I slept like a rock in our tent, which is odd for me because I’m usually freezing my s’mores off all night when we camp. I woke up at about 7am (well rested I should add), which was the perfect time to snap photos of the beautiful wildflowers around camp. The sun was shining at just the right angle to make the flowers glow and provide an interesting bokeh backdrop.

I shot about 7 photos, half of which were not focused well because it was 7am after all, before my battery died. Here are the shots that turned out decent. Click on each one to view the larger image. Trust me, they look better bigger.

In other exciting photography news…Misfit Sister bought Misfit Dad a ‘Sunset Photography Class’ through REI for Father’s Day. Like any younger sister would do, I decided to tag along on her thoughtful gift and join them for the class! Yep, I’m still the annoying little sister. I don’t think that will ever change. The class will be July 13th, so be on the lookout for sunset pictures right here on this blog. I’m looking forward to sharing any new tips I learn!

DISCUSS: Do you think anyone can take a great picture of a flower? Or do some photographers shoot nature’s beauty better than others?

A number of these candelabras can be found in line at Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. I took a handful of photos, but this one from right underneath the lighting was my favorite.

One of my favorite rides at Disneyland is Haunted Mansion. It’s one of the few I remember from my early childhood trip to the park. While waiting in line, there is no shortage of cobweb covered lights to gaze at in the dimly lit mansion.

Here’s a close up of one of the Haunted Mansion lights on the wall. The detail is amazing!

While taking a break after the head-jarring Tower of Terror on a recent trip (check out my sister’s post about that story here), Misfit Sister and I visited the California Adventure Animation Academy. One of the rooms had different shapes and sizes of lanterns hung, so I snapped this quick photo.

Not the greatest photo of the group, but still noteworthy, this shot was taken from within the Blue Bayou restaurant. If you have ever ridden the Pirates of the Caribbean, you’ve probably noticed this eating area at the beginning of the ride. We were fortunate enough to dine here for lunch, although you would think this photo was taken late at night.

Indian Jones Adventure is another one of my favorite rides. Given the usually long wait times, Disney didn’t skimp on giving ride-goers something to look at while in line. This shot was taken a few minutes before loading into our Jeep for the ride.

Oh Cars Land. Are you sick of me telling you how much I love it yet? I think My Stronger Half is. Here’s one of many neon sign shots I have from my home away from home.

A trip to California Adventure isn’t complete without the World of Color show. This shot was taken on my iPhone, because I didn’t have a tripod with me on this trip. I thought the silhouettes of show watchers added an interesting touch.

Next up? Details of Disneyland!

“Bed of Needles” – Tiffany M. of CO
“Fantasia 2013″ – Luke K. of CO

For my *gasp* 30th birthday, my sister decided to fuel my obsession and surprised me with a girls’ weekend trip to Disneyland. (You can read her tips for planning a trip and see how she surprised me here on her blog). So, we packed up our DSLRs (she with her new Nikon D7100 and me with my Nikon D70) and went to the happiest place on earth. I took over 250 photos, so needless to say the next few posts will be Disney related.

In case the blog post title didn’t already give it away, the first round of photos is focused on the statues in Disneyland.

These Mickey and Minnie statues were right outside of the Disneyland hotel (which is where we stayed). I snapped this shot the first night. From what I’ve read, these statues used to be in the lobby of the hotel, but with its recent remodel they were moved outside. 1/13 | f1.8 | ISO 400 | 50MM

My first trip to Mickey’s Toontown within Disneyland couldn’t have been on a better day. It was sunny and 75 degrees when I snapped this photo. Since I just had my 50MM lens with me on this trip, I got a close-up but you can see the full statue in these photos on Flickr.
1/8000 | f2.5 | ISO 400 | 50MM

I also grabbed a shot of the Roger Rabbit statue, which I love because he has water coming out of his ears. I used a faster shutter speed to capture the water falling all around him.
1/8000 | f2 | ISO 400 | 50MM

There are so many great photos of this Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse statue that I couldn’t possibly do it justice with this simple shot, but I had to try! The plague on the front of this statue reads: “I think most of all what I want Disneyland to be is a happy place…Where parents and children can have fun, together. — Walt Disney”1/6400 | f1.8 | ISO 400 | 50MM

Here’s a closer shot.

Surrounding the partner statue is a circle of smaller statues featuring a variety of Disney characters. The flowers were in full bloom, which provided an excellent bokeh effect for my photos. Here’s Chip and Dale.
1/1000 | f1.8 | ISO 400 | 50MM

Minnie Mouse (of course).
1/1600 | f1.8 | ISO 400 | 50MM

Pinocchio.
1/1250 | f2 | ISO 400 | 50MM

With some inspiration from this photo by Tom Bricker, I captured Minnie looking back at Walt and Mickey. Since I couldn’t walk in the flowers (because that’s just plain rude) I had to lean as far back as possible and snap this photo without looking in my viewer.
1/640 | f4 | ISO 400 | 50MM

Up next…lights of Disneyland!

I hope some of you are experiencing Spring weather, because it’s been dumping snow all day here in Colorado. We did get a Spring teaser this past weekend with 75-80 degree weather, so I took the opportunity to get outside with Misfit Sister and Misfit Niece. We hit up a local playground for some play and photography. The sun was high in the sky, causing some harsh contrast between shadow and light, but I was able to snap a few good action shots.

Check them out!

My niece was rocking back and forth on this horse, but a quick shutter speed helped me capture a still moment. How can you not love that smile?

Same photo, just cropped in on her face so you can see the detail of her hair blowing in the wind.

There’s something so great about being upside down as kid. She was spinning around in this bucket seat, and I caught her at the bottom of the turn.

And halfway through a turn…

And I close-up. Did I mention I was using my 50MM lens at f1.8? That’s why the background is so lovely and blurred.

The start of a jungle gym adventure. Misfit Niece was a bit spooked after climbing a couple steps and said, “I will climb this when I’m 5. I’m only 4 right now.” Gotta give her props for being optimistic about the future!

Ahh…the look of fear. She climbed half-way up this ladder and got this terrified look on her face that made me want to squeeze her until she popped. Is that weird?

Back on the horse. No fear on this guy!

Taking your own playground photos? Here are a few tips:

1. Drop your aperture as low as it will go to blur out busy backgrounds. I used f1.8 in most of the photos above.

2. Use a quick shutter speed to prevent blur from your little one’s quick movements.

3. Dress your kids in bright colors, so they stand out against the bark, sand, or gravel on the ground.

4. Try different angles. Take photos standing over them OR get down on their level to show their perspective (like the jungle gym photo above)

Now get out there and play around!

Over the past year, I have been collecting photos of different Toyota emblems I’ve seen at the various events. My personal favorite are the vintage emblems found on land cruisers from the past.

Check out the 11 emblems below and let me know what your favorite is!

The result: we found the snow we were looking for! Not only was the trail packed with feet of snow, but the sky opened up and dumped snowflakes for part of our trek. Below are the photos I captured of the snowfall.

I posted this image on my blog two years ago with a tutorial on how to create something similar using Photoshop. Since then, that blog post has become one of my top 10 most visited posts, so I thought I would share it again this March.

There’s something very inspiring about this time of year. As I write this, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Indianapolis while it drizzles snowy rain outside. Despite the wintery weather, my optimism is high. This is the time of year where I crawl out of my seasonal funk and anticipate the coming months. Days are longer, the land is getting greener, and Easter gives us all the reminder that new starts are possible. I don’t know about you, but I could sure use a new start. A new attitude. A new focus for life. Oh…and more time for photography.

Which photo is your favorite? Comment below.