Love Project. I am so happy that I entered this project, and look forward to see what photos I have when the month is over!


Day one: What They Do


My dad loves snowblowing after snowstorms, and during them, so as a blizzard was underway on Feb. 1st, I found it appropriate to capture my dad snowblowing. He was happy that I was taking pictures of him, and kept trying to pose for the camera and show off!

Day 2: How They Look

I love capturing my Siberian Husky girl Kava! She is a beautiful Siberian Husky, and she brings so much joy and love to our family! She doesn't always love posing for the camera, so getting a picture of her is not the easiest task! I love how she looks when she looks out the window, so I decided to capture that!

The Joy of Love Project

I am doing a project called the Joy of Love project by Willette Photography and More! I am new to blogging, so I will start off with the first three days tomorrow, however I have been keeping up to date on my facebook page!