Any day that looks like it might have an interesting sky for  sunset, we usually head out to the beach. It was a nice way to wind down John's birthday. We chose a location we had been before. I am sweet on it, since he brought me here right before we got married, trying to cheer me up from my lost luggage. That had a happy ending. I never get tired of studying the water and how the waves come ... Read More

Sunday was a day of going to church, having a big lunch, shopping at Bj's, watching the Raven's game, baking oatmeal raisin cookies, and then Laura drove John and I around so we could take photos of the Christmas lights around the neighborhood. First, Larua's favorite house in Pasadena. One house made a statement with only ONE light, a spotlight.   ... Read More

After our visit to the lighthouse, we made our way up the coast back to Siesta Park. We took our time exploring. Our first stop was at Foul Bay. There was nothing foul about it, it was peaceful, blue, pristine...I can never understand how we visit all these beaches and they always seemed untouched by humans. In the U.S. a beach like this with no shops or hotels wouldn't exist. We also drove through the Boranup Forest making our way up the coast. ... Read More

Spent New Year's Eve differently this year - working. Laura and I had the privilege of photographing Megan and Curt's wedding. It was a beautiful winter theme ceremony. Here is a preview of the wedding, more photos coming soon! ... Read More

As many already know, Laura and I are keen to start our journey into portrait photography. Laura got her first dslr camera, and we are looking forward to our second wedding gig this month. I like to practice and perfect this craft. I have a family willing to help me too. Perhaps there is a lesson in here somewhere, in any profession, there will always be days...you know how it is. But, wow, each year I try to take portraits of Enric, Miranda, Silas, ... Read More

John uses Pentax, I use Canon, and for a long while now, Laura was using a Nikon. I thought we were going to be a three brand camera family. :) It turns out that Laura has made a big switch, not only from a point and shoot camera, but to a DSLR. I think me already having lenses for a Canon helped her decision some, but the price and the stats on her Canon Canon EOS Rebel T3i also made ... Read More

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot   Today the weather was so autumn perfect, Laura and I decided to take a walk with a little cranky Rubí. I think she needed to get out with her Tia and Nana, because she had a great time and forgot all about being cranky. (Click on image to enlarge). ... Read More

Miranda had the most thoughtful idea for a graduation present for Laura. It took  a lot of preparation and creativity, and plain old sneakiness. When Laura was away, Miranda got on Laura's laptop, downloaded photos on to a flash drive, then put them on her own computer so she could use the Blurb service and create a book loaded with Laura's photography works. The quality of the paper was excellent. Miranda really made caring selections. You can see the inside of the ... Read More

So if you look at this photo someone took, it looks like I am having a laugh and enjoying being a first time wedding photographer. I now have the Brower Wedding online in a gallery for everyone to see. Click HERE » Brower Wedding Other portraits HERE ... Read More

Photographed my first wedding this evening. (More pictures to come later, I'd like the bride to see them all first) :) For now, Mr. and Mrs. David and Shayna Brower. ... Read More

Our little Rubí is a real heart stealer. I finally got the time and opportunity to practice with my new flash and diffuser. Laura grabbed the camera and took the next two... She sure has stolen my heart!   ... Read More

Besides running my own photo challenge site, I participate in quite a few. These are sort of like online photography "contests" often called Photo Memes. I prefer photo challenge, as the themes often keep your photography fresh as you endeavor to do something different, or something you might not have thought to photograph before. One such site, Who Do You Love, runs theirs a little differently. They keep  tally of how many votes you get, whether you come in first, second, ... Read More

(Two cat posts in a row) There is a place in our neighborhood where it seems to be a haven for cats. They just live there. There is evidence that people bring things to them, I have even spotted a lady bringing a bag full of food from her truck, taking it to them, and then get back in  her truck and drive away. These cats, (and there are times I see many in number, various shapes and sizes), can be a bit ... Read More

I am starting to upload to my gallery photos of Wave Rock in Australia. The visit there was short and a lot left to be explored. I hope to go back. :) Wave Rock Photos | Australia Photos Also I've created a short Animoto Slide show: Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com. ... Read More

This past week, I had opportunity to photograph Megan and Curt for their engagement photos. For their chosen location, we went to Federal Hill Park in Baltimore. It was a lovely, chilly day, and it was a fun photoshoot. Later, we went to Curt's house for a few photos by the fireplace. You can see SOME of the rest (I took over 500) HERE . More portraits I've done, HERE ... Read More

One Saturday, John took Laura and I to Whiteman Park to see the bird show. We loved it! I finally put photos up in my gallery » HERE. I also created an Animoto slide show: Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com. ... Read More

For photography of course! My first present of the year came from Australia via the Amazon! Amazon.com of course! Westcott 301 Photo Basics 40-Inch 5-in-1 Reflector So Laura and I went out to immediately try out the reflector for portrait photography. For those who don't know, reflectors help send light to your subject. Laura was my volunteer for my practice how to drive the reflectors today. We like the results! Thank you, John. I LOVE them! I promise to use them lots! ... Read More

Just a quick movie to let you know I have uploaded a good many photos from the Kings Park Flower Festival. To see all the photos, click here, there are two pages. These are amazing flowers, so different than anything we have here in Maryland. Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com. ... Read More

It's not unusual for me to announce, "Nice light on some mushrooms outside" or "Spider on the side of the house." while rushing into the house grabbing my camera gear, and Laura doing the same. Today we had a spider, he was quite large. Well, Silas must be learning by example as I found him grabbing HIS camera (an old cell phone that he is allowed to play with) to take a photo of the spider. ... Read More

Yesterday I took Jenny and Miquel's engagement photos. Lake Waterford provided a great, lush, natural background for their photos. We all had fun. The rest are here » Jenny and Miquel See more of my portraits here » Barb's Portraits ... Read More

Yesterday, my son Enric brought in a caterpillar and then later Miquel came in to tell me get the camera ready, there was a stick bug on his car.  Later and very enthusiastically I showed John my photos. His comment? "Nice bum shot." I didn't know that on the stick bug, I didn't shoot the correct end. :) And to be honest, it took me awhile to figure which end was which on the caterpillar. It's not easy sometimes! Anyway, after those two critters ... Read More

I am blessed with talented children. Recently Laura started her photography portfolio at my suggestion, she is just getting so good! I'd like to think some of it is my influence, and yet the truth is, she has some very unique approaches to taking photographs. I hope she will add more and more images, showing off something she really likes to do of late. Please visit Laura Lopez Photography! ... Read More

Today, I had the opportunity to do a photo shoot for Alexis and her friends before the prom. Here is a sample of the images... ... Read More

We were supposed to have Paella last Sunday for Mom's birthday, but we were all sick with bad colds. So today, we celebrated mom's birthday a week later. I was a little nervous about making paella because it had been a few years since I made my last one. It was a success. Everyone enjoyed it! While living in Spain, I learned that the recipe for paella differed from household to household and from region to region. They can be all seafood, like ... Read More

Now that the baby shower is over, I feel like we are all looking at Miranda like a ticking time bomb ready to go off. We're now anxious for the baby to arrive! Seeing how she delivered Silas early, the due date of May 17th just might not be what happens. With that in mind we decided to get some photos of the expectant mommy before the baby does get here. ... Read More

Happy New Year! For my first new thing this year, I started a new Photography Portfolio!  » Please see it HERE ... Read More

Every once in a while, I share what I am reading. This month, I have taken on a study of Portrait Photography. I have learned a lot from Bill Hurter's "The Best of Portrait Photography". I have been able to glean a lot so far. Now to re-read it and take notes! ... Read More

I was honored to have one of my best friend's daughter ask me to do her engagement photos. I suggested Kinder Park for the backdrop. See some more photos HERE ... Read More

For some months two of my blogs have been down due to a glitch in the database. I delayed for so long to get this fixed. Finally, today, I called PowWeb, my host, and they had both back up and in order in no time, which made me wonder why I delayed so long! So, please visit my Photography Blog and My Lyrics Blog Also, if you are looking for a special in Web Hosting, visit PowWeb! ... Read More

Surprises can really happen anytime, when they happen at the Holidays, and with the most thoughtful of gestures, it can really touch you. I am really touched. Over the years, Unique Exposures got a new member who's photography I have enjoyed, but when he started to send a weekly photo with Bible Verses to my inbox, I was truly impressed and told him so. I mentioned to him that the work deserved to be shown to others and invited him a space ... Read More

I love art. In many ways I would like to think that with my watercolors, drawings, and photography, I am an artist. However, I don't think in the name of Art we have freedoms that overstep that which is moral and decent. Of course, what is moral and decent has different interpretations, but in regards to children, I don't see a loose interpretation at all. From Live News Police have temporarily shut down a controversial photography exhibition in Sydney which features sexualised images of ... Read More

  One of my members at Unique Exposures suggested that I do a podcast. When he suggested it, he might have well said, "Phone Mars." I just didn't even know how to begin.   It has been a while since he made that suggestion, and after a lot of educating myself, downloading different programs to use for recording and editing, Unique finally has its first podcast.   My first interview is John Dolphin of Perth, Australia. Naturally, since this is a Unique Exposures project, the subject is his ... Read More

Recently at my Photography forums at Unique Exposures, we discussed birds and what was my secret to attracting them to my backyard. I didn't really have a secret to share except that I offer suet and seeds for them regularly. A member, Johnstox, said he was starting a list of birds that he could name that came to his backyard, which prompted me to create my own list. So far, and to the best of my memory here are the birds that ... Read More

I was looking at the monthly stats to my blog, and even though there have been some ups and downs, I am pleased overall how the numbers are going, especially looking at how it began. I started in January 2005 with around 300 visitors a month. December of that same year, it went to 13,000 visitors in a month. That is quite a growth. It made me wonder, how did I grow this blog? December being an exceptionally good month gave me ... Read More

As last year, I took one of my Sweethearts for an early Valentines to the Car show.      This is our second year going into Baltimore to see MotorTrends Auto Show. I missed Petra with us this year, but as far as what cars were there to see, I think this year was better. Also, the children learning you could actually climb into the car and sit it them made it more fun too! Here are a few photos of us trying out ... Read More