5 on 5 - March // Lensbaby Experiment // Milwaukee Family Photographer

Can't believe we're already up to the 5th of April! March here has been quite crazy! I felt like February was forever and March has just suddenly come and gone! From snow to sixty degree weather and lots of other things happening, it was all a blur! In a good way!

And talking about blur, this past month I borrowed a Lensbaby to add some variety in my day to day images. (For those of you who have no idea what a Lensbaby is - it's a lens that creates interesting blur effects on your images.) My kids funnily enough called it a Baby Lens! So apparently there are a couple different ones and they each have different effects. The one I borrowed, the Sweet 35 optic, had a very strong linear blur - almost like leading you into the scene - which kind of made me dizzy in some of the images. 

It worked well for these images taken on the swings - because you could almost feel the motion and movement.

And then I tried playing around with it indoors. It was so tricky and the backgrounds felt so disturbing, so I converted those images to black and white. 

And just in case you're wondering, no we don't usually brush our teeth in the bedroom! 

After all is said and done, I was not super excited with this lens. So now I have to decide if I want to try a different one, or just continue freelensing!

Make sure to check out Becky's 5 image story here. Becky is Milwaukee, Wisconsin Storytelling Photographer and a really great friend of mine!

5 on 5 - February // Airport Delays // Milwaukee Photographer // Everyday Family Storytelling

For those of you who are new here, 5 on 5 is a series of blog posts by fellow documentary photographers, where we tell a story with 5 images on the 5th of every month. To see our January story click here and make sure to follow the links all the way through to complete the circle.

Anyway, for this month I was thinking about what story I can tell in 5 images. We had a very busy month which included winter break for my kids. We took advantage and headed south to family friends to soak in sunshine and warmth.

But when the weather isn't so cooperative, and there are storms and tornadoes sweeping the area, it makes for delayed flights. And bored children. 

So what does a mom and her camera do? Document the ways we spent the time warding off the boredom. Watching airplanes take off. Go to the kids play area (thank goodness for that!). Watch the airplanes take off. Go to the kids play area. Did I mention watching the airplanes take off? Oh and eat lunch somewhere in there too. And watch people. And play in the play area again.

Yeah. That's pretty much what we did for three and a half hours!

To see the beauty that Margaret, a family documentary photographer in Spokane, WA, documented this month follow the link! Make sure to click through to complete the circle and be inspired by all the wonderful women who I'm luck to call my friends.

{Personal Project} Documenting Everyday // Real Life // One Photo A Day // Week 2&3 // Milwaukee Family Photographer

So I thought I would be able to keep up with blogging my 365 weekly, and turns out I wasn't so successful last week. Actually, I shouldn't say it that way. I sort of interrupted my flow with my own Day in the Life session last week - SEE IT HERE - and couldn't get around to blogging my "regular" 365 images last week. So today you are privileged to get 2 weeks worth of photos!

Something during my second week, I took it upon myself to document our day too. So I may or may not have cheated and used some of the images from throughout my day for some of my 365 days.

Days 7-12 we did very exciting things. 

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We had meetings. We baked. We hugged. We brushed our hair. We took awalk in the snow.

This week I've been challenging myself to try and find light in unexpected places.

13. So on our only sunny day of the week, we discovered beautiful golden hour sun, streaming through our living room windows.

14. I was going to write, "On laundry day...", but it feels like every day is laundry day. In any event, she loves helping me with the laundry (whatever day I do it).

15 & 16. Keeping busy indoors when it's too wet and icy to play

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17. Getting together with local, like minded artists and their kids is always a fun activity. 

If you recently received a new DSLR and have no idea what anything means, I can help you! I am running a Beginner DSLR Workshop for Moms on Sunday, February 19, 2017. 

If you'd like some tips on capturing your everyday moments, sign up here for my email list and I'll send you a quick cheat sheet! As well, if you 

Motherhood // Real Life Documented // Milwaukee Family Documentary Photographer

Last January, I set out to preserve the daily memories we were making as a family. Morning routines, homework, shopping trips, the occasional meltdown, and the ever-present love and laughter. I realized that these natural, unscripted moments are what my children will always remember.

This year, I have made a couple resolutions, as I'm sure most of you have.

Firstly, to take one photo a day - a 365 project. To see what my first week of 2017 looked like head over here.

Secondly and more importantly, to get in the frame at least once a week. To be in a photo - either with my kids or without, so that when we relive our memories and pore through albums in years to come they should see their mother!

Which brings me to my third commitment. To document a day in our life once a month. I hadn't truly considered this until a fellow photographer, Sandi, challenged a group of us to take a photo each hour and document our day. I ended up making it more of a personal Day in the Life session and I'm so happy I accepted that challenge. 

This is an ordinary Monday in our house. Simple. Authentic. Beautiful.

From early morning stretches, carpool, nap time, carpool again, homework, dinner and bath time, I documented our day from 6:30 AM to 7:30 PM. 

There was no golden hour sunset. We didn't all hold hands and hug each other. We just lived our Honest Real Everyday. 

Love. Laughter. Teamwork. Persistence. Joy. And even a meltdown (or two).

But this is my life right now and I love it! It's hard. It's tiring. And there's lots of responsibility. But it's invigorating. And rewarding.

Seeing the photos I made of my day, and watching them in the slideshow just gave me goosebumps all over! The beauty inherent in each moment that makes up my day is so hard to miss when you're not living in the moment.

This here is motherhood from my point of view.

And you can have the same experience and feel those goosebumps too. You might think your house is too small. Or too dark. You want to lose those extra 10 pounds first. Or "we don't do anything exciting". Guess what? I want to lose those extra 10 pounds too (okay fine, more like 20). And we don't do anything exciting either, unless you consider carpool, cleaning the kitchen and taking baths exciting! 

As well I joined a group of like-minded photographers who will be documenting one day a month too. If you click here and go to Laura's blog post you can see how she documented her day. If you keep clicking through you'll get to see the beautiful days of more of my fellow talented photographers.

Let's get real this year. ME AND YOU!

I'd love to help you preserve your family's everyday beauty. It can be the simple everyday. Or it can be a favorite activity you do as a family. DROP ME A LINE and tell me what memories you'd like to capture forever.

Also, make sure to SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL LIST to GET YOUR OWN GUIDE with tips to help you capture your everyday moments.

{Personal Project} Documenting Everyday // Real Life // One Photo A Day // Milwaukee Family Photographer

I officially joined a 365 group this year. I've been documenting our daily life since last year, but I skipped many days last year. 

So this year, I joined some accountability groups and I'm aiming to do it right. I know there will be days when I don't get a photo, but as my friend Becky says, "Just do what works for you". And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

I'll just photograph our everyday moments. The beautiful. The mundane. 

So without further adieu, I present to you: Blimie T's Week 1 photos.

1. I started out the year with a self portrait (of sorts). Granted it's not in focus. But when I've got an overtired, cranky little toddler sitting in my lap, I take what I can get.

2. I don't know about your kids, but when my kids come home from school they are so famished they can eat a house. Okay, maybe not a house. But a container of cream cheese. By the spoonful.

3. When we woke up and saw fog, I was thoroughly excited! As a photographer, it's not often I get to photograph in foggy weather. You can read about our Foggy Day Story here.

4. This is what making breakfast looks like in this house. What do you do for your breakfast?

5 and 6. Winter in Wisconsin can be very drab. I've been focusing on trying to find light, and I was surprisingly awarded with some sunny days. For about 25 minutes every morning (when it's sunny) we get this one streak of sunshine that comes right through our kitchen and ends in the corner of the hallway. 

Capturing some house glitter (aka dust) has been on my list of wants (yes, photographer's like getting good dust shots!)

And just reading her favorite books.

And that's about it for this week.

If you'd like some tips on capturing your everyday moments, sign up here for my email list and I'll send you a quick cheat sheet! Also, if you'd like to join a 365 group please let me know in the comments below and I'll create a VIP Blimie T 365 group.