Oh how I love taking pictures. I found plenty of opportunities to play with my camera this past week. It’s time for show and tell…

Thursday afternoon I took my son to my city’s flower gardens. I got so many great photos, two of which I’ll share here.

Tip: If you want to get great pictures of your kids, take them someplace interesting that is outdoors on a bright, overcast day. Set your shutter speed a little faster than usual (I used 1/200 sec. for these). Let them loose and allow them to explore and play to their heart’s content (within reason). They will forget all about the camera in your hand and that is when you’ll catch the magic shots – the ones that truly capture their personality. Don’t even try to catch a toddler with anything slower than 1/80.  All you’ll see is a blur!

Micah loves to run around and he is constantly on the go all day long.  He is always on a mission. He is very persistent, curious and a little bit devious. I love every second of chasing him around when he is exploring new territory. He shows me things I have stopped or failed to notice. Nothing gets past him. Of course, my favorite moments are when he runs in my direction for a big hug. He always comes back to mama to check in before he runs off again.

Saturday morning, we visited the strawberry patch with Grandma, Aunt Kelly and Uncle Mark.  I haven’t been strawberry picking since I was in high school, I think. It has been so long. I am still enjoying the strawberries we picked that morning. They are so sweet and juicy, you don’t even need sugar to sweeten them up. I ate a bowl of them, sliced in halves, this afternoon with my lunch. They are like nothing you can buy in a store. Micah picked a strawberry – just one – then quickly squeezed it in his little fist. He’s better at carrying the basket.

Saturday night, I had the awesome blessing of photographing Char and her husband Josh to commemorate their first pregnancy. They are due with their first child, a boy, next month. I am so excited for her because I know how much she has looked forward to having a child. She waited for a long time for the right time. Now they are going to be parents soon, and I know they are going to do such a good job.

These are just a couple of the shots, of course. There are so many good ones, it’s hard to pick. I haven’t even finished going through all of them yet.  I love photo editing – I end up staying up late every night until I am done because I become so immersed in the project.  Every shot is a work of art to me – fine tuning the color, adding special effects and filters. It is almost as fun as taking the pictures, in my opinion! I am always looking for new styles to add interest and diversity to an album. I have redone some of my wedding photos countless times. Every time I learn a new trick, I like to try it out on some of my favorite pics from my wedding. I think I’m obsessed.

Well, it’s ridiculously late and I’m going to pay for it tomorrow. I’ll probably have to take a nap with the kiddo to catch up. Oh, the perks of staying home with your kids!