Our Relief Society Project

My friend, Rachel, asked me if I had some pictures of the temples that we could use for Relief Society. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ have been asked to have a picture of a Temple hanging in their homes. (There are three things you will find hanging on many Mormon's walls- A picture of Christ, as He is the center of our religion, a picture of a temple, and a copy of the "The Family: A Proclamation to the World."

I had already taken some of Oquirrh Mountain and St George, but I didn't have any that I was really happy with of the Mount Timpanogos Temple. So, the other morning, I left early to work so that I could stop and take some pictures in the morning light. Then a few days later, we went to dinner up in Salt Lake, and we decided to take a walk around the Salt Lake Temple, so I could get some night pictures.

Here are the ones we're using for Relief Society. The women get to pick what size frame their 8x10 print will go in, which temple picture they would like and if they want color, sepia or black and white.

I think I've already said this...

... I love sunsets in Utah. These sunsets are one of my favorite things about going on the boat after work. Each night the sky was so different, but each night it was absolutely stunning.

We make a good team...

I take the pictures and Scott photoshops them.

This is one of the things that I love about Scott. He never backs down from something that interests him- even if it's challenging- and then he makes it look easy.

He saw a picture like this of a guy doing a flip over the wake, and it described how to edit it in photoshop. So he challenged me to hold still and take several pictures of him jumping the wake. It took me several trips to really hold still. Even though I thought I was, I found out that I was naturally following him. This last time we went out, I did it. I held still. Of course the time I did it was also the time he took a header.

Hopefully we can do more of these pictures, without him crashing. He also mentioned that I need to slow down my continuous shooting mode to 5-6 frames per second instead of the 7 frames per second as seen in the image below.

Give me your best shot- September 17th

This week I've been playing around a bit in Photoshop. I've really got soooo much to learn. But here are 4 edits of my favorite shot of the week. Jade decided that it was time to start climbing trees. So this picture was taken while she was up in the tree. She was very proud of herself and very excited.

Give me your best shot 8/28

Since summer is coming to an end, I thought I'd share my favorite picture of Jade. I took this last weekend and love looking at her eyes that are filled with so much excitement.

Don't forget to check out the other fun end of summer photos by clicking on the link below.

I heart faces- Nostalgia

I think this picture brings back memories for many people who remember playing in the irrigation water as a child and watching their grandpas go to work sweeping the water across the lawn in his rubber boots. I love that Scott's grandpa still does this every other week- and he's in his 90's.

Check out the other memories at I Heart Faces.

The St George Temple

On the last day of our get away, we went to breakfast and then we wandered around the temple grounds. It was pretty funny because it just wasn't what we expected. We are so used to Temple Square, where there are a million flowers and photo spots. Brianna (who is an accomplished wedding photographer) said that she would hate to do a wedding there, because there just aren't any great picture spots. The temple, itself, is absolutely gorgeous. The grounds- not so much. Because it only took us 5 minutes to walk the whole temple grounds, I didn't get a lot of pictures of the kids or the families. If there were some pretty spots, I would have asked Bri to take some pictures of us. But, no luck. I did get some pictures of the temple and a couple of pictures of the three girls. Sometimes, you just have to be okay with what you get. PS- Jade didn't even come up with any places for me to take pictures, and she's usually pointing out angles.

I Heart Goofy Silly Faces...

Sometimes, it's just so darn hard to get a good picture of this handsome kid. Check out the other silly face entries... here

Give Me Your Best Shot- August 7

This past week, I was blessed with the opportunity to take pictures of a friend of mine and his family. 2 months ago, their darling daughter, Maryn- age 3 1/2, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain stem tumor. They started radiation and gave her 9-12 months to live.

When she started radiation, she couldn't track with her eyes (this was the reason they took her to the doctor) and her smile was lopsided. Today, she can track with her eyes and she has a beautiful full smile.

Over the past couple of months, her mom has feverishly looked for a miracle. She and Travis has researched and researched. Mostly, they are finding very few endings of the story, where the tumor goes away and the child survives. They did find a place, in Houston, that seems to have a possible cure. It is experimental and very expensive. They are currently raising money for it and are hopeful to go to Houston the first part of October. Her mom has also started her on a very strict raw foods diet. Maryn is adjusting to the menu, but isn't in love with it yet.

On Saturday, we went up to Red Butte Gardens and wandered around taking pictures. Maryn is a very sweet and shy child. She has 2 sisters that absolutely adore her, a step sister that is her best friend and and she has an adorable little half brother that looks like the "Golden Child" with his new haircut. The morning started out beautifully. Everyone was all smiles. When we got to the Koi pond we decided to take some individual portraits. I was using a gold reflector and someone mentioned to Maryn that she looked like an angel. I watched this sweet little girl go from smiles to a very sober face. When you are terminally ill, I don't think you want to look like an angel- just yet. She remained very melancholy the rest of the walk to the Children's Garden. There, she ran and played- trying hard to avoid the camera. We were able to get some very sweet "action" pictures of her and her family playing in that garden.

Here is possibly my favorite, or maybe one of my favorites from that morning...

Here are some websites to visit, to learn more or to help them reach their goal...

Maryn's mom's blog

Maryn's Hope Organization

Maryn's Hope Foundation

Below are some others that I really liked....

and here is the link to the album in facebook.

Be sure and check out the other "Best Shots" here.

Family Pictures

My dad has been going through some health challenges. He is doing much better now, but there are still some unknowns, but he is looking much better. Once he started looking healthier, we decided we'd better hurry and get some family pictures while Tom, Anne and the kids were in town. Uncle came over and took the ones of all of us, and all of the couples. I haven't seen Kat or Tom's images yet from the photo shoot, but we all had a lot of fun.

I Heart Faces- Beach Week 29

Here is my entry for this week's contest at http://www.iheartfaces.com/ The theme this week is "at the beach." Living in Utah, we don't get enough beach time. Something we will have to work on.

Check out the other entries!

I Heart Faces- Sports

Here is a picture of my daughter, during her first volleyball lesson. She and her cousin absolutely loved it. The other day, Jade told me that Aunt Kat and Uncle Tom cared about her more than I do. The reason? They taught her how to play volleyball. When I told her that I was really bad at volleyball and if I were to teach her, she'd learn all wrong. Her answer? "Well, you and I will just have to play, and I'll teach you."

I posted another picture, of Asher for Lolli's "Give me your best shot"

Be sure and check out other sporting pictures at "I heart faces"

I Heart Faces- Week 25 "Wedding Bells"

This week's theme on "I heart faces" is Wedding Bells. One day, I hope to have a lot of weddings under my photography belt. But, for now, I only have a few. I took this picture years ago, before I got my DSLR. I was not the paid photographer- I was there to enjoy the wedding of my cousin to his wonderful wife. Sometimes, you don't have to have the best camera to get fun pictures. (Although, it does help to make it a bit more artistic).

Be sure and check out the other entries over at www.Iheartfaces.com

Baby Z- lost in the shuffle

A couple of weeks ago, in preparation for Baby Zachary's blessing, Kat had me take some pictures of the two of them. We had such a good time and I have the sweetest little nephew. I posted about the shoot on the photo blog but forgot to direct you there. Here are some, but check out more on Kat's site (here, here and here too) and Two Sanfords.