my favorite photos of 2010

(may, at the river, taken with my point and shoot)

(june)

(july, a misty morning taken while driving back from houston)

(august, a local museum)

(august)

(september, germany)

(september, my aunt's ranch in germany)

(september, germany)

(october, paris)

(october, view from our hotel room in paris)

(october, the eiffel tower, paris)

(october)

(november)

(november)

(december)



(december, christmas eve)

Man, picking just eighteen photos from the whole year was challenging, but I'm glad I have a collection of my very favorites now. I've grown so much in my photography this past year. A year ago, I knew I was interesting in taking pictures, but I just had a point and shoot and barely knew anything. Now, a year later, I have a DSLR and have learned so, so much more. 

My photography goals for this year are:

-get another lens (preferably a 35mm)

-start selling my photos

-do some more portrait sessions

-assist a professional photographer during a shoot or two

-learn more about editing

-learn more about posing

-finally get a camera bag

I realize some of these are pretty tall orders, but I'm going to see what I can do this year :)

What are some of your goals for 2011?

Happy New Year!

-carlotta

miscellaneous ramblings

1. yes, this is the same blog :)

Don't worry - this is still pastor's girl's ponderings! I've done a bit of a makeover to my blog...I changed things a little more than I usually do. I got rid of the column on the left (something I've been wanting to do for a long time but haven't had the courage) in order to have a bigger posting space and bigger photos. I just have a sidebar on the right, and that's a little larger so everything isn't as cramped. And I added a new header. 
I love the simpler look - it's less cluttered and more streamlined, focusing more on the content of the posts. What do you think?

2. grey & pink.

My favorite color at the moment is grey. It's such a lovely, versatile color and isn't as harsh as black. It pairs so wonderfully with virtually every color (I'm especially loving it with pink - hence the colors of my blog, white, or yellow) and can range from girly to something more boyish.

3. we saw tangled.

Can I just say that it's the cutest movie - ever?! I loved it. And sure, it was sappy - it wouldn't be a Disney princess movie with out a bit of sappiness - but it wasn't so overly sweet that it made you roll your eyes. And the 3D part was the extra icing on the cake. :)
If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, I would definitely recommend it! It's a super adorable movie.

4. (more) etsy lovelies.



Left to right, starting at top row:
1. shabby chic wedding ampersand cottage sign, wood (I know it's for a wedding, but I'd hang it in my room, painted in white)
2. piccola ninfea pouch in cream
3. japanese washi tape - all stripes horizontal lines (Yes, I have a little thing for japanese masking tape...)
4. open your heart necklace
5. I love you, polaroid
6. 42 antique style alphabet and number wooden rubber stamps set

5. i love my name.

When I was younger, I wanted to change my name to something more normal - Hannah, Julie, Emma, Isabella, the list never ended. But now? I adore my name. I wouldn't ever want to change it.
While my mom was watching an old movie a few months before I was born, one of the characters was named Carlotta. My mom liked it and so that's what she named me.
I love my middle name even more - Cisternas. My grandmother on my dad's side is Chilean and Cisternas is an old family name. My parents didn't want to the name to be lost, so they added that as my middle name.
I love how unique my name is. I think my parents did a good job ;)
What is the story behind your name?

6. photography tip of the day.

I'm going to start adding a photography tip in every miscellaneous ramblings post - that way it won't be so overwhelming :)
Today's tip? Don't use flash. I understand that you may need it every once in awhile, but in general it's best to leave it off. In the past year I've probably used my flash about five or so times. It's very rare that I ever turn on the flash setting. Flash creates red eyes, washes out colors, often creates glare, and doesn't beautify the photo overall.
Having said that, if you have a good off camera flash, it can produce beautiful shots, but I'm talking about the on camera flash.

7. what's wrong in this photograph?

...
...
...

Oh boy. Yes, I am a bit odd...why do you ask? ;) But in all seriousness, I'm holding up my brother's copy of The Encyclopedia of Immaturity up to my face. They have all sorts of rather interesting looking body parts you can hold up to your face, such as a very large ear and odd facial expressions. It's really rather amusing.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

-carlotta

on cloud nine (and photo challenge finalists/winners)

One of my favorite snacks is a juicy, crisp apple with some sharp cheddar cheese. The combination is unbelievably good. The sharpness of the cheese is such a nice contrast to the sweet apple.
What is your favorite healthy treat?






<a href="http://pastorsgirlsponderings.com/"><img src="http://imgur.com/AS92y.jpg"/></a>

Is there a photo that makes you happy? One that warms your heart or tells a funny story? One that puts you on cloud nine? Here's your chance to share it! 

Just put up a post on your blog containing one photo that you've taken. You can add as much or as little text as you would like along with it. After writing your post, come back here to link up - you have until Thursday at 9:59pm CST to do so. Don't forget to link back to me so others can join in, whether it be via the above button or a link. :) And remember to visit others' photos as well! 

And now for the finalists and winners of the photo challenge!
The finalists are Polka Dot, Ashley Sisk, Mikayla, and Jack.
It was so incredibly hard to pick a winner from all these amazing entries, but I finally managed to narrow it down to just one. The winner is...

Mikayla! Congratulations, Mikayla - I loved your photo. From the bright twinkling lights to the post processing, this is such a beautiful shot. Great job!


Thanks to everyone for participating in the challenge - I had so much fun and I hope you did too :)


-carlotta

PS I'm a finalist in Aspire's Christmas photo challenge! I'd love if you'd head on over here and give my photo your vote :)

outfit post: christmas eve/christmas day

Yes, I wore the same outfit for the Christmas Eve candlelight service and for the Christmas Day service. Cringe. I was running on about four or five hours of sleep on Christmas Day and it was easier to just wear the same outfit. In my defense, though, I did change my shoes. ;)

I promise my skin tone isn't that ghastly red...the camera did something to my skin. Eek.

Black tank top: Target

White top: Gap

Belt: Thrifted

Jeggings: American Eagle (I admit I wasn't sure about the whole jegging craze, but now that I've tried them, I'm in love. They're so comfortable and look just like jeans. Give them a try!)

Shoes: Keds (I wrote more about them in this post)

What do you think? Any suggestions?

Oh, before I forget, if I post pictures of my outfits, all the photo credits go to my brother. Thanks Jeremiah!

-carlotta

PS Winner and finalists for the photo challenge will be posted Wednesday!

christmas recap

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. There's something so magical about this time of year - everyone slows down and enjoys life while Christmas songs are being crooned over the stereo. I love it.

This year did not disappoint. After a big dinner on Christmas Eve, we went to the 11pm candlelight service, my favorite service of the whole year. It's filled with lots and lots of singing and, of course, candles. I adore it.
The next morning, we went to church again, having been there only nine hours before. Afterwards, it was time to open presents.




(This was my present to MeMe...I was rather proud of the wrapping)




Much to the chagrin of my siblings, I made them wait a few seconds longer while I photographed the wrapped presents before their pretty packaging was ripped off. It probably seemed like an eternity to them at the time, but they got over it ;)




(one of my presents - Japanese masking tape)



(Lightroom! I had been using the trial version, but it expired a few weeks ago. My parents surprised me by buying me the full version! I'm one happy girl.)

After the multitude of presents were unwrapped (which consequently left the living room a disaster despite our best efforts), the rest of the day was spent playing with new things and laughing until we cried. It was a good day.

How was your Christmas? Did you get anything special? Do tell! 

-carlotta

merry christmas!

(That title is totally original, right? I mean it's not like anyone else will title their post "Merry Christmas!" today. ;))

Merry Christmas, sweet friends! I hope your day is filled with lots of food, fun, and time spend with family (Um, yes, you could say I love alliterations. Heh.).

But in the midst of all the presents and shiny new things, let's not forget what today is all about. This is the cutest thing I ever did see, reminding us what the true meaning of Christmas really is.


The Christmas Story from St Paul's on Vimeo.

-carlotta

i'm grateful this christmas eve

It's Christmas Eve - a fact that I still have trouble wrapping my mind around.

Blame it on the fact that I'm getting older or maybe it's because how busy I've been, but this is the first Christmas that I haven't been counting down the days.

There are some moments when I wish time would slow down. December has gone by in such a blur I've barely had time to catch my breath and enjoy the season. Instead, it's been a frantic rush of getting everything done in time, going from to place to place.

But I'm not complaining. No, this Christmas Eve, I'm grateful. I'm grateful for the chance to celebrate another Christmas. I'm grateful to be surrounded by loving family and friends. I'm grateful for you. I'm grateful for my camera. I'm grateful for the little things in life. And I'm so, so very grateful that God sent down His Son on Christmas to save us from our sins, the greatest gift of all.

What are you grateful for this Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

(Our Christmas card from this year - it was the first time that I've taken all the photos and made the card by myself ;) (last name blurred out for privacy reasons))


-carlotta


PS I don't want to take away the meaning of this post, but this is just a reminder that today is your last day to enter in my photo challenge!)

on cloud nine

This is our sweet dog, Sarge. Sarge was a Christmas present last year - my parents surprised us with him on December 23rd (which means I should probably post about this tomorrow instead...oh well.) When we first saw him, he was three months old, a puppy you could carry every. Now? He's eighty pounds of adorable, lovable, sock-stealing dog. I can't imagine life without him :)




<a href="http://pastorsgirlsponderings.com/"><img src="http://imgur.com/AS92y.jpg"/></a>

Is there a photo that makes you happy? One that warms your heart or tells a funny story? One that puts you on cloud nine? Here's your chance to share it! 

Just put up a post on your blog containing one photo that you've taken. You can add as much or as little text as you would like along with it. After writing your post, come back here to link up - you have until Thursday at 9:59pm CST to do so. Don't forget to link back to me so others can join in, whether it be via the above button or a link. :) And remember to visit others' photos as well! 
-carlotta
(Psst...don't forget to enter in my photo challenge!)

a list for christmas break

1. start a diary.
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I've had a plethora of diaries over the years, but I've never written in one regularly for more than a year. I want to try to change that. I know I have blogging, but I want a place where I can confide worries and day to day things without being judged or being afraid of boring people to death. A place where I can fill the pages with inspiration - essentially a scrapbook of sorts.

2. take more pictures.
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I used to take at least ten photos a day, but now it seems that a week or more will slip by without me even glancing at my camera. My excuse? "There's nothing to take pictures. Everything is so boring." That just tells me that I'm going to have to work harder at being creative when it comes to photography.




3. work on a surprise of sorts.
-----------------------------------------
I've have something kind of big in the works...I plan to unveil the fruits of my labor soon after the new year. If you think hard, you might be able to figure it out - I've sort of hinted about it these past few weeks :) I'm very excited about it!

4. practice piano everyday.
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This is something I really want to work on - practicing piano everyday for a minimum of thirty minutes, but preferably over an hour. During my last piano class before break, my teacher gave me a major pep talk. I've had so many people tell me that I'm talented when it comes to piano, but I've had a hard time believing it. This is going to sound totally snotty, but I realized that I do have a gift in that area. I was being lazy and didn't want to practice because I thought it was too hard. But I've decided that if I've been blessed with this talent, I better darn well use it! (Yep. I told you it was going to totally snotty and conceited. Sorry.)

5. catch up on homework.
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This one is rather self explanatory, but this is on the top of my list to get done. I'm also going to attempt to go back to the very beginning of my geometry book and reread all the lessons (and redo two or three homework problems from each lesson). Then, I'm going to see if I can make some sense of my current assignments. Sigh.




6. spend more time with my family.
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Heck, isn't Christmas supposed to be about surrounding yourself with loved ones (After celebrating Jesus' birth, of course.)? I'm going to try to spend more time with my family and less time on the computer.

7. start my novel.
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I talked a little bit about writing a novel in this post. I think I'm going to go for it. Eek. First comes research - lots and lots of it. My goal is to complete the first few paragraphs of book, along with the research, of course, before break is up. Any tips from those of you that wrote/are writing a novel?

8. finish redoing my room.
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I have frames spray painting, art work to fill some of them, and the plan in my head. We'll see how this goes...

9. learn more html.
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It's pitiful how much I know. Yes, I've lamented about this before, but it's true. I need to learn how to navigate all the codes better, how to make sense of the mystifying world of HTML. For those of y'all have a blog design business or are knowledgeable in this, where do you recommend starting?





What's on your list for Christmas break?

-carlotta

(Don't forget to enter my photo challenge! :))

meme fix

I was able to break a bit out of my photography rut yesterday when I shot some photos of MeMe. It always helps when you have a beautiful model!

It's been quite some time since I've posted any shots of her so here's your MeMe fix. :)




I'm still experimenting with backlight...it's definitely something that needs lots of practice!





She was reading Little House on the Praire (The first book) and had her legs perfectly crossed. I couldn't resist snapping a shot of them.




MeMe never fails to crack me up. She came up to me a few days ago and said, "I've figured something out. Pretty much all country songs are about beer, girlfriends, and trucks." In that order. And not that she would know anything about beer...ahem.



What do you think? I could have spent hours and hours editing them, but unfortunately I didn't get the chance. Instead, I just did some basic editing...but if you don't mind, just look past that ;) And as always, I'd love to hear any tips you have!

This is totally unrelated, but it wouldn't really be a real post without something random thrown in. Heh. I was just checking the weather, and it's supposed to be sixty one degrees today! What happened to our winter weather? Hmph.

-carlotta

(PS If you haven't already, feel free to enter in my photo challenge!)

miscellaneous ramblings: the (mostly) christmas edition

1. it's christmas break.

Break out the hallelujah chorus! (No pun intended. Hardee har har.) Throw a party! I'm so insanely relieved that it's finally break. Two whole weeks of freedom. And fun. And presents. And celebrating the Savior's birth. I can't wait.

2. we finally got our tree.

Yes, yesterday we got our Christmas tree at last. Decorating the tree to the tunes of the Nat King Cole Christmas station on Pandora and a crackling fire is one of my very favorite traditions.



While the Christmas lights were on a heap on the floor, I couldn't resist taking a bokeh shot. ;)

3. my favorite ornaments...

Each year we usually decorate our Christmas tree with white lights and red ornaments (and the occasional green one). But no matter the color scheme, we always make sure to include these guys...my very favorite ones from our whole collection.



Their expressions crack me up. Especially the pig. His goofy grin and eyes get me every time.



This bird is a new addition to our tree, but it's quickly becoming a favorite of mine. The eclectic, outlandish look makes me love it :)

What are some of your favorite ornaments?

4. christmas is a week from today.

That's kind of scary. I'm having a hard time believing it's Christmas time, for some reason. Maybe it's because the weather is fairly warm here right now. Or maybe it was because I was just focused on school until now. Either way, I hope I can get into the Christmas spirit before it's over.

5. etsy lovelies.



(Left to right, starting at top row: iPod Touch/iPhone case - grey herringbone wool, mustache postcard, the supersnood in camel, Japanese masking tape - beige, mustard yellow rose on grey pillow,  personalized custom hand stamped cuff bracelet)


These are a few of my favorite items on Etsy right now...just in case you want to get me something for Christmas ;)

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I'm almost done...my goal is to get everything done by Wednesday. We'll see how that goes.

6. feeling unmotivated.

Lately, I'm been so unmotivated photography wise. Last month, I took well over two hundred pictures. (Although, those were the ones I kept. I took and deleted many more.) This month? It's a mere forty two. I apologize for not posting as many photos lately, but I just haven't had many to post. It should get a little better now with Christmas right around the corner, but I'm still frustrated that five or six days will go by without me picking up my camera.

Any ideas to get out of this rut? They'd be greatly appreciated :)

Merry Christmas!

-carlotta