whole new world - Before & After

I have opened up a whole new world - Before & After.  

Wow, what possibilities!  What fun!  

I have done photo shop work to my photos in the past, but that was already long ago and it's come a long way since.

I have yet not discovered the LightRoom only because my Mac is an old version and was not able to support the software.  I've seen beautiful photography on Pintrest and works of so many talented and creative photographers out there, and I wished I had the the tool.  Well, it turned out that it wasn't very difficult (or very expensive) to upgrade my Mac.  I had the Mountain Lion (ver. 10.5.8) which I purchased in 2007.  First, that needed to be upgraded to the Snow Leopard (ver. 10.6.8).  That was done with a software disc purchased with a phone call and for $19.99.  Very simple.  Next, my old Mac had just 1GB of memory (RAM, they called it).  I needed to upgrade to 4GB which would allow more memory space for all of the pictures I am about to process and store.  Two 2GB of RAM chips were purchased for $100 and arrived by FedEx in just couple of days.  I was little intimidated with the instruction on installing the chips at first, but eventually found my way to googling "how to install RAM on mac" and there it was.  On YouTube, a guy's voice on a video and showing exactly how he is installing it.  I just had to follow it.  Wow, what a wonderful world we live in.  I am googling how to self install computer chips, how to fix a garbage disposal, and I confess, I have even googled second grader's homework.   

So here it is.  I played in the LightRoom this afternoon. 

getting ready for spring

I can't believe we are already half way into January.  What seemed like a warm December has turned into very cold and wet winter this month.  I am not sure if it is true but nonetheless it feels unusually colder this winter.  And while we can't wait for spring to arrive, I am preparing and planning.   I am pruning my trees, designing a garden to grow....  I am hopeful and spring looks promising.  I can't wait for colors, the light, the warmth...   Uh oh~ that will bring the joy of allergy season as well and the misery of sneezing and runny nose.  LOL ~  Life just isn't picture perfect.

We took a short walk to the park in the neighborhood.  We met these cute little kiddos playing there.  Aren't they just too cute?

This last picture makes me chuckle....Megan pulling Charlee all the way home.  

getting ready for spring

flower child

This is one of the photos from when my sister and I were out playing in the sunshine with our children. They were running through the grass, playing chase, collecting rocks and these cute clover flowers.  I only got one or two quick snap shots of the girls before one of them "had" to go really, really badly.  Oh, well.  That was that for the spontaneous photo op. This makes me think about the Valentine's Day photos.  Let's start talking about scheduling photo sessions starting this week.   

Valentine's Day is a great photo opportunity.  You can create a gift that will surely melt your hearts with love and put smile on your faces from ear-to-ear, like, forever.   

Free-spirited, strong-willed, happy-go-lucky niece of mine...  I just love her smile!

in the tide pool

This is one of my favorite beach and the winter months in December and January is the best time to go here when the tides are low.  It is so much fun to find little sea creatures in between the rocks in the tide pool.  Today we found a sea urchin, sea anemone, and lots of hermit crabs....  (The star fish and the conch shell was brought from our home that we have "bought" over the years at different beaches as a souvenir.)  

We got there just after lunch and stayed till the sunset.  I watched Megan play on the sand and explore the tide pool and captured so many beautiful images. Here are just a few.  

What a perfect way to spend the last day of the winter break!  (school starts on Monday, yay!)  Have a good weekend!  

sisters are BFFL

Sometimes they fight over the barbies and the which princess they will be that day.  Sometimes they will fight over borrowing each other's outfits and make-up.  What they don't know now is that sisters are best friends for life.

They will be each other's maid of honor at their weddings and they will be there in the delivery room when their children are born....  Through thick and thin, through good times and bad.... sisters will share secrets and worries, they will cry and pray for each other.  They will grow old together and will be forever friends.  I think I will call my little sister today and tell her how lucky I am to have a BFFL.  

playing in the sunshine

The afternoon sunshine felt so delicious on your skin and watching the children play made your heart feel all over fuzzy and warm.  I was happy and smiling watching them run through the grass and play on the sand.  And I am smiling now as I edit through these images captured today.  

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.  These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable."  -Joseph Addison

a new beginning

My love for photography started with the birth of my daughter 17 years ago.  Oh, she was so beautiful!  I couldn't take my eyes off of her.  I didn't want to miss a single moment.  I wanted to capture and hold on to the time that seemed to fly by.  Most of the days have gone so fast and my memories have faded away.  Thank goodness for the camera!  The digital age didn't come until my second child was born 10 years later.  The cost of the film and the processing adds to thousands and more.... but no amount of money can buy the moments captured in pictures.  I realized the photographs were my prized possession when we had a fire at the house few years back, the very first thing I grabbed (and went back in couple more times before the fire trucks arrived) were the photo albums and the scrap books. 

It is the memories you have shared together that keeps the families and friends, and at the end it is those memories of your loved ones that you take with you and that keeps you alive.
So make wonderful memories, take lots of pictures in your mind, in your heart...and take plenty on your camera just in case your memory fades (and with the digital cameras, we can click away to our hearts content).

I wish I was a writer...but I am not.  And you may already have guessed, English is not my first language.  I will make tons of grammatical errors, and I will stumble for the right words, but here I begin my new journey, I dream a dream.  I hope to grow and adventure as a person, as a woman, as a mother of two beautiful daughters....and as a photographer (and this is brand new - a blogger).  

So this is a new beginning.  I hope to create beautiful images of my personal and professional life.  Happy new year to you and wish you a new beginning as well!  

I went for a little "me" time to reflect and "detox" my soul as I watched the first sunset of the year.  (I would have preferred a sun rise to mark the beginning but, I'm in the west coast.)  As I stood there, the clouds and the light changed giving different colors and the moods to the sky and the water.

This land was the ocean floor at one point in time.  Now there are beautiful houses with an amazing view.