Picture Me Smiling

Enlargements and Reprints

2011-08-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

If you'd like to order enlargements or reprints of any pictures, please contact me via HABaikie@gmail.com. The Etsy site isn't up yet as I am still photographing the stock I have in at the moment.

What a tangled web

2011-08-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

I've been loving my macro lens for what I can capture in my garden. This spider made his web between the outdoor table and one of the chairs (need to dine outside more before it cools off!). He was enjoying wrapping up his lunch when I caught him. He's just the latest of my "Bugs and Blooms" collection.

The Way Ahead...

2011-08-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken outside of Huarez, Peru. We had planned to hike in the Cordillera Blanca for a few days, but arrived to nothing but rain, and low clouds. A bus trip to a glacier was a stalling technique to see if the weather would clear enough to hike. This was taken with our little point and shoot camera. The sign reads, "Access difficult but not impossible." Should have been at the Peruvian-Ecuadorian border where we had more trouble than we'd bargained in moving across the border. Always puts a smile on my face. This sells as a photo card or art print at Riverside Studios in Truckee, California.

Photography Class

2011-05-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

A quick update. My photography class has been going well. And, it's been getting me excited to get out there and take more shots. I'll be posting shots from Yosemite, and some more macro that turned out well.

Macro is quickly becoming my niche. It seems to be the format for which I have developed an eye. The garden has been blooming, and is my best model for now as it is still difficult to make sure I get my camera in car every time I go out. Or, to take it with when the kids and dog and I go on a walk. A 90 pound dog isn't conducive to macro and greatly contributes to the shake factor.

So, still working on a great, portable way to work photography into being a full time mom without only taking pictures of the girls and the dog. So, the garden is my lab for now.

Less than a week away

2011-03-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

My photography class starts next week--and not a moment too soon. Definitely needing a little something for myself. Expand my knowledge, get out of the house, and grow. It's hard to do that when the schedule seems the same every day: get up, get kids ready, school/errands, pick up kids, more errands/play dates, clean house, walk dog, dinner, bed time, a little time to ourselves, then bed. Rinse, repeat.

And, due to rain, didn't get out to the garden again to try some other techniques.

Experimenting in the Garden

2011-03-16T17:09:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I used the camera, and my photography class starts in 10 days, so I thought I should at least play around with the new lens and see what I could do today. I was using one central focal point with my macro lens (fixed 60 mm f/2). Tomorrow think I'll try a multi-focus to see how they compare to today's work. Here's just a sampling.

The first picture was actually taken with my zoom telephoto lens...forgot that was today. The rain settled on the tall grass in the yard and looked amazing. The others are all flowers in our garden.

all rights reserved Heidi Baikie

Monterey Bay Aquarium

2011-02-20T20:22:00.000-08:00

The jellyfish exhibit at the Aquarium is amazing, yet challenging to capture the photos with the low light, a ton of people (going on a holiday weekend is not recommended), and short parking time.

But, think this one is the best shot of the day. Hope you like it! All photos copyright by HMBK photography (Heidi Baikie).

Figuring out the tabs

2011-02-15T14:48:00.001-08:00

Just figuring out the tabs on this. So, the Smile A Day will now be on the tabs above my posts. And, if you or anyone you know would like to be the smile a day, give me a shout out and I will photograph you.

Smile of the Day-February 14, 2011

2011-02-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

One photo, one smile, every day.

Valentine's Addition to the Photography Kit

2011-02-14T10:44:00.000-08:00

Surprise of the morning was waking up to a new MacBook Air to help me with organizing, editing and sharing my photography. Crazy husband! He never ceases to amaze me with his generosity and foresight.

Now have to learn all new OS and all about iPhoto. Any tips now that I'm in the Apple family?

Close Ups of the Kids

2011-01-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

Skiing this weekend and M & T were my models. Light was very flat. Models like to go a bit incognito with their goggles.

3 Macro photos.

2011-01-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

First picture is of farmer's market flowers
Second of a Eucalyptus tree in blossom
Third of a ladybug (would have liked to frame it better instead of the big green fern in the foreground, but holding dog while taking picture didn't allow for a different angle)

First Thing's First

2011-01-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

Before March, when the photography class begins, I must organize all of the existing photos; make a portfolio of the good ones; create target lists of potential customers, art studios, etc; and organize the actual camera gear.

And, if this blog is to be a jumping off point with writing that jumps from the page with wit and grace, I suppose I should start reading more blogs, find my style, and brush up on my grammar. Some people may think that a photography blog should speak for itself--that whole picture worth a thousand words thing--but it is my hope that the writing will be on par with the photography. Now, both could be a total bomb, but if the writing and photography are equals, at least I will know neither are a feasible outlet for expression in the future.

It might help to actually post some photos on the blog, as well.

Following this post, I will put up some test shots taken with my new 60mm fixed macro lens. (hmmm...maybe should brush up on all my technical terms, too!)

A Dream, A New Beginning

2011-01-20T19:09:00.000-08:00

My husband is standing at the edge of a lake (I think it's a lake) and I am in the water. It is cold, but not freezing, and I start to sink. I call out, but am already under water. The breath I take in fills my lungs with water, and I sink slowly downward, the light dimming and dancing before my eyes while I reach up with my hands, but sodden as I am, they do not work to pull me up to the surface. I wake from the vivid dream to a snoring husband, and a need to sit up and breathe.

Mick tells me the next morning I was making weird noises in my sleep. "Yeah," I tell him, "I was drowning, and you didn't save me."

When I look up "drowning in dreams" online, the most common interpretation is that the person who dreams this feels overwhelmed. Welcome to my life.

In April 2010, we jumped into the deep end and brought home our daughters from Ethiopia at ages 3 and 4 years old. Almost a year into parenting, I sometimes feel like I'm barely treading water to keep up with their energy levels, questions (and, boy, are there many!), household chores and the dog. I also had to shutter our fair trade shop, and give up working, to stay at home with the girls to bond and help them adjust.

The one interpretation of the dream I had which seems best to me, is that if no one jumps in to save you, and you drown, you will experience a rebirth. This fits in with my decision to take a photography course to improve my knowledge of photography and give myself one thing outside the home that has nothing to do with being a wife, mother or dog owner.

So, here's to being born again. And, taking big, huge breaths for myself instead of waiting for someone to save me.