Oh NO...Not I....NO WAY

I found this pic today from one of my senior sessions.

That's Emily on the left.  An awesome person for the little that I know her.  She's got a wonderful life ahead of her.

That's Lexi on the right.  You probably recognize her as she is my model quite often.  She followed us and was an extremely patient companion during this session.  Emily and her hit it off quite well and Emily wanted a picture with her in the end.

Well...Emily has a wonderful smile.

Lexi....well I have sat here for thirty minutes laughing at this photo.  At Lexi's expression.  She was so over the whole entire session thingy by this time.  She totally refused to 'smile'.  Normally I can throw a few quick trick words her way and she will perk up and smile....quickly...oh so quickly...but enough to capture the shot that I need.

Oh NO.  Not here.

She does have a bit of a stubborn streak.  Being a guinea pig so often for my practice sessions.  She knows how to turn her head away.  Or just plain...give me the silent treatment.

I laugh.  I am rolling on the floor laughing my.....well you know the rest of it.

Oh my...... I really needed that laugh.

She is very cooperative when she is in her own 'skin' doing the things she really loves.

But then...who isn't?!!!

I hope you get just as much pleasure out of her expressions as I do.  That is my purpose for sharing.

(Still laughing.....)

Stands by Me

 She had no clue what was about to happen. (smiling)  She was just patiently waiting for me to stop putting together this funky green tree in her living space.  Encroaching on her toy box space which now had to be moved to allow room for this green tree which really should be outside for the birds and the squirrels. Besides...mom has decided to do this once a year ritual without stopping first to throw her kong for her.  So patiently....she laid, hoping, waiting, actually minding her own business when.....

 Woah!!!  wait!!!  what the heck is happening here.  Aren't those supposed to go on the green tree.  Do I look like a tree?  Hey....DO I LOOK LIKE A TREE????  Stay?  You want me to stay?  What?  Biscuit? Biscuit?...Say it one more time....biscuit.  Oh...okay...if you say so.  I'll stay.  Smile?  well  now that is another thing and definitely not part of the deal.

What...now you want me to sit up?  Wait...what happened to my biscuit from the 'last trick' I did?

She is my best friend.  Day in and day out...she stands by my side.  She greets me and meets me at the end of each and every day...with energy and excitement, balls of fur and wagging tail...and finally she even knows what 'give me kisses mean'.  (Smiling...again).  She accepts me for who I am.  She stands by me.  No matter what.  Would she protect me if she had?  I have no clue. Hope I never have to find out.  But she protects me...from myself...each and every day.  She keeps my soul alive.  She gives me a reason  to come home every day.  She makes me smile...no doubt about it.

And yes....she got a biscuit when I was done posing her.

(A tripod would have made these just a bit clearer.  I had the room lights off and just the tree lights lit her up except the top portion of her head.  A little shadow slider in LR.  The last pose I added just a touch of flash at the lowest compensation my D7000 allowed.  I much prefer little to no flash at all. Wait til you see what I have in store for a holiday card.)

Beyond the layers of polaroids

I remember the polaroid camera.  I. Do.  It was great 'back then' to be able to take a picture and immediately know what it looked like. To enjoy the moment 'right then'.  To know 'right then' if you needed to retake it. To think...I guess you can almost relate it digital today..sort of kind of. Without the ability to do so much of the creative that digital and software allows us to do today.  And now...we can combine both...sort of kind of.

I took another class online that gave me a simple polaroid frame that I've used to do some cool stuff.  So these new frames are going to make me even happier and more creative, we can only hope.

Thank you so much, Kim.

Lexi's Storyboard - Day 6

Our challenge this week was for snapshots of a day in our life.

I just couldn't find it in my creativity to make something interesting out of a day in my life. Not right now. Not today. Not yesterday. Not for the past few months.

Work has just overwhelmed it with 'not so niceties' that I'm sure would just anger and frustrate my viewers as much as it does me. But then...maybe I'm looking at this challenge the wrong way. (a late night thought just created a light bulb effect)...just a bit too late though.

For now..I thought I would share some of the excitement of Lexi's story. She's an awesome buddy of mine who makes me smile no matter how bad the day and makes happy days even happier. Oh how she knows how to make me laugh. It's never ending.

She gives me love, laughter, hope and happiness. So. Very. Simply.