Halloween 2010 - The Gray Family

Well, I know it's a week gone by (and then some), but I finally finished the Halloween pics I took while doing the whole dress up/trick-or-treat thing at my sis-in-law's house.  Here are some of the hi-lites from the night (most of them are my cuter-than-cute nephew, Cormac):

Cormac, the Skunk, was a big hit.  And as my father-in-law put it, "We all knew he was a big stinker, anyway, right?"  He's right.  But in the best possible way to think of it. ;o)

Me, Kimberly, Conan and Cormac.  A lesson I learned: DO NOT SLOUCH.  It is unbecoming, especially to us, umm, larger-sized women! *yikes*

This was a random trick-or-treater that was SO adorable that I had to take his picture.  He's the most ADORABLE Harry Potter EVER.

To close, the pumpkins that Conan, Kimberly and Cormac carved.  My bro-in-law has some mad carving skills, eh?  (He did the winking one)  And,  there's the cutest shot I got - in my humble opinion.  Cormac looking back at me like he's got something really sarcastic to say.  I can't wait 'til he starts talking!  I've got SO MUCH to teach him!

Hope you all had a safe and Happy Halloweenie.  It was a LOT of fun in the Gray household!

Now go out and shoot something! ;o)  (a little photographer humor there!)

Sherra

Video for Pictures - kinda cool...

I've been looking around, getting into my creative stride.  And I discover a cool place to turn my pics into COOL 30 second videos for free.  So - you know me - I gave it a try.  NOW, I think I want to invest in the upgraded plan for just $30 a year...  Tell me what YOU think!


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.



I know, it's short, but it's just a teaser, after all.  Hope you enjoyed it anyway.

Well, that's all for now.  Have to dash off to my other, OTHER job!  Go out and SHOOT SOMETHING, people!  ;o)

OH. MY. GOOD-NESS! Check THIS out!

If you are a photographer - AND you like to look crazy-stylish while you do it, you have GOT to check out Jo Totes!  These are the most adorable camera bags and they look like a stylish purse on the outside.  My favorite is the Missy bag in Blue, though I ADORE Pink, so I'd love that one equally (hint, hint for any family members/friends/etc who might want to gift me up on my birthday this October 26th!  *wink*).

Here's my fave, but you should
follow the link and find a
fave of your own!
copyright Jo's Totes

 While you're at it, check out MCP Actions.  If you are a photographer, amateur or professional, you will love this site for tips, tricks, FABULOUS Actions (some of them FREE) and tons and TONS of great stuff to take your photography to the next level.  While you're there, you can do what I did and read the blog post about the fabulous Jo Totes and comment for a chance to win a bag of your own!  Cool, no?

Hope you take a look at both these great resources!

Thanks to Peggy...

I've now found a program that lets me CREATE a collage from scratch. It's fun and easy. I've already figured out how to manipulate the grid background, so I'm not as limited there as I thought, but for just a few minutes investment, I can print this out, frame it up and deliver to the grandparents in fine style. No hassle whatsoever. What is this program, you may ask? Well, my sister-in-law's mother (how about I just call her my friend, Peggy?!) introduced me to it. It's conveniently located at and sponsored through Google, and it's FREE! OK, OK - if you haven't already guessed, it's Picasa 3.

Now, I'm a DEVOTED PhotoShop CS2 user (I'd like to upgrade, but the costs... oy vei!), so I have to admit I was a little pretentious and thought this would be a bunch a fluff. WELL, it's NOT! OMG! If you would like to do photo editing and you don't have the bucks for PhotoShop, never fear! This program has so many great tools (that are WAY BEYOND user friendly and into the "a second grader can do this" category) and they really do mimic the results I get out of PhotoShop. Now, don't get me wrong, there are some things in PS that I'll never be able to do w/o as far as editing my photos, but this free program does a HECKUVA LOT for the price.

So, thanks, Peggy, for the recommendation. I love the Collage Feature in Picasa and will probably use it often. Oh, and it even has a feature that connects to my blog and lets me do all this (blogging) with no extra hassle. How cool is THAT?!?


Now, before I close, I do have to mention (so I can enter this post in the contest) that Skye Hardwick and MCP actions have teamed up for an AWESOME giveaway. You've got to check out Skye's Workshop Workbook (an INCREDIBLE RESOURCE - which I'm hoping beyond hope to win!) and MCP's Actions (which I use OFTEN). Some of the best tools in the business, so you don't want to miss the reduced prices and the awesome giveaways!

Happy shooting, blogger buds!

It's Giveaway Time again!

Hey fellow photogs! There's another great giveaway in progress and you don't want to miss it. Sky Hardwick is GIVING AWAY her Workshop Workbook. This alone is incredible, but she's hooking up with MCP Actions, and they are including two $50 gift certificates to their site. If you've never been, you MUST check it out. The actions there are insane! I have a few of them and use them ALL THE TIME. OK - be sure to check it all out here: Skye Hardwick's Workshop Workbook / Giveaway.

A Collage of Cormac

I found a template and decided to give it a try. It was surprisingly easy and I intend to play around more and try to vary the template a bit. That said, here's the first one I've ever made:

More to come, I'm sure, but now - I. MUST. SLEEP. Later, blogger buds!

A Day for GIVEAWAYS!

Check out this amazing givewaway from Life. Camera. Actions. at www.moms-with-cameras.com!

There are some amazing actions here. Even if I don't win, I'm thinking of getting the Life.Camera.Workflow actions. Absolutely stunning!