fr. richard.

I've been doing a lot of family history research lately, and the best part is looking through all of these old photographs. I bet you didn't know that my Great Uncle (Fr. Richard) is a priest. He lives in Chile and has been serving there for around 50 years. Here he is (on the right) sitting with my Grandpa Roger (his brother). Pictures are truly worth a MILLION words, so if you have any oldies like this, SCAN them. Save them. Preserve them. They are SO NICE to have.

I also have a Great Aunt who's a nun...but I'll save that for another post!

what do you think?

...of these colors? I promise they match. Remember this? It's inspired the entire decor for my office, and now I'm going to make some pillows to match.

guiltless pleasure.

Look what I found! And I don't even like Chex Mix. But this is DARK CHOCOLATE Chex Mix. It's so delicious, and cures my sweet tooth with just one little handful!

image from chex.com

jantzen II.

Their 100th birthday was yesterday, and I'll say, they're looking pretty good! I la la love their fresh logo & branding. It's so retro, yet hip. Which is your favorite!?

image from Jantzen.com

catching up.

I haven't forgotten about my faithful readers! I'm realizing more people actually read my blog than I think.

I've got a couple great Wondering Wednesday posts in the works, but they require some screen shots and side by side comparisons, and I haven't quite whipped those up yet. I'll have a really, really good one next week, especially for all those delving into Photoshop. Promise!

*What are you wondering? Submit photography/design questions to kaela@bokephotos.com, or leave a comment!*

wondering wednesday: photoshop.

Starting in 2010, I'm doing a series on Wednesdays answering photography/design questions submitted by readers. If you have a question you'd like to submit, leave a comment or e-mail me at kaela@bokehphotos.com. I will answer a new question each Wednesday!

Leanne asked:

"What is the best way to learn photoshop? I have tinkered around with it myself, and took a class at BYU that went way to fast and left me totally lost. DO you have a book or tutorial that you recommend?"

YES! Nicole Hill Gerulat, local UT photography celebrity, organizes classes on photography, Illustrator, AND Photoshop. I highly recommend these courses (I've taken all three). Mike Loveland (the instructor) works in the stock photography industry, and goes through the entire Photoshop toolbar in detail. He provides actual commercial images for hands on experience and classroom demonstrations of how the tools work. I've taken community courses as well, and learned a ton on my own, but this class was uber thorough and the interactive format of the class and homework assignments helped the lessons stick. People of all abilities take these classes, so no one gets left behind.

If you don't have time to take the class, or you're not in a location where the class is offered, they also came out with a fabulous textbook! It's a steal.


Another great *free* way to learn Photoshop is through Podcasts. I haven't watched any lately, but there are several series available on iTunes that you can subscribe to.

If anyone tries/has tried these suggestions, I'd love to get your feedback!

*What are you wondering? Submit questions to kaela@bokephotos.com or leave a comment.*

image from nicolesclasses.com

what have i been up to?

So you've likely noticed the lack of fresh images on my blog. This is due to:

• Cooking adventures, including 'Ribollita' from 101 Cookbooks and my new Simple Swaps book
• Sewing creations, including the pillow making class I took at JoAnn Fabrics, and the purse I constructed with the help of my sissy
• It's cold outside!

It's just too cold and blah outside for portraits right now, but I'm working on a few different projects that I hope to share soon. In the meantime, you'll have to put up with my dabbling.

image from Amazon.com

chances.

Again, I'm behind the times, but I just saw The Blindside last week, and I loved it! If you haven't already seen it yet, GO. I'm especially stuck on the song 'Chances' by Five for Fighting. It makes me wonder, how did I get so lucky?

tango.

We're going to Tango tonight.

I'll let you know what I think. Afterwards, we're going to the game.

this makes me smile.

I need to take more pictures like this.


Borrowed from the FB page of my MPLS yoga instructor. If you do yoga and live in MPLS-she is fabulous.

What makes you smile?

jantzen.

This inspires me to work out. What a fabulous little black number. Wish I was going somewhere warm where I could sport this! So classy & retro.

101 cookbooks.

In the last month or so, I've attempted to do more cooking, both for economical reasons, and to find a new outlet for my creativity (photography, music, scrapbooking, card-making, sewing, and book-binding aren't enough). I'm a jack of all trades but I won't pretend to be a master of any of them. But I'm trying...does that count?

Historically, I actually hate cooking. I despise going to the grocery store. I hate paying for the ingredients. I dislike making a mess in my kitchen that has limited counter space. And I don't like cleaning up after myself (just ask husby). To make up for all of this, I've discovered this lovely inspiration, which marries photography AND food. Now there is more motivation besides eating to cook...I can take pretty pictures too!

As a challenge to myself, in the new year, I will be cooking more and documenting my endeavors. If only my kitchen had better lighting...

calling all questions.

It's no secret that I try to let my images speak for themselves. I'm not a writer so I keep the text to a minimum. Since this is a photo-themed blog (despite the occasional tangents) I'm asking for any questions you have on photography, design, equipment, Photoshop, etc. I'm not a self proclaimed expert, but I've learned plenty from experience (and classes) and I'd love to share the knowledge I've gleaned. Besides, the best way to learn something is to *teach* it, right?

The #1 question I am asked is...
"What kind of [digital SLR] camera should I get?"

Which of course I answer, depends on your preference. I like Nikon but that doesn't mean Canon is a bad brand. I just means I like the way Nikon cameras are set up. I like how they feel. I like the lenses. I have a Nikon D300 and it's fabulous for me. Is it the camera of my dreams? No. But it's a good portion of the way there, and for now, it meets my needs. If you are considering a certain camera, I'm glad to provide my opinion on the pros/cons and features, but ultimately you're the user and you need to decide what camera best meets your preferences.

Now that I'm done with my long winded scenario, what else do you people want to know? I'd love to do a series of posts to answer your questions (what a GREAT challenge this will be).