Segovia, España

May 24th, 2013

This begins a mini-series of posts… When I was in high school, I went on a whirlwind school trip to Spain. This was before I discovered my passion for photography, but there are a lot of great memories here, and on top of that, there are actually some photographic gems in the bunch! I would love to travel to cities like these again to really capture them in a way I never could before, but for now I’ll just look back at some of the old memories.

All of these photos were shot using a little 35mm point-and-shoot, and I scanned the prints in 11 years later and retouched the colors and sharpness a bit.

Side note: It’s amazing how much low-quality prints fade over the years… if you are printing something important, go with high-quality archival paper and printing!

Our first stop on our trip was Segovia, known for Roman and Gothic architecture, including its giant Roman Aqueduct:

Spain-Segovia-Aqueduct

Spain-Segovia_King&Baby

Here is the view from the Alcázar:

Spain-Segovia-view

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Yep, I Joined Instagram

May 20th, 2013

Since the birth of my baby girl Audrey, I haven’t had much time to blog, although I have taken a billion and one pictures of her. I have also found that my photographic subjects are at the minimum… I shoot at work, and I shoot pictures of the baby! While that’s all well and good, I started to feel the need for a creative outlet. I painted, but realized how difficult of a hobby that would be for a nursing mom after getting oil paint on the baby a few times. A fun little hobby I could start, though, was iPhone-ography!

I (almost) always have my phone with me, and I could start trying to see the world from a new angle once again.

And yes, I am using the dreaded filters… hey, it’s just for fun, right? ;)

Follow me here!

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Dad’s Pond

May 5th, 2013

DAD'S POND

“A photographer is like a cod, which produces a million eggs in order that one may reach maturity.”
― George Bernard Shaw

I think this quote relates to my life in so many ways right now, and although I won’t dive into the many different ways it applies I can touch on a couple reasons! I am a photographer who shoots a lot, though not always trying to create a portfolio piece. Although I sometimes shoot with the worst kind of light (like these- high sun!), there may be some memories I just want to keep anyway.

Luke has been working on this pond for a few weeks, and the fish are thrilled to have a new, bigger home! Our former egg, now daughter Audrey, making her first appearance of many in this blog, is also fascinated by the little swimmers. Or maybe it’s just the water… she loves water! She is a Water Dragon, after all!

Audrey & Dad's Pond

Audrey & Dad's Pond

Audrey & Dad's Pond

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Bouquets

April 26th, 2013

These are the last remaining flowers from all the bouquets we received after the birth of our beautiful daughter Audrey in January… some dried out roses. I can’t believe it has already been almost four months!

Dried Roses in a Mason Jar

While the flowers died a long time ago, the bouquet of basil that Luke gave me for Valentines day is thriving in one of the vases that came with Audrey’s bouquets!

Basil Bouquet

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Woman’s Best Friend

January 5th, 2013

“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

They say that dogs are a man’s best friend because they are loyal, loving, attention-craving, and always seem happy to see you. In my case it’s not so much the dogs that are like this, but the cats! I got up today all prepared to get a bunch of cleaning done, and I have three cats following me around, rubbing on my legs, begging for me to turn on faucets, pet them or let them outside, and now, sitting between me and the computer and laying on my arm… Martigan must love to feel my breath on his fur as I try to type! Once they get tired of following me around they usually will find a place to cat nap!

Backlit Martigan

Bojangles at Attention

Crouching Bailey

Lounging Bojangles

Sleeping Bailey

Bo & Martigan on the Dog Pad

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Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

January 2nd, 2013

I used this recipe from the Primal Palate for these cookies, and they were delicious!!

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

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A Feast to Ring in 2013!

January 1st, 2013

New Years Eve Lobster Feast

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.
- Benjamin Franklin

I am at that point in my pregnancy where all I really want to do is bum around in comfortable clothes, skip the social events and just relax as much as possible between the spurts of cooking and cleaning. For that reason we were planning to stay in for New Years Eve- have some great food (because that’s ALWAYS a part of our plan), relax, and hopefully stay awake for the ball drop.

When we found out lobster was on sale for $3.99/lb at ShopRite, the ante was upped… Luke got 4 5-pounders and his parents decided to join us! It was a super chill evening with all the delicious food, of course. We watched the Dick Clark tribute Rockin’ New Years Eve, and I actually made it to midnight!

I am not generally big on New Years Resolutions, since I believe in continuously trying to improve myself throughout the year. I might make one big resolution though… A few years ago I made the resolution to do a 365 photo project and succeeded for the most part. This year, my only resolution is to be the best mother and wife I can be to this little family we have begun. I am looking forward to giving birth to our firstborn son or daughter in the next couple weeks, and I think 2013 is going to be a fabulous year full of amazement and surprises and love!

 

New Years Eve Feast - The bubbly!

New Years Eve Feast - Salad

New Years Eve Lobster Feast

New Years Eve Lobster Feast

New Years Eve Feast - German Apple Cake

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Christmas Delight

December 31st, 2012

Christmas Delight Recipe

I don’t normally bake for a couple reasons: First, most baked goods are not paleo, primal, or healthy in any way, and second, I have a crazy sweet tooth so once I get started eating this stuff, it’s very hard for me to stop so I prefer to not even have it around.

That said, I made an exception to this rule for Christmas, and spent the day creating both paleo and non-paleo desserts! Here is my process for creating Christmas Delight, a recipe out of my Mattke Family Recipes cookbook! I forgot to document the buttery topping, though, but here’s the cake and it was delicious!

Christmas Delight

Christmas Delight

Christmas Delight

Christmas Delight

Christmas Delight

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Nikon SB-700, Christmas Gift to Self!

December 30th, 2012

A while ago my flash pooped out, and it would have cost almost as much to fix it as to replace it. I’ve been without since, but keeping with tradition, when I got my year-end bonus from work I treated myself to a new piece of gear! Introducing my new SB-700 flash!

Nikon SB-700

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Apple in Type

December 28th, 2012

Here’s an addition to the Apple project… you know how when you say a word over and over and it starts to sound wrong, or write it over and over and it starts to look like it’s spelled wrong? Yeah, that happened.

APPLE IN TYPE

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