A study of an arum lily

I love taking photos of Arums, and they're looking so lovely in my mom's garden at the moment.  I took these with an ISO setting of 1600 because they were taken at sunset today, which is why the background is slightly grainy.

Arum torn

This one was taken with the flash, and I quite like the effects of the shadows.

In the shadows

Spot the insect

I'm fiddling with my actions again, I'm a bit tired of the black frames.

The whirlwind that is a toddler with a new wheelbarrow

I love the motion in this photo.  I've never got this right before... having the subject in focus (well, kind of) but the background a complete blur.

Rocket flower

My mom has let her rocket plants grow wild, in order to seed them. Aren't these such pretty flowers?

I took the photo in the early evening, so I set the ISO to 1600, which is the reason for the speckly background.

Brothers and lollipops

I haven't taken photos of the boys together in quite a while.  I went home early today to take Bradley to the doctor (he has strep throat), so I took full advantage of the light when I got back to my mom's house.  The doc gave Bradley a lollipop, and we HAD to find one for Connor too (he threw a bit of a fit LOL).

The boys and their lollipops

Bradley

This has to be the BEST photo that I've ever taken of Connor, it's such a pity Jackie was sniffing his ear at the time!

And she got it! 

Hydrangeas in winter

I can't resist posting these as well.
My mom's hydrangeas still have flowers even though it's the dead of winter here, but look at the amazing colours!

Picking rosemary

Connor loves picking flowers, and this evening my mom was showing Connor the little flowers on the rosemary bush... so he had to pick some for us.

Picking rosemary with Granny

A flower for Granny

And one for Mommy

(I only just got this shot, he was running very fast :) )

Cousins

We went to my parent's house for a braai yesterday. My brother, Carl, gave me a few tips about aperture etc while we were there, which was great.
So of course, I had to haul out my camera and take some pics of the kids!

Erin and Connor were so cute. They just followed each other to the bench and climbed onto it (there was no prompting involved ;) )

Remember Connor with his blue flower that I posted yesterday, well, my mom has the same flowers in her garden, and he picked some for Erin :)

Oooh, for me?

Look at my flower!

And now it's in my hair

Love Thursday: Who wants a hug?

How cool is this? Shutter Sisters has a feature all about me today!!
Well, not quite, but they used my photo for their Love Thursday post. LOL!

And here are some more Love themed photos that I took this evening when I picked the boys up from my mom's house.

Give me a hug!

Bradley and Granny hugging...

...and then it was Connor's turn

As seen by Bradley

Bradley loves using my camera, and this afternoon he took it from me; and declared that he was going to take pictures for my blog today. So I HAD to use them tonight :)

They're not half bad, considering he's only 5!

He was so cute following Connor around. He was also using the zoom for the first time, so I was surprised to see so many of his shots were in focus.
Connor checking out the pool
Hmmm, that lid looks interesting... what's not shown here is 5 seconds after this was taken, Connor lifted the lid and put it in his mouth - with ants on it!
Look Bradley... pretty flowers
Granny and Mommy (I'm looking rather washed out, lol, wasn't sure whether to post it actually)

Rusty nail

... sticking out of the roof of the old shed.

Arums from the outside

Happy birthday my big boy!!
I decided not to show you more pics of Bradley because there've been so many that I've posted lately... so instead... I took some pics of the arum lily that has started flowering in my mom's garden. I've taken pics of arums before, but this time thought that taking shots from the outside of the flower would be interesting.

Underneath the arum

From the outside
Arum in abstract

The last one is, by far, my favourite. I love the focus that's just in the middle of the photo.

Wordless Wednesday - Purple Bearded Iris flashing

I love the effect of the flash on flowers in the garden at dusk.

Other Wordless Wednesday participants here

14 Months old tomorrow

I haven't posted shots of Connor for a while. I took these this evening in my mom's garden when I picked them up after work.
He's 14 months old tomorrow already, and he's just the most lovable child... definitely a daddy's boy compared to Bradley (who's a real mommy's boy).
Lance actually reminded me last night about our pact while I was pregnant. The plan was that he was going to look after Bradley while I looked after Connor... well it hasn't worked out that way most of the time. Connor prefers Lance to put him to sleep or feed him or in fact, anything. The only thing he likes doing with me is drink his bottle.

Baby blue eyes
"Aooooh! " His favourite expression to get attention
"pfffft" He was rubbing his hands to get rid of a feather that he'd been holding (didn't manage to get a pic of that)
The brothers

Zinnia

I noticed these beautiful bright flowers in my mom's garden this evening. And yes, it was quite late which is why I was experimenting with the flash vs the ISO settings again. I also managed to capture the full life cycle of the flower just on the one bush!

Dale and Tina in Jo'burg

The last time I saw my cousin Dale was in 2002 in London! So, his visit in Joburg this weekend was a BIG family event. My mom put on a huge spread for breakfast this morning... muffins, croissants, fruit, egg, bacon, sausages, tomato, fresh juices... the works! It was yummy!

Bradley eating

Dale and Tina
The guys still hard at work in the background cooking the food on skottels
"Can someone please get me a higher stool?"
"If I turn any more, I'm going to fall, I know I am"

Tina

Dale

Hopefully, it won't be 6 years before I see him again.

PS. If you're looking for my Weekly Winners, they're here

Braai at Granny and Papa's house

We had a family braai (BBQ) at my parent's house today.

I realised I haven't posted any pics of the boys hunting for eggs this year, so here's one from today... the Easter Bunny even went to Granny's house!

Connor following the dog around the garden.

Erin, the boys' cousin
The youngest members of the family. And believe me, this is the best photo I could get, they DO NOT sit still!
My dad showing Connor how the braai tongs work
Erin loves being thrown into the air, she has absolutely no fear!