As Texan as...Bluebonnets

The bluebonnets are popping up along the highways and byways of Texas right now. The blooms only last for three to four weeks. While they are here, they make such a pretty deep blue carpeting in the grass.

I ♥ Faces Contest, Week 12 :: Killeen Children's Photographer

Another great week over at iHeartFaces as folks the world over submit entries of pouting children and cute pets. Come join in the sharing and learning by clicking the link here or the button below!

::CHILD ENTRY::

My daughter does the furrowed brow and grumpy face quite naturally...however, I have to say on this occasion she was intentionally posing for the camera. She was oscillating between smiles and pouts faster than a teen changes clothes before a big date. Immediately after this picture, I have one of my favorite smiling, happy pictures. But, if viewed in a vacuum, you would think she was quite the little grouch!

::PET ENTRY::

You knew I would have to stick with my award winning feline...here is another picture of Mr. Seamus, taken just a few days ago with my 50mm. I think he looks striking, as usual!

I can't be considered for a win, as I am a contributing photographer on Fix-It Fridays, but they can't stop me from joining the fun!

Old San Juan :: Puerto Rico Travel Photography

Old San Juan is picturesque, quaint, paved in cobblestones, and congested. My husband knew I desperately wanted to wander the streets of Old San Juan capturing image after image of the unique architecture, the ornate churches, the artwork and the people. And he indulged my desire by heading into Old San Juan on the last day of our vacation, hours before we were to head to the airport to fly home. I had been to Old San Juan on a previous trip and knew the parking was limited and the traffic was bad. We were prepared for that. Happily, we made it quickly up the coastline, past El Morro, the fort that protected the coast from invaders and into the historic portion of town. Then we saw this:

The traffic was moving so slowly, I actually got out and walked alongside the car. Which is the only way I took any pictures. Despite the traffic woes and the fact that my lens was limited to what could be seen from the immediate sidewalk or car window, I managed to captured a few intriguing images. Of course, I loved the variety to the doors and the colors used in painting:

There were also quite a few courtyards that I could catch a glimpse of from the street, with the interesting play of shadows and light passing down the corridor:

We made two circuits of Old San Juan, which took us pass El Morro. This was the closest I could get and the only picture I have of the ocean from this trip:

Another magnificently ornate, vibrant door:

It is important to remember to catch the details of an area. Like the site where the Pina Colada was created in 1963!

And you would be surprised to know the gas is only $0.46...per liter! So, roughly, multiply by four and you have a cost of about $1.84 per gallon. I am sure this is quite a surprise to newcomers to the island who think they have just found the world's cheapest gas.

I was very disappointed that we never found a parking spot and only managed to make two trips around a big square in the span of three hours. The screams from my two year old gave voice to my own frustration. I really think I need to find a sponsor to fund my travel, taken solely to capture the beauty and interest of foreign lands...

And the answer is...Puerto Rico! :: Travel Photography

The vacation has ended, we are caught up on laundry and household chores and I am finally able to post way too many pictures from our trip to my husband's island home of Puerto Rico.

While Puerto Rico is a vacation spot for many travelers, it is a trip home to see family and friends for us. It was nearly two years since our last visit and seeing everyone again was wonderful. My husband's hometown, Jayuya, sits high in the mountains in the center of the island. His sister was our gracious host, opening her home and kitchen to us for nearly a week. This is the view from her porch:

Since Jayuya is home to most of my husband's family, it seems everyone here knows him. As such, he was less than enthusiastic about me pointing my camera every which way. I had to secretly snap pictures out the car window as we drove around town, which is how I captured this image of the Catholic Church that sits at the head of the town square:

Perhaps the most mortifying experience for my husband was when I brought my camera into the local grocery store, Econo. On our two previous trips I was too timid to do it, but I had to take the bull by the horns and show folks back in the States the unique items in a Puerto Rican grocery...like the entire aisle devoted to olives. And another to rice. And a weird soft drink called Diet Wonder Kola Champagne:

My main food staple while in Jayuya was the pan sobao which we bought fresh everyday from the nearest bakery about twenty minutes away by car. Oh, this bread is so good, so soft and simply delicious!

The driving is harrowing across the island, but at least in San Juan there are lanes wide enough for opposing traffic to pass safely. The joke in Jayuya is that they let a goat wander through the mountains and then paved the path he wove. This next picture was taken out the front window of our car as we followed a large truck up a narrow road...no, this is not a one way street. This is a two way road. Cars are supposed to be able to pass. Needless to say, I did not drive the entire time we were there...

While there, the World Baseball Classic was in full swing. One night, the US was playing Puerto Rico so we thought it would be fun to order pizza and watch the game. Well, ordering pizza is not quite the same. We drove up to Wipity Pizza, parked the car, ordered, then waited for 45 minutes while it was made. We should have had a burrito while we waited... (Turns out you can make a really tasty pizza in a mobile kitchen.)

On another occasion, we drove to a restaurant high in the mountains that people have been coming to since my husband was a child. If you want authentic Puerto Rican food, Las Cabanas Dona Juana is the place to go! We ordered mounds of food and all of it was eaten...from boiled plantains to two types of rice and beans to delicious meats slow cooked on an open grill. Puerto Rican food is not spicy, relies heavily upon plantains and rice and is very well seasoned. 

I will post another installment in a day or two from our brief visit through Old San Juan. Until then, I leave you with a few more pictures:

I ♥ Faces Contest, Week 11 :: Killeen Children's Photographer

Ah, be still my beating heart...Week 11 over at iheartfaces is NO FLASH! Right up my alley, as I shoot all my images with natural light. I could have picked any number of pictures to show this week, but I tried to pick ones that were either a low light situation where I still went without flash or it looks like a flash might have been used. Even though I can't be consider for a win, I love to share and learn from others week after week. Get on over to iheartfaces and see the creative entries and show some of your own!

::CHILD ENTRY::

I captured this sweet girl playing inside her house. There were high windows behind me, so the available light was in her face. If you look closely, you can see the shape of the windows reflected in her eyes. My camera settings were: ISO 1250, 1/100, f/3.2.

::ADULT ENTRY::

For this precious moment between father and son, taken inside a house, I had them positioned in front of a black backdrop draped over a china hutch...hey, use what is available, right?! The windows were located to the left of the photo, so the light was directed towards the father's face. No other lighting was used. My camera settings were: ISO 500, 1/60, f/2.8.

Time for a Station Break

We interrupt this business called Julie Rivera Photography to pause for a Station Break. It is time for me to slow down, regroup, take a few days for myself and come back to real life a new woman.

I shan't tell you where I am headed, but I will leave you this clue of a picture from my last visit there, nearly two years ago:

I can't wait to share all the new pictures I know I will take. My Canon 40D hasn't been there yet, nor have my two lenses, the 24-70mm/2.8L and the 50mm/1.4. We are all eager.

Talk to you again soon!

With friends like this...

The drive from Arkansas to Texas is a long one. Made longer when you add a two year old to the mix. When we rounded the corner onto our street, I was so excited to get out of the car, stretch my legs and just be home. But that was not to be.

It seems a weird migration path formed in our lawn for a flock of plastic pink flamingos. They seemed quite happy, especially the one up in the tree. But my daughter could tell they were lonely birds and proceeded to make her rounds with kisses for all of them.

Thanks, Karyn, for a, ummmm, colorful Welcome Home!

I ♥ Faces Contest, Week 9 :: Killeen Children's Photographer

Over at iHeartFaces, we are sharing our creative crops. I tend to do most of my cropping in camera, which means I frame the picture as I intend it to look in the end. I might trim off a bit, but rarely do I end up cropping large portions of a picture. However, after looking through many of the entries this week, there is something to be said for thinking outside the standard 4x6 and drawing the viewer's eye directly to the point of prominence in an image.

As a contributor, I cannot be considered for a top ten finish, but it is wonderful creative practice for me and is simply a lot of fun. Come on over and give it a try! The contest is open until Tuesday evening.

::Child Entry, Straight out of Camera (SOOC)::

::Child Entry, Cropped::

::Adult Entry, Edited but not Creatively Cropped::

::Adult Entry, Cropped::

My Grandma

We just returned home from a quick 48 hour trip to my grandparents' house in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Every visit with them, regardless of how many hours in the car are required, is worth it. They are precious, wonderful people and I am so blessed my daughter gets to know them.

My grandma is a Southern woman who knows how to cook for her family. She was the woman who, as an aside thrown over her shoulder while bustling about in her kitchen said, "You should always have a cake on hand. For guests. A pound cake is a good choice." A cake? Made by me? On hand at all times? Obviously, my nomadic military upbringing failed to instill these necessary Southern virtues. Trips to her house involve bacon, eggs, cheese grits and declarations that "I just didn't seem to get enough salt in this dish again!" 

And as I watched her make breakfast yesterday, I realized her salt shaker, the big one with the ugly green lid, spoke...no yelled...of times at her house. That salt shaker is a trip to Grandma's house. That salt shaker has been part of every meal I have ever eaten in her kitchen. I had to bring the shaker home with me in one form or another. 

If you pause long enough to think on it, I am sure you will remember an inanimate object that reminds you of family or home. I'd love to hear what it is for you. (And, to ponder further, what object will your children be thinking of for YOU?!)

Wide open spaces

I frequently miss the sunset. That's bath time and bed time and trying to stay sane time. That is not usually my glancing-out-the-window-at-the-beauty-of-the-sky time.

But when I saw this, I had to savor it. I had to preserve it. I had to share it.

Out of the mouth of babes

My daughter has watched the movie Madagascar about seven times over the last two days. She just finished another viewing this morning...you know, it is already 8:30 am. Plenty of time to get a movie in before breakfast. But now she is talking like Marty, the zebra played by Chris Rock.

As she sits coloring in her coloring book, she looks up at me and says,"Mommy, we are going to be oh-kiz-ay."

Alrighty, my little rap star. We WILL be oh-kiz-ay. We will.

I ♥ Faces Contest, Week 8 :: Harker Heights Children's Photographer

I am clean and tidy. I think fastidious might be a fair description. Anal retentive, while not as polite, could also serve well. Messy I am not. Messes trouble me, cause me anxiety, and must be avoided at all costs. (Yes, I am that Mom who travels with wet ones in the car and her purse, ever at the ready to wipe a sticky finger or a soiled mouth.) So when this week's category of Messy presented itself over at iHeartFaces, I knew I was in for a long search through my archives.

However, my child, who is now clairvoyant, started doing all sorts of messy things and asking for her picture to be taken afterwards. Spanish rice and ketchup smeared over her face. Gluing things to her fingers. Painting. But the real mess, for me, came when she followed me into my bathroom to watch me blow dry my hair. After the excitement of that wore off, she prowled through the drawer of our vanity and happened upon some Burt's Bees lip balm with tint. And applied it herself. And started kissing the mirror...

I can't be considered for a win, as I am a Friday Fix-It contributor, but it sure is fun to play and be inspired by other photographers. (And, for the first time this week, they have a Beginner's Category! So don't be intimidated...check it out!)

Why I am a photographer

Because I cannot draw: 

I honestly think my two year old daughter's coloring enhanced my attempt at drawing our cat.