Daily Art - Foto Friday, Meerkat Edition

Why meerkats?  Why not.  Here's some meerkats I photographed at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.  They look like they're having a great time.  Hope your Friday is just as fun!

Daily Art - Foto Friday, Jellyfish edition

Today, I wanted something soothing and pretty to share, as a contrast to the mayhem that's happening in my house.  So, here's some pictures of jellyfish that I've taken in the last couple of years.  Happy Friday all!

Daily Art - Griffith Park Observatory

Today's Foto Friday takes us to the Griffith Observatory here in Los Angeles.  I consider myself very lucky to have access to the Observatory.  Not only does it have beautiful views all across L.A., including downtown and the Hollywood sign, it's a pretty cool place to go, even without the aspect of being able to learn things about space...for free!

 
What do you consider to be a local treasure in your area? 

Daily Art - Foto Friday Redux

Recently, I joined the Instagram bandwagon and, although a little late to the party, it's definitely got me remembering to snap photos frequently, even if only on my phone.  That being said, I'd like to restart the Foto Friday thing that I was doing a couple years ago, each Friday sharing photos I've taken that I love.  They may be new photos, they may be old, taken with my DSLR or just on my phone.  In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Instagram @dailydoseofdeuce.  My photos there are as random as my blog posts - everything from pics of the little one, to food, nail polish, and more.  :)

Daily Travels - Chicago Photobook

I posted about my baby shower photo book a couple posts ago.  It arrived, looked adorable, then I popped it into the bookshelf without remembering to review my thoughts on it.  As it happens, I had another free coupon code, so decided to make a book for our trip to Chicago.  It was the last big trip that we took before Owen's arrival and it was 3 days of good eats, tons of walking, and beautiful architecture.  It's actually a city that both Husband and I felt like we could live in, except for the ridiculous weather.  We happened to be there at a beautiful time of year (end of May) but even then, the last day was crazy humid to the point of not really wanting to go anywhere and getting bug bitten to hell down by Lake Michigan.  From a photography perspective, it was a dream.  I wasn't actually sure that twenty 8x8 pages would do it justice, especially given how many pictures I actually took, but it certainly got the message across for the fantastic time we had.

As for the Shutterfly books themselves?  I think it is a testament to the Shutterfly Custom Path software that I was able to put this book together in about 3 hours.  I used preset pages through the template I chose, but could tweak those to look exactly as I wanted as each template has a good number of embellishments to play with.  There's a range of photo layouts to use if you want to create each page from scratch and my only complaint in that area is that there's no option to just draw your own photo box where you want on the page.  Instead, you have to decide how many photos you want and move the photo spots around accordingly.  Not great if you suddenly decide to add a photo to the page late in the game! 

I don't really have other books to compare to, but I found the quality of the book to be nice.  The hard cover with title on the spine gives it a nice, professional finish, and I very much like being able to customize both front and back covers.  The inside pages feel heavy enough and the printing is clear.  There's also an extra protective page at the beginning and end, which I actually feel is a nice touch when opening the book.  I do love the look of a beautiful, glossy photo in a scrapbook; however, I know my limitations and that I would never get around to actually scrap-booking by hand (and it certainly couldn't be done in 3 hours!)  No matter what, better than the photos sitting on my computer.

My grand plans would be to create a photo book for each major vacation, and a more general "family yearbook" each year.  I love how easy Shutterfly makes this.  While I will possibly test out some other services for future books (Winkflash, Blurb, Costco), at least I know what to expect from Shutterfly and will definitely order again.  

What's your preferred method of scrap-booking family photos?

Daily Travels - Chicago! (Part 2)

Continuing on our travels...I hope to have the last set of photos from our Chicago trip taken care of this weekend to share next week.  Meanwhile, heading on over to Millenium Park, which in itself has a wide variety of stuff to see.


We loved the Gehry designed pavilion, which seems like a beautiful place to sit outside and watch a concert (weather permitting of course as this probably isn't as much fun under 3ft of snow).  The pavilion stretches all the way back,and I can certainly see lawn chairs and picnics in the summer!

Then of course, we needed to take Bean to see "The Bean".  Ultimately, the best place to take strangely obscure pictures and put your finger prints on top of a million other people's.

Crown Fountain is possibly the coolest place to just splash around in hot weather that I've seen!  Two gigantic blocks spewing water into the space between them, complete with images projected on the blocks that change.  I had no idea what to make of it at first, but such a great feature for a park in the middle of the city.

In the meantime, any fun plans for Memorial Day weekend?  It's time for me to start working on the nursery...and by that I mean clearing space.  Let's see how far I get this weekend!

Daily Art - Foto Friday (Week 7)

Last full week of February already?  I'm almost thankful for the extra day this month, given how quickly the year seems to be moving along.  I have been diligently carrying my gigantic purse around, with gigantic camera in tow.  I hope I'm not giving myself back-ache, although I guess that could be a useful way to get a massage out of husband.  This week I was happy to have gotten out and about a little more with my photos as a result though - even if I started a trend last weekend which involved snapping pictures while sitting in the car (although at least the car was stopped).  I also got a chance to check out the wide-angle lens that I've been coveting (thanks to my friend Holly).  Now I'm really trying to justify a $479 lens purchase.  Photography - a habit that is more expensive than buying yarn.

Daily Art - Foto Friday (Week 6)

I missed posting last week's photos, but back on track finally.  I feel like I've been such a slacker with posting the last couple weeks while dealing with being sick, but hope to be better now that I'm (mostly) on the mend. I also took the opportunity this week to buy a rather large purse that will house my camera and means I can bring it with me everywhere I go. Hopefully that will lead to better photo opportunities. It's kinda funny though as it's hugely uncharacteristic of me to carry a large purse - in fact I'd prefer to never carry one at all. Yet, here I am, making the sacrifice for my art or something. Happy Friday all! :)

Daily Art - Foto Friday (Week 4)

February already.  It's already starting to stay light for longer in the evenings, which I actually enjoy because it's not quite so dark when I leave work.  California is suffering beautiful weather as usual.  My husband's team (Go Giants!) are in the Superbowl.  2012 is off to a great start. 

This week is a truly random assortment of things.  The first couple of pictures here were snapped on my phone (seeing as my best intentions to pull out the DSLR went horribly wrong), I actually took a picture in the parking lot at the grocery store (which is still pretty funny to me), then had some fun with random household items (really enjoyed the straws!)  I hope you enjoy...and always down for a critique.

Daily Art - Foto Friday (Week 3)

Three weeks in and I'm hitting my stride.  I'm constantly scanning my surroundings for photo ideas and even have a little list going on my phone.  I'm encouraged that I'm trying some new things and finding inspiration in new places.  I was half anticipating that it be a chore to remember to take a photo every day but I'm actually enjoying taking the time each day to find something to capture.  My week has a bit of an Asian theme, inspired by Chinese New Year.  Enjoy!

Daily Art - Foto Friday (Week 2)

Another week gone already?! This month seems to be flying by - although not sure if that's just because I've been super busy and done a lot of running around. Regardless, I'm back with Foto Friday to document my progress with the 365 Photography Project.  I feel like I'm getting into my groove with this, and really trying out some new things - both on camera and with a little bit of Photoshop magic.

Hoping you all have a fun weekend planned!