Name the Photo!

I plan on entering these three photos to A High School Visual Arts Exhibition in Merriam, Ks. Problem, all three need a name. Now, I can take fairly decent photographs, but I can NOT name them.

That's where you guys come in. Come up with a name for one or all three of the following photos, and post it in the comment box. (I thought about a prize for the winner, but I couldn't come up with anything...)

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

Things You Should Know

(low light; sooc)

• My DSLR arrived on Monday. It's a Canon Rebel XS. It's beautiful. And it takes amazingly good pictures. Seriously, when I open photoshop, all I have to do is a quick levels adujstment.
• I'll be taking my brother's senior photos next week at Minor Park.
• My wisdom teeth are being removed on Monday. It's quite an interesting procedure: They make an incision in my gum, saw the tooth in half, pull the pieces out (obviously) and stitch me back up. The only problem is that I don't really like the oral surgeon. And I won't get to eat for 12 hours before the surgery, and probably several hours after the surgery as well. Poor stomach. :( I also plan to watch Hidalgo when I get home, If I can stay awake. I hope it will be good.
• It's not easy reading 3 books at once.
• Hopefully I'll be seeing UP! next week.
• I have new glasses (which you can see in my new profile pic, which was taken by my XS), and the prescription is just strong enough that it's slightly hard to sit at the computer, but I MUST use my glasses if I want to be able to see the computer screen. So I just sit slightly farther away. It's still weird, though.
• I love blocks.
• If I were a hobbit, I would marry Bilbo.
• I will be taking the PSAT this fall, the SAT next spring, and visiting colleges as well. Eesh. I feel old. =D And, I have no idea what colleges I'm even interested in.
• And I think that's all I have to say.
• Goodbye.

Grace

"I am submitting this photo into the www.iheartfaces.com Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."

I really like this picture...

This picture of Grace was taken about a year ago (or more!) This is the original:

So. We went for a drive...

...and the lighting was beautiful! This picture was shot at 5:18PM. Please forgive the blurriness, I was in the car. The picture really doesn't do it justice...Oh well. This is SOOC--no editing except resizing.

"A Trip Down Memory Lane"

Even though I don't remember any of this.

I Heart Faces Week 11

So. I'm finally gonna do it. Here is my contribution to iHeartFaces' weekly photo challenge. This week's theme is No Flash.
This was lit by some really pretty western light coming through my bedroom window. I was bored. I'd show you the original SOOC shot, but I'm not brave enough.

Fix-it Friday #2

I'm having alot of fun with this. =D

Quiz

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes!!!!
2. Have you ever smoked? A cigar
3. Do you own a gun? No.
4. What flavor of Kool-Aid was/is your favorite? Ew.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? No.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? They're Alright
7. Favorite Christmas movie? The Grinch (the original one, of course)
8. Favorite thing to drink in the morning? It depends...
9. Can you do pushups? Yup.
10. Favorite piece of jewelry? uh....
11. Favorite hobby? Photography! Drawing design plans of sorts.
12. Do you have A.D.D.? That would probably depend on who you ask.
13. What is one trait you hate about yourself? lots.
14. Middle name? Rebecca
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: People!; Pull up your pants, dude!; Woah, my legs are short.
16. Name your 3 favorite drinks. Coffee, Pepsi, and Guinness.
17. Current worry? That I won't be able to buy my camera come May.
18. Current hate right now? Red Badge of Courage
19. Favorite place to be? I don't have one right now.
20. How did you bring in the New Year? I don't really remember...But its not because I was drunk.
21. Where would you like to go? Scotland and Ireland and France and Italy and New Zealand, and all over the US.
22. Name three people who might complete this. I dunno.
23. Do you own slippers? No.
24. What shirt are you wearing? A brown one.
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I haven't ever slept on satin sheets, so...
26. Can you whistle? Yes.
27. Favorite color? Black.
28. Would you be a pirate? Si mon.
29. What songs do you sing in the AM? I don't tend to sing in the AM.
30. Favorite girl's name? I don't know.
32. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing. Fia took all my money.
33. Last thing that made you laugh? Something my mom said.
34. What vehicle do you drive? I don't drive yet. But I'll end up driving a Chyrsler Town and Country when I do start.
35. Worst injury you have ever had? A broken toe.
36. Do you love where you live? No, no, no, no, no! I like the train tracks, though.
37. How many TV's do you have in your house? Two
38. Who is your loudest friend? I don't think I have one.
39. Do you have any pets? A dog.
40. Does someone have a crush on you? Ha! I doubt it.
41. What is your favorite book(s)? Northanger Abbey, Emma, The Chronicles of Narnia...
42. Do you collect anything? Not really.
43. Favorite pro-sports team? Chicago Bears.
44. What song would you like played at your funeral? Like I'd care.

7 reasons why I love Photoshop

The top picture is the original, and the second picture is right after I used the Healing brush to smooth out her skin. (I had to have 9 pictures to create a collage without any repeats.) The rest are my different edits. Picture courtesy of I Heart Faces Fix-it Friday.

I'm Alive!

I had a mini photoshoot with Grace. Above are my favorites of all my shots, and below are my faves of her shots.

Merry Christmas!

Randomosity

I got my calendar in the mail a few days ago. It's beautiful!! I can't wait till I actually get to use it. It's great quality, and it's so fun seeing my pictures in a calendar.

Don't you love the new layout of my blog? Isn't it so pretty?

I have new Photoshop actions. They're really pretty.

I went to Columbia on the first of this month with my dad and little brother. We walked around the campus a bit, but it was like 29 degrees, and really windy, and neither my brother or my dad had brought appropriate winter attire, so we didn't do much. I got to go to the bookstore, but I wasn't about to pay 45 bucks for a sweatshirt, no matter how cool it was. Oh yeah, and we got to see Mr. Fielder again (ClassEd dad and bass player for Neil Sedaka), went to Starbucks with him, and then got to stay for a bit of the soundcheck, which was probably the best part. Very fun.

I have only bought one Christmas present this year. Not good.

I hope to have my Canon Rebel Xs sometime next year, hopefully in time to take David's senior photos.

I saw Rescue Dawn this week. That was the slowest moving movie I've ever seen in my life. But I enjoyed it. Christian Bale sounds really funny when he yells.

I also saw Wall-E. That was the cutest movie I have ever seen in my life. And the two short films were great.

I also saw the trailer for the newest Disney/Pixar movie, Up. It has potential to be very interesting.

I think that's...Toodle Pip!

A moment of silence, please....

We lost to KU, of all teams. How could we? We're so much better than them.

When will our defense ever learn to tackle?

When will the offense realize that the only decent thing they can do is run the ball?

Why did we have to mess up so horribly??

I'm going to be depressed for about 30 whole more minutes.

:(

2009 Calendar

Hey y'all!

If anyone would like to order a 2009 calendar (with my photos!!) leave a comment. I am ordering one for myself (at $7.99), and you get a better deal if you order more than one. I might charge you like, two extra dollars so as I can make a profit, but trust me, it'll be a lot cheaper than most other calendars you can find. Hopefully, if I get all the orders in on time (lets say...Dec 9th), you all will be able to have them before Christmas. They are being ordered via VistaPrint, a company about whom I've heard many good things.

Anyway, if you're interested...comment away!

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Estes Park CO in photos.

(Pictures courtesy of my dad)

My siblings and I in Big Thompson Canyon. (That's me in the black coat taking a picture...)

Us hiking Lily Ridge Trail overlooking Lily Lake.

Riding go-karts! That's me in the purple car.

In the backyard.
Grace and I on the Lily Ridge Trail

Hello

Hi guys.

I'm back from six days in Estes Park. I drove go-karts twice. That was the best part. We also hiked the trail at Lilly Lake, went to Mary's Lake, did the Riverwalk two and a half times, played Life and Chinese Checkers (I won everytime!), drank lots of hot chocolate, got sick, and some other stuff that I forget. Oh yeah, another fun part was sitting on one of the rocks in the backyard and reading.

I have some pictures posted here, and will probably put a few here, as well.

That's pretty much it, I think. So Goodbye.

Weston, MO

It was fun. I took 194 pictures. So many would look sooo good enlarged.

Be checking out my photography blog http://www.laurenmaxwell.wordpress.com/ for more pictures (should be up by Friday). Also check out http://www.lowenphotography.blogspot.com/ for even more (I'll try to post these the beginning of next week).

Books

Books I read this summer:
Peace Like a River, Leif Enger
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain (re-read)
The Prince and the Pauper, Mark Twain
Tha Magician's Nephew, C.S. Lewis (re-read)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis (re-read)
Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
The Tale of Desperaux, Kate DiCamillo (re-read)
The Red House Mystery, A. A. Milne
Snow, Tracy Lynn (recommended to Grace by a friend...didn't like it much.)

Books I didn't finish:
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley...I ended up having to return it to the library.

Books I started:
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen

Oooh! Second Post!

(downtown kc)

School starts next week. I get to take a photojournalism course! It should be fun. I like a more photojournalistic approach to photography. Much cooler.

Anyway. Oh, right!! I sorta kind a have a job doing simple housework for a semi-invalid who lives in our neighborhood. I've enjoyed it so far.

I shot my very first paid photoshoot earlier this month. True, it was for my brother, and yes, I only made five bucks, but still. I'm getting paid. Or supposed to be getting paid. He hasn't done it yet.

So. We'll be going to Colorado in September. Hopefully I'll get lots of good photos. I was also hoping anyone who reads this would suggest a couple of books for me to take on the trip. I'll probably bring Northanger Abbey (I still haven't read it!), but I can't think of anything else.

So...Any good books I should read?