I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Thats right folks, I am heading to Missouri tomorrow for a business meeting. I am super excited and nervous all at the same time. I will be back on Saturday.

Ciao

Wordless Wednesday (and Tuesday)

I am participating in the Challenge for Life which is a 20km walk in support of Cancer Care Manitoba.

I am really excited about participating in this event and getting that much closer to beating cancer once and for all!

As a walker I need to raise $1000 in donations in order to participate. If you would like to donate by cheque or cash rather than through the website email me at erinkurt@gmail.com and I will arrange to pick up the donation.

I sincerely appreciate any donation you are able to offer. Please know that any amount helps! All donations over $10.00 are tax deductible.

Visit My Webpage to donate

Thank you!!

Love Thursday

Thursday already! Here is my Love Thursday picture. I took this near the front of our yard. I just love living in the county and having 15 acres of my own. It is so peaceful and quiet.

Check out more Love Thursday pictures over at Shutter Sisters.

Wordless Wednesday (and Tuesday)

The Cat Came Back

Some more shots of our neighbor cat.

{FEAR}

Fear of failure. It has been following me around for far too long, and jumping in just as I am ready to try something new. And as much as I want to ignore that voice every time it chirps up from the peanut gallery, I just can't. This has been a part of me for too long to remember. Self sabotaging to bypass the risk of failure or humiliation.

I have always played sports and been quite good at them. But for some reason I have always stopped myself from giving that little extra to be great. I was afraid of pushing myself to the limit and it not being good enough. I know it sounds stupid, and trust me it does to me to.

I wanted to be so many things growing up, a vet, a doctor, an accountant, a photographer, and many more that I just can't think of right now. I was just scared of trying something and not being able to succeed. Being on your own at 15 doesn't leave you much option to go to school full time or "try" out careers. I made the choice of accounting. Good money and stability. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do. But I am still taking my schooling to get my designation and will be for quite a few more years. I fear that I am not going to want to do it forever, or I am not going to be very good at it. I would love to open my own practice, but don't know if I would be successful.

I LOVE photography (as you all know) and I keep thinking that I made the wrong career choice. That I should have listened to that inner voice and pursued a career in photography. I am jealous of those people who are able to go to photography school and train with the best. I want that to be me, I want to do what I absolutely love everyday. I have been wanting to set up a website to sell my prints, but don't know if my pictures are good enough. I want to start doing photo shoots with people (part-time) but am scared to ask people as I doubt my ability. Do I know enough? Am I good enough? Am I going to look like an idiot? Are they going to like their pictures? Just as I decide to throw caution to the wind and try it, that little voice whispers in my ear. Makes me doubt myself.

I need to break this cycle. I need to have faith in myself.

Love Thursday

It's Love Thursday again people! This week it is all about "the love of the game", soccer that is. I have officially made the team (yeah!) and am loving playing and learning.

Check out more Love Thursday pictures at Shutter Sisters. If you are participating let me know so I can come see you picture!

Wordless Wednesday (and Tuesday)

Ebay Auction

I have donate these two prints for an ebay auction to raise money for Jeni. There was a post on Shutter Sisters awhile ago asking for any pictures or items that anyone could donate to auction off and raise money for Jeni and her family.

I immediately sent an email and offered an 8x10 print of both of these pictures.

Everything in the ebay store is being auctioned to raise money for the care of our friend Jeni. Jeni has been diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. She is a valiant, courageous warrior. You can read of Jeni’s story in her own words at: http://thecomfyplace.blogspot.com/

So if you can, head over there and check it out. Bid on something you like and help a very deserving family who is going through the unthinkable.

Love Thursday

Family is all about love. Sometimes you disagree with them, and they just don't understand you, but you will always love them.

Check out more Love Thursday pictures at Shutter Sisters.

Wordless Wednesday

Look What I Got.............

I bought myself a super wide angle/fisheye with macro lens. It is not a very high quality lens, but it will be tons of fun to play around with. There are not very many lens options for the camera I have so I will have to wait till I upgrade my camera to really play around with lenses.

I find with this lens the middle is good, but as you get to the edges of the photo it gets blurry. The macro is not too bad but has a really small area right in the middle that is fully focused and then it gets blurry from there out.

But for $60 I can have fun with it and get some interesting pictures.

hopeREVO goes to Rwanda

Jen and Odette are making hope happen in Rwanda! They've received more than $6,300 in donations for the travel expenses and materials needed to spread hope while Jen's there.

Now that the resources are in place, there's a long laundry list of things to do. And that's where you and I come in, fellow hope revolutionaries! We're going to create hope notes to send with Jen to the girls of Rwanda.

Please follow this link to find out how you can participate!

*I stumbled upon Jen's blog a few weeks ago and have just been captivated by her kindness and generosity. Her posts are amazing and eyeopening. Please head over there to read the story behind this trip to Rwanda.*

Love Thursday

Wow, it is Thursday already!! Here is my picture of love this week. Last weekend I took one of my nieces and two of my nephews to the park to play for awhile. It was so much fun and the weather was beautiful! Check out more Love Thursday pictures over at Shutter Sisters.

Wordless Wednesday (and Tuesday)

Superhero Challenge {Get A New Perspective}

Shutter Sisters has a Superhero Challenge each week, and this weeks theme is "Get A New Perspective". I was experimenting with jumping shots and this is what I came up with. Go to Shutter Sisters and check out the other Superhero Challenge entries.

Wordless Wednesday (and Tuesday)

Autism Awarness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month. A designer over at Snow Pea Designs has a child with Autism and is on a mission to help other families like hers raise money to help pay for expenses.

She lives in Hawaii and they are very limited on recourses and funding for families living with Autism. It can cost about $100,000.00 just for special therapies, which does not include medical expenses or special diets.

Snow Pea Designs will be giving 10% of all proceeds to help a few of the local families in Hawaii pay for their therapies. So all purchases made and www.snowpeadesigns.com will give 10% to charity.
Also, for any of Sara's products sold during the month of April, she will give 50% of all proceeds.

Please head over there and check out their awesome photoshop brushes, actions, borders, and tons more!

You can check out Sara's Flickr post here.

Sibling Love

I babysat these two (niece and nephew) yesterday for the day, and we has so much fun. By the end of the day we had toys from one end of the house to the other. I have a big bucket of Fisher Price toys from when me and my brother were little. I have pretty much the whole set, the people, the camping set, the park & pool set, and they love them. Those toys were the the best investment my parents made. They are 20+ years old, in great condition and the kids would rather play with them than new toys.

Today we have Kurt's other sister, her husband and their three kids coming over for the afternoon. So I best go and get some things done before they get here.

Love Thursday

This is my hubby Kurt, the love of my life. I took this last weekend while he was working in his garage.

Check out more love Thursdays pictures over at Shutter Sisters.

Wordless Wednesday (and Tuesday)

Me, Myself, and I

I have been having a lot of fun taking self portraits lately and trying new things. I find that self portraits are easy to do as I can try whatever I want and don't have to try and explain what I am looking for to anyone else. Also, I can take as long as I want and take as many shots and I want to get the right one.

I think some of that has to do with not having a lot of experience working with models. I photography my nieces and nephews a lot, but haven't worked up the nerve to ask other people to do photo shoots with me. I need to start doing that to get my confidence up and get practice using different lighting and venues.

I was asked by Valley Girl how I take my self portraits. The main component is a tripod. I bought one a few months ago and love it!

I also have to find a spot with a good background and lighting. Right now since it is spring time in Canada, which means snow, rain, mud and slush all in one day I have to find a spot in my house. I have one wall in my house that I use as it has nothing on it and it is right next to our sliding patio doors. It is not a white wall which kind of sucks but it does for now. Once we renovate and add on to both levels of the house I will have more room and more wall space. I would love to get my hands on a couple of photo backdrop but have to find out where to even start looking for those.

Anyway, next I adjust my camera setting to what I want, set the self timer and start shooting. I usually take about 100 pictures and most of them find their way to the recycle bin. So you do need time and a lot of patience.

It is definitely learn by doing. There are some days when I don't end up with any photos I like, but I have determined what setting work and what don't and what kind of lighting I need.

Next is processing. I do all my processing in photoshop. I have a ton of actions and textures that I have acquired over the last while that I love using. It is all a matter of preference and what kind of look and feel you want your photos to have.

That is pretty much it.

If anyone else has any questions about how I take/processes any of my photos let me know. I will try and answer the best I can.

Love Thursday

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love sunrises/sunsets! Go to Shutter Sisters to check out more Love Thursday pictures!

Wordless Wednesday (and Tuesday)

Through my eyes

“You’ll never be as young as you are today”

Ben Harper

Love Thursday

Here is my Love Thursday picture. Cyrus is our beast and at times he can really get on my nerves, but in the end I can't help but to love him. He is always there to give you a kiss (even when you don't want one), or snuggle with you on the couch (where he takes up almost all of it).

To see more Love Thursday pictures go over to Shutter Sisters.

Wordless Wednesday (and Tuesday)

Courage

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow”

Mary Anne Radmacher

I'm hanging up the gloves.........

This was a decision that I have been thinking about for a very long time, and it definitely did not come easy. I feel like I am letting a piece of me go.

I joined kickboxing to get into shape, and learn some self-defense at the same time. I never in my wildest dreams thought I was going to end up loving the sport and competing in it. And I did just that, it became a part of me, it so to speak defined a part of me.

I was so proud of what I was doing, and learning. I went from taking the recreational classes for exercise, to being trained to compete in the ring. This was a very hard road, full of injuries, tears, blood and joy.

My trainer pushed me to exhaustion, only to tell me to keep going, hit harder, and kick faster. I could barely hold up my arms or stand on my own two feet. He always pushed me to my limits and then a bit more. I hated him at the time, but once that training session was over, I was grateful for his time and effort. For seeing in me what was hard for me to see in myself. He dedicated his time to help me become the best I could be.

Being the only girl training to fight in our club, my only practice was with the guys. They out weighed me and out powered me. It was frustrating and really tested my will. I had to move faster and hit harder just to keep from getting knocked out. There were days where I was scared to get in the ring and face one of them; I could just see myself getting knocked around like a rag doll. But my trainer believed in me and told me I had to believe in myself before I could step in that ring.

I fought those guys, and even won some of the bouts. It was such sweet victory! But even more important than winning, I learnt to believe in myself and face my fears. These guys were bigger and stronger than me, and I was able to last minimum 3 rounds with them. I knew that if I could do that, no girl in my weight class would be able to knock me around. I also earned their respect.

My first fight was the scariest and proudest days of my life. I was on the verge of puking the entire day of the fight. I kept thinking, “What did I get myself into”. As soon as I heard the announcer say my name, everything went blurry. This was it; this is what I have been training my ass of for. This is what all those blood, sweat and tears were for. I don’t remember too about the fight, it went by so fast. I did not win, but I put up a good fight and was proud of myself.

I spent two years training 4-5 days a week, teaching the recreation class every week, and pouring every ounce of energy and time into the sport. I trained through broken toes, a cracked shin, and more bruises that you can imagine. I fought in many fights and cheered on my teammates in theirs.

When I had the opportunity to have laser eye surgery to fix my vision (I was near sighted), it took me awhile to decide to do it. By getting the surgery I would no long need to wear glasses/contacts, but I might not be able to train/fight anymore. I made the painful decision to have the surgery and risk my kickboxing future. The surgery went awesome and I can now see better than 20/20.

But this new vision came with a sacrifice, no more kickboxing. My surgeon highly advised against it and explained the risk of damage. It was hard news to take, but I was not going to risk my eyesight. Although I knew this, I was unwilling to admit it. I wanted to train and compete and have things the way they were. It took till now (8 months later) to make this tough decision, and verbalize that I would no longer be a kickboxer. Today I will hang up my gloves and taking the memories with me.

I learnt so much during my two years of training and competing, about myself, about other people. I learnt that I could do anything I set my mind to.

Love Thursday

Here is my "love thursday" for this week. This is my best friends little girl. She is so adorable and lovable. I could just pinch those little cheeks of sweetness all day!!

To see more love thursday pictures, head over to Shutter Sisters