Your Appointment with Friday

This week's photo prompt brought with it a super fun photoshoot for me and my friend Stephanie (love that).  The photo prompt is to.....

Take a photo with a friend

We had an awesome afternoon at the La Jolla shores.....taking photos.....

The weather was just right, so we crafted on a giant quilt under a huge tree on the soft grass next to the ocean, took a stroll on the boardwalk, soaked up art at the Mangelson Gallery, and ate yummy gilato.  It was the perfect treat after my productive work week!

We specifically took instant camera themed photos since we both have a love for photography in common, and on Tuesday when I share my Project Monday you'll see why.....it's a really cool surprise!!!

I hope your weekend is full of creativity and happy times.

Love, Carrie

Project Monday

Hello, lovely people : )  Today I finally made time to snap a couple photos of my 2011 album so you could take a peek.....

As you can see I really like using the different size page protectors to share my projects as well as any additional photos from that day.....

Originally I was also going to add in some of the text from my blog posts that coordinates with the photos, but I started at the beginning of the year without keeping it up.  And I am totally OK with that.  The main thing is that I personally have found this specific project probably the most rewarding project I do for myself.  There is something about having photos from my posts over at Blume & Grow, along with my Bubblegum Life photo prompts and projects all printed up and seeing them together that really feels great!  I can honestly say that it has made a major difference in the enjoyment of my photo, project and blog activity.....I love that I have this fun to look forward to every week <3

Love, Carrie

P.S. This Friday and coming Tuesday I have an extra special photo prompt and Project Monday to share so stay tuned.....

Your Appointment with Friday

Happy Friday everyone!  This week's photo prompt is to.....

Go on a picnic.

Ryan and I spent a wonderful afternoon relaxing on our soft quilt (handmade by his Grandma) last Sunday.  These photos are of what I saw from the quilt.....the palm tree view above us (witch also provided our shade), the ocean view at our feet, our yummy lunch, and little goofing off.....

I actually have a whole sequence of us making silly faces that I still need to edit.  The photo above is one of the only shots I got of us just being happy : )

Your assignment this week is to go on a picnic and take as many or as few photos as you like of what you see while you're there.  And honestly  it doesn't have to be a big ordeal.....for our picnic I just grabbed a couple dishes from the cupboard, some travel mugs, napkins, silverware and food, and it was perfect!

Enjoy your weekend!

Love, Carrie

P.S. I am planning on sharing a peek into my 2011 Album for my Project Monday.....it will probably be up sometime later in the day on Monday <3

Summer Muse

Here's a little bouquet.....I hope it adds some cheer to your day.....
Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

Since summertime means warm weather, fans, AC, cold drinks, smoothies, swimming, evening dinners outside and all the other things we do help us enjoy the warmer temperatures.......this week's photo prompt is:

Keep it Cool

I asked Ryan to take this photo of me with my iced Starbucks, a special treat that has been helping me say cool during the heat wave we've been having here in San Diego.  Raspberries are my favorite fruit this summer, so lately I have been enjoying my iced raspberry vanilla latte (with a little cream)!  Hmmmmm....soooo good!!!  Oh, and right now I also really love my trusty Starbucks mug.....it often holds yummy lattes (pictured above), ice water, ice tea, or cherry coke zero with a little cinnamon.  It's kinda like icing on the cake for me <3

What have you been doing to keep cool?

Love, Carrie

P.S. I've decided to skip most of my Project Monday's for the month of July to give myself a short break.  However, I do plan on sharing a little peek into my 2011 album in it's place either this Monday or next.  xoxo

Summer Muse

I think a lot of us are ready to feel like this right now : )

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

This week I thought it would be fun to go out and take a photo during your favorite summer time of day.....

Your Magic Hour

My favorite time is just before sunset, so these photos were taken between 6:30 and 7:30 pm.  I love the way the sun makes everything light up.....

Plus, this summer has been pretty warm the past week, so evening hours have been heavenly.  What's your favorite summer time of day?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love, Carrie

Summer Muse

I hope you are having a wonderful summertime!

Love, Carrie

Your Appointment with Friday

Happy 4th of July weekend to you!  For this week's photo prompt I though it would be festive to try a little experiment with.....

Light bokeh shapes.

Bokeh is the pretty light that is out of focus in the background of your photo.  You can make this light turn into a shape by creating your own lens hood.  Cool, huh?!?  This is my first try, so my shapes aren't perfect.....but it shure was fun taking my pictures.  They are from the fair.  There were so many pretty lights on all the rides : )

Also, I have to say that I first learned about bokeh photos last summer while taking Kara Haupt's awesome "Summer of Love" class (if you haven't bought the class pdf yet, you should).....ever since then I'm always amazed with how much beauty they add to a photo!!!  Thank you Kara for introducing me to this lovely effect!  I learned a lot from your class while having a blast <3

And now back to our photo prompt.  For my bokeh heart shape I used this tutorial to make my lens hood.  I hadn't figured out the exact ratio of the size that my shape should be before taking these photos, so I improvised.  However, later I did find these instructions so when I try again it will be easier to be more accurate.  One thing I would like to mention though, is that I found it is really important to keep your aperture as low as it will go, and then looking at your light meter to just under expose a little.  It will help keep your shape crisp.  And just as a reminder, don't forget to turn your lens to manual focus so you can blur your background.

If you have an extra 5 minutes to make your own lens hood, you won't regret it.....it will make your holiday photos extra special.  Have a fantastic holiday weekend!!!

Love, Carrie