Ummm.....hi.....

....ummm.....yeah....so, my sister (hi Elaine!) mentioned she hadn't seen an update on my blog for a million years awhile...

.....and she's right. (Older sisters are always right....right?) Busy would be one word I could use as an excuse.

The other would be I spend a lot of time over at Facebook and try and keep that a bit current soooo........you can always visit me there and see what's up.

https://www.facebook.com/wanda.malfara?ref=tn_tnmn - my home timeline

https://www.facebook.com/WandaMalfaraPhotography - my business page

I'd love you to come over and follow along and "like"  my page. (That'll ease my guilt for not updated here as often.)

I also update my photography on my website.

www.wandamalfara.com

Meanwhile, here's a picture of my girlies during a recent walk in our park. I'm happy to say our snow is now officially GONE, even though we got a big dump only last Friday.

And Milana....looking cute enough to eat. (Said her mom...modestly.)




And Dahlia, on her 10 birthday in March. (How can it be that my babies are 5 and 10!! that's hardly an original thought but it still blows my mind.)



Thanks for stopping by (and forgiving my absence.)

Hope to see you on Facebook.

Happy Spring everyone!

Favorite Photo Friday

 

Since starting my photography business, I find I'm taking pictures "just for fun" less and less. And though it's probably pretty normal - it's also frustrating for me.

So last week, when Dahlia had a day off school we hit our favorite mall where normally the atrium area is full of flowers and decor. Nothing...nada....hardly a flower. There were holes in all the raised beds where they had just pulled out most of the flowers in preparation for changing them to a spring theme. 

Still, we found a few nice areas to grab a few shots. This is one of my favorites. 

I can hardly believe that my little girl will be turning 10 in a few weeks! Where is that time going?

(Joining my friend Lisa and many others sharing their favorite photos.)

Happy Friday!

xoxo 

Sunday Snapshot - "Still winter here!"

It may still be cold and snowy up here......

...but even just a moment with this....

...schnook munchkin....

...can warm my heart!


Have a great week....and stay warm.
xoxo

Favorite Shot of 2012 - Rock the Shot

Yup....I'm repeating myself here.

Another favorite shot entry, this time for "Rock the Shot" www.rocktheshotforum.com

This image (from a wedding I shot in 2012) is far from a portrait image but I love it anyway, mainly for the eye of the little girl behind her big sister.

I was using the Nikon D4 (for the first time) and was standing at the front of the church, really zooming with a 70-200mm 2.8 lens so the clarity is not there. But the church door had just opened and in poured this delicious light behind these two little cherubs.

 

Have a perfect week!

xoxo

I Heart Faces - January Challenge

I thought I'd enter the I heart Faces challenge this month with one my favs. Two beautiful flowers girls I captured at a wedding shoot.

http://www.iheartfaces.com/2013/01/photo-challenge-best-of-2012/

Have a perfect week!

xoxo

The Year 2012....in review.

Click on the link for the Year in Review.
http://animoto.com/play/td1pVlXKF5IxuJJSrMrdLg

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

Favorite Photo Friday

Her Majesty and her little Royal Highness.......

...are looking a tad bored.

Could it be that dressing up, pretending and preparing to collect wicked amounts of candy and treats for Halloween is getting......

...oh....I hardly say it (insert top of hand to forehead with eyes drawn upward)

old, tired, passe.

No, it couldn't be, could it?

Or maybe it's one too many "ok...hold it, just one more......click".

Do you suppose? 

Well.....I'm happy to announce that once the sugar high kicked in.....

......all was well with the world again!

Whew, good thing. Otherwise I'd be left to play all by myself.

(smile)

xoxo

(Be back in a few days for more dress-up.)

 

Sunday Snapshot "A visit to the Pumpkin Patch"

Once again, the time arrived for our annual Pumpkin Patch visit. We were later than usual this year so there were not many left on the ground but it was still fun to watch the girls running through the field in search of the perfect pumpkin.

Each year when I look back, I'm a bit blown away by just how much the girls grow and change. This was last year's visit to the same spot.
 http://atlastmilanascominhome.blogspot.ca/2011/10/tuesdayaround-world.html

I visited my friend Helen's flower shop this week where she had some beautiful and unusual arrangements made. This was one of my favorites. I'm not an "orange" lover but this flower is so amazing to me.

(As is this one!)

Nikon D300, Lens 50mm 1.4, f/3.5, 1/125 shutter speed,iso 200 (very late aftenoon, cloudy day.)

Hope everyone found their perfect pumpkins this year.
xoxo

Sunday Snapshot

Hi! It's me......I'm back.....from the land of "too much to do, think I'm on over-load, need some time-out and where did I go?" (Ever been there? Yeah...I thought so....it felt kind crowded there....) 

'K....nough said.

So.....I thought I'd post some recent pictures. We were driving home from school and grocery shopping and passed the park where I spotted a sun flare. (And just happened to have my equipment with me as I'd had a shoot on location that day.)

And it didn't take long before my two nut-balls were hamming it up.

I mentioned the last time I blogged that I'd post some pictures of the kids fooling around on same stage where Steven Tyler had performed this summer. I didn't get back here till today. And I hate strongly dislike saying I'll do something and not doing it (I said I dislike doing it....didn't say I didn't do......catch the difference?)

So...here are those pictures from August. Dahlia acting like Miss Diva and Milana (aka Miss Wild Thang) doing an amazing impression of Elaine 

(circa: Seinfeld).

Nikon D300, Lens 50mm 1.4, F/stop - 1.8, Shutter 1/200,ISO 200

It's definitely fall around here and I feel like I'm finally coming up for air. I've spent way too much time with my nose in this screen (building my website: www.wandamalfara.com and trying to finish my photo blog attached to that site as well as tweaking my branding and marketing.....puff,puff. Almost done and beginning to feel human again). (How's that for a run-on sentence?)

Have a wonderful week!

xoxo 

Sunday Snapshot - "My girls"

Nikon D300

lens 50mm 1:4

F/2,ISO 200, Exp. 1/250

After a week where I felt like I was chasing my tail and getting nowhere fast, by Friday evening, I really needed a change of pace and scenery.

So.....I dropped everything, put a note on my computer saying 

"I'm outta here baby", grabbed my camera and the family and headed to the park. It was about 6:00 pm and we had the place to ourselves again. (We're late eaters....it's just the way we roll.)

So....in between jumping and swinging and running....I was able to grab a picture or two.

OK....so, I admit.....this one scares me a bit. We were just wandering near the water below, down this little path and I said - "turn around babe" and this is the look I got.

And then this one.

And to restore my vision of my little monkey baby girl - she just as quickly jumped into this tree and I was thankfully brought back to the present reality.

And not to be outdone.....my second monkey had to have her turn.

( I have some really fun shots from our little outing that I'll post on Tuesday. The girls pretending to be performing on the very stage where Steven Tyler and Aerosmith had their outdoor concert a few weeks ago......just a mile from our house.......yes....that's what I said.)

I posted this (below) on Facebook this week. Thought I'd share it here too.

Something special happened tonight. After a week of (mama pulling her hair out) the girls fighting more than loving - this mama was getting a tad discouraged with the whole scene. After dinner tonight the girls were both enjoying a Toblerone

chocolate bar each and as Dahlia was about to pop the last triangle into her mouth....she dropped it!....On the floor!!! (Oh horrors.......had Daddy not been around we may have enlisted the 5 second rule but alas....that did not happen.) Wailing pursued as I rolled my eyes and wondered how to fix....yet another earth-shattering trauma. Then.......a little hand reached out and offered Dahlia her very last piece of chocolate. Dahlia gleefully grabbed it, took a tiny bite and handed back half of the last piece that Milana had offered her.

Peace is now restored and I have suddenly forgotten all the drama/trauma of the week. It's all good!

This was Dahlia's face the very moment I mentioned "hey.....let's go get some chocolate".

Happy much?

Joining Stef and the other photogs. Check 'em out!

Have a fabulous week!

That's my plan.