Photo/Hair Fixin' Swap!

Awhile back, my friend Ashley got in touch with me and proposed a service swap.

I take their family pictures.....she will cut/color my hair {when I finally decide to cut it!}.

Um, yes please! That trade works for me!

However, I haven't really done any 'posed' photography before.  

{And taking Mitchell's pictures don't count.}

So...I did my best, and here is what you get.

The pictures were taken in their new back/front yards.  

We did lots of moving around and adjusting and twisting and more moving....because the sun was so bright.

I think I'll do better next year.  For some reason, I was nervous!

So Ashley!  Let's keep the service swap going.  I like it a LOT!

:)

At the Farm! Friday

Really?  Has it been 1 week since I last posted?  

Well, I guess that is what you get when I'm at Center Grove Orchard driving a tractor all weekend,

and working in the store/bakery during the week.  Oh yeah, on top of my regular job.  :)

Anyway, during my last trip to the farm, I took some pictures of my newest nephew.

Of course, I had a little fun with it.

He might as well get use to the farm now, because he'll be following dad and grandpa around the farm as soon as he can walk!  

:)

At the Farm! Friday

These pictures aren't from the farm.....

But you would likely see this on a farm!

This was on display at the

Iowa State Fair!

Yes, this is a lavender tractor.

You don't see that everyday!

:)

At the Farm! Friday

 

Love him!

 

I wonder if dad would let me tear this apart,
and then flatten the panel that says 'Pride of the Farm'.

 

 I wonder what I could take off the truck and repurpose.

 

I like this shot.  Just too bad it's north of the house, where no one can see it.

:)

At the Farm! Friday

Well, I'm finally back with some more pictures around the farm.

The past couple of Fridays I have missed due to being out of state, or just plain busy {and tired}.

I ended up playing with these pictures while at work, so used Picnik instead.  It's always a fun {and FREE!} site to try some crazy different  things on your pictures.  :)

But, here ya go!

 

 

This picture is a little mix using Posterize, that kind of gives it a cartoon-y feel.  :)

 

Now, this final picture is not from the farm.  I actually stole it from Kristin at Faded Prairie.  :)

She posted it on her Facebook page back in June, and it has since been the background on my crackberry Blackberry.

I.LOVE.IT!

So, I thought I'd share it with you.  :)

(I did add the website info on the picture myself.)

 

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Flower Power

Well, I apologize for the long break I have taken.....

To stop and smell the flowers.  :)

Soon, I'll get back with it. 

Everyone once in a while, a farmgirl needs a break, right?

Don't forget to give yourself a break!

:)

At the Farm! Friday

The last time I was back at the farm, my little nephew and I hopped on the 4-wheeler and tooled around the farm and fields a bit.  Of course, we had to check out the cattle.

While looking at the ladies, I decided to also take some pictures of the crops.

When traveling around the countryside, the fields at our farm don't look like many of the neighboring fields or what you typically think a field should look like. 

What usually comes to mind is seeing freshly turned, rich, black soil.  Well, in Iowa at least.  :)

However, at our family farm, that isn't the case anymore.  {Yes, it use to be though}

Now days, my dad and brother farm in a way that is called no-till and strip-till.

 What is this exactly?  Well, now it is time for your agriculture lesson...or Farming 100.  :)

No-till farming {according to Wikipedia} is a way of growing crops from year to year without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till is an agricultural technique which increases the amount of water and organic matter (nutrients) in the soil and decreases erosion. It increases the amount and variety of life in and on the soil but may require herbicide usage.

Reasons and benefits to no-till farming:

Save the expense of tilling.
Reduces both water and wind erosion.
Fewer passes through the fields.
Farmers don't need as big of tractors as they do when tilling.
There is less equipment needed.
Which results in less investment.
With fewer passes through the fields, that also results in less fuel being used in the fall and spring.
Less compaction of the ground due to reduced trips in the field.

 

My dad and brother {and yes, even myself} have not seen any negative affects to the yields coming from the fields.  In fact, one of the first years of harvesting commercial corn from a previously bean field that was no-till, I remember calling dad with a concern about the yield monitor.  The instant yield count was at 300 bushels, and stayed on that number for a long time.  Eventually, it did go down a bit and started fluctuating again.  Come to find out, after dad made a few phone calls, 300 bushels/acre was as high as the monitor could read.  {Which I believe has changed now days.}  But in the end, the yield counts are still high, even without the extra tillage.

Another benefit of no-till in bean fields, not as much spraying is needed.  Tilling a corn field after harvest will incorporate any remaining corn in the soil, allowing it to grow.  But with no-till, the seeds sit on top of the ground, and eventually rot.  So there is no need to spray the volunteer corn from the bean fields.

I have more to say on this subject, but I will save it for another day.....Farming 101. 


I hope you all have a fun and enjoyable 4th of July weekend!  It's going to be a HOT one here in Iowa.


I am NOT looking forward to that.  I am one of very few people I know that would much rather be cold than hot.  My theory....I can always add clothes if I'm cold.

At The Farm! Friday

Have you all had a great week?

Yesterday wrapped up 2 weeks of having high school students on campus for our Early Outreach Program.

The first week, there were about 45 juniors and seniors.

Second week, more in the range of 70 freshmen and sophomores.

Wow.  It was a busy, full, but fun 2 weeks!

So, I have decided to end the week with some photos from around the farm.

Or called....At The Farm! Friday.
{Updated...I hope to make At The Farm! Friday a weekly occurrence.  Therefore, the pictures might be from past visits to the farm.}  :) 

You can definitely tell that there have been grandkids on the farm. 

I don't think my dad and brother Adam play with water guns all that much anymore.  :)

A few fresh strawberries from the garden.

They are a little small this year, since mom had to relocate the strawberry bed.

Lastly, I decided to play along at the Kim Klassen Cafe, where she throws out photo challenges.
This week....people. 


I like people.  Especially 'little' people.  But even better with they are my niece or nephews!

The texture I used on this photo is 'Drop Cloth'.

I'm sorry sweet Carson, but I have to share this.  I just makes me smile and laugh when I see it.

He's just too cute!  :)

 

Well, what you can see of him that is.  :)

On schedule for this weekend......

-Kid wrangling 3 kids from Friday evening through late Wednesday night.

-Kid wrangling 4 kids from Friday evening through Saturday afternoon.

So yes, that means 7 kids at once.  :)  It's a good thing both sets of kids are fun to be around {in addition to well behaved}!

-Helping at the coffee bar at church before the 1st service.

-Being the lead in the infant room during the 2nd service.

It's going to be busy, but that seems to be normal for me.

Have a fabulous weekend!  And be sure to do something fun!

Shooting Fun

Well, shooting some photos at a wedding fun, that is.  :)

Three Saturdays ago, I got to back-up shoot at a wedding with my friend Mandy. 

It was quite an experience. 

I learned some about lighting {or lack there of inside our church auditorium}.  I learned to just take pictures as I see fit.  I learned that it is okay to keep with my own style.  I learned.....I have so much more to learn!  Especially about my camera and how to use it in different ways.

But, here are a few pictures that Mandy altered, once I handed over my pictures for her to play with. 

This last one, I altered and played with on my own. 
Yes, there are things I'd like to change in it, but I still like it.  :)

I had a fabulous time.  I enjoyed just being there and having fun with the camera.

One time before, I photographed a friend's wedding on my own.

But....in the end, I enjoyed just being there and try to catch some moments while other photographs were being taken.

Let me know when I can do this again Mandy!



Photo Tips Needed - Concert

Way back in January {actually MLK day, because I wasn't at work and was kid wrangling}, the country station that I listen to {92.5 KJJY} was having a contest to win Kenney Chesney concert tickets.  Monday started in the 5th row, Tuesday 4th, etc...  Well, Monday's contest was to either identify the song that was sped up, or something of the sort.  I decided to call in because I knew the answer.  So I called...busy.  Hung up.  Called again...busy.  Hung up.  Called again...busy.  By this time, I arrived back at the house with one of the kids I was wrangling, since the other 2 had to go to school.  I debated whether to call once more, or not.  But I did.  ANSWER!  I was a little caught off guard about that part.  I was caller 10!  The guy asked me if I knew the answer, I said something like 'I sure hope so!', and got all the needed info from me, and said to speak up loud and clear once I am on air. 

So, a few minutes later {after the current song finished and a few commercials} it was finally my time to shine!  They did comment on my name, since the last name is a little unique.  But then we get to the reason I was on the line, to name the song.

The name of that song....She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy! 

 And this girl is a winner for 5th row tickets to see Kenny Chesney!  Wahoo!!!

{The last time I saw Kenny in concert was during my first year at Iowa State, during the George Strait Country Music Festival.  It had numerous artists, before they hit it big!  Such as....Kenny Chesney, JoDee Messina, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, and George.  Now THAT was a concert!}

After waiting around for the phone call that my tickets were in {and wondering if the contest was a joke!}, I got the call I was waiting for.  But it was the Monday before I left for Seattle.  And I had to get to Des Moines.  That's at least 45 minutes away from where I live.  There was no getting there before I left.  So when I returned Tuesday morning {after my non-sleeping flights from the night before/morning of} I made my way to the radio station office to get my tickets.  The lady was a little surprised that the tickets were so great!  She too got excited at my 5th row seats.  So that was fun.

Anyway, I am taking my camera.  But would love some suggestions on how to take quality/decent photos.  This will be my first time using my camera in a concert setting. 

The camera is a Nikon D5000.  {Yes, I know I should know how to use this camera if I have it.  I am slowly learning.  I can't learn just by reading.  I need to read and actually attempt what I learn.}

Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.  So send them my way!

Just in case you are wondering, this girl will be wearing her cowgirl boots to work, because I MUST wear them to the concert.  :)

Street Photographer

Back when our office hosted a 'farewell' gathering for Jessica, a colleague from another TRiO program commented about the camera I was using.  A day or 2 later he stopped by our office and asked about the camera again {because I think it was sitting on my desk}.  I guess he thought it was our program's camera....but it's my own!   He then told me that he has the same one, and we chatted about it.  Somehow it came out that I pretty much carry it around with me everywhere.  But, that's not saying I take pictures all the time.  {It usually happens that when I really want pictures, I don't have it with me.}  I also mentioned that I wanted to take a class or something to better learn about my camera and all that I could make it do, since I really haven't a clue.  I'm just learning as I go. 

Today he sent me an email.  All it had was a link and 'Check this out.' 

And I did. 

Now it's time for you to check it out.

How inspiring! 

Now I really want to learn more about my camera. 

It reaffirms my enjoyment of photography. 

It confirmed to me that you don't have to be a 'professional' in order take amazing pictures.

It's okay to have your own eye for photography.

That's what makes you unique.  Who what's pictures that all look alike?

I'm not crazy for always having my camera with me.  I need to ignore the looks people might give me as I stop to take a picture of something random.  They are the crazy ones for not taking pictures.

As of now, I have no desire to try to be a professional photographer.

I most definitely enjoy taking pictures for me.  {And to share with others.} 

But, now I am on the hunt of how to better myself.  Whether it be a great class, a video, or even a book on photography. 

Until I find it, I'll just keep on having fun!