On the Homefront

So I decided to take a break from the Europe posts as so much has been going on here at home since the day we got back from over seas. Dont worry I will get back to Italy and hopefully get to posting pictures of Greece and Turkey but this post and a few others should get us back to speed with whats been going on since our trip.

First of all I want to say that I was half way through uploading the pictures for this post when I noticed that all the color was wrong. As a photographer that totally bugged me, I had edited and shot for a specific look and all the pics where posting all drab. So after some intense searching for the problem I figured out that I had exported all the pics from my RAW browser in the wrong color space (and it had to be a one that the web doesnt recognize). So I deleted all that I had done, re-exported, re-uploaded, and reposted. That should give you a clue into my very perfectionist personality and also what goes into all the picture processing that I do on a daily bases.

  But moving on....Just days after we got home from our trip my cousin Mary Kathryn got married and I was asked to shoot pictures of the reception. I included a few at the bottom of the post. Dont worry MK and Dianne Im almost done with the whole wedding and will get you your CD soon.

  Then a couple days after that we had our Johns Family Reunion up at the Homestead in Midway UT. Our family has been having this reunion for 22 years every other year (11 reunions total) and over all these years we have really developed some great relationships, traditions, and memories. It seems only last year that my cousins and I were the children running around in front of the bunk houses, but its now the next generation. So many little kids and babies! mainly little girls too. We still managed to get in our adult volleyball team (I was on the winning team this year....suckas) and our amazing shakes at Grannie's. But we also had fun playing rockband (sydney was way determined.... she will be the first pro old drummer under the age of 8, pretty sure), swimming, pretend fairies, and talking out on the porches. It was a blast.

Bry, Im so glad that we are buds. You are amazing.

Lisa it was great to see you.

Family...for those of you that wanted pictures... either these or the family group shots that I took I created a kodak gallery that I sent you all links to via email. I love using Kodak...this way you can all get the pictures that you want printed and mailed to your door and me not have to worry about sending a million emails with a million huge attachments. Yay!

Disclaimer: A majority of the pics are of our little fairies, and also of little Mia. Sorry about this. Mia just wouldnt smile for me and I had to rise to the challenge...wouldnt you? but if any of you guys got more great shots (Todd....) you should make a gallery too and then share it with all of us.

Congrats Mary Kathryn and Andres.

Been trying out my new lens baby. I still need a ton more practice.

Thanks David.... your always a pleasure.

Another challenger of mine. Lizzie.

Roman Fashion Shoot

As photographers Reece and I decided to hold a shoot after our tour got our for the day so we could take all the time we wanted in getting cool images. After being rushed all day to get the shot without getting left, going out with just the strict purpose to shoot sounded refreshing. We chose a spot we new would be lit at night and I made everyone dress up just in the fanciest thing that they had packed and we held a fashion shoot. I used my portable strobe off the camera for a more professional look and made sure the exposure got the background light. It was totally fun. We took so long that after we couldn't visit any other sites, we were beat from the busy day and also from the shoot. Plus we were packing up to move to Florence the next day. But I really loved how fun the images we got were.

More Adventures in Rome

Today was an amazingly full day of adventuring through Rome. We of course needed to visit the legendary Coliseum. Even though the lines were long the cloud cover was fantasic, so no skin scorching from the sun occurred. Reece and I had just recently seen the movie "Jumper" and wanted so badly to photograph the historic sight under the conditions in the movie.... golden sweetlight from the setting sun.....and absolutely no people. But that wasn't going to happen (becuase non of us could teleport.....dang it) so we tried our best. The picture of the cross is one that I turned in to a magazine to get published.....Do you like it? if so click on the pop up on the right and vote for me. I get published if I get the most votes.

Yay for men whose day jobs are to pose as gladiators. This pair was hilarious. Although the one on the right was giving Kitch the stink eye he was whispering sweet nothings in here ear like all the Italian men (Everywhere we went we heard "Bella, Bella" and everytime I would naively look up, excited that they could possibly mean me....but no. It was always directed to my lovely baby sis) Well no worries cause I already got my self a real man, no dressing up in capes or pointy dress shoes for me. Kitch can keep all those Italionos.

Then we walked down to The Forum. I was glad that I had looked through one of my mother's books on Rome from her educational library. It was labeled "Then and Now" the book had photographs of the ruins throughout Italy and then had a transparent page with the missing details and architectural elements that you could overlay over the photograph so you could get the idea of what the site would have look like back when it was built. This was especially useful for the Forum site as there wasn't that much still in place. But it sill made for some great pics.

I also submitted this photograph to the magazine. Vote for it if you like it. Just click on the cross pic and then search the photographs by Bethany Madison down at the bottom.

We then waited to sick our hands in the mouth of truth. Every time I see this sorry to say I don't remember "Roman Holiday"....I remember "Only You".  Do you remember that cheesy movie with Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. I would watch that movie in my R.D. Jr phase where I would also watch "Heart and Souls" which was more strange than cheesy. 

Dont worry both Reece and I are pretty honest so we didnt lose our hands.....But Kitch on the other hand.....j/k

We then went to visit the Cerasi Chapel in the Santa Maria del Popolo so see Caravaggio's  "Conversion of Saint Paul". The Church was closed so we waited and played around in the square till the nuns came back from siesta to open the doors. After walking all day we decided to join the crowd and dip our aching feet in the freezing fountain water. Yes its true that Rome has fresh water pumped into its fountains for people to drink but I also hope that it is true that that water isn't recycled through the fountain again....or some poor trusting people might be drinking feet flavored water. Sick.

    If you havent taken an art survey class you might wonder why we all think that this picture is so special. The technique is amazing in itself thats for sure....the detail and the foreshortening. But the subject matter does not seem anything special (I have to admit I always did tense up whenever I saw a picture of this painting before I knew what was going on because it looked like a horse kicking/trampling waiting to happen, must have been all those horseback riding lessons). But once I learned.... the paintings true beauty came to me. 

   The painting is meant to depict that most conversions to the light of Christ aren't grandiose with angels singing and light shining, but are personal and are within our hearts and happen even when we are about the mundane chores of our lives. It also communicates that we dont need miraculous spectacles to strengthen our faith in Christ but we can develop our testimonies during the simple and quiet moments of the day.