Pre-Wedding Shots

The day before the wedding we attended last weekend in New Orleans, I got a call asking if I wanted to shoot pictures of the girls in the bridal party getting ready for their Big Event.

Gulp–that’s a lot of pressure.  But always up for a photo adventure, my daughter Tara and I had an impromptu photo shoot while Devon (my other daughter) and the rest of the girls primped and prepped.

What fun we had!  Tara also has a very artistic eye, so we took turns acting as assistant, shooting the girls and still lifes of the flowers, the dresses, the house.  We tested lighting and aperture settings, and I explained some of the technical adjustments you can make with the DSLR.

What fun we had! So, take on that new challenge presented to you.  You never know what you might learn, and hopefully the experience will exceed your expectations.

I will send Alexie and Will–the new couple–the photos this week.  But, here is a sneak peek of a few that I think came out well.  Enjoy.

C

Note: all photos copyrighted by me, Cindy Kennedy.

Autumn Beauty

After too long an absence, here are some looks from my dying but beautiful gardens.

Bloom Gone

End of season coneflower

still alive!

C

A Garden Evolving, Part 2

Here are just a couple photos of my garden, written about yesterday.    It is truly amazing what a lot of hard work, several years, vision, cooperative weather, a bit of money to invest in new plants and  friend’s contributions can transform.

The hideous and unwelcoming Before:

And the heavenly transformation.

         

 

 

Walk without a view, Before:

And now…. C

A Garden Evolving, Part 1

My first summer here I spent “ungardening”; that is, removing two great garden fulls of dead trees and weeds and dying bushes and nothingness from the front of our home.  In complete disrepair, we clearly had the most uninviting yard and walkway leading to our front door.  DO NOT VISIT! it absolutely screamed.

We then went from overkill to bareness to three years later gardens full of mainly native flowers and grasses, adding every year a wonderful combination of blooms from the local nursery, cuttings from our old house now maturing, a variety of seeds and split offs from friends and neighbors.  Each magenta, orange, sunshine yellow, cardinal red, a plethora of purple, and snow white petal has a story to tell, nectar to share with a variety of bees, and welcomes the hummingbirds and toads and birds that frolic in the birdbath.

We added small vegetable beds on the side of the house, now exploding with tomatoes and herbs and jalapenos and grape vines and sunflowers stretching for the sun. My dad and I share time in the garden, my son hunting for worms as we dig, my daughters choosing the herbs and the picking the perfect bouquet.  There is always a task to be done–as the deaded vines choke out tender wild flowers and the hated Japanese beetles turn grape leaves to lace–but sometimes we simply sit on the front porch: quiet, admiring, enjoying, and planning.  The sweat we have poured into the soil rewarding us with beauty and delicious accompaniments to our meal.

Our pathway now sings WELCOME! as the flowers sway in the gentle breeze, grasses waving hello as you approach.  Just the way we want it.  C

Note: I posted garden photos the day after I wrote this, on July 31.

Tree in Bloom

apples in bloom

not yet open

  Finally, spring has finally arrived in Illinois, cool though it may be.  As I tried to take these photos, a variety of bees did not want me anywhere near the tree.  I let them have their free reign, since the bees are in such huge demand these days.  Do your work– Go forth and pollinate! 

The spring sun beckons and teases about warmer days ahead.  C