One Way to Utilize One's Piano

    This picture reminds me a lot of the sweet melancholy Autumn when I took it; reflects so much of the beauty I soaked up during that time and didn't have the words to convey. It has the look of a memory to it, golden and old and almost tangible but not quite.

    It also makes me want to slog away at the piano again. But if one cannot bring oneself to do that, then it's a great photograph subject. 

   

    I have more imagination now than I did at the time, and I see now that a different angle or view of the piano, not so straight and severe, may have done better. Still, it makes me happy (or rather sad, which with photography can be as important) to look at it, and that has to count for something. 

A Colorado Winter - City Style

  Hannah and I both live in Colorado.  She lives in the mountains and I live between the foothills and the plains.  So I thought we'd show you what Colorado looks like in the winter, despite the fact that everything is dead and sort of unattractive.  This is the attractive side of it and this is why we live in Colorado.

  Even though everything is dead at the moment, I love how romantic things can look in winter.  The bare branches on this tree outside my house are beautiful in their own special way.  They'll be even more gorgeous when the leaves pop out of their branches again come spring.

  There are always many shadows in our house during the winter.  Warm shadows.  The paint on the walls is sort of a golden color so when the sunlight hits it just right it's breathtaking.  It just makes it feel even more like home and it makes me feel all cozy inside and out.

  

  This tree here is my reading tree.  And has been for quite some time.  One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to spread out underneath its wide branches and read in the soft grass below.  I swear it is the softest grass in the whole world.  

  Sadly this winter it snowed before the leaves were all off of my poor tree and the trunk split down the middle.  So this summer there will be no more reading tree, as it is dying or perhaps is already dead.  But it will be remembered fondly always.  

  I always thought that the remains of the flowers above were ugly.  I thought they were and eye sore and very unattractive.  But then I took a closer look and realized just how interesting they are. Especially leaning against the white picket fence.  It's funny how beauty can turn up in unexpected places isn't it?

  And then there's my dog Riley.  I'm not much of an animal person, in fact most animals get on my nerves (with the exception of elephants, horses, and birds) but this dog here is different.  He has never bit me once like all other dogs seem to do.  Instead he is kind and gentle.  He was my loyal model for today since it was so windy that no one else would have wanted to go outside.

  Here is Hannah, one of my kindred spirits.  She looks very much like Little Red Riding Hood.  Hannah is so fun to take pictures of.  She goes along with whatever we tell her to do and doesn't complain.  She deserves great admiration.  

  The little church in the background has been there since our little town was founded.  I love a city that has lots of history.

  Two more awesome young ladies.  Bri and Beckah.  They're names go together well, almost as if they were meant to be friends.

   And here's me.  Hannah took this picture, so I hope she doesn't mind that I used it.  There's not much I can say about this picture except that I love that light post.  Another thing I love about the city.

  So there you have it.  Living in the city in Colorado can be magnificent if you have the heart to enjoy it to the fullest.  

  Hannah's post about life in the mountains will be coming soon. Hopefully.  She doesn't know yet that I'm having her do this, so we'll see.

  xoxo

  -Marissa

Messin' Around With My New Camera

  This year for my birthday I got a new camera.  I decided to take a few pictures to test it out and share them with you.  It takes amazing pictures and the quality is so much better than my old camera.  Now Hannah and I can really take off with our photography.  I'm so excited I could jump up and down and scream my head off!  More pictures will be coming soon ;)

Reaching For Summer

  My heart aches desperately for summer.  To feel the warm wind touching my face and gently playing through my hair is something I miss right about now.  I'm reaching for it with all that I am.  And I can't help but think that when summer finally comes around my heart will suddenly feel renewed and re-energized.  I can't wait for that moment to come and when it does I will be jumping for joy.   

Nice Girls, Enhanced

    I used to agonize over whether or not it was a good idea to edit photographs. Surely to alter the original image was a terrible sin; a betrayal of the truth! But now I know the truth about the truth of a picture.
    A photo is more than just an image on paper. Done right, pictures show a heart. When you enhance the picture to its fullest potential, you are revealing a heart that was already there.

    So, here are four Nice Girls With Cameras, enhanced. 




    This one is so beautiful I could get lost in it. My sister Rebekah is showing the more peaceful side of her nature here, and I brightened the white and softened the lines to enhance the mood of purity and quiet. She's sitting on a tree stump in a particularly picturesque spot behind the aspen grove in front of our house, one of her favorite haunts.

    This is of Marissa. (She sure has a great grin.) We had a good time that day, so I tried to give it the feeling of a happy memory (or a dream), with a delightful subject but wistful colors.

    I know photographers are supposed to have the ability to make their subjects laugh, but under that kind of pressure my comedic talents, such as they are, disappear. Luckily it's easy to make Marissa laugh.

     

    Here's Brianna, Marissa's sister. This scene was so limpid and sweet to begin with that I almost left well enough alone, but a brightening of the colors and a softening of the many sharp lines brought about a more eloquent expression of Brianna's personality. Look at the sun on the the ferns! And please note how nice her hair looks. Marissa and I spent a long time curling it. 

  

    My complexion was regrettable that day, owing to a slight breakout and makeup that didn't quite match my skin tone. Brightening the light did wonders for the photo, and these colors look old-fashioned somehow, and enhance the shabby-farm-girl look. Maybe the cat-eye makeup doesn't coordinate so well, but one just can't pass up a chance to wear it.

    I took the first two photos, and I'm not sure who took the second two. They were all incredibly fun to tinker with. There are so many effects that look wonderful on some pictures and don't on others, which seems to show a personality from photo to photo that is extremely intriguing. Anyways, I hope you enjoy them. More are coming soon.

XOX, Hannah