Cactus Flowers

We've kept pretty busy this weekend. For the most part we've been working in the yard and watching my nephew, Matthew, play baseball. Hopefully, I'll get some pictures of that up in a day or two. But for now, I have cactus flowers.

I find it intersting that a cactus can be so beautiful. It's plain and ugly most of the year and it always has it's sharp prickley thorns, but when it blooms it is stunningly beautiful. This cactus has been blooming for awhile and every time we pass by it I mention how I need to drive down and take it's picture. So, last night after walking the dog, my husband suggested we grab the camera and go do just that. After all, I might not have another chance. A new EZ Go is coming in on the lot where this cactus grows, so chances are the cactus will be removed in the very near future.

Baseball and MORE Baseball...

Last night we took more baseball pictures. First, we went to Edison where we shot a T-Ball Team, a Coach Pitch Team and a Pee Wee Team. Then we went to another park and shot a Hugh Bish Baseball Team. Here are just a few of the shots.

This was a really cool and confident kid. He was really fun to work with and he let me know exactly ahat he wanted on his Magazine Cover. It appears he's a great baseball player, but I was even more impressed with him as a person. I see two kinds of confidence in kids. One is a false confidence that some kids get when they learn to play their parents and get whatever they want as toddlers - or a spoiled child confidence. The other is actual confidence which they get when they do well and are rewarded or praised for their efforts. That's the kind of confidence Tyler had. He's obviously done a few things very well and he believes in himself. He knows he's a winner. And if you're on the opposing team, my advice to you would be to either hit the ball out of the park or hope for a walk, because your chances of getting past Tyler on first aren't that good. He's a pretty amazing first baseman!
And, I was happy to see this player again. I've shot her team & individual pictures since she was about 3 or 4 and in Wee-Ball at the YMCA. She's another amazing kid and I always enjoy working with her.

Now, she's a Pee-Wee. Here she is with the rest of her team!

The Coach Pitch Team

And the T-Ball Team. Aren't they adorable!

Cheerleading

Tonight we took pictures of Hugh Bish Cheerleaders. I am posting their team collage as well as Ft. Sill Cheerleaders who we shot earlier in the season. We don't really get that many cheerleaders, but I enjoy them when we do. It's really nice to get an entire group of girls. Girls pose naturally and are easy to work with. But, boys are fun to work with, too. There are just differences between the two and we work with a lot more boys than girls, so doing cheerleading is a fun change of pace!

Gardening

Between soccer and baseball season I did a little bit of gardening. I put a few shrubs in one corner of my backyard and added a few flowers. I selected the yellow lily's because I thought the butterflies and hummingbirds would like them. There is also a pink & yellow lantana just out of the picture on the right for the butterflies. And I planted shasta daiseys (they haven't come up yet) and zenias because they are just right for picking and when Grace comes to visit it will be nice to have some flowers she can pick. I put a fresh coat of paint on my birdfeeder and added it, and now have a small corner of beauty in my backyard. I might add to it next year, but for now, I'm pretty happy with my little garden space.

And - I just got the news yesterday that I am boing to be a Grandma again!

Andrew and Brandy are expecting. They just got married on March 9th and now, they are expecting their first child which is due sometime in February. Heather, Dustin and Grace should be back by then, so Grace will have a little cousin to play with.

Lawton Christian School Banquet

Last night we went to Cameron University and took pictures of all the beautiful young couples attending the Lawton Christian School Junior and Senior Banquet. Because I didn't know how to choose which couples to post on my blog I decided to use the schools selections.

This young man was selected to be Mister LCS.

And this young woman was selected to be Miss LCS.

To see all of the couples you can follow this LINK and use the scroll down box to choose LCS Banquet. The pictures are for proofing purposes only and will be edited (skin smoothed, blemished removed, etc.) once ordered.

Baseball Season

Baseball Season is here and last night we shot our first team of the season. The Bishop Bulldogs!

They were a great group of kids and we had a nice time shooting them in spite of the weather! It's seems to be the rainy season, so it's been rainy and cool, but fortunately we have still been able to shoot most of the teams we've had scheduled.

This is what the 4x6 and Wallet Photos in our Sports Special look like. I thought this particular player was especially cute with his beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes!
And this is what the Memory Mate in our Sports Special looks like. It's an 8x10 collage of the team and the individual player. This player looks to me like a future professional. So strong... so serious... and seemingly dedicated to his sport. I probably should have asked for an autograph.

And this is what we at Artistic Images call a Coach's Collage. I guess it could be called a Team Collage, but we started making them as appreciation gifts for the coaches who chose us to do their sports photography, so we call them Coach's Collages. And we make one for each coach on the team.

Thanks, Bishop.... for choosing us to do your team photos. I wish you a wonderful and a winning season!

Photography Class Field Trip

My Photography Class went on a field trip yesterday to the refuge. We began at The Quannah Parker Lake Dam and hiked to Camp Dorris and then back to the top of Mount Baldy. I think these are my favorite shots from the day. If anyone knows the names of these wildflowers, please comment. Or - if you know of a book that would serve as a good reference, please let me know.

And below is a slideshow of my other shots. I plan to go back in a few weeks to see if the deer have delivered their fawns. Most of the does appear pregnant, so I contacted a friend of mine who knows about wildlife and he said they should be having their fawns in a couple of weeks. Those who weren't bred during the first cycle will deliver about four weeks later. So, I want to go back and see the little spotted fawns with their wobbly little legs in a few weeks.

Geoffrey Asher

Yesterday, I took a drive out to the Oldham Farm and took pictures of their newest addition, Geoffrey Asher! He is such a sweetie. He's one of those precious little ones who likes to cuddle and when you hold him you never really want to put him down.

I've been taking pictures of his family since his sister Madelyn was a baby and I've really enjoyed them. Their mother is a perfect example of the Proverbs 31 woman. She has a contagious joy and a gentle spirit and she's just one of those rare people who make your day brighter just by being there.

So, Happy Mother's Day, Breezie! May you always be blessed!

P.S. To see this slideshow at a higher resolution so you can actually read the text, go HERE.

My photography class is planning a field trip and today I went to check out the location we will be visiting next week. It is beautiful. I also used this opportunity to test out a new lens that I bought just to play with. It's a small, lightweight, 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 and I think I'm going to really like it as a carry around lens. It covers such a broad range that it's basically all I need for day trips that I want to capture in pictures, but don't need the quality that I normally require in pictures that are to be sold.

Anyway - here are a few shots from today. I think everyone will be able find something here to photograph. It might be the portrait of a classmate, a landscape, a wildflower, a goose or some other wildlife, but I'm sure we can all find SOMETHING! If not, then we just aren't looking hard enough!