I Heart Faces Photo Contest : Scenic B&W

It’s been a while since I’ve entered one of these contests ~ I really do enjoy viewing other entries, and most times find quite a bit of image inspiration as well.

Took this shot Sunday, on our drive home from Louisville.  Traffic was standstill in Wytheville, VA, so we decided to detour via some back roads.  So glad we did.  Saw some beautiful sights – so refreshing! 

We decided to get out and stretch and play for a bit, considering our normally 9 hour drive was easily turning into 11 or 12.  (Took us 11.5!)

Saw some hay bales, and this fabulous old house & car.  I seriously could have stayed for hours, but we were on a 5 minute mission, so here’s what I got :

Head on over to I Heart Faces to see more B&W scenery!

~Kathy~

Nov.20 Guess who our favorite NFL team is?

And the luck of it all he’s on the same flag football team!

 

Okay, that’s it.  I’m caught up and on the road to KY & grandma’s house we go!!

No pics for the 22nd or 23rd, but I’m sure I”ll make up for it during Thanksgiving with my crazy family and 10 month old nephew!!!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 

~Kathy~

 

Nov. 19 Scouting

 

Picked her up from school and headed straight to this park – was a beautiful day and a fabulous location!

 

She had fallen down and was bleeding on her hand, but hey, capture the moments when you can, right?!  (I’m not crazy, I promise)

 

 

 

Have you ever had the urge to roll around in soft, dry grass on a warm fall afternoon?  Well, we did and it was out of this world fantastic!

 

 

~Kathy~

 

Nov.18 Playing with Props

 

 

 

~Kathy~

Nov.13 A crisp fall morning

 

Took my littlest model, and my camera & coffee mug, to the field to check the morning light.  (I’m an afternoon/evening shooter, and I’m trying to broaden my horizons!)

 

Too bright, but I liked this shot anyway:

(I could have shot into the sun and over exposed my background, but I really wanted the fall colors)

 

 

 

 

 

Wowsa talk about fall colors!!

 

 

 

~Kathy~

 

Nov.12 Friday Night Hoops

At the line for his first ever foul shot.

 

 

 

YES it did go in!!

 

 

 

 

 

I think I would love to be sports photographer.  I like catching  moments like this!

 

~Kathy~

Nov.11 : Hair cuts

 

And a much belated thank you to all of our Veterans.

 

 

 

 

 

Sat the kids on top of the car to get this shot.

OOOOH I love the fall colors & the bokeh (the pretty colored blurry round circles in the background)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Kathy~

Nov.10 : the leaves are changing!

Nov. 9 : Chillin’ in the car …

 

… while brother is practicing flag football.  Was a cold evening.

 

Was almost dark out.  Used the car light, high ISO ( I think 1600 on my D60 – thus the large amount of grain) and spot metering.

 

~Kathy~

The Lovely Lakes | Raleigh Cary Family Portrait Photographer

 

Yet another really fun and exciting family to work with – I’m so lucky!  They cracked me up with their silly antics, and melted my heart with their love for each other. 

 

 

How awesome is this life sized chess board?  And the fact that we timed out the afternoon sun perfectly to glow on the yellow leaves in the background – yeah!

These boys love chess and are VERY good at it, so this really was the perfect location for them.

 

Just some darn nice kids I tell ya ;)

 

 

 

 

Truly a crack up!

 

 

 

 

 

love love love.

 

~Kathy~

The Marvelous Maioranos | Raleigh Cary Family Portrait Photographer

 

This session was a breath of fresh air!  The girls were a breeze to work with, and did whatever I asked without (too much) hesitation. 

I’ve known this family for a while, and it’s a joy to see what beautiful young ladies they are all becoming.  Way to go Mom & Dad!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to see more from this session, head on over to my Kathy Howard Photography facebook page!

 

~Kathy~

 

Nov. 17 : our field next door

pretty pretty end of day light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Kathy~

um, hello!

I apologize for my absence, yet again.  I’m determined to finish up the year strong … hard to believe it’s been almost a whole year for this blog!

Yes, I am getting ready to post lots of images.  We are leaving town tomorrow until Sunday, so there will be another hiatus, but hopefully not as long as this one …

Yes, I have been taking lots of photos.  Yes, I’ve had lots of photo shoots lately.  SO much fun, all wonderful people and families (:

 

I’ll leave you with my most recent images, which are from a shoot on Sunday.  Really enjoyed the spirit & spunk of this family, especially the little boys!

(if you want to see more, head over to my facebook page!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

There’s so much to be thankful for, that’s for sure.

~Kathy~

p.s. not sure why, but blogger has really been ‘dulling’ my images lately.  Much clearer/crisper on facebook – odd! 

 

hats and scarves.

 

Favorite family activity – bringing the hat and scarf bin down from the attic!

Kids love to dig and ooh and ahhh and remember last season and what they wore, and see what still fits. 

It is fun (:

 

 

signs of fall?

Have been watching and waiting for some glorious fall trees, but haven’t seen too many yet.

This tree is next to my house – pretty nice, but not stunning (at least to me):

I decided to take a moment from my hectic day to visit my favorite spot, the Arboretum.  I thought for sure I’d find some fall beauty there.  Well, I was wrong!  No red or yellow leaves to be found.  Instead, this :

 

 

Roses blooming!

 

 

 

 

Seriously one of the most interesting blooms I’ve ever seen.  No sign to say what it was.

 

Hope you’re having some glorious fall where you are!

 

~Kathy~

 

what we do during football practice.

 

Didn’t have the right lens to capture some football action, so turned to other options.

 

 

 

We do homework.

I don’t remember having this much homework in 6th grade.  Hours every night.

When do kids get to be kids these days?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We look for cool backdrops.  WE like this one because it looks like a textured photo.  Thank you metal shed!

 

 

 

~Kathy~

 

Learning to Ride.

Hello November!  (Yes, I know I’m many days late to say that!)

So, my  7 year old has never wanted to learn to ride her bike.  Being the youngest, we never pushed her.  She’ll learn  when she’s ready (no wonder the 3rd child is so laid back, right?!) . 

That afternoon she came home from school and stated she is ready to ride her bike.  I told her let me get my shoes on and I’ll come out and help.  “No, Mom, I can do it myself.”  (advantage of waiting until child is 7)

Well, okay, then I get to take pictures!

 

Kind of funny how small the bike is on her now, as opposed to when we got it years ago.  She’s gonna be my 6 footer, I just know it!

 

 

 

 

 

She was starting to get frustrated after about 15 minutes of trying, but was getting VERY close.  Daddy came home and she took his advice to practice on the grass (don’t you love our new fall grass?!). 

 

 

 

 

 

“I think I’ve got it Mom”

(yes, I had to jump out of the way!)

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve got it now! 

Thanks big bro for supervising (:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For photogs : very low light situation.  ISO 1600 used on this last photo thus the noise, or ‘grain’.  (I didn’t remove it because I like it on this pic)

 

~Kathy~

More of the Handsome Haists

Another of my all time favorite images.  In the portfolio.  Definitely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This image makes me smile.   Two people that are definitely meant for each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This image makes me laugh!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handsome, handsome young man.

 

 

 

 

 

Sweetheart.

 

 

 

~Kathy~

 

Happy Halloween

 

I am thankful that my children like to create their own costumes, and sometimes their own characters. 

All I do is buy some make-up, maybe a requested accessory, and follow their lead.  VERY easy& fun!

 

Zombie Warrior. (he did his own makeup this year!)

 

 

 

 

Ghost/Zombie  with pet bat!

 

 

 

Angel/Cleopatra. 

Not sure how the wig fits in  to that, but she wore that wig last year and just loves have dark hair (:

 

 

~Kathy~