Visit to EL BOSQUE (The Forest)

Near where my mom lives there is a nature preserve. It's a fairly small one but once you are in it, you feel like you are in a deep forest and it's a wonderful place to bring the kids and just let them loose. Unfortunately every time we go we find tons of cans all over the ground...

You will also find those colorful drug bags that are left behind by teens who also like the forest...but for other reasons.
Here is my hubby picking up trash..

Luke found a huge rock to stand on..

Nora on a wooden bridge path
They love hopping over this missing piece on the path....
This is so beautiful!!!

Nature as inspiration for some future work

While visiting my hubby's family in Pennsylvania I walked around their neighborhood and took pictures of plants up close. I am interested in exploring various types of lines, patterns and shapes found in nature and using them in making abstract work. Here are some of those photos. Will share my work as I get started in the next few days.

Luke continues to evade my camera. Now it's become like a fun game. He will run up to me and scream the minute he sees me lift my camera. I love this picture below. It captures his energy level and the feeling of the whole moment.

I LOVE this one too.....when he laughs I see my little tiny boy and want him to stay that way forever. I adore that laugh and those perfect little corn teeth.....

My babies....

These are my two treasures...they make every single minute of my life so worth living. They make me strong, they make me laugh and cry.....but most importantly no matter what happens they make me feel alive.

Me at 4.....

So this is a picture of me when I was 4. I grew up with this picture around me yet just now I notice that I am wearing a bikini in the tub.....very funny. I also now realize how much I look like Nora....she makes that same smile when she smiles.

Inspiration to feed more ideas....

I have decided to paint more trees since there are still a few ideas I'd like to try out, but I need some inspiration. Went out for a walk today to take pics of trees in my neighborhood.

One of my favorite trees is the magnolia tree....they give out such amazing flowers. A all around perfect tree.

Nora uses a mini toy phone and pretends to also take pictures of trees.

My mom's garden.....

My mom's garden.....in Long Island.

They have this amazing canopy arbour.....
Cute sculptures everywhere.
Private and cool...
I love these sculptures....at one point my mom was really into frogs and that's all enyone ever gave her for her garden.....no, I think she's no longer INTO frogs.
these are as big as our heads....
My beautiful mom and my sweet daughter.
Concord grapes.....almost ready. We have a war every summer with the raccoons who seem to know exactly when they are ripe and come and eat them ALL in one night....



These reach out to the sky.....
And even more sort of creepy sculptures...
love this refleciton...
Dalias......love them!!!

Cute birdhouse....

My mom in her garden...

A giant puffball....

My latest Photoshop Adventures..

I do event creative photography on the side.....check out my wed-site (lol).

Mir's Magic Moments Photography....

Just Finished Editing Out 21 People from A Picture

If you have a picture you'd like me to work on, e-mail me at Miriam@MirsMagicMoments.com. To see samples of my work go to my website, www.MirsMagicMoments.com. To see images you can enlarge to check for clarity go to: http://mirsmagicmomentsphotography.shutterfly.com/

Memory Keeper

Each picture has an entry and the date. No on is allowed to take pictures from the album.

I grew up with maybe a handful of photos of me as a very young child; most of them are from when I was about age 5. No pictures of me as a baby exist. This need to know more about me and my past has always over-generated my memory- keeping muscle. It's no surprise to me then that I do wedding photography and LOVE it with a passion or that I am the only one in my family who always has a camera in hand....even at the most mundane, daily events. 

My husband sometimes complains about my (according to him) excessive monthly photo bill. Yet, I do not consider twelve 4"x6" images a month at all excessive.  I feel so strongly the need to tell our story. When our children are older they will see that their history began even before their memory began. So much love is recorded in these albums. 

Aside from adding to our family album monthly, I also write in a journal for each child about once every 2 weeks. I record all those adorable, sweet and wonderful kid moments that you think you will surely remember but soon come to forget. When they turn 18, they will each get to keep and read their journals. For example, my son, who is 4 years old, uses this very sweet exclamation.  Every time he is surprised by something he yells, "Ala Cazawee!" Once I heard it for the 100Th time, I ran to his journal to write it down and date it.  He saw this and he asked me what I was doing.  I responded, "mommy is writing down that you said Ala Cazawee so that when you are Evan's age (Evan is an older cousin) you will remember that you said such interesting words."  he quickly answers as a matter-of-factly, "I will still say Ala Cazawee when I'm a teenager mom." Of course, I also wrote down his response. What a complete treasure for a mom, and I did not even have to pay or work hard to get it. 

 I ask family members and dear friends to also write in the kids' journals so that they too give their love in writing.  

I add small sketches to illustrate my message. I do not add pictures to the journals. I have enough pictures in their albums. 

To see my Wedding Photography Website got to: Mir's Magic Moments Photography at www.MirsMagicMoments.com

To see some awesome samples of my wedding photography work go to: My Shutterfly Site

Color Splash----A Great Gift

As you may know I wear many hats. I am a teacher, an artist and a wedding photographer. I absolutely love photographing weddings. I often create fun color-splash images in Photoshop for my clients and give out free 4x6 prints. I chose one of my favorite pictures of my daughter and colored-splashed her eyes and headwrap. To see my wedding website go to Mir's Magic Moments at www.MirsMagicMoments.com. To see samples of my photographic work go to my online album at Shutterfly. 

If you have a picture you'd like me to color splash I charge $10/each through pay-pal. I can have the image sent to your nearest pharmacy within 1 day in whatever size you request. All you need to do is purchase a frame and you have a most amazing gift!