Twelve Days of Christmas...

I am taking the Twelve Days of Christmas Photo Challenge and thought I'd share the pictures here. I have to take pictures of the twelve days of Christmas. Since it would be really hard to get a picture of a partridge in a pear tree, the instructors took artistic license with just a few things. So without further ado The Twelve Days of Christmas:

Day 1: Christmas Tree
Shutterspeed: 6.0s
Aperture: f8.0
ISO: 100
120mm
Filter: Snow Cross

Christmas trees are definitely a Christmas favorite of mine, so this was a fun image to create.And also my first time really using my filter. I really had to get creative with this one. Not having a tripod was a little difficult, but with a stool and two Christmas gifts for the right angle... viola!

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Day 2: Presents & Packages
Shutterspeed: 1/15s
Aperture: f3.5
ISO: 800
19mm

I was going to shoot the presents under our Christmas tree, but then decided that my niece, God's special gift, is better than all of the packages under our tree. It's a great reminder of the reason we celebrate Christmas.

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Day 3: Christmas Cookies
Shutterspeed: 1/20s
Aperture: f3.5
ISO: 800
19mm

These are the delicious cookies my sister made for a Mom's Meeting at our house tonight. I wasn't feeling creative and decided that I was not going to take the challenge, but my mom and sisters encouraged me to anyway. With their help I was able to have it uploaded at 11:57.

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Day 4: Wonder
Shutterspeed: 4.0s
Aperture: f8.0
ISO: 100
20mm

As my brother lies beneath the tree, one can only wonder what he is thinking.

This one was a fun one image to create. Both Benjamin and I were lying on the floor, except he wasn't battling branches with his hair. :) His difficulty was trying to keep still for 4 seconds.

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Day 5: Glittery & Gold
Shutterspeed: 1/200s
Aperture: f8.0
ISO: 200
200mm

Since the "Five Golden Rings" in the song represent the Pentateuch, I really wanted to incorporate it into the picture.

The picture frame represents Genesis: the framework of the Bible. The ribbon is Exodus: showing the journey of the Israelites. My ruby ring shows the purity God requires from us in Leviticus. Since there are two earrings, they represent Numbers. Deuteronomy is the heart: our love for God.

Although I never use a flash, I did use my speedlite to make the gold really shine.

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Day 6: Warm
Shutterspeed: 1.5s
Aperture: f6.7
ISO: 400
19mm

My niece was getting sleepy, so I thought it would be a perfect time for a picture by the wood stove (we heat our house with wood). In the morning, you can always see all of us warming up in front of the stove! It's a favorite place in our home.

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Day 7: Hot Chocolate
Photographer: Caitlin Savino
Shutterspeed: 1/15s
Aperture: f4.5
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 35mm

A cup of hot chocolate is much welcomed during the winter months here in our house!

I do have to confess that there is no hot chocolate in the cup. I just returned home and didn't have time to make some. My mom helped out and put a small cup under the whip cream in place of the hot chocolate!

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Day 8: Lights
Photographer: Caitlin Savino
Shutterspeed: 1/6s
Aperture: f4.5
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 80mm
Filter: Center Focus

I have decided that I love using filters! I used a center focus filter and love the way it played with the light.

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Day 9: Red
Photographer: Caitlin Savino
Shutterspeed: 1/200s
Aperture: f4.5
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 35mm

I stole a sprig of berries from our Christmas tree with a small bow of raffia and used the underside of wrapping paper for the background. Once again, I used my speedlite and love it!

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Day 10: Nativity Scene
Photographer: Caitlin Savino
Shutterspeed: 1/15s
Aperture: f4.5
ISO: 400
Focal Length: 27mm

I didn't want to miss today, so here is my photo.

This was my great-great-grandmother's nativity scene. Heads have fallen off and pieces chipped over the years, but we still have it out.

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Day 11: Music
Photographer: Caitlin Savino
Shutterspeed: 1/200s
Aperture: f5.6
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 35mm

Music. I love music, so I was expecting this one to be easy, but found it difficult to capture music without sound. It took me awhile to think of what I wanted to do, but I finally decided to use a few of our instruments.

If anyone is looking for a cheap background, I have discovered that the underside of wrapping paper works great, especially if you use a speedlite!

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Day 12: The Christmas Story
Shutter Speed: 1/200s
Aperture: f3.5
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 19mm

The manger reminds us of Christ’s coming and the cross His ascension. Throughout the Christmas season we celebrate Christ’s birthday, but let us not forget the reason He came. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son . . .” (John 3:16).

Merry Christmas!

~ Luka... again ~

I've been waiting to post the rest of the pictures of Luka because I didn't have my watermark on the wedding pictures and I wanted to post those first. But I have made up my mind and have come to the conclusion that I am going to post whatever, whenever. I always post in chronological order, but things are about to change! So without further explanations, here are some of the highlights from my time with Luka....

I must say, he has the cutest little nursery!

The little tag kept making its way from under his hat!

And for all of those who are wondering what it's like to shoot a baby, this is what the poor little guy had to go through...

~ Luka ~

Last week I photographed the cutest baby! His name is Luka. He is only two months old, yet he can sit fairly well against a chair. Nearly the entire time I photographed him he kept his eyes on my camera. His parents were amazing and let me try anything I wanted with Him. The result: fun times and great pictures!

I know you are waiting for the wedding pictures, but I can't resist, Luka is just too cute! Here is a picture from our time together.

Sneak Peek!

Here is a sneak peek of Julia and Matt's wedding today!

This is my favorite of the day! I have yet to edit the pictures, I just wanted to share this one!

~ Talitha and Todor ~

In May I had the honor of shooting an Orthodox wedding.
A Bulgarian groom + an American bride = a fun couple!

Shooting time: 24 minutes for the guys, 11 minutes for the girls, 15 minutes for the wedding party and family, and two 15 minute sessions for the bride and groom! If you don't know what that means, I'll tell you.... that is definitely NOT enough time for shooting!!! But I must say, it was a good exercise for instant creativity!





















The difference between boys and girls: this little guy had a hard time standing still...
(He was really cute by the way!)


While this little girl stood for nearly an hour without moving! (She has the cutest smile!)








They used Coke for their toasts!
This is one of my favorite pictures from the entire day!








This guy was an amazing dancer! I don't know how he kept this up!














We were out shooting when a guy handed Todor an American flag. He posed with it and then took off running!

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I have another wedding at the end of the month. It's going to be fun! There will be two receptions, one in the morning and the other at 7:00 PM. The bride is guessing that the first reception will be over around 2:30, so we have at least three hours to shoot whatever we want!