Just a couple of pictures of Dublin’s City Center for the family. 🙂
Category Archives: Photography
Happy Saint Valentines Day 2013!
Happy Saint Valentines Day! Feb 14 is the day St. Valentine was martyr. His heart is apparently somewhere in Dublin (meaning that he’s buried here). He was killed because he was performing marriage ceremonies for soldiers and young coupled even though marriage was not allowed at the time. What a great reason to have a holiday!
We as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that marriage between a man and a women is ordained of God. We believe that a man and a women can be married in the Holy Temples for time and all eternity.
For Valentine’s day, Micah and I decorated the bedroom to surprise daddy when he got home from work. Of course afterwards, I had to do a mini photo shoot for our guy:
Full Time Student to Full Time Mom
I’m not going to lie. It was very strange to transition from a full-time student to a full-time mom. Aside from also moving to a different country, it was just pure weird! I don’t have homework, classes, teachers, or grades. I didn’t know what to do with myself! I felt like I was aimless and there wasn’t no more direction in my life. Granted, I am making gourmet dinners for my family (compared to Top Raman during finals week) but making dinner doesn’t take all day! The first few days after Dallin started working in Ireland, I had dinner ready by 4 pm. Hmm… Dallin doesn’t get home till 6 pm. I sat on the couch, dumbfounded…. I was bored!
The next day, I picked up some knitting needles at the local thrift store… I haven’t knitting for years. But I thought to myself… I can’t spend all my days knitting!! I need to do something with my life. Micah didn’t like it either. He just wanted to take the needles and poke his eyes out.
Our awesome friends gave us a pocket size Preach My Gospel to take with us to Ireland. During my daily scripture study one day I decided to read the section on “Using Time Wisely“. I thought to myself… I really need this! I didn’t feel like I was using my precious time from God wisely. Even though I am not a full-time missionary, it was very beneficial. The chapter gave really good suggestions. I need a weekly calendar. I need to make goals. I need to progress to become more like God.
Elder M Russel Ballard said: “I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.”
I quickly repented of my idleness and aimlessness. I realized my most important investigator is my little Micah. He needs me to teach him everything I know. I made a progress report for Micah. I labeled four areas: Social, Physical, Mental, and Spiritual (Luke 2:52). I wrote down how Micah was doing in those areas and made a small goal for each of the areas. I planned out my week and decided to focus on Micah’s needs.
Small things does bring about great things (Alma 37:6). Being home has allowed me to read more books, sing more songs and spend more time than I’ve ever had with my son. I’m grateful for my education but I’m so glad that I finished in December. Just cause I got a degree doesn’t mean my learning has stopped. I’m learning every day as I try to become a better mom. This is learning that they can never teach you in a classroom.
What was the first thing I planned for the week? Feed the seagulls and Micah loved it!
Some Family Pictures
Nerdy Baby Costume
We dressed up Micah as a nerd this Halloween. He was so cute in his little suspenders and crayons in his pocket protector.
Family Pictures: Big Cottonwood Canyon
My little brother, Aaron, took these pictures using a Canon 28 mm f/1.8 lens. This lens does a really good job with doing the fuzzy background but having the subjects be in focus. We went up to Big Cottonwood Canyon on a Sunday afternoon to catch the fall colors.
Micah just turned 1 years old and we take a lot of pictures of him. Dallin and I like to take pictures of our family so we can make a book of remembrance every year. It’s a lot of work but every time we look at our past books, we are grateful we took the time and effort to put one together. The book isn’t extravagant or complicated but it’s just a simple book of pictures and memories from the year. We do this in addition to our personal journals and this blog.
For all those who are curious, I used Adobe Lightroom 3 and Adobe Photoshop CS5 to edit and enhance my pictures.
I Love to See the Temple
I can’t help but writing another post about temples!
I recently took these pictures for a neighbor. Her daughter is turning 8 and she is going to get baptized and they wanted pictures for a baptism invitation. We believe that age 8 is the age of accountability and we don’t believe in infant baptism. We believe that all children who pass away before they are 8 are all saved without the need of baptism (reference D&C 137:10).
All others who die without baptism will eventually get the chance to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Spirit World. We do baptisms for the dead for our ancestors in the temples. We believe in agency therefore the people we do baptisms for will be able to choose for themselves whether or not to accept the ordinance. We do not impose baptism on anyone dead or alive.
When we are baptize, we commit to follow our Savior Jesus Christ. Our past sins and transgressions are washed away. We commit to do the best we can to follow all the commandments and repent when we make mistakes. We promise to comfort those who need of comfort and stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places (reference Mosiah 18:9).
Remember to check out the Brigham City Temple Open House before Sept 15, 2012 if you want to go inside a temple and see what happens inside!
See Inside a Mormon Temple
We just recently went to Brigham City Temple Open House. It was absolutely wonderful and beautiful! My baby, Micah, was so interested and intrigued by being inside a temple for the first time. Usually you have to be 12 years old, a baptize member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and receive a temple recommend by your church leaders to go inside a temple. To recieve a temple recommend you have to be striving to keep all of God’s commandments such as paying full tithing, attend church regularly, sustain church leaders, and keep the word of wisdom.
In the Temple worthy members of the church go to make covenants with God. Also in the temple, families are sealed together forever. It’s a place to feel peace and happiness. You go to learn about Jesus Christ and escape from the stress of the world.
The Brigham City Temple has not yet been dedicated and everyone is invited to go inside the temple until September 15, 2012. If you want to go see the temple you can reserve your tickets online. This is something you do not want to miss out on!
‘
Baby Cardigan Onesie Tutorial Photoshoot
I did this photo shoot for my friend’s blog and her baby cardigan tutorial got over 1k hits on Pinterest in one day! Wow! Enjoy her tutorial and the pictures here.
Free Senior Pictures and Senior Picture Ideas!
Since my brother Aaron is a high school senior this year I thought it’d be fun to take some senior pictures. I remember how awful it was to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for senior pictures. I’ll take yours for free (space limited, first come first serve)! But for the sake that I spent so much money on my senior pictures and never used them… I’ll use them as examples in this blog post.
Here are the steps to get your senior pictures for free:
- Get group of preferably around 4-5 or more seniors who want individual senior or senior friends pictures.
- Think of a place in Salt Lake City/Sandy that you would want your pictures taken.
- Schedule a date with me to take your group’s senior pictures.
- Read my tips below before arriving at your photo shoot.
- Download your pictures individually for free on my website http://hubbard.smugmug.com/ or pay a $6.99 processing fee to download all the ORIGINAL pictures at once. I will give you all the rights to these pictures. You can also buy cheap prints on my website (no purchase necessary for the photo shoot. I don’t do photography to make a profit).
- Use your senior pictures in many ways!
Tips and Ideas for Senior Pictures:
- Do your senior pictures early! College applications, ACT/SAT, Football games, clubs, dances… ect. Your senior year gets very busy. Do them before school starts to be ahead of the game or at the beginning of the year.
- Bring props that represent you to your photoshoot!
- Don’t over pay for senior pictures. Save money for college! Don’t blow it off on senior pictures! Lifetouch and Josten will charge an arm and leg for pictures and graduation announcements. There are ways to do it for cheap. (By the way I didn’t get these pictures at Lifetouch… I spent even more on them by going to a professional. I don’t recommend it. You’ll be like $300 poorer by the end of it!)
- Make your own graduation announcement and put your own picture in it to save money. You can use sometime like Shutterfly to do this. **Warning: Make sure you own the rights to the picture before you do this. Most of the time professional photographers or Lifetouch don’t sell you the rights unless you buy the rights to each individual picture (which I did for these).
- You can use your senior picture along with your baby picture for the yearbook baby adds.
- Parents are welcomed to come and help or be in your senior pictures too!
- Make a small picture (2″ by 3″) insert for your yearbook and it’d look a lot nicer than the plain signature ones you get with Josten. Plus, it’d cost you only a few cents to make one. Use a round sticker to stick your picture in the yearbooks on yearbook signing day.
More Senior Picture Ideas on my Pinterest Board:
http://pinterest.com/maybohsu/senior-picture-ideas/
**Final Note: I will only take pictures of people in modest clothing. Sleeves must be on all shirts and dresses.
Hubbard's Cupboard 