introducing...

Well, I did it! I made a big step toward becoming a photographer and put myself out there today. I pushed my photography facebook and blog pages live for all to see. I obviously only have a few 'real' sessions under my belt (see below the adorable babies I photographed yesterday) but am excited for what the future holds. Would love your support and feedback, click the links below to check it out!

Christy Bode Photography on Facebook

(don't forget to 'like' me, wink wink)

Christy Bode Photography Blog

 

30 before 30

Well, I turned the big 2-9 today. I officially have 366  days (thank you, leap year, for one extra day!) of my 20's left. It's really not a big deal, however, it has prompted me to try and achieve a few goals before saying goodbye to my youth (kidding). This is nothing new, but I thought it would be fun to give it a try. Accomplish 30 goals before I'm 30.

me. 29.

So, without further ado, here's my list, and in no particular order.

1. Complete six random acts of kindness.
2. Get comfortable with walking into a situation and choosing the right ISO, shutter speed an aperture settings on my camera.
3. Create a mother/son tradition with Connor.
4. Create a mother/son tradition with Grayson.
5. Create a tradition with my nieces.
6. Display a photo from our wedding.
7. Have at least one item (photo, art, anything) on a wall in every room (including hallways) in our house.
8. Finish decorating Connor's room.
9. Be caught up on all scrapbooks.
10. Receive income for my photography.
11. Host my neighbors for a party.
12. Learn the basics of sewing.
13. Lose 30 pounds.
14. If goal #13 is met, lose another 10.
15. Decorate the boys' bathroom so they'll enjoy using it. (ie get their crap out of my bathroom :))
16. Pack my lunch 4 days a week on average.
17. Paint my bathroom.
18. Plan a date night once a month.
19. Run my second half marathon.
20. Sew curtains for Connor's room.
21. Spend more time on investments and financials.
22. Plan meals.
23. Take a fitness class.
24. Take photoshop classes.
25. Use coupons at the grocery store.
26. Write at least one handwritten note per month.
27. Go on a weekend trip with my movie night girls (ha, hope they're all up on board for this :))
28. Do girls weekend with my Mom and Sister in Law, make it a tradition.
29. Update my resume (not thinking of changing careers anytime soon, but it hasn't been touched since 2005)
30. Read six professional/career related books.

Now, not all of these are S.M.A.R.T. goals, but, I'm okay with that. I'll know if I achieved them or not. Some of these are also VERY random and are pretty questionable to be on a list like this, but to be honest, I was struggling coming up with 30! I'll prob check in half way through the year or maybe quarterly to see how I'm doing!

Grayson is ON.THE.MOVE!

As of Sunday or so, Grayson is officially crawling! That would have made him nearly exactly 10.5 months old. He's still pretty slow calculated in his movements and destinations, but definitely officially crawling :) We're so proud of our little man!

Sorry this clip isn't uber entertaining, but he does show off a few other tricks. Claps, waves on demand and lately he's been twisting his tongue so far around it seems unnatural...I'm just hoping this oddly means he's getting more teeth or something. Still at two!

project 52 | week 3: circle

Week two of Project 52: circle.

I'd say this was a little easier of a word this week although I still didn't capture what I had thought I was going to. I play volleyball twice a week and was thinking of doing a cool shot of a volleyball, but, never brought my camera to either of my games so there went that idea. Then today was treat day at work to celebrate a few birthdays there this week and conveniently my co-worker, Michelle, brought in some amazingly tasty and adorable treats and guess what? They were cut out to be little circles :)

 
Challenge: Circle
Subject: Mini Brownie Bites
Skill: I wasn't really going after a particular skill. One of these times I really want to focus on the composition of the photo, I like where this shot was going, but I sometimes forget to really look at the overall composition of the photo. Maybe next week :)

the boys

A few pics of the boys I grabbed this morning...

Finally a good smile out of this boy!

Timberwolves Game

We took Connor to his first Timberwolves game tonight and we had a great time! The game was very exciting and we won, which obviously adds to the enjoyment. Connor got a little tired near the end but was a trooper. Bryan got the tickets through his accounting firm, they were about six rows up, center court, nice! I'm not a huge pro basketball fan, but having good seats definitely helps. Plus...Rubio is easy on the eyes.....

The Bode Boys: Grandpa Nate, Connor & Bryan.

Rubio. Isn't he a little cutie? Ha.

 

Oh and my boss* was there, too. He had a little better seats than we did.

*Hope you all know I'm kidding when I say he's my boss...he's just a few steps up the ladder from me :)

project 52 | week 2: variety

Week two of Project 52: variety.

Variety. Funny how a simple word made me think really hard on what to photograph this week and even my final selection was a little forced (I suspect this won't be the first week I struggle with the subject matter). I was going to try and take a picture of all of Connor's 'gym' shorts he has, it would have made for a very colorful photo, but couldn't figure out a unique way to prop them. Wanted to capture the variety of meals I make for my family...ha. Enough said on that one.

But finally, it came to me that I've been thinking about variety quite a bit lately when it comes to my workouts. Bryan and I have been incredibly diligent at our daily workout routines, Bryan probably more so than me (I've missed two days in January, I don't think he's missed one, and he thinks it's debatable whether volleyball counts, I absolutely think it does :)), but in order for me to continue to be motivated (other than I better start seeing the needle on the scale move) is to switch up my routine daily. Variety. So tonight I made up this little chart to tape onto my treadmill so that every morning or evening that I go down there (we moved the treadmill to the basement) I don't have to think for a few moments, should I run? Do the weight loss interval program mode? Just a brisk walk? I just decided for myself in advance so I can get right to it.

Challenge: Variety
Subject: Workout Routines
Skill: Low Light

Definitely struggled with this one. Horrible light in our basement (ie two lightbulbs in the entire space) and I took the photo at 9 pm. Was good to experiment with the settings and I'm sure had I tried long enough I may have been able to reduce some of the noise, but not sure I (with my skill level) could have reduced it by much more. But, that's what this project is all about, right? Practice (for me anyways)!

PS. I really should tape the schedule up in a better way, I was just in a hurry to tape it up and get the photo taken :) The ugly tape isn't doing my chevron design any justice.

frosted

My co-worker, Shelly, of Frosted, makes amazing cakes and cupcakes. She asked that I take a few photos of her Valentine's cupcakes she makes, and well, you know the drill, I need the practice :) Anne was over as well to help and we will admit we struggled with the lighting this afternoon but I think we managed some really nice shots for Shelly! Check out her Frosted facebook page to see more of her amazing work (and to place an order?) :)

this one was fun :)

kiddos of movie night photo shoot

This morning I had my movie night girls (Aleta, Angie and Sarah) bring their kids over to my house for a little Valentine's Day photo shoot. I love to send out Valentine's Day photo cards and obviously at the same time, want to practice, practice, practice my photography skills. You can say with 4 sets of kids it was a little crazy, but I'm really happy with how some of the shots turned out! Even in this one session, I learned so much. Mostly since it was my first semi-real 'session' so the pressure of getting children to cooperate, making sure to adjust with the lighting as time went by, trying not to feel rushed, etc. was a lot, but good to experience. Unfortunately, I didn't really get shots of my own kids, but that's okay, I can try them again tomorrow :) Overall, I so enjoyed doing it and it makes me eager to continue learning!

(oh and warning, picture overload, but was hard to narrow down from over 800, ha)

why does my child never cooperate?

miss kate

miss gemma

miss adelyn

 

 

mister miles

as much as I love chevron, it was a little too busy here

have no fear, my love for chevron comes right back in this photo :)

And yes, I realize there are no pictures of Grayson. I took a few of him before the girls all arrived but he was tired and then napped for most of the time everyone was over. Like I said, I'll get them tomorrow :) And, just looking at these photos makes me want to do it all over again but take more time and be more thoughtful! Thanks, ladies, for letting me practice on your children. I'm certain I'll be doing it again :)

snow!

We finally got snow! Now, I am not complaining about the weather we've had this winter. 50's? Unreal. There have been days I have been THIS close to busting about the flip flops, this close, but it just seems so wrong in so many ways in December and January in Minnesota. However, I wasn't too bummed to see some snow coverage. It's so ugly in winter and a coat of white just makes everything nice :)  Plus, gave our little helper something to do. Although I'm not sure we needed to shovel our yard or landscaping...

Yes, I tucked his pants into his socks. Left his boots as school but thank goodness for his work boots!

And yes, he's wearing his pjs (it was pj day at school).

 

I basically had to force him to come inside, he's been such a great helper lately. Always asking if there is a job he can do for me, etc. It's hard sometimes, because I know I'll be much faster or efficient if I just do whatever it is myself, but definitely can't turn him down when he's so eager and willing to help! (thanks to Golden Heart, I'm positive he gets this from them!)