My life...just not on the road I expected (but it's still dang good).

Making the Shot, Issue Four: 100 Tips for Photographers

Hello all my long lost blogging friends!!

A few weeks ago, I sent out an email announcing the release of Making the Shot 4, Issue 4: 100 Tips for Photography.

As many of you know, I occasionally write advanced photography lessons called “Making the Shot” as an adjunct to the lessons taught in The Photographers’ Workshop. What you may not know though, is that I’ve been working on and off to complete the latest issue, called “100 Tips for Photographers” for more than six years.

And it’s finally done!!!

It's a compilation of tips and tricks I've learned, applied and refined over nearly two decades of being a photographer:

• Technical tips that help me nail the shot

• Inter-relational tips that help me connect with and encourage my subjects

• Creative tips to guide the flow and feel of candid moments, planned portraits and unexpected compositions

• Plus links, gifts and downloads for your enjoyment and photography

It's more than 100,000 words - the size of two novels - taking the kind of technical writing I shared in The Photographer's Workshop and pairing it with the kind of personal writing I shared on my blog.

 

As usual, this issue of Making the Shot will be offered as a PDF/audio ($55) or as a PDF/audio + 4 week workshop ($135).

By purchasing this lesson, you'll get a 244 page PDF with more than 300 images and 11+ hours of accompanying audio (again, $55 for the PDF/audio only). You can also add access to the four week workshop, where you can ask any and all questions, participate in assignments, receive and share peer evaluations, join weekly live broadcasts, download all of my original, unedited images shared for each tip, and connect with other like-minded photographers for an additional $80 ($135 total for the PDF/audio + 4 week workshop).

The workshop runs from September 4th through October 1st, 2018.

At this time, I do not have plans to teach this workshop a second time.

 

To purchase either, all you need to do is:

1. Go to the 'go shopping' section on my site: http://www.snapshotsofagoodlife.com/index.cgi?p=purchase

2. Add Making the Shot, Issue 4: 100 Tips for Photographers to your shopping cart (from the ‘options’ dropdown menu, select the PDF/audio or PDF/audio + 4 week workshop)

4. Check out through Paypal (you do NOT have to have a Paypal account – you can pay with a credit card via Paypal without having a Paypal account). Please do NOT close-out of the Paypal window until you have been redirected back to my site - this is very important as it has been causing problems with the registration process.

5. Check your email inbox for a confirmation email AND a welcome letter. If you do not receive both, please email me to let me know.

6. Get to reading, learning and enjoying!

7. If you like it, please spread the word about it (thankyousoverymuch).

Here’s a sneak peak for you…

 

 

 

And here are some reviews I've received so far:

Here's a few reviews I've received so far:

“I’m absolutely loving ‘100 tips for photographers!’ It’s an amazing mix of great photography advice, ideas and inspiration. Karen generously includes so much extra information and each of the 100 tips is on its own so valuable. Every time I read a tip, I’m inspired by Karen’s photos, I feel excited to try out her recommendations and ideas and I love hearing her caring voice and all love and wisdom that is also included. I’ve taken Karen’s “The Photographer’s Workshop’ and it taught me a lot about how to use my camera. The ‘100 tips for photographers” is like a beautiful icing on that cake. You’re already familiar with your camera - in fact, most tips can be used for any camera, including smart phone cameras. You get practical ideas on how to improve your photography, how to get subjects to cooperate and how to make a shot spec ial - all that Karen has discovered during her many years of experience. I’m really looking forward to the class in September. I feel so inspired just by reading the PDF (which, by the way, is so far from a boring photography fact book… this one you just want to browse over and over in a cozy corner of your couch). It will be so great to discuss these tips with other students in the class and see the photos everyone shoot. I highly recommend joining!” – Emilia

"My biggest observation - this is a fabulous guide, both to photography and to life. It’s the kind of thing your read, digest, think through, try some new tips, then realize you are thinking through again and again… and not just the tips about photography. You think you are soaking up photography tips when really you are learning things about life, the kinds of things that no one ever talks about and we have to stumble through life to find ourselves. That may be the greatest tip of all here." – Traci

“I had a chance to read through Karen Russell's latest issue of Making the Shot: 100 Tips for Photographers, and I can't tell you how excited I am to participate in her class in September. This document contains the most complete list of practical tips and examples that I have seen for getting the type of beautiful story-telling candid shots that we have seen on Karen's blog, http://www.karenrussell.typepad.com. There are tips on how to evaluate your locale to find the best vantage point, how to interact with your subjects to get the most flattering shot, how to manage the shooting time with your subjects and so much more. For me, the best parts of this issue of Making the Shot are the pictures. Each tip contains at least one photograph with an explanation of how Karen captured the moment. AND Karen is including all of her original RAW and edited files for these photos with the class!” - Susan

“I was blessed to complete the photographer's workshop back in 2014, and I am thrilled to get the chance to participate in the 100 tips MTS workshop. Despite us not having an actual face to face or personal relationship, you have an amazing way of drawing me in with the voice of a dear old friend. I feel as though I just got off a phone call with someone I've known all my life. I belly laughed out loud, teared up, and just had a wonderful time ‘catching up with you.’ Thank you so much for the work you put into making this fun and informative Making the Shot.” – Ashlee

“There are a few people in my life that hold a special place for me. When they speak, I listen. Karen is one of the few (perhaps the only?) person that I don't actually know that falls into this category. When I received the announcement for this class (in my junk folder, no less), I knew I wanted to be a part of it. My dear husband had to do some pushing because I just began homeschooling our Kindergartener and I start teaching Bible in a few weeks and, well, all of regular life and finding a place for the cost. But ultimately, when Karen speaks, I want to listen and this desire won out. I've started listening to the audio portion of the class on my early morning walks and am only about an hour in. But you will know and feel within the first few seconds how Karen cares for and commits to her students. The content is rich and thorough. The PDF is beautiful. I'm in the middle of tip 5 and am already aware of th ings I'm going to try and change and techniques I'm planning to implement. And she has already done a bit of snort-laughing at herself and used phrases like "increasingly pickle-ish." I'm immensely grateful that this class is available and that I've committed to being part of it.” - Erin

“I feel like an old friend is back! I have loved pouring over the PDF to see some old photos I remember from your blog that I read for so many years, and also some new updates - especially seeing the kids now and reading their thoughts on your photography journey! I am praising God that you are sharing your knowledge with us again and I am in awe of all your pics to this day! You are such a story teller!!! I have missed the blog, so getting to read this is just a huge blessing. Tare so many little tips that would add to the photographers creativity and take them out of a possible rut or guide someone who is new to photography to be creative. If someone has been shooting a while, they may be in a creative rut, and this will inspire them to try something new. The tips are little adjustments that will help us to think of shooting differently and really add creativity to our shots. - Colette

 

To say that the writing of this issue of Making the Shot has been a labor of love (and a whole, whole, WHOLE lotta labor) would be an understatement. I think that's precisely what makes so excited to finally be sharing it.

Much love to all of you.

Life Goes On...

I sent this out via email today to all of my past students, but thought I should post it here as well in the off-chance that someone might still be checking in here on this ghost town of a blog every now and then (hugs to you if are - I've missed you):

As many of you know, I quit blogging just a little over a year ago.

Our little, blended family of six took a pretty devastating hit a few months prior to that. And since what happened was not my story to share publically, I decided to walk away from my blog because it would have been impossible for me to continue writing it honestly and authentically. And as much as I love how writing has allowed me to create friendships and connections with so many wonderful women, I'd rather write nothing at all than to write something that wasn't honest or authentic.

I gave up photography for over a year as well because looking through that viewfinder was too painful and reminded me too much of everything we had lost. In fact, it wasn't until very recently that I could even bear to look at old photos.

I received so much encouragement from so many of you after stepping away from my blog. And even now, more than a year later, I still get little notes in my inbox periodically from someone who just wants me to know that my family is still in their thoughts and prayers.

That's been humbling and healing for me - thank you.

Many of you were concerned that something had happened to my marriage, so I'm happy to report that the faithful and wonderful husband you saw on my blog is still the same faithful and wonderful husband - in fact, over the last 18 months, I think I've been able to witness the depths of his faithfulness and his wonderfulness.

Unfortunately, what happened, happened to my kids and since many of you are mothers, you know how that kind of hit is the most devastating of all.

But as I'm writing this, one of my favorite quotes keeps jumping to the forefront of my mind:

"In three words I can sum up everything I know about life: it goes on."

I don't think I could have fully understood this quote 18 months ago. But you know what? It DOES go on. You think your world is over, but life goes on. You couldn't stop it if you tried. You laugh again when you thought it wasn't possible. You experience joy again even when you thought you never would. You find purpose again even when you thought you had none. And you find meaning again even when you thought you had lost it all. Life goes on.

It's so damned beautiful and profound.

Everyone in my family has been permanently changed as a result of what happened and will continue to be changed by it.

But isn't that kind of the point of life?

Every relationship changes us. Every choice changes us. Every circumstance changes us.

But change isn't a choice - it's a given.

What IS a choice though, is HOW we will be changed.

Will we choose to become bitter or better?

Will we choose to give up or rise up?

Will we choose fear or faithfulness?

Will we choose to become more cynical or more vulnerable?

Will we choose to resist and avoid the inevitability of change or accept it and seize it?

Will we choose to set our focus, our words, and our beliefs on all that is painful, or will we set them on all that is possible?

Will we choose to tear down our homes with our own hands, or will we decide to strengthen, fortify, and build them back up?

I have learned the hard way that I can't choose those things for Josh, or for Ross, Cole, Courtney Lee, or Miss Annie. Those are their choices to make. I can only choose for myself, knowing that what I choose will impact and influence them greatly.

And if I'm being honest with myself, I have chosen all those things, multiple times over the last year and a half. And as a result, I have seen how my own bitterness spreads seeds of resentment through the lives of everyone I love. I have seen how my avoidance of pain promotes the very same tendency in every member of my family. And I have seen how my desire to give up spreads like a contagion. But I have also seen how my own vulnerability has given everyone else permission to be vulnerable too. I have seen how accepting and seizing change in my own life has made those same things feel promising and possible to the people I love. And I have seen firsthand that as soon as I pick up my tools and begin rebuilding, that everyone in my life takes notice, gathers their own tools, and begins working alongside me to create something even stronger - and somehow, more beautiful than anything I could have imagined.

But I have to choose.

Not one choice and not one time.

I have to choose over and over and over again - when it's hard to choose, when it's easy to choose, and especially when I feel like letting my circumstances choose for me.

And when I'm not willing to do it for myself, I will do it because of them...

I'm sorry it took me so long to send this email.

That was just me, choosing avoidance instead of acceptance.

That was just me, choosing fear over faithfulness.

That was just me, choosing to focus on all that is painful instead of all that is possible.

But I woke up this morning and decided to choose something better.

 

I know a lot of you have questions about the direction of my business, and while I still don't have all those answers, I'll share with you what I do foresee happening:

- A Year in the Making. This is a one year workshop and I am currently leading it for a second time. This workshop focuses on four main areas: Owning Less & Living More, Health & Wellness, Personal Growth, and Photo Taking. My current workshop wraps up in September, and right now, I haven't made any decisions about whether or not to teach a third round.

- Making the Shot. In the past, I have written advanced photography lessons and made them available at a discounted price to past students, and at full price to non-students. Past topics have included: shooting portraits, low-light shooting, and that big, huge, lesson I wrote about focus - all of which can be found in the shopping section on my site (log in using your email address and password to get the discounted price). I am currently working on Making the Shot 4: Tips from the Toolbox, which is 100 of the most helpful tips and tools I believe any photographer - but particularly photographers who want to become more successful at photographing their own families - needs to understand and implement. My hope (please cross your fingers with me) is to release this issue by the beginning of June. Additionally, though, I wrote a lengthy tutorial last year for A Year in the Making students who wanted to learn how I edit in Adobe Lightroom and supplied those students with the Lightroom presets I created and have been using on 100% of my images for years now, and my goal is to release this tutorial and my presets as Making the Shot 5: Editing, Snapshots of a Good Life Style ALONG WITH a 6 week online editing workshop towards the end of September. It will be a lot of work to meet those deadlines, but I'm feeling excited and up to the challenge!

- The Photographers' Workshop. Gosh, I miss this. During A Year in the Making, I've been rewriting all of the lessons (aperture, shutter speed, ISO, exposure, etcetera) from The Photographers' Workshop. And if at some point in time, there are enough students to fill another round of The Photographers' Workshop, then I will most definitely teach it again, using these new lessons. My concern of course, is that without a blog, I have no way of marketing this class (or anything I write or teach for that matter) and therefore, I'm just not sure I could fill a class. That said, I don't think I've ever been in charge of filling a class - I think God has always been in charge of that, and therefore, if He wants me to teach another round of The Photographers' Workshop, I feel confident that He will fill the seats.

- Photography consultations. I am still offering 1-hour photography consultations. In fact, they are one of my favorite things to do. Historically, I have done these one-on-one via Skye and have critiqued 10-12 photos, covering everything from camera settings, to composition, to lighting. More recently though, I have been doing these consultations for both individuals and for groups via Zoom, which allows me to invite multiple people and to record the session for future viewing - still evaluating 10-12 images in a 1 hour consult. To purchase a consult, just log in on my site using your email address and password, select 'go shopping,' and then add a consult to your shopping cart before checking out. If you purchase a consultation or have purchased one in the past that you haven't used yet, just email me to set up a date (I'll look forward to it)!

- My blog. My blog was always about raising my kids the best way I knew how and documenting it the best way I knew how as well - and then using those words and those photos as a stepping stone to connect with women who were doing the same thing. And for 10 years, I was blessed enough to do just that. But as with many things in life, there is a season for everything, and now I'm in a new season. A season where Josh will likely leave his civilian job as an engineer and join the Air Force full-time (he's been in the Guard for 18 years now), where we will sell this old house that was once our dream house and much of what we own, and will move around a bit to see what this big world has in store for us. And while I believe that writing and photography will play a small role in this new season of our lives, I don't think it will ever play the same role it once did - I just don't see how it could. I have no clue what I'll do career-wise in the future, but every time I think about it, I feel confident that it involves working with women - maybe not in the large group settings I've grown accustomed to over the last 10 years - perhaps small groups or even one-on-one interactions. But I can't imagine living any season of my life without witnessing what happens when good women build up other good women - so I know I will always set my sights on something that allows me to be a part of that kind of goodness.

But alas, this is getting long so I will wrap it up.

I'd love to come up with some final, closing words that sound really poetic and wonderful, but I can't think of anything more valuable or honest than to simply and sincerely thank each and every one of you for playing a role in this story that is my life, for investing in these dreams that wouldn't have been possible without you, and for teaching me what it looks like when good women build up other good women.

I am forever grateful.

10 Years of Love & Thanks

I have been dreading this post.

10 years of blogging, 6,730,925 lifetime page views, 1864 posts, and 55,968 comments.

Those numbers don't mean anything to me though.

10 years spent writing, 10 years spent sharing what is dearest to me in photos, 10 years of growth, 10 years of change, 10 years of memories, 10 years worth of friendship and encouragement gifted to me by all of you.

Those are the numbers that matter to me.

My family is going through something that is really painful and humbling right now.

If you and I were ever to sit down over coffee (or better yet, a stiff drink), I'd tell you about all of it. I wouldn't hold back anything. I'd tell you about the day everything changed and how I sat in the passenger seat of a dear friend's car, with the window rolled down because I needed air, how sweet her prayer and comfort was, and how I just sat there for an hour and a half without speaking a word before she took me home. I'd tell you how broken my husband looked waiting by the front door for me, and how we sat on the floor of our bathroom together for hours that evening with very few words and what felt like endless tears, wondering how our family could recover. I'd tell you about how it felt to keep drifting off to sleep that first night (and many nights since) only to be stirred awake time and time again by the weight of our new reality. I'd tell you about Ross driving home from Seattle the next day to help us wade through all of the pain and decisions. I'd tell you about a five hour hike Josh and I went on in the snow just because we couldn't bear to be in our own home and how I fell asleep with his arm around me while sitting on a rock on top of the mountain. I'd tell you about the time I spent in the car with Ross driving through the long and windy roads of the Applegate Valley for no other reason than to talk. I'd tell you about the phone call I got telling me that a sweet friend of mind had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and how all I could do was run (literally) to try to find a brief escape from what felt like pain heaping up on top of pain. I'd tell you all the ways in which my husband has amazed me. I'd tell you about how it has felt to watch my kids wade through the depths of this. I'd tell you about how hard it felt to face people I love. I'd tell you about fear. I'd tell you about painful conversations. I'd tell you about the hurt and confusion my kids are feeling. I'd tell you about the first time I caught myself laughing after everything changed and how it made me feel simultaneously guilty and hopeful. I'd tell you about how it felt to write the details of what happened in an email to all 64 of the women in the current workshop I'm teaching (A Year in the Making) and how much they blessed me with support, encouragement, and love. I'd tell you about how I couldn't bring myself to take a single photo during the holidays. I'd tell you what it feels like to experience the judgment of others. I'd tell you about all the individual worries I've felt for each of my kids. I'd tell you about some hard decisions we had to make. I'd tell you about how much I have longed for God's perfect justice to be exercised rather than the faulty justice of humans, which could prove to be too harsh or too lenient. I'd tell you how many times I sat across from my husband, watching him try to hide his tears. I'd tell you about how exposed and vulnerable I felt. I'd tell you about how I refused to talk to God for three days. And I'd tell you about all the people who poured into my life when I had nothing to give them back in return.

I'd tell you the verse I posted (Isaiah 43:18-21) on my bathroom mirror just days before everything changed without knowing how God was trying to prepare my heart for what was to come:

Do not call upon the former things or ponder things of the past.

Behold, I will do something new.

Now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it?

I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.

I'd tell you about the night I sat in my car for two hours, reading a book that had been sent to me by a friend (a student who was chosen to receive a free spot in the current workshop I'm teaching), called Shattered Dreams, God's Unexpected Pathway to Joy by Larry Crab and feeling real hope for the first time since everything changed. And how when I emailed her to tell her how much I appreciated the book, she helped me to see how for eight years (possibly longer), God had been making plans to comfort me and provide me with hope during this time. She said:

"I am aware that there is a reality that my friend, Penny, told me about you in 2007, so that I could tell my friend, Rachel, about you, so that she could take your photography workshop and become your friend, so that she would nominate me to be gifted with a spot in A Year in the Making, so that you would prayerfully choose me, so that during this important moment of shattered dreams in your heart and family, that God would invite me to send you this book. He. is. that. big."

I'd tell you about how I'm learning that if I want deep, unshakable joy in my life, that my hope has got to be built on nothing other than the Lord. My husband is the best man I know, but my hope cannot be built on him because he could leave me, he could get cancer, or he could let me down in 100 lesser ways. My kids are wonderful, but my hope cannot be built on them because there's no guarantee about how they'll turn out, there's no guarantee that they won't become estranged from me one day, and there's no guarantee that they won't break my heart 100 different times. My hope cannot be built on my friends because sometimes, friends are only for a season. My hope can't be built on my career, because I'm on my third career right now, and not one of them has lasted. My hope cannot be built on my health because I'm destined to die one day, just like everyone else. My hope cannot be built on my retirement plan because plans are not promises. And my hope cannot be built on my appearance (good thing I've never been pretty enough to base any sort of hope on what I look like) because the wrinkles and the grey hair, they are a'comin. Jesus is the only thing in this ever-changing world that is unchangeable, and because of that, He is the only safe place to build our identities, our homes, and our hopes.

I'd tell you how I'm beginning to see that I don't need certain outcomes, or a life that looks a certain way, because I've got a certain God.

I'd tell you about how many times I've cried recently, listening to the simple words of this song.

I'd also tell you how confident I am that five years from now (perhaps sooner) I will be able to look back on this painful season of my family's life, and I will be able to see all of the fruit that came from it and will be able to use it to help, comfort, and love people better because of it.

I just know it.

But here on this blog, I can't tell the full story because it's not my story to share. 

And (for the time being at least) everything just feels too raw and too broken for me to continue blogging.

I could choose to feel really sad about saying goodbye to this blog (because it does feel really sad to me), and I could choose to feel resentful about the circumstances that have brought me to this point (because they are really crappy circumstances), but I'm not going to. The 10 years I spent on this blog and the friends I've made along the way have been beautiful, so with the wise words of Dr. Suess in mind, I'm not going to cry because it's over, I'm going to smile because it happened.

I'll plan to hop on one more time in the coming weeks to let you all know what I'll be doing business-wise (with The Photographers' Workshop, Making the Shot, future tutorials, and A Year in the Making).

And know that if I could somehow bottle up 10 years worth of love and thanks to send to each one of you, I would.

But if you ever find yourself driving on Interstate-5, past Central Point, Oregon, feel free to hit me up for that drink.

Halloween 2015 (Part II)

I posted the winners from the Do it for Don RAK in the post below this one!!!

...............................................................................................................................

The rest of our Halloween looked something like this...

We go to this house every single year and no one ever answers the door (last year they answered and said they didn't celebrate Halloween). 

But we spotted a pumpkin outside their front door, so we figured we'd give it (yet) another try.

And not only did they answer the door (with candy), but they were both dressed up.

And they agreed to having their photo taken with us (victory)!

So thankful for a nine year old in the house (which means I've still got a few more years of trick-or-treating in my future).

Winners...

23 of you went out there and Did it for Don, and I think all 23 of you should win an auditing seat in The Photographers' Workshop. So if you are one of the (wonderful) 23 who did a random act of kindness and left a comment about it in the previous post, please email me at [email protected] and we'll get you all set up!

Do it for Don

I've got a friend named Kellie in the year-long workshop I'm currently teaching, and her dad (Don) passed away last year.

Kelly wrote this about him the other day in our class forum...

"Dad was president of the Easley chapter of Kiwanis in the 80's and during that time he started a golf tournament to raise money for families in need at Christmas (he LOVED Christmas) and ran it for over 20 years until he retired. Every year the families participating would receive $100 per child to shop at our local Walmart. Walmart waived the tax on their purchases these days. One of the times we were shopping, one of the ladies Dad was assigned to didn't have on a coat. He asked her where her coat was and she explained that her sister had died and she had her three children as well as four of her own and one of the older kids didn't have a coat so she had given the girl her coat. My dad said ok go pick out a new coat for everyone...she paused and said she'd hate to spend a chunk of their money on a coat because they needed other things. Dad said, "Oh no, the coats are on me, they won't come out of your money."

Another time he was out of town at a car auction (he was in the Toyota business) and stopped at a gas station. A man in a van told him that he felt God was urging him to leave where he lived and start a new life...he had been addicted to drugs and needed to start over in a new environment. The man had planned his journey, but only had enough money for gas. He asked my Dad for a few dollars to buy a drink and some snacks and my dad gave him some. He told me after he got back on the highway he couldn't get that man out of his head so he turned around and went back. True to his word, the man was sitting in his van eating a pack of crackers that he had just purchased. Dad went up to him and said, "For some reason I believe your story and I'm going to give you all the cash I have" which was about $1500-$2000. We always fussed at him carrying so much cash because we just knew he was going to get hit in the head one day!

In 2002 he sent John (my husband) back to school to finish his degree. He said John was too smart to not be doing something to use the gift God had given him. He not only paid for school, he paid for us to live for those two years. He graduated with his Chemical Engineering degree in 2004.

I could tell a ton of stories and have you reading all day, but he wouldn't like that...he didn't do things like that to get credit. On occasion some things he gave he only gave under the premise that he would be anonymous. I think you can get the gist of the kind of man he was and why it is important to me to keep his kindness and love for giving alive."

Don would have been 74 years old today, so in honor of that, I'm going to add those two digits together (7+4=11) and give away 11 auditing seats in a past Photographers' Workshop.

As many of you know, I am taking a year off from teaching The Photographers' Workshop in order to work with a group of 60 past students, so these auditing seats I'm giving away will be for a workshop I already taught. Winners will have access to all 45 lessons, 9 assignments, 12 hours of audio, all of the evaluations and critiques I wrote for students, and all of the questions I answered in the forum during that particular workshop. So while this is a past workshop, which has already ended, it's a great opportunity to learn everything The Photographers' Workshop has to offer.

To enter (on behalf of yourself or someone else), all you have to do is perform a Random Act of Kindness sometime in the next week in memory of Don, and share it here in the comments section.

You could buy hats and mittens from the dollar store and hand them out to homeless people, you could ask a local church if they have any elderly people who need the leaves raked from their lawn, you could pay for someone's dinner at a restaurant, you could drop off gift certificates for haircuts and clothing to a women's shelter, you could contact a single mom you know and offer to babysit her kids so she can have a night to herself, etc. You could do anything that would honor the person you're doing it for, and honor Don's memory in the process.

I'll randomly draw 11 winners from the comments section next Thursday (so be sure to leave your email address so I'll know how to contact you if you're one of the winners)!

Let's do it for Don!

Hallowen 2015 (Part I)

Halloween of 2015 looked a little like this...

Much like Halloween of 2014, Annie wanted to be a pink superhero.

Actually, she wanted to dress up in a $75 pirate costume she spied in a mail order magazine (but mama don't pay $75 for Halloween costumes).

We always trick-or-treat in the same place (a neighborhood, much nicer than ours).

 Josh spotted it a few years back and said, "Just wait until you see where I'm taking you trick-or-treating this year!"

And we've gone back there every year since.

We always start off at this little park.

Where everyone loads up with acorns (getting pegged by flying acorns has become part of our Halloween tradition).

In fact, you can see Courtney Lee's stash in her back pockets.

And then I always take a couple of group shots before heading out to the first house.

These two wrestled and goofed off the entire time (as usual).

Miss Yans was nervous about going up to doors by herself (something she's never done before).

But after hitting just a few houses, she changed her tune (because she realized she got more candy when she was the only one standing at the door).

That was an acorn shot to the head.

More on the way.

A Happy Halloween

If I'm just being honest, I wasn't all that excited about Halloween this year because:

1. I had been so swamped putting the finishing touches on a 32-page lesson for the ladies in my A Year in the Making workshop (Hello my lovely, AYITM friends!!!) that I really hadn't even given Halloween much thought.

2. Courtney Lee decided she's too old to dress up. And since Cole had decided the same thing the year prior, I'm officially down to my very last Trick-or-Treater.

3. My pumpkin patch shots turned out lousy, and I've been questioning my skills as a photographer.

4. Both of the teenagers in our house were resisting going with us to take Annie trick-or-treating (somehow, they forget that every single year of their trick-or-treating lives, they got to enjoy the evening as a family, and Miss Yans deserves the same experience.)

5. Both of the teenagers in our house are unpredictable when they don't get their way (sometimes they handle it well and sometimes they handle it no-so-well). It's a total crapshoot and I felt like this situation might land on the 'crap' side.

But you know what happened???

We had what might have been the funnest (I don't care if it's not a word) Halloween we've ever had.

I told Josh that I was on on camera-duty, and that he was on make-sure-none-of-our-teenagers-act-angsty duty (lucky for me, he thought that sounded like a fair split in duties). And after a slightly rocky start (Courtney was being a turd before we left the house, and Cole was being a turd after we left the house), all the angst and the turd-ish-ness went away, and was somehow replaced with laughing, acorn fights, funny stories, light-heartedness, wrestling, hand holding, hugs, happy kids, and happy parents.

Still need to finish up the editing on all the photos I took (will be back with those tomorrow), but I can't remember the last time I had more fun shooting.

Hope yours was great (and free of turds and angst).

New Hampshire (Part IV)

Our last full day in New Hampshire started off (once again) eating breakfast at The Big Bean in New Market.

And then we went to visit my dad's uncle, Richard and his wife, Carol.

And then we spent the rest of the afternoon in Rochester before taking a few, final, group shots.

And then we went out for one final dinner together too.

And as we said our goodbyes, my Cousin Tim hugged my dad, and then turned to my sister and I and said, "Thank you for brining my best friend in the whole world back to me."

It was our pleasure.

New Hampshire (Part III)

Tuesday in New Hampshire was a quiet one.

I went for a jog.

Then my dad and I went into town for breakfast and to look at records (my dad's happy place)...

And then we spent a quiet evening with Bob and Sue back at their place.

The next morning, we made our way back to New Market (my grandfather, my grandmother, and much of my family worked in those big, old stone and brick buildings which have now been converted into apartments and shops).

We had breakfast at what might just be the best breakfast joint on the entire planet, The Big Bean.

And then we did a little more sight-seeing and reminiscing from my dad's childhood.

And then we went to visit Aunt Shirley (my dad's, mother's sister).

My dad really wanted a photo of his grandmother McDonald, and Shirley had the perfect one (my sister and I went down to Rite Aid to make a copy of it and a few others).

And then we went to Aunt Lorraine's house (and made another run to Rite Aid to copy some more photos).

And then we made our way back to Rochester for another quiet evening, sitting out on Bob and Sue's back porch, drinking a few drinks, and telling good stories.

Still a few more to come.