My Alternate Reality

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

2012-04-13T17:45:00.001-07:00

One word…. YUM!!!! And I’m not usually that big of a fan of my own cooking, but wow are these delicious! I kinda merged a few recipes and played around with some ingredients trying to make these more toddler friendly… aka… less sugar! And while I couldn’t get rid of all the sugar, I think this recipe isn’t completely unhealthy! Besides, Charlie loves them…

You can make these with or without those muffin paper cups, if without then you just need to grease the muffin tin.

Ingredients:
1 ½ C flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp ginger
⅓ C butter
⅔ C sugar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla
1 C vanilla yogurt
1 C finely chopped strawberries, larger chunks for bigger kids

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground ginger.

With a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add egg, beating well. Beat in vanilla extract.

On a low speed, beat in the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Do not over mix. Stir in sliced strawberries.

Coat muffin tin with cooking spray or put in the paper cups. Fill each cup two-thirds full with batter.

Bake until the muffins are golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the pan around the oven throughout the cooking process to ensure even cooking. Also, the toothpick trick applies… insert toothpick, if it comes out clean their done!

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes 12 muffins

**Serving tip… perfect for breakfast or a snack, easy to chop up into smaller pieces too!

Messy Scale ~~~> 1, so clean! I’m sure these might leave some crumbs, but I didn’t see any!
(1 = clean baby! 10 = directly dump child into the bathtub after eating)

Treat Hunting

2012-04-09T14:05:00.001-07:00

What do you do after your toddler goes to bed for the night? Treat hunt!!

I feel like since Charlie came around we have kind of cut back on spoiling Mic… so we make up for it by playing games with him every night. Our favorite game, treat hunting! This game is perfect for nighttime because it using Mic’s doggie instincts to hunt, which means he’s to busy to bark! So its definitely not a hyper game. Also, it’s a great game to play after a long day of chasing a (just learned to run) toddler around.

During the day I collect whatever doggy safe table scraps I can and put them in one of Charlie’s baby tupperware bowls with a lid, keep it in the fridge. If we don’t have anything doggy safe, I keep hot dogs in the freezer at all times… so I’ll just boil one up and cut it into little pieces. I don’t like to use store bought treats for this game because you go through quite a lot of treats, so something inexpensive that you can cut up works best. And Mic loves hot dogs!!

This game is also great for training. Start out by picking a “place” for your dog. Mic’s is his doggy bed in the living room… this “place” is also great to use when people come over, your eating dinner, etc… Tell your dog “Mic, go to your place”! Once they are in their place, waiting patiently for your next command, start hiding the treats. Our set up is perfect because while Mic is in his place we hide treats in the other room, then while he’s treat hunting we finish hiding the treats in the living room! This way he never sees where we are hiding the treats. One tip… remember where you hide all the treats just in case your doggy misses one! Once your done hiding your treats, give your dog their release command… ours is “OK, treat hunt”!

After the first treat hunt he knew exactly what to do. Now when he hears the phrase treat hunt he starts hunting around! This game actually wears him out and its so much fun to sit back with my feet up and watch him hunt around the house. Everybody wins!

Collage

2012-03-28T13:44:00.002-07:00

I finally got around to processing Charlie’s last birthday photo… inspiration from Pinterest again!

And that means I can finally put together his birthday collage… I love gallery wrapped collages!! And when I do get my dream home, the walls will be covered… I can’t wait!

hmmmm, funny all of my collages are of Charlie…

Banana Smash

2012-03-25T14:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I went to the farmers market in hopes of finding some yummy inspiration to make some healthy meals for Charlie… and I ended up buying way to much fruit! But, that’s normal for me. So now I was determined to make some of those recipes I’ve been collecting on Pinterest! First up… Banana Smash! This idea was inspired by Weelicious, love love love this blog by the way! So many good tips & recipes, I’ll be using this blog often as I figure out this domesticated stay at home mom stuff.

These little banana bites are so delicious and easy to make, I think I’m going to keep them on our weekly breakfast menu! One whole banana fed my little monster 2 breakfasts (with a side of strawberries).

Ingredients:

1 banana
1 cup pancake batter
butter for the pan

Slice the banana into about 1/4 inch slices
One at a time, dip the bananas into the pancake batter… fully coating them (I even dripped a little batter on top when they were in the skillet)
Place into a heated, buttered skillet and cook on each side for about 30 seconds - 1 minute
Smash them down flat with a spatula… this helped cook the batter a little better
Cook until each side is golden brown
Eat!!

These were so amazing with the strawberries, that next time I make them I’m going to layer some into the mix! I’m excited to try some other fruits too… blueberries, apples, peaches… Yum!! I can see myself getting creative with these.

**Serving tip… perfect for breakfast, and you don’t need syrup! Definitely cut them up smaller for the kiddos… Also, these would make a great snack on the go, just pop them in a tupperware or baggie and go!

Messy Scale ~~~> 2, so clean! Just a little greasy on the hands from the butter… nothing a quick wipe won’t clean
(1 = clean baby! 10 = directly dump child into the bathtub after eating)

One day…

2012-03-23T10:36:00.001-07:00

One day I will be back! I love Alaska and can’t wait until I can share that amazing place with Charlie! It’s been almost 2 years since my sister and I went on our Alaskan adventure, and I’m still trying to finish up the photos I took! Life just seems to get busy sometimes… but good busy.

You can check out the whole set here, however I’m nowhere near finished!

Toddler’s Irish Smoothie

2012-03-17T21:34:00.001-07:00

An Irish smoothie for my little leprechaun!

This is a great way to sneak in some veggies… and trust me, you can’t even taste the spinach! I used to make these for myself before Charlie was around… they made a great protein shake, I just switched up some ingredients to make them toddler friendly.

Ingredients:

1 banana
1 handful of fresh baby spinach (washed)
1/2 container vanilla yogurt (about 2oz)
1/4 cup milk, or more depending on how thick you want it (more milk if it will go through a sippy cup)

Let your toddler take a bite of the banana, and then toss it all into the blender and process until blended!

Then watch your kiddo drink up all those good vitamins with a smile!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!

**Serving tip… these smoothies make a great snack, very portable in a spill-proof cup! They can also be a yummy quick breakfast.

Messy Scale ~~~> 1, unless you are beyond sippy cups or straws… then I have no idea yet!
(1 = clean baby! 10 = directly dump child into the bathtub after eating)

Playdates

2012-03-14T09:38:00.001-07:00

Who would have thought… me, going on playdates! But I’ll have to admit, they are a lot of fun! Not to mention a great way to get Charlie out of the house and socialized… and to get me socialized as well! It’s just to bad we are moving, I don’t think I’ll ever find such a great group of moms again!

Garlic Parsley Cauliflower

2012-03-13T17:38:00.001-07:00

Let me just say that this cauliflower is so easy to make, and so delicious… that I have eaten it almost everyday in the past week and am still not sick of it! So if your like me… 1st time mom, trying to eat healthier, no time to go to the grocery store, have to cook 3 separate dinners because of picky eaters, etc.… you will enjoy the quick lunch or easy dinner side dish that this post is about!

One thing you should know about my cooking is that I am trying to cook healthier… and that means low carb, high protein, and less dairy. I’m not a master chef, or a food photographer… I just thought I’d share my little recipe finds that I’ve come to really enjoy!

The other thing about my cooking is that I rarely follow a recipe, and I don’t measure. My posts about things that I make are usually based off of internet finds and things that fall out of my cupboard. So that being said, you probably won’t find any fancy ingredients that you have to google just to figure out which section of the grocery store to find them in! And if I do include measurements in a recipe.. that means I liked that meal so much that I want it to taste that way more than once! I like variety… so that doesn’t happen often.

ingredients:

cauliflower (however much you want to eat)
extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat cauliflower)
garlic salt (a few good shakes)
parsley (rip off about half a handful or so)
** ingredient note ** if you have garlic salt with parsley added, congrats… you just made your life one step easier!

step 1 ~ cut up cauliflower to whatever size you want, I like smaller chunks

step 2 ~ toss into a tupperware container and drizzle with the olive oil, shake it up!

step 3 ~ chop up parsley, add to tupperware container

step 4 ~ sprinkle garlic salt onto cauliflower mix

step 5 ~ shake it up!

step 6 ~ dump mix onto a cookie sheet, bake on 400 for about 20 minutes. flip halfway. This gives it a nice golden brown yumminess.

step 7 ~ eat!!

I’ve thought about adding parmesan cheese at the end, but chose to save the carb for something else. So see… told ya, sooooo easy, I could make this meal while holding a cranky baby that refuses to nap!! And its only about 4 carbs per cup!

Apple Spice Cake… no dairy/no egg

2012-03-12T16:15:00.001-07:00

Charlie’s first birthday was going to be perfect, so if we could avoid him getting sick that would be great! He’s a little intolerant to dairy and has never had eggs before, so I had to find a no dairy/no egg recipe for a smash cake!

I found a great recipe for a no dairy/no egg cake on Wholesome Baby Food, it’s a Apple Spice cake:

As with any "non traditional" cake, the batter for this cake will not seem "right" so don't panic!

1/2 cup molasses
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1-3/4 cup flour
1 tsp ginger

Mix the molasses and applesauce in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Bake in a nonstick 8 x 8-inch baking pan or one sprayed with a non-stick spray, in a 350° F for 30 to 45 minutes, or until it tests done.

**The batter may be a bit dry and you may need to add more applesauce or a bit of water. Try adding 1/4 cup of applesauce first then gradually add a bit of water by tablespoon**

For the icing, a baker friend of mine gave me this recipe:

1 package tofutti cream cheese
1/2 cup powder sugar
1 tsp vanilla

This cake was delicious!! A little dense, but the yummy smell alone made this cake worth it! I may just bake it to make the house smell like it again! And my cupboard is still smelling of cloves… love it!

I ended up cutting the cake down and layering it to make it into a baby sized cake, frosted it with my crazy bright blue and green and let Charlie go nuts!!

And no… I didn’t turn my baby blue on his 1st birthday. It washed out beautifully!

Monster Rock Cakes

2012-03-11T13:18:00.001-07:00

I had a few requests for the recipe for these yummy cakes so here it is! Monster Rock Cakes… aka, chocolate wafer cake… aka, old fashioned Nabisco’s Famous Chocolate Refrigerator Roll. I just switched it up to make them into mini cakes, with a lot of color!

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 package (9oz.) FAMOUS Chocolate Wafers
Wilton gel coloring (or any gel coloring)

Preparation:

STIR together cream, vanilla, and coloring. Keep adding coloring until you get the color you want, just remember the hue will be a little darker after beating the cream.

BEAT mixture with mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

SPREAD 1-1/2 tsp. whipped cream onto each wafer; stack

REFRIGERATE 4 hours.

I layered each mini cake 6 wafers high, spread the whipped cream onto each wafer and then frosted the outside with the opposite color. Placed on a cupcake wrapper and refrigerated until the party!

To get these colors I used a leaf green and royal blue. I wanted super bright colors so I used a lot of gel! Just make sure you don’t use regular food coloring with this cake… the reason you need gel (or powder coloring) is because a regular food coloring will flatten the whipping cream. Also, be sure you add the coloring before beating the mix.

my little monster turned 1

2012-03-09T21:38:00.001-08:00

Charlie turned one on 2/25/12, he’s a big boy now! I can’t believe how fast it went! I mean, people tell you how fast babies grow up… but wow is it fast!

Our little monster needed a very special party and I was determined to make it a perfect day for him. I decided on the monster theme because it fit his personality (and mine) and started my hunt across the internet for ideas! I really was so happy with how it all turned out, I was smiling for the next few days… I can’t wait until his next party!!

We served hot dogs and ribs grilled by Charlie’s daddy, Kevin… who insisted on grilling! Our snacks were Doritos, pretzels, fruit salad, and a big bowl of Cheerios for the kiddos…

I made personal monster cakes for all the party guests put them all out around Charlie’s birthday cake…

The individual monster cakes were just vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting which I decorated with different candies to create monsters!! One helpful little party guest (thank you Dylan!!) was more than excited to be my monster creating assistant…

The monsterish rock looking cakes were actually chocolate wafer cakes with very brightly colored frosting…

And then for the birthday boy’s cake He is a bit intolerant to dairy so I made him a special no dairy/no egg apple spice cake with vegan cream cheese frosting…

A few cake smash tips…

Don’t put the cake on a plate, babies love to tip and/or throw plates!! (nice save daddy)

Take lots of photos, and enjoy the simple “I love you sugar” look that your baby gets that very first time they taste cake…

Don’t be afraid to let them get messy!!! And a shower curtain on the ground makes for a nice big drop cloth, saving your floor

And the last cake smash tip… let them see what they’ve done!

After the party Charlie had fun playing with all of his new toys, one by one… he especially loved the packaging!

We had a great day, it wore everyone out…

even the Moops!

Happy 1st Birthday Charlie!!!

Low Carb Veggies

2012-03-05T14:58:00.001-08:00

I’ve decided to go on my low carb/high protein kick again! It just makes me feel so much better… more energy, healthier, and not to mention it’s great for losing weight! I’m not really going on a diet diet… it’s more like just trying to be healthier so I can keep up with my now walking (almost running) little boy. And I’ve just started this “kick in the booty” now. Right now. With lunch!

So what does one do when they decided on a whim to change their eating habits? Raid the freezer! And there I found the perfect lunch… a bag of frozen veggie mix. One cup of cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. Perfect! Add just a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and voila! Only 5 carbs!!

Now to start thinking about dinner….

Dirty Bananas

2012-03-02T13:48:00.002-08:00

Ever since Charlie tried his first banana… he was in love! His eyes light up every time he sees them! And then came Cheerios, ahhhhhh the wonderfully yummy Cheerios. So naturally I had to come up with a fun way of combining the two!

So I present you with… Dirty Bananas!!!

These are so simple to make, and have made finger foods much more easier on Charlie because now the bananas aren’t a slippery slimy mess. I’m sure mom’s have invented these a long time ago, but since my sleep deprived new mommy mind came up with these one morning as I was dumping out the powdery end of a box of Cheerios, I am staking claim to these particular “dirty bananas”! So there…

So here’s what you’ll need:

1 banana
2 handfuls of Cheerios
1 baggie
1 crushing tool (I use this medieval meat pounder because its just fun)

Start off by taking out your morning madness on the Cheerios. Dump the Cheerios into your baggie and crush them into oblivion if it’s a rough morning… or bang em up chunky if it’s a good day! Mine usually end up becoming powder, I tend to make breakfast before my coffee so nothing is “happy” quite yet.

Now for the bananas turn! Use your best judgment on how big to cut up the bananas… my little monkey is still eating bite sized foods so I quarter each slice. He eats a good amount, so I use the whole banana.

Now for the fun part! Dump all the bananas into the baggie with the Cheerios and Shake Shake Shake! Charlie loves this part, he thinks I’m dancing (ok, I usually am…) so he bounces along with me! I’ll also make sure the baggie is sealed up tight and he likes to help out too. Don’t worry about separating the bananas prior to putting them into the bag, they work themselves apart.

Dump the resulting mess out of the baggie, and voila!! Dirty Bananas!! Eat and enjoy!

**Serving tip… these pair up great with yogurt or avocado for breakfast.

Messy Scale ~~~> 6, a little wipe down is required
(1 = clean baby! 10 = directly dump child into the bathtub after eating)

40 Weeks

2012-03-01T13:25:00.002-08:00

My maternity project… One photo every week, it actually took 41 weeks!

You can see the complete project here. Hopefully soon I will find a good photo book printer where I can can complete this project by turning it into a book for Charlie!

Bringing my blog back to life…

2012-02-29T22:25:00.001-08:00

I’m back! Why? Maybe I just found a couple extra minutes in the day, maybe I felt the need to share my ramblings and ideas, or maybe I just got bored one night! The real reason is kind of a mystery for me… but I just thought I’d give it another go

This time around is going to be a little different though. My life has changed… A LOT! I now have a new love in my life, my son Charlie. I am a full time mommy now which means my priorities and way of doing… well, everything… has completely flipped. So this blog isn’t going to be photography based, or business based anymore. I’m hoping to share some new creations, revelations, and yes… photos!

So here it is… my blog, back from the dusty old shelves in my crazy head. I hope you enjoy!

oh… and I’m very happy to have you meet my little man, Charlie Wynter, who may just have the same crazy gene as myself… it’s yet to be determined!

1 Year!!

2009-10-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today, officially.... my shop has been open for 1 year!! And its been such a great, fun year!

I know I haven't posted in quite a while, but I just wanted to thank you all for supporting me and keeping me going. I've made so many good friends while also learning so much about photography and the business of photography in this past year that I hope I will, and have been giving some of what I've learned back to you. As well as making you all smile every once in a while :)

Thank you all so much!!!

FPOE Feature!

2009-09-10T14:44:00.001-07:00

I have been featured on FPOE as their member of the week! Please stop by and check it out, and feel free to comment!!

Feature ~ Byrheea

2009-08-26T12:01:00.001-07:00

This month I have the lovely pleasure of featuring an amazing, dreamy, whimsical, outrageously creative artist, Rheea. I found her story to be a source of inspiration and smiles :) but don’t take my word for it… please read for yourself!

And don’t forget to visit her 2 shops:

Byrheea

Dollgift

Also check out Byrheea’s blog! In conjunction with the launch of her Dollgift greeting card series She is having a giveaway! Each of her greeting cards comes with a matching bookmark and a cute envelope. What's so special about her cards? Well, all the cards open up to a full illustration! Each of them comes with a matching bookmark and a cute envelope. PLUS, you will also receive a print (first pic) AND a postcard for this giveaway.

Contest ends 9/13/09, see Byrheea’s blog to enter and for details
No shipping restrictions for this giveaway, everyone is welcome to participate.

And now without further ado, I am pleased to introduce you to Byrheea….

My name is Rheea. I live, work and dream on a tiny island call Singapore. When I was found doodling on the walls of my room at the age of three, I learned the hard way that walls at home are not the right place to display my creative flair. To encourage my interest in arts, my parents enrolled me for an art class which I thoroughly enjoyed for three years. I remembered being the one who always initiate to make little note cards or drawings for friends and family members on their birthdays. Some of them still keep my cards/drawings till this day!

Years later, after leaving school, I struggled to fit into the working society; finding jobs, quitting jobs, then back to finding jobs again. I eventually got tired of the whole job-hopping cycle and decide I couldn’t go on like this forever. That was when I began to probe deeper on what I would truly love to do and realized I would like to sell my own works! Now, one year later, I work full-time from home and plan my own schedule everyday. Of course it wasn’t easy being everything and everyone - designer, craftsman, salesman, shipping department, accounts payable/ receivable, marketing and advertising, you name it. BUT that would also mean, more work satisfaction. Without much capital, I can only start slow. I believe one of the most magnificent things in life is to be able to what you love and be beautifully paid for. I am working towards this goal. Ha.

Currently I have two labels, ‘Byrheea’ (By_Rheea) and ‘Dollgift’.

Byrheea is an expression of the more emotional and mysterious side of me. Some describe my drawings as whimsical, others call it contemplative. My drawings and paintings are inspired by great artists like Ray Caesar, Tamaxxx, Audrey Kawasaki, and many more.

Dollgift on the other hand reveals the childlike side of me. The ‘doll’ refers to the little girl, Nina, in my drawings. She is imaginative, unpredictable and full of dreams. Oh, be sure to look out for my beloved Dashund boy, Nono, in many of the drawings as well. Since music plays an important role in my life, it is one of the main themes in Dollgift.

Currently my works are for sale at several retail outlets in Singapore, namely Anthropology at The Scarlet Hotel boutique, Anthropology at Holland Village, The Coffee Nation, and Cat Socrates. They can also be purchased online through my Etsy shop. For consignment (in Singapore), wholesale or custom made enquiry, please contact me at info@mydollgift.com. To know more about me and my works, please visit my official websites www.byrheea.com and www.mydollgift.com.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone whom I know or may not know for being so supportive of my works. Each and every little encouragement means a lot to me. Also, I would like to thank, Kim, for putting these together. Thank you. :)

Vote for me!

2009-08-19T13:34:00.001-07:00

I’ve entered 2 images into the Southern California’s Faces & Places Photo Contest!! I would really appreciate some votes and maybe if you could help me out by spreading the word? :) thank you!! muah!!

Just click on the images below to vote, and copy the url’s to link to my image! You can only vote for 1 image, and only once per email (I know, but they don't spam!)

http://socalphotocontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=1007003266&search=278__283__288__293

http://socalphotocontest.com/bin/Rate?image_id=1007003267&search=278__283__288__293

Thank you!!!

Pear Project

2009-08-19T11:48:00.001-07:00

Over at FPOE we’ve started a fun little project to keep our inspiration up! We team up with one other person and are given a theme. Then we each have a week to submit an image with our take on that theme. We don’t see the others image until they’re both complete! Then the submissions are posted on the Pear Projects blog.

I gotta say… it’s pretty fun :)

Last week’s theme, pears…. (we were a little slow to start, lol)

KimberlyRose : AmeliaKay

Next week’s theme… tops/bottoms

Print Lab Review - WCI

2009-08-12T11:45:00.001-07:00

West Coast Imaging – Nothing changes a photo more than the paper it's printed on.

Professional quality prints, at a decent price! And if your a paper junkie like me… you’ll fall in love with this place!

My current favorite paper is the Hahnemühle Photo Rag, but I’ve also recently fallen for the Fuji Crystal Archive Pearl….

quick tip on these two papers…

the Hahnemühle prints a little darker, so be prepared for that. But the texture, thickness, and saturation of this paper are amazing! You must try it!

the Fuji Pearl while brilliant with color, not the best for all portraits. Also, do print your b&w’s on this paper, WOW… I mean really… WOW!

But don’t take my word for it, order your FREE paper samples here!

And if these two papers weren’t enough, they offer a total of 9 choices. And if you still are not satisfied, they will customize your order to print on any paper you want!

That’s another great thing about WCI… they’re amazing customer service. They want to help you, to create projects, to learn themselves! In fact I’ve personally worked with them to create a project I had in mind… just an experiment… and they were more than happy to work with me and bring the idea to life! Unfortunately, in the end the project didn’t work out, but WCI offered to credit back my account, with many apologies even though this wasn’t completely their fault with the project being an experiment.

West Coast Imaging has many different options for printing… the Print Lab, Print Lab Express, Scans, Exhibition Prints, and more!

So if you want a better quality print on fine art papers, you can’t go wrong with West Coast Imaging! I sound like I’m a sales rep for this place! But trust me, their great… their my super secret weapon for making my work really stand out!

Current Sale…. 20% off Super Gloss Prints! Order by August 17, 2009

The only downsides to this lab… the prices are a bit higher, but that’s expected with the finer papers. And the shipping does take a little longer, so best to plan ahead with orders. Also, the order form seems a bit dated compared to other print labs (except the express lab uses ROES). So read it carefully and make sure you understand all the cropping options, papers, etc… because you only get to hit submit once, then your order is in!

So, to review my print labs so far:

Mpix ~~~> quick orders, when only 1 or 2 prints needed
Miller's ~~~> bulk orders to fill up my portfolio, or press items (ex. greeting cards)
WCI ~~~> for your fine art prints

In Her Own Image

2009-08-05T11:48:00.001-07:00

In Her Own Image is finally available to the public!! I am honored to have one of my images included in this amazing, inspiring book full of extremely talented female artists.

The latest offering from the Female Self-Portrait Artists' Support Group includes the work of 87 members of the currently 1800+ strong group.

Where "She Took Her Own Picture" was an introduction to some of the members of the group with two-page spreads of their work, "In Her Own Image" brings more members to your attention and features their work in a more flowing style with a larger selection of images.

At 316 pages, "In Her Own Image" is certainly a weighty tome of beautiful imagery and a wonderful addition to your collection with more artists to meet and enjoy the work of.

We hope you enjoy it!

In Her Own Image <~~~ buy it on blurb!

**All proceeds from the sale of this book go to Madre**

In Her Own Image features work from the following artists:
Alisha Shevlin, Angel Lynne, Angela Gott, Angeline Stewart, Ashley Lebedev, Bazil Zerinsky, Bee Brady, Bethany Helzer, Bogna Kuczerawy, Brienne Griffin, Bronwen Hyde, Cheryl, Christina Ruvoldt, Christy Marie, Crystal Rose, Cynthia That-Cacopardo, Dana France, dani, Elise Hibbard, Elizabeth LaFreniere, Elizabeth Livermore, Elle Moss, Elsa Björg Magnúsdóttir, Emily Basch, Emily Sandifer, Emma Newson, Erika Pham, Eva Moreno López, Felicitas Klische, fernanda montoro, Gemma Gonzalez, Heather Evans Smith, Hélène Deroubaix, i.anton, Ilina S, Jennifer Evans, Jennifer Henriksen, Jill Evans, Joanne Cruickshank, Juliet Home, Juliette LaCour, Karin Elizabeth, Kate Armstrong, kate passaro, Kimberly Rose, Kiyo Murakami, Kristina Martino, Laura Acosta, Lauren Bentley, Lena Paloma, Lisa Noble, Lucy Nuzum, Lucy Wen-Shu Shih, Maggie Phelan, Margaret Tyson, María Elena Costa, Mariangela Totaro, Marico Fayre, Marie Killen, Maryam Siddiqi, MaryElise Tomczak, Maureen Fogarty, Megan Horsburgh, Melissa Gridley, Michelle McRae, Michelle Merle Pace, Miss Aniela, Monica Costa, Monica L. Shulman, ms.sparkles, Nathalie Griffiths, Özlem Haluk, Pamela Jesuitas, Qathi Gallaher Hart, Rachel Blumenthal, Rossina Bossio, Sarah Mercer, Sarah R. Bloom, Sarah Wright, Sevgi K, Sharon Cooper, Sharon T. Wheaton, SophieCharlotte, Susan Knight, Teffin, Teresa Horstmann, Wendy Anderson.

Giveaway Winner!

2009-08-01T21:13:00.001-07:00

Thank you all for entering this month’s contest and making it such a great turn out once again! I hope next month you will all come back for the next giveaway!

And now… onto the fun stuff!! The prize of this months giveaway is any unframed print, 8x10 or 8x12 format by pixelens photography, winners choice from his flickr page, or website!

Mic, once again did a great job at picking the winner…

Although this time we had a little issue with him trying to eat the winner…

zoomed in a bit………….. and the winner is……………….

Digital Misfit!!

Giveaway ~ pixelens photography

2009-07-24T12:17:00.001-07:00

This month I’m proud to feature an amazing photographer and friend that I had the pleasure of meeting through Flickr... Jason Bouwmeester of pixelens photography! I am constantly inspired and in awe of his work. In fact, he’s the one that helped get me into macro photography, as well as hdr, tilt shift, self portraits… I could go on! He’s always coming up with new projects and techniques that keep your mind in astonishment. His creativity and approach to photography is so unique, you can’t help but just want to learn from him… which is another insight about Jason… he is incredibly helpful by coming up with tutorials, and sharing his knowledge and finds. Also, he’s even been known to share his processes from taking a photo to post-processing.

So I invite you to learn a little more about Jason, and please remember to leave a comment under this post to be entered in his giveaway! Be sure to leave your email or other way to contact you if you win!

The Prize:

Any unframed print, 8x10 or 8x12 format from Jason’s site or his flickr stream

Giveaway Ends ~ 7/31/09 Winner will be announced 8/1/09

Short bio:
Photography. Where to start? I always remember having some sort of a camera or another. The first one I really remember was an old Kodak disc film based camera back in the day. Next up I remember making a pinhole camera out of cardboard in Jr. High School in shop class, was quite fun and I really enjoyed it. Had a Nikon film SLR for awhile, and then...

Then I moved on to digital point and shoots - Canon Powershot A20 and A70s. Being in computers, it made sense and the lure of digital photography was too much. Sometimes I think it was a mistake, I have some good shots composition wise, but through the ones I had, I never really used the cameras to the full capabilities - and I lost a lot of my knowledge I’d gained from using film.

Enter November 2007… my first digital SLR, the Canon Digital Rebel XTi (400D). I loved it. It opened up photography for me again in ways I couldn’t imagine and beyond…

I don’t really have a specific style… I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, I just like to try different things and experiment with my camera and Photoshop - see what I can do with the camera and with post-processing. That being said, I give my best effort to getting the composition, framing and lighting right in camera and most of my photos are post-processed for clarity and perhaps minor color and curves adjustments. However, certain photos I will post-process to the max with techniques like HDR (high dynamic range) Imaging and simulating cross-processing. I also like to expand my horizons by using techniques such as TtV (through the viewfinder) which requires using a newer camera and shooting through the viewfinder of an old camera like a Kodak Duaflex.

In December 2008 I upgraded to the new Canon 5D Mark II with a 24-105 f/4L lens. I must say, it's a huge leap up from the XTi. My current gear consists of the 24-105 f/4L, 50mm f/1.8, 75-300 f/4-56 USM, and recently the famed 70-200 f/2.8L.

I shoot weddings and engagement photos, and am branching out into sports photography with University/College sports and an MMA (mixed martial arts) fight booked for the fall. My dream? To be a concert photographer - I'd die to be able to shoot Trent Reznor as he performs live!

What inspires me?
I think what inspires me most is just my passion for photography. I love being able to capture the moment the way that I see it and share that moment in time with everyone else. That being said, I do enjoy the vast number of images and talent that can be found on Flickr and more often than not I find myself finding inspiration from some of the photography that I find there. As well, I always need to be learning new things and new techniques so I gather inspiration from branching out and experimenting with my photography.

Favorite subject to photograph?
Man, that's a tough one... I go through my phases of what I like to shoot and the style I like to shoot in. I've shot buildings, landscapes, textures, animals, people, done street photography... I've used TtV, HDR, (simulated) tilt-shift and most recently rented a fisheye lens. If pressed on the matter I'd have to say some of my favorite shooting sessions have been of bands or musicians as they perform - there's something about the energy and passion in the music that extends to you while you shoot and just makes it that much more enjoyable.

Story behind one of my favorite images?

That's a tough one as well - I have a few images that I could class as favorites. I suppose the one with the best story is the one I titled .attitude. Mike Schlosser and Curtis Santiago were performing at The Works Street Stage last summer (2008) and I managed to catch them on my lunch hour. I started snapping some shots and really got into it so switched over to my 50mm and walked right up to the stage. Mike noticed this and "posed" while I snapped off a few shots. I sent him this picture afterwards and he used it as his MySpace profile picture for awhile. One of the best feelings as a photographer is hearing how much people like a certain image, and it's even more satisfying when someone absolutely loves a shot you've taken of them.

Self-promotion?
LOL, that's a good one! I currently run most of my stuff through my website

which is linked to a SmugMug gallery where prints can be purchased. I have to get in gear and put up some more print items, but almost any picture that is on my site or my Flickr account can be purchased for a reasonable price. If you're a local band or are getting married drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you!

Wanted ~ Featured Artist!

2009-07-21T14:33:00.001-07:00

It’s time for another featured artist giveaway and I’m looking for an artist to feature!! Any volunteers? Just post that your interested in the comments, along with a way to contact you :)

I will contact the selected featured artist within the next couple of days to let you know the details!

And remember, you don’t have to be an etsy member, or an artfire member… You don’t even have to own a shop or be selling your work! To be a featured artist, you just have to be an artist, of any kind… wanting others to see your work, and to share a piece of it with a lucky winner :)

And who knows… we may just get Mic to wake up long enough to pick the winner again :)