2011 Academy Award Fashions.
These are my choices for best dressed.
This year Katie grabbed a piece of paper and jotted her favorites down too.
That was cute.

I'm glad she feels strong enough to have an opinion.
I yell out NOOOOOO....when I see something that just does have that something special.
Katie is brave enough to say....I like it!

When I was her age, I would never have voiced my opinion.
It makes me happy that Katie can.

She did not, however sway me ;o)


****

Here are my choices for best dressed...and tressed.

You must have it all going to make this list.
One woman had squished boobies, so she did not make the list.
It can be something as small as that.

It all has to be fabulous.




This young lady from True Grit was one of the first on the red carpet.
Almost no one could compare.

This is my favorite silhouette in a dress. I love the 50's.
I may have picked a sea foam green...or something that wouldn't have blended with her skin as much.
But, I am just a housefrau living in Wisconsin. What on earth do I know? :o)

I do know her hair is darling and her make up is sweet.

Welcome to the Oscars Hailee Steinfeld.




Sandra Bullock looks beautiful in red.
This look is safe but I could find no fault with it.

I may have added a necklace with gigantic diamonds and rubies....but that's just me.

When I go to the Academy Awards, my sister Cindy will be in charge of my jewels....she loves the jewelry.




Reese!!!

How very 1960's of her. I love this look. I love this dress. I love her hair.
I'm sure she smelled like 'My Sin'.

Green jewelry was HOT. It was perhaps the biggest trend.
It didn't always work. (Amy Adams. Sorry honey. I love you.)




Halle Berry is breathtaking. That face. I am not going to say she would look good in a brown paper sack...cause she wouldn't, I have seen her in ugly dresses, but not last night.

Gorgeous girl.

I am going to google those earrings.
They must be 6 karats each. What do you think?




Gweneth looked spectacular in this slinky silver dress.
I love her tan and her straight hair and this great dress.

Unfortunately she wore a different dress that was ugly when she appeared and sang on stage.

But this look was divine.

She looks a little like a lolly-pop.
Let's blame the photographer.




This is for all of you Helen Miren fans.
Helen's hair is fabulous. The color of this dress is unique and rich and beautiful.

We've seen this same shape on her many times. But she really has wonderful style.
Or a wonderful stylist ;o)




Speaking of stylists. Anne Hathaway (one of the hosts) wore eight dresses last night.
A red Valentino on the carpet and then seven changes on stage.
I think it was over kill. I mean. Why?
But every time she came out she looked wonderful. I want to see how the hairdressers accomplished this.
I would watch THAT documentary.

This was my favorite look of her for the night. I think it is because of her hair and makeup.
Again the cat eye make-up and pony tail just work so well.




Such a pretty picture. She reminds me of Liza Minelli in this picture.


Before I get to the best dress of the night...
I will show you the biggest mistake. IMHO.



Cate Blanchet got everything right....but the dress.

What is that? Someone said it was art and I wanted to slap them.

To me this is not art....this is trying too hard to be original.
I hate it.



And the winner is......







Meet Camila Alves. She came with Matthew McConahey-hey-hey.

I saw this arrive on the red carpet....just got a quick glance....but knew immediately
that this was my favorite look of the night.

(It was hard to find pictures because she is just a date)

Everything about this woman's appearance is right.

She is perfection. She is a ten.

She is wearing a Kaufman Franco dress.
(I am going to google him right now. I am in love with this dress.)


You look marvelous Camila.







As for the show....it was fine.
I don't remember any speeches being special.
Colin's speech was unfortunate. It didn't make much sense to me.
But I was very happy he won.


The below clip was one of the funny parts of the show.






haha!



If you would like to see the other dresses Anne Hathaway wore


go here. Fabsugar.



Like William Goldman, I bring you the good parts version.

Enjoy the best performance of the night.

PS22






Thanks for letting me share my Oscar favorites with you.
It's really the highlight of my bloggy year.

Pathetic, I know. Shallow and meaningless.

But oh so pretty.


Who did you love?

Donna

The King's Speech.



I don't know if film makers talk about film in terms of art.
Watching The King's Speech I was again and again interested and moved by the
look of the scenes. Odd walls and offset framing. Unusual angles and stark closeups.

The movie is funny and sad, tense and tender.







Colin Firth is superb.

We all love Mr. Darcy and his puppy dog look and his wet shirt and every single thing he says in Pride and Prejudice.
But you must admit, he does not cover a wide range of emotions or even facial expression as Mr. Darcy.

"Is he ever going to smile?" wonders Katie.

"Yes! He will....wait....there!!" I point out as the carriage leaves the church.


In The King's Speech Colin is remarkable. A very beautiful performance with wide range.
Absolutely all in. I loved it.


I love the script. I love the themes.
I love the cinematography. I love the foggy walk thru Regent Park. (visually stunning!)

And I loved that Lizzy and Mr. Collins are in the movie.
I'm sure you all spotted Lizzy...but did you see Mr. Collins?


You must see The King's Speech.

It is a Masterpiece.




I loved that the letters were found.
I love that these men were friends.




“In this world, full often, our joys are only the tender shadows which our sorrows cast”
Henry Ward Beecher



Try a little tenderness,
Donna

American Idol, the Oscars and Actions.


Katie is home from school today. It's a scheduled day off. Not sure what.
That's okay. I like it when we don't have to go anywhere first thing in the morning although my stomach is growling
because it's used to having it's chai by now.

When will Starbucks deliver? That is the question!

Gas is going up, up, up so I imagine that is not in the plans.

Bummer.

Sticking with the theme...bummer....
This week on American Idol has been one disappointment after another.
The top 24; not my best. My favorites fell often and hard.
I couldn't fast forward thru the show, fast enough.

(Also, I fast forwarded thru almost all the Beatle songs the other night. They just made me cringe.
So karaoke. So bad. So painful.)


I have to admit that I adore the new judges.

I never would have guessed it. I thought Jennifer and Steven were the worst choices in the world...but
they are fantastic. Steven sings along and has a big heart and a wild personality.
Jennifer is kind and beautiful. I know that is weird to say she is beautiful but every time the camera is on her....she is
absolutely beautiful.
Randy is Randy, dog.

I do not miss Simon or the other people.
I do not like that it is on Wed and Thurs.

Television programmers just like to mess with us, don't they?


****

The Academy Awards are on Sunday!!! So excited.
The hosts are odd. Anne Hathaway and James Franco.
But since I happen to be wrong in all my casting opinions lately, I will wait and see how that goes.
The commercials have been kind of funny.

I have not seen many of the movies.
I intend to see The King's Speech soon...maybe before Sunday. And I'd like to see The Fighter too.

Black Swan,
The Fighter,
Inception,
The Kids Are All Right,
The King's Speech,
127 Hours,
The Social Network,
Toy Story 3,
True Grit,
Winter's Bone

I have seen The Kids are All Right and Toy Story 3 and The Social Network.

You aren't going to believe this...but I thought Toy Story 3 was too suspenseful and I didn't like the mean bear and creepy baby doll.
Emma and Katie and I all preferred Despicable Me.

It is not nominated.

And so it goes.


But you know I am in it for the fashion. It's my fashion super bowl.
Big. Night.


****

I was sent a set of actions from Jodi @ MCP actions...and I will talk more about them next week....
BUT

I loaded them into my actions palette this morning just to give them a quick try.

And I love them.

Here are two quick shots I edited this morning.




This one is called Charming.





And this one.....is called Reminisce.

I will be using this one a lot.

Man. I like that.



****

Off to plan the day with Katie. I think we will go out to lunch (at a place my husband doesn't like)
and to a movie. She has her eye on Gnomeo and Juliet. (ugh) All the movies I want to see are too mature
for her.
The sun is shining...I think I will have to pick out a different hat for Katie and go take some pictures.

All the windows of my heart I open to the day. ~John Greenleaf Whittier

Encourage one another,
Donna

She has I dream of Jeannie Eyes.









Is it just me?



Along with my 52/ 365 and my 52 faces in 2011....

I am collecting....52 blurry pictures in 2011.





It's not as easy as you may think....HA!

****


If you do not have a fancy camera, I wrote some words of encouragment for you
over at The Pioneer Woman/Photography.


No Excuses by Miz Boo




****





Oh Monday on the way to school Katie and I saw the oddest rainbow ray.

I said, "Maybe Jesus is coming!"
And she said, "Yeah!"

Then she said, "He is going to Target."

And we laughed because Target was right there...under the rainbow ray.



****

And here is a little scene from a typical Saturday morning.
Between basketball games.

She's goin' to a Hukilau.




Have a good day!

Be kind to one another,
Donna

Tin Woodsman: What have you learned, Dorothy?
Dorothy: Well, I - I think that it - it wasn't enough to just want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em - and it's that - if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with! Is that right?







My brother and sisters and I, we learned something a long time ago.
We learned to love one another.
That our siblinghood was strong and gracious and unconditional.

We are The Seven of Us.

We will always be,

The Seven of Us.


That's me. From last March.
When I went out to snap a few shots in my backyard yesterday,
my seven little men were looking so pretty with snow on their heads.

I thought of us.
The Seven of us.

The next two months will be months of remembering and trying to be strong.

If you think of it, please pray for the Glymans and the Warnhoffs.

We all miss Sue so much.



Love
Donna
1/7

Good morning.

I loaded a free action into my actions palette this morning and I
wanted to share it with the photographers out there.

I have used Rachel Devine/ Sesame Ellis actions for years. They are at the top of my list.
Part of my work flow. Yesterday Rachel offered a new, free black and white on her Facebook page.

You may go and get it if you like.


Coppery Black and White Action from Rachel


I like it. It looks very old to me.
On city shots, it really has an old picture look.


After.



Before.

sooc.

Thank you Rachel.


****

If you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen.
Conan



Conan said this as he concluded his short run on The Tonight Show.
It's one of my favorite quotes of all time.



To do anything well, most of us must work really hard.

Children don't understand this. I have had to urge my children NOT to quit a new task
so many times.

Take handwriting.

Katie looks at my handwriting and says she can not write as pretty as I can.
I tell her, I have been writing for 50 years. I have been practicing.

If you keep at it. If you care. You will write just as pretty.


Same with just about anything in life, don't you think.

If you care.
If you keep at it.

You will improve.


A young woman asked me in the email yesterday what she could do to improve her photography.

I said.

Take a lot of pictures. Every day.

As MFS says, Read. Think. Learn.

I add. Look. Shoot. Repeat.

Even when it is hard....and it takes longer for you than it takes for someone else.

(my life story)

Persevere.


Challenge yourself.
Your children.

Help them learn to persevere.

Sometimes we don't get better (like me and snow skiing)
but sometimes we do.

And that is when we see those amazing things happen.



Encourage one another,
Donna

Sneak Peek!

I believe in memories.






As you know, I am a reluctant business woman.
But I adore making pictures of adorable families and children....
and this is what I had the honor of doing on Saturday.

This young mommy called me when her little baby girl was on the way....
So we planned the session for what we thought would be a good day.

I like to take newborn pictures in the first two weeks.

This little doll happened to love her passy and being held by her daddy.

At one point I tried to pose her on the floor and she started crying. Her daddy came right in with his big daddy hands
and placed them on her chest to comfort her.

We took most of her pictures while she was being held.

L. also said she likes candid pictures. Candids work very well for busy boys.
That made me happy.


It's a lot of pressure to make little children....pose.

Oh. And by the way. I need some new jokes.
(If you have a four year old. Tell me a joke, please.)





Family love.





First born. Love.





It's great being the second boy. There is a freedom to being the younger brother.
I think.






Hello precious one. You are very loved.




Loving. Calm. Beautiful.

(I remember loving. But I don't think I could manage calm and beautiful at ten days pp.)







Pretty baby.






Sleeping baby.




It's gonna be okay baby.
Daddy's got ya.




Thank you for choosing me!
I'm so excited for your family...so many years of fun and happiness ahead of you!



****





This song came on when I was taking pictures...
It was serendipity.


*****

There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things
Like a, shoebox of photographs
With sepia tone loving
Love is the answer,
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why are we here? and where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and
Sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing its always better when we're together


~Jack Johnson



I believe in memories.
Especially the really good ones.



Encourage one another,
Donna

Emma has a heart for the homeless and poor.
She is making friends with other people in Chicago who love the homeless and poor also.
And she is making friends with the homeless and the poor.


There is something I forgot to tell you about San Francisco.
Something I didn't take pictures of.

The homeless of San Francisco.

I saw a handful of men pushing grocery carts, full, overflowing grocery carts along the
pretty streets.

Kind of a mobile home.

And then at 7:30 when Patrick and I set out on Mission Street to look for dinner
we passed five people sleeping on the sidewalk. They were tucked into their sleeping bags.
They had cardboard boxes set up like a child's fort.

It surprised me so much.

And I have to be honest, it scared me.

I felt frightened. Not that they were going to attack me.
I don't really know why.

Was I afraid they would look at me or speak to me?

I'm not sure.

But Emma and Sher(Emma's friend and founder of JustEmbrace), they have these hearts full of love and they want to give it away to
these very people.

I think God gave them hearts to love the poor.
I am thankful they are listening and doing what God is calling them to do.

There is great need out there.

Sher posted this video on Emma's facebook last week. It's a beautiful video.

Sara's Story from Trinity Grace Church on Vimeo.

I am thankful for the saints who follow their hearts and love others.


“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
(Matthew 25:31-40 ESV)




amen


Encourage one another...and love.
Donna

Last night, Emma and I had a exchange of art and ideas on the iphone.
She was at the Art Institute.

Because she wanted to make me smile,
she sent a picture of this.



I am very fond of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

I wrote to Emma:

Thank you! I love that little Frenchman!
Seriously. Who would paint a turquoise face?

She wrote back:

Impressionists! Looking at
a van gogh with a green sky...
it's all about what they want you to feel,
it's almost-reality. but not.

I wrote:

What they want you to feel...
I really am shallow and don't think like an artist.

I think like a photojournalist.


She said:

Not many people think like artists.
I like impressionist art so much because they make the ordinary, beautiful.
Like Cassat with her simple children's paintings.

To that I agreed:

That's me. The magic of ordinary days....and people.

***

Perhaps I will asprire to be an photojournalist in the impressionist style.


Or just someone who loves pretty.

A simple eye...that likes pretty and happy.

Yeah.

Definitely NOT an artist....unless making you feel happy counts.

haha




An ordinary morning...in the garage...squatting, with a heavy backback.



Encourage one another,
Donna


p.s.



Never before shared on blog.

I mean. Why would I want you to feel sad?




my idea of impressionistic photojournalism...

love this picture of Emma.
At the ranch. 2009

The morning finally arrived when we would get to go to one of Adobe's offices and have a Lightroom 3.3 lesson with Julieanne.
The San Francisco office is in a warehouse type building with high ceilings and exposed wood beams and black bolts.
We were all looking forward to learning from someone who really knows her Photoshop.

Julieanne took us through Importing in Library, editing pictures in Develop and preparing images for the Web.
She knows this 'editor' like she wrote it.....

Ah hem.

She is one of Lightroom's creators!

One feature I thought was very handy was the ability to publish right to Flickr from Lightroom.
And then if you edit your picture in Lightroom, if you choose, it will show up as the new edit on Flickr too.

Editing in Raw was actually easier for me with Lightroom.
I edited pictures while I was in the hotel room with Adobe's laptop and with Lightroom installed and I had a much easier time doing that than I did here at home trying to edit Raw with Photoshop PS3.

Now. Adobe has sent me Lightroom 3.3 but I have been too busy blogging to install it, but I
am actually excited to download my images into Lightroom and see how the editing goes on the same images I worked
on this week with Photoshop.


Two things I think a lot of you would love...

Julieanne Kost has free tutorials avaliable to watch over at Adobe TV!

Adobe TV with Julieanne Kost

You will find other teacher's teaching on Adobe TV also. It's jam packed with information.

There is also a spot to download free Presets (Lightroom Actions).

Adobe Lightroom Exchange

There are for purchase Presets on that page also, but there are plenty of free ones.


****

Our lesson went by in a flash and I know I will be heading over to Adobe TV to refresh my memory.
Then, when I have something super cool to show you...I will be happy to share it here with you.

With Lightroom everything is right in front of you. Visible.
The tools are not hidden away like in Photoshop.

I am comfortable with my workflow in Photoshop, but I saw four or five things in our short lesson that
entice me to look into it.

Straightening.
Fixing lens warp.
The White Balance dropper.
The ease of editing in Raw. For those times my finger slips and I am forced to deal with Raw.
The easy resizing and export to Flickr.


We said our goodbyes around noon....
No one wanted to stop learning and being together.

It was a dream of a trip. A dream.
Thank you Adobe.


****


And the cherry on top of it all....

I got to spend the rest of the day with Patrick!!!





We walked and walked and talked and ate.



Doesn't this giant arrow look like bacon?





Dog Lust. San Francisco edition.

Guess the breed of this dog!

I know my dogs....and I was surprised.





We took a break between walking and eating and visited the terrace again.
I knew the evening light would be pretty.
It's lovely for the surroundings but there is no light source in front of Patrick to speak of and his eyes are dark.



Hi Patrick! Thank you for coming down to see me!
Love you.
Mean it.



Here are my boys in 1987.


Oh my dear little boys.

I miss you. I miss being a young mommy.

Sunrise. Sunset.
Sunrise. Sunset.

Quickly fly the years.....


(Picture taken with a Canon Sureshot. Film.)


****

I took one camera. Nikon D700.
Three lenses. Only used two. 50mm 1.4 and 17-55 2.8

The 17-55 2.8 does not belong on my FX camera....but I wanted to use it.
I'm a rebel. That's all.


*****





I might add.


I love.






We just get the one life, you know. Just one. You can't live someone else's or think it's more important just because it's more dramatic. What happens matters. May be only to us, but it matters.
~Ghost Town.



Signing off with a very grateful heart.



Encourage one another,
Donna

Imagine how fun it is to bop around San Francisco....
And then imagine doing it with a bunch of happy, camera toting women.

It really is the prettiest city.
It is no wonder so many people love it.

You know how we warn our children about the scary stranger?
I must have taken that to heart. I was always a very obedient little girl.
(Except when I was scratching a sibling or biting the cat)

But seriously, I have to get over my fear of strangers because I really have missed out.

I can not tell you the last time I met a mean person.

Sometimes a rare person will leave a mean comment for me over at Ree's.
Like "I could do better."

And I remember that. Now. Don't I!

But One thousand kind and thoughtful words just stomp all over that one mean comment.

From now on I will expect kindness and march into a situation filled with strangers without nerves.
I will be excited to meet with love.



Cari and Anne from Adobe and Edelman.
These women were perfectly suited for this.
They put us all at ease and made us feel special.

Light poured out from their hearts.

It was very special.
And I don't mean that in a trite way.



We visited Grace Church.
I stayed outside this time.



I have big ideas for this picture...just haven't had the time to edit it.




Since Katie wasn't with me...I asked Cari if she would model for me.
Her spectacular smile drew me to her.




Julieanne on the phone...where are you?

Oh! I'm having a photoshoot :o)






She was a little surprised when I stopped her in the middle of the street.
But LOOK at the light.

Dear Wisconsin,
Stop being so cranky.
Get some light like this, please.
Thanks.
Love
Donna




We took a nice long trolley ride to Lombard St.

We talked and shot and I realized my camera was on RAW.









So I switched it over to jpeg and the colors came back and I was happy again.

Meet Ariana!

Ariana blogs @ Becomming Mom
She was so sick on the trip...but she still took gorgeous pictures.
She is the creator of Photographer's Wall Display Templates. They are very cool and help the professional photographer, help their clients make great choices!






Down a steep hill we walked...and I was happy not to fall and roll to the sea. Again.

You don't know steep until you have walked in San Francisco.
Well. Actually I remember Seattle having some super steep areas too.

Our land my be gloomy. But it is gloriously flat.

Dear Wisconsin,
Thank you for being flat.
It is not scary to walk your level streets.
Thanks.
Love,
Donna


We went to wonderful spot to shoot the Golden Gate Bridge. It was stunning and my pictures do not do it justice.



The reflection in Cari's glasses was my favorite shot even tho I have struggled with
editing it.





This was taken at the Palace of the fine arts.



Can I go ahead and love this?
Thanks.





This is Julieanne Kost.
She found her happy shooting spot in the warm glow of the spectacular dome.

I was honored to get to know her and follow her around, and laugh at her jokes and try to make her laugh at mine ;o)

I hope she likes this picture, cause I think it is really pretty of her.



Just over the GG Bridge is a wonderful park where you have the best view of the city...by the bay....




And then I thought. I need a picture of me.
I handed the camera to Gayle and smiled like the happy girl I was.

She composed a perfect shot with the bridge in the distance.
Score! Gayle! Brilliant!

You must remember to get in the shot!!! Must!

We went back to our hotel rooms and rested for a bit before we went out for a
remarkable dinner at 7:00.

The restaurant was super fancy. We talked and laughed until ten.
I think that is my first three hour meal in my life.

My husband would have died.

I couldn't have been happier!

(Not that he would have died.....that it was such a perfect time of sharing and eating.)

Back in the room I turned on the sound machine and fell quickly to sleep.
(I did choose the heartbeat sound on the machine, cause that is just creepy.)

It was a loooooong, perfect day.


Thanks for reading....have I worn you out yet?
Don't worry I'll get back to my shorter posts and pictures of Katie, soon enough :o)

Encourage one another,
Donna