A New Year a New Challenge - Close Up Portraits

2013 is the year that I push myself out of my comfort zone and figure out who I am as a photographer, who I am as a person and just making lots of changes in my life.  Most of them will be internal and you won't be able to see them on the outside unless you spend lots of time with me. Last year I thought I would be able to handle having a new baby and try to take a 12 month challenge in photography.  I think I made it to March before I had to quit because I just had to much going on.  I am going to try again and I have a lovely group of ladies who will help me be accountable to this goal.   We have all sorts of themes for each month and if you would like to join along please feel free to look on the Photography Projects tab on my blog and it will give you some idea of what to try to do each month or week.

I belong to a wonderful forum called Clickin Moms, it has helped me these past years to dig in deeper and figure out my camera.  I went from not really understand manual to primarily shooting in manual and trying to push myself with my pictures.  Most of my pictures are snapshots because I want to make sure that I capture my kids in the various stages that they are in, so these themes will help me to grow as a photographer. 

This month's theme was Close up Portraits.  I like to take portraits of my kids for their first year of life and I like to take the quirky pictures of just their faces but close up portrait is so much more than that.  I keep staring at my husband's eyelashes and then my kids eyelashes.  My kids eyelashes are SO long, it is very ridiculous and I am jealous and so happy that my kids inherited their dad's eyelashes.  So I decided to take pictures of the eyelashes and then some other close up portraits.

Look at my husbands long eyelashes!!

Little N is my goofy kid. He isn't letting me take pictures as often as I would like to but he is my little goof ball.  He likes making silly face and his eyelashes are SO long.  I love Little N's blue eyes and hope that they stay blue and don't turn colors.  He has inherited his grandpa Olson's eye color. 

 Little M is always willing to smile and pose for my camera.  His brown eyes just sparkle with delight and light. He also is basically his daddy's little clone.  My mother in law usually tells me that Little M looks just like John when he was that age. His brown eye color just takes the light and makes the light sparkle. 

 Oh my baby!  I just want to remember her little finger, her sweet little lips and her sweet little lashes.  She doesn't have quite as long of lashes as her brothers (what is that about -- the boys it seems always get the really long lashes which is what the girls want) but they are still pretty long. She is just my sweetheart.  I adore her beautiful blue eyes.  I hope that she keeps those beautiful blue eyes. 

Please continue through this blog circle to see how others have looked at close up portraits from some of the most amazing women, I am excited to get to know on this year journey.  Starting with, Angela, I know that you will enjoy her post.

Blog circle list    Ashley | Angie| Angela| Maria | Gina Yeo | Anne-Lise Bouscail| Courtney Kirkland| Megan Rose | Rebecca Grabek |Muriel | Sarah |