Artists Inspired Blog Circle – Orange

Orange

November is here and we are already halfway through this month! How can that be? One more month until Christmas and not too far after that, a whole New Year will be knocking at our door.

I was a little stumped this month with our Artists Inspired Blog Circle theme of “Orange.” I considered quite a few regular “events” or ways to capture orange. But it all seemed too forced. I’m not an “every day shooter” — I pick up my camera for sessions, when something strikes me (like the November 2016 Supermoon), or when I want to capture a family memory. Rarely do I get the chance to go out and shoot for “me” or “just for fun.”

Below are some of the “orange” things I considered…

Most of the orange leaves have turned, and to be honest, don’t look as pretty as I’d want to photograph. I didn’t go hunting for anything special — just saw what was around my neighborhood, but nothing jumped out at me.

Then of course, I have tons of orange decor around my house, but nothing felt inspired to me.

I considered sunrises and sunsets…those have all of those golden yellow, orange, vibrant tones, but that seemed too pushed as well.

Two nights ago, my littles went to an Oklahoma City Thunder Basketball game, and were invited out on the court baseline to be there when the players were introduced — HOW COOL! But, though pretty awesome, I think I’ll save that post for another day.

You know what was totally natural? My children, who are my muses, doing their normal thing for Halloween, and me capturing and blogging. No, these images aren’t technically beautiful or super “wow” images…but they are us. In fact, I don’t think any of these were really thought out before I pulled the camera…I just snapped a few, and these will be our memories this year. And, I’m okay with that. Daddy had to leave the day of Halloween, unfortunately, so the kids and I did what we could with him before he left, and then of course, we were left Trick-or-Treating without him. We are so, so thankful for amazing friends to come over that night and enjoy our Halloween celebration with us.

My little Pikachu and my little Charmander, all dressed up for Halloween, doing their thing. These were taken after a family session…my babies were with me, and though very dark, we found some light and I went for it anyways. I’m glad I did…

To be 100% honest, I don’t think the ones below are actually edited. At least, not all of them. We are ALWAYS late pumpkin carvers, and this year was no exception. We did this the day before Halloween, before Daddy left. I have HORRIBLE house lighting (and am always so jealous when I see great house light!) so really, I needed to edit these. But, it’s the memory that’s important…and these are tradition!

Check out this LIGHT!!!

This one has become one of my favorites! I LOVE how this turned out, regardless of how many times people picked on me for the 11×14 frame STILL being empty in the background! 

Before our guests arrived…I needed to keep my lil’ Pokemon from eating all of the Halloween treats! We started a tradition several years ago of making Halloween Party Food (even just for our family) and the kids love it and look forward to the surprises each year. This year, they were able to help me get ready for the party, which was awesome!

We had Pumpkin Poo, Witches Brooms, Witch Fingers, Ghost Poo, Bloody Fingers, Halloween Punch, Jack-O-Lantern Quesadillas, Werewolf Scabs, Mini Mummies, and Chili…for the grown ups. 

I was SO ant-“Halloween” decorations. Fall decorations…all day long. But Halloween?? Eh,not sure what message that sends the kids. However, when DADDY makes a deal with Big Sister about good grades and graveyard decorations…he sticks to his word.

And deals with the wrath of Mommy.
So, they go out a few days before, and they are put up within a day or two.

I’ve decided I need to take more pictures of my beautiful new home! The kiddos are standing in front of it, so it’s in the background. It’s been an adjustment, but we’ve started to enjoy being here quite a bit, especially because of our friends. And we are very thankful for the house and the neighborhood that Jason picked out for us to live in.

Along with taking more pictures of our home…we have a super cool looking entryway! I decided that it looked pretty cool with the pumping lit up in front of it, so I captured a couple angles!
We have one Pikachu Pumpkin, and one sort of scary face pumping, completely carved by Sweet Caroline!

Finishing out the blog by sharing our Pikachu Pumpkin!
My little guy wanted this one SO BADLY, and Daddy did a pretty great job!

I hope you enjoyed my take on {Orange}!
So thankful you all took the time to come by my blog!

Next up in our Artists Inspired Blog Circle is the talented Elizabeth Willson of It’s Still Life by Elizabeth Willson. Click here to see her take on this month’s theme – I assure you that you’ll love it…she’s one of my favorites to follow!

The Artists Inspired Blog Circle is made up of an exceptionally talented group of photographers from all walks of life, from all over the world. They are wives, mothers, friends, daughters and visual storytellers who draw from their own experiences to create art that is inspiring, unique, beautiful and thought-provoking.