Day 27: Red Sunrise

No matter how dark the night, somehow the sun rises once again and all shadows are chased away. -David Matthew

Day 26: Dance Girls

Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! -Constanze

Day 25: Going for the Drive

It doesn't matter if you win as long as you give everything in your heart. -Michael Jordan

Day 24: More Livestock Photography

Mr. Silver State. This type of photography doesn't seem to be getting any easier!

Day 23: Window Sunrise

It's been so cold!! I wasn't wanting to go out and freeze to death, so I took a picture of this beautiful sunrise through my window!

Day 22: Basketball Team

I already posted the team picture the other day, but wanted to put it with the individual pictures that I took yesterday. We are just missing one boy's individual picture. I'm so glad that they were all good sports and let me practice shooting with my big lights!

To view their full album, visit aprilcarterphotography.zenfolio.com/jhbbb17

Day 21: Final Statement (Again!)

Hopefully this is the last shot of this big guy! :)

Day 19 & 20: Birthday Girl!!!

Sisters: 
There's a special kind of freedom that sisters enjoy.
Freedom to share inner most thoughts,
to ask a favor, to show their true feelings.
The freedom to simply be themselves.

Happy Birthday, sis! Hope it was great!!!

Day 18: Taking the Shot

Some people want it to happen,
Some wish it would happen,
Others make it happen.
-Michael Jordan

Day 17: Jr. High Boys Basketball Team

What a great group of young men. They are doing awesome this year!

"Teamwork is the beauty of basketball.

Five people working as one.

You become selfless."

-Mike Krzyzweski

Day 16: Haystacks

The color of springtime is in the flower.
The color of winter is in the imagination...
-Ward Elliot Hour

Day 15: Frost on Ice

Another freezing cold day today! I am loving the frost that is covering everything. It amazes me when it's cold enough to have frost on ice.

Day 14: Frost

We woke up to a balmy -25 degrees again this morning! There is frost everywhere: on top of ice, fences, and all over my pine trees. Since it's so cold, I haven't ventured too far from my house. So you get another pine tree picture!

Day 12 & 13: Sunlight and Snow

Can you believe we still have snow on our trees?!!! I LOVE IT!! My camera broke down on me after taking pictures of the kids playing in the snow. Sad day, let me tell you! And, I got told it couldn't be fixed, so my day turned even worse. Thank heavens for Amazon! I was a whole day without a camera and it nearly killed me! So, here's the first two pictures out of my gently used (new to me!!) camera!

Day 11: Pretty In Pink

Playing in the snow was one of my favorite things to do as a child. We would play until after the sun went down and come in soaking wet! My kids haven't hit that stage yet...they play for a little bit and then want to come in. So I try to enjoy the moments when they want to go outside and play! Today was a perfect day for that!!

Day 10: Buck Fence, Sagebrush, and Snow

I missed yesterday, so you get two photos today!! It has snowed all night and all day today! The crazy part: the wind isn't blowing so we actually get to enjoy pretty snow!! Be prepared for snow picture overload because we don't get this very often! As I was driving today, I kept noticing the buck fences around the valley, mixed in with the sagebrush...one of my favorite things! It truly is beautiful when the wind doesn't blow!

Day 9: Snow Art

The wind blew again today-really big surprise there! What was surprising is we had periods of no wind, then it would pick up 100 mph with snow for a while, then calm down. In between one of the storms, I noticed this weed tucked up against one of the buildings outside my house. With the wind blowing, they were nicely coated with snow, but not heavy enough to weigh them down. To me, it looks a lot like a spider up close-what do you see?

Day 8: Natural Light

Ever since Saturday, my #3 has been asking for her picture to be taken again. She will stop what she's doing and say: "What about this smile, mom?" That's one thing I love about a 365 project-my kids become comfortable behind a camera. The other crazy thing-she was my baby when I did my last 365 and she'll be turning five soon! Where did the time go?!!!

Day 7: Snow Drift

One thing about this winter...the wind has blown-A LOT!!! Everywhere you go, there are drifts, and they are not little ones! The county came out and plowed this spot the other day. Then the wind picked back up and drifted it back in. Everyday it grows bigger! Crazy winter weather!!

Day 6: Indoor Lighting

I inherited my grandpa's indoor flash setup this past year and have only used them once, and that was outside. Terrible, I know, so today I decided to set them up in my front room and fiddle with them a little. I'm not totally comfortable with using external flashes and really need lots of practice! My girls are great at volunteering to be my models. My littlest was being quite the helper tonight and I'm totally in love with this image! I can't believe how fast she has grown up. She loves to keep me on my toes, making messes with everything she touches. (Notice the blue marker smudges on her arms!) But she likes to surprise me with a sweet personality that is best described by looking at her face in this image. Love her to pieces!!

Day 5: Livestock Photography (Final Statement)

Branching into a whole new world and it's not as easy as it looks!! Getting these guys to stop moving, let alone pose where you want them to, is very difficult! Plus, when you finally get them stopped, posed, and take the picture, you congratulate yourself because it looks great, but pull it up on the computer at home and see a huge shadow across his shoulder: massive failure for attempt one!!! But, it's my photo for the day. Here's to great improvements!!

New Etsy Card

Here is my newest card in my Etsy shop!! 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/503526329/baby-boy-bluegrey-birth-announcement?ref=shop_home_active_1

Day 4: Baby It's Cold Outside!!

Our weather has been absolutely freezing!!! School was cancelled today because we were -26 degrees before the wind chill, but cows still need to be fed! The sunrise was beautiful!! I didn't get any more pictures because I was FREEZING!! I missed taking a picture yesterday, so I will be making up for it along the way sometime! 

Day 3: Where the Eagles Fly

We have a bunch of bald eagles around the valley!! I couldn't believe how many I saw on my drive home today! There were four in this tree with this big guy-he was the only nice one that stayed put when I got out of my car. He really made me wish I had a bigger lens again!

Day 2: Cold Weather Fun

We brought the heifers to their calving grounds today. The weather outside was beautiful, but the temperature was truly frightful! The steam coming off the heifers and horses was amazing!

365 Photo Project

I'm doing it again! Each day for this year, I will be posting a photo. I'm feeling like I'm in a huge creative slump and need something to help me get going again. I hope that you will join me on this amazing journey!!

Day 1: Magic in Books

There truly is something magical that happens when you open a book! I saw a similar picture on Pinterest and wanted to see if I could recreate it with my Christmas tree before we took it down. My three oldest girls were excited and had LOTS of ideas! My youngest didn't get too excited, as you can see, she's not in the picture. This shot was a lot harder than it looks! I'm hoping to revisit it again and again, learning more lighting techniques and positioning.