If I could only find the door

It's alive! My new web site....

2008-08-02T10:46:00.002-04:00

Please go take a peak and tell me what you think! I worked really hard on this, and although I didn't think I'd have a web site until the end of the year, I took advantage of a great deal and jumped into it now!

Please check out www.pattyschuchmanphotograhy.com and leave me a comment here after you do! Or leave me a comment on my photo blog at www.pattyschuchmanphotography.blogspot.com and check out the new image that Trisha Robertson of www.orangegeckodesigns.com did for me - she took the logo she designed for me and created a blog template to compliment it!

Wow...so many new things this month! My head is spinning from it all!

Thanks for looking and please let me know if you've stopped by -leave me a comment!

Phaunt U is GIVING away one slot for their next class!

2008-08-02T10:41:00.000-04:00

Tell ALL your friends! I am so excited for someone to win this slot - the Phaunt classes are so full of great stuff and I would LOVE to be able to do it myself! It just isn't in my plan to spend the money on it now, and I was hoping to take it in October...seems this will now be the last Phaunt U class this year, so my plans have a kink in them (so very sad!!!)...but Kylie is doing a great thing with this give away. Here's the deal...you have to nominate someone you know who is generous with themselves in their photography...someone who shares information, or their talent, or their business it seems. Once nominated, Kylie puts their name into consideration and the person chosen will be notified in order to start the next class on August 5th! That's really soon, so the nominee has be able to want to take the class now too....it's a $375 value, and someone is going to LOVE that class! So think about who to nominate, and then email Kylie the nominee like this: info@phaunt.com with the following info:- title the thread PHAUNT PIF CONTEST- Person you are nominating and their email address- Reason for nomination.. Donâ€™t just say â€œTheyâ€™re a cool personâ€.. sorry that probably wonâ€™t win it!3. Nominations must be recieved by Monday evening, I will announce the winner on Tuesday. Wow...I can't wait to see who gets this! For those that don't know, Phaunt U is an online course on CS3...and there is a complete description of the course outline and goodies you get with it at www.phauntactions.com - follow the link to Phaunt U....

Playing with lighting again...

2008-06-13T10:51:00.003-04:00

Just a few from last weekend when I was playing with my flash and new backdrop set up....

My Baby is 21....

2008-06-01T21:33:00.002-04:00

Josh turned 21 years old today...I had the pleasure of taking my grown son to a japanese steakhouse and drinking sake with him....well, he had the sake...I had a Pina Colada...either way, it was a pleasure...but it sure is bittersweet to see him as a man now. Hard to resist looking back, but I've forced myself not to look at his baby pictures at all.

So here he is with his cake...

James Madison University - Here comes child #2!!!

2008-05-23T09:25:00.002-04:00

So we are officially a James Madison University family now! After being on the waitlist since December, Matt was called yesterday and offered admission!!! He is beyond excited - as we all are quite frankly. He has already removed the George Mason sticker from his back windshield, and went to school today with a JMU notebook in his backpack. Now we have to plan a trip to JMU to get him a t-shirt and sweatpants and a new car sticker.....

So, the grad announcements are all printed wrong...and already mailed....but oh well! We'll update extended family on the Christmas cards this year I guess.

This is a big deal for us, for those that don't know...since Josh already attends JMU, this will an opportunity for both my boys to be together at JMU for the next two years...and as a mother, I couldn't be happier to have my chicks in the same place.

Thanks for listening....

2008-05-16T15:38:00.003-04:00

So Disney in May means Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot...these are just a few of the many, many, flower shots I took while there. Also, the topiaries were amazing and I could have walked around Epcot for days just taking pics of those!

Maybe a macro lens before the next F&G trip will be in order!

Prom 08

2008-05-10T09:27:00.002-04:00

Here are a few shots from Matt's senior prom...I had to take these before we left for Disney as we weren't here for the actual day of prom. I'm pretty excited about these and think they are showing a good bit of improvement even a few short months of studying.

On a family update note - Connor did NOT need the knee surgery after all. He went in for the operation, and the vet took some more X-rays while Connor was sedated. They determined that the joint was good, and didn't need repair. There is some muscle atrophy, and it is unexplained at this time. But for now, we watch Connor for limping/lameness and he's settled here at home - healthy, and without the metal plates and screws! We dodged a big one this time, and the timing was good for nice game of dodge....

Thanks for looking!

New Logo...

2008-05-08T19:36:00.002-04:00

Now I have to take pictures worthy of this!

Home from Disney...what a vacation....

2008-05-08T19:08:00.002-04:00

Home from Disney....and I'll put a few pictures up here for all. The trip was pretty good - weather was beautiful and the parks weren't overly crowded either. We spent a lot of time worried about Connor, who we were told the day before we left needed surgery on his left leg for a torn ACL.

But the biggest "news" is that Marty is now transitioning out of Apptix, where he's been for 4 years. It was an interesting turn of events, and one we are still trying to work through the details of....

In the mean time, here are some shots of the magical place!

2008-04-28T20:29:00.002-04:00

Fighting my internet connection to get these images up today...Marty and I went to JMU again to take some pics at the TKD belt test. Here are just a few....

So, WDW here I come!

2008-04-28T17:00:00.002-04:00

I'm almost ready to go...but not QUITE yet...still some laundry, cleaning, etc to get done. I have my trading pins all packed, and most of the other "Disney" things organized because I keep that stuff all together. This is a long trip for us -6 days! We are so excited, but disappointed to miss Matt's prom...so it's kind of bittersweet for us. But here's my bag tag for my pin bag that I created today to get things started!

Passover Pics...

2008-04-23T10:29:00.001-04:00

I let more than a week go by.....

2008-04-23T10:12:00.002-04:00

Well, so much for new convictions! I always have the best of intentions, but life gets in the way. So last week wasn't really full of events, just day to day life. But last weekend Marty and I traveled to the Poconos for Passover with his family. It was an interesting weekend and a long drive up and back. I can't believe how expensive gas is getting and that it bothers me as much as it does. It might even effect my ability to eat lunch out with friends...well...maybe....

I took some pics while up in the Poconos - and I'll post them here in a minute. I have to resize and get them to Photobucket (I always forget to do that until the last minute). I didn't find as many opps to take pics as I'd like, but these are ok for now.

We are going back to JMU on Friday to take more Tae Kwon Do pics - a small group of yellow belts will test and it's good practice for me for the upcoming Black Belt test in May. I want to nail this Tae Kwon Do thing before Josh tests for his Black Belt in a year.

Connor is still having problems with his back leg, and it is so hard to watch him struggle. He is still wanting to be outside - I know it's easier for him to sit on the back step because he can put his backleg down on the step when he sits, but it just seems so pathetic. At least he comes in now when it rains.

This week is all about getting ready for Walt Disney World next week! The Animal Kingdom pin event - Expedition Pins is Saturday, May 3rd. I am still trying to figure out if I want to try to trade with other pin traders there, or just take my regular traders for park trading. I am also planning my lanyards, and everything else I need. OH, and clothes, etc for the basic trip. Marty is concentrating on his golf clubs. But the countdown begins today...one week and I'm on a plane!

Well, hopefully there will be a post again before WDW...but if not, maybe I'll post from there...with a touch of the magic just for you!

A new approach to bloggin...

2008-04-14T08:55:00.003-04:00

Today a new template - and a new approach to blogging...I'm actually going to try to open up a bit here...and share our life...

This was a great weekend to start because I have things to say! Josh came home from school and we all went to IKEA to look for furniture for his first "real" apartment next year. It will be his first unfurnished apartment, so he gets to start doing what he wants for a change....

On the way home we stopped at George Mason so Josh could see the campus his brother will be going to next fall. It' s a nice campus, and we all agreed has things to offer Matt that James Madison didn't have for him. I think both my boys will be happy in thier "own" places.

On Sunday we got up early, scavenged for food in the empty pantry and then Matt left for work and Josh went back to school. I hate that part.

I did, though, spend the afternoon (after going to the food store finally) scrapbooking our December Disney trip...finally! I'm almost done and very happy with that! Of course, I left all the good photo pass pics for last...and the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party pics too...so I'm really FAR from almost done.

More soon....thanks for reading if you got this far....

More Matt...and Josh this time too!

2008-04-07T13:01:00.000-04:00

A day at JMU - so this time pics of Matt and some of Josh too...

Matt and his Mazda...

2008-03-16T18:07:00.000-04:00

Matt loves his car - so we wanted to get pictures for his grad announcement that included the car in some way. I'm pretty happy with these, and I hope to find a few other places to get some shots of him in the coming week too. He's learning how to pose while I'm learning how to take his picture LOL!

Balance and Focus

2008-02-26T20:33:00.000-05:00

Both are attributes I need to attain...I never have enough!

Tae Kwon Do Brown Belt Test

2008-02-25T15:39:00.000-05:00

My son's college club let me come in and take pictures during their recent brown belt test- what a great experience for me. I loved getting a good chance to work out my new camera, and LOVE my new lens. I think I will have a long relationship with this camera...and hopefully will do some cool stuff as I learn with it!

NYC!

2008-02-18T19:02:00.000-05:00

Ok, panic attacks to the minimum, and a new fascination with tall buildings...so here are my initial favorites from the trip...of course, they are just a hodge-podge at this point, but I'll get some balance to them later...highlights of the trip have to include the hotdogs on the street, trip to B&H photo, the World of Disney store, and the ferris wheel in the Toys R Us - with the Mr. Potato Head car!

More Harpers Ferry...

2008-02-02T18:56:00.001-05:00

Some pictures from Harpers Ferry today...I like these...took over 330 pictures...most were trashed...these survived. I think I'm getting the hang of this finally.

Harpers Ferry For Leah

2008-02-02T18:48:00.001-05:00

Manual settings and the circular polarizer...playing

2008-01-23T16:38:00.000-05:00

Here you get to meet Maggie - one of our Border Collies. She's not shy, but doesn't usually sit still for me either. I took this to use for the Two Peas PWAC "Fill the Frame" challenge and thought I'd put it up here too because I did set all the stuff myself - including a custom white balance with my new ExpoDisc! Settings here are ISO 400, f/8, 1/50, and a -1.33 EV to control the "blinkies". Thanks for looking and comments or criticism are welcome!

I know the subject isn't great...it's amazing how hard it is to find something to take a picture of when you want something to take a picture of! Anyway, I wanted to try my new circular polarizer out - so I found this pond with a tree in it. I don't know if I did it right, but here it is! The picture was taken with ISO 200, f/5.6 and 1/250 - with a -1.00 EV set. In pp I adjusted brightness and contrasted just a tad and used the USM (100-2-1). I really don't have a clue if it's right, but I think it looks ok. If only the subject were more interesting....but I'll find something to photograph one of these days!!!! LOL

For Leah - Manual settings!

2008-01-22T17:06:00.000-05:00

Ok Leah - here goes! I still couldn't get a human subject so I found the next best thing in my house - Mickey Mouse! (I'm a self proclaimed Disney-aholic, so you might see a lot of him LOL)

Set the D40x to manual, did a white balance preset (in both scenes)...ISO was 400, f5.6 to each. First shot showed right at 1/160 - the outdoor one. The second shot is in my kitchen and I had to use a tripod to get to 1/8 second for the meter to read in the middle.

Other than the white balance, shooting details and re-sizing for the web, these are way I took them. Hope I got the assignment right!

Two Peas in a Bucket Photo class - week 2

2008-01-20T22:10:00.000-05:00

So I am taking the 12 weeks to better photo class at Two Peas in a Bucket and last week's assignment was all about shutter speed. I took a few pictures early in the week but just wasn't happy with them, so I re-did the assignment on Friday. Here are the images I ended up with...nothing earth shattering - just running water. I am loving natural light!

2008-01-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

This little guy seemed to like to have his picture taken on a recent trip to Fort Lauderdale with my husband. There was a very small beach outside out hotel, and I went out around 4 to see if I could get any good ocean pictures. This little guy followed me around everywhere.

Odd title, huh?

2008-01-19T10:18:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it seems like I'm stuck in a room...and looking for a good way out. Hmm...too much maybe...

Here I am...and I hope to be putting some photos up here for friends and family to comment. I don't expect to move mountains yet with my pictures, but I hope to learn enough to make a mark on the world in some way eventually.

Thanks for looking and keep checking back!