Big.

Bold.

Passionate.

Warm.

Understated.

Romantic.

Red…

…………………….

I’m teaming up with the lovely and talented Rebecca of Bumbles and Light and Alicia of Project Alicia for the Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge – a colorfully inspiring autumn photography challenge aimed at capturing the beautiful shades of autumn.

Just a few details:

All are welcome regardless of experience, time commitment and whether or not you’re experiencing fall at the moment.

Simply share your favorite images inspired by the autumn shade of the week each Friday and grab our button while you’re at it.

The linky will remain open from 12:01am CST Friday – 11:59pm CST Wednesday. Link directly to your Shades of Autumn blog post or Flickr photo. Feel free to share your photos in our Shades of Autumn Flickr Group and Shades of Autumn Pinterest Board as well.

We’ll select our favorite photos of the week and share them with you at Bumbles & Light, Project Alicia and Live and Love Out Loud the following Thursday.

Next week’s theme will be purple. For a complete list of upcoming themes, head on over to the Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge page.

We’re three weeks into the Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge and it just keeps getting better and better. The photos that continue to pour in each week have been so breathtakingly beautiful and inspiring to look at.

Flowers. Pumpkins. Stunning landscapes. Beautiful babies. Candy corn, even.

Such a wide variety of orange-inspired photos that have made judging this photo challenge a…well, a challenge. Thank you so much for your support and for making our jobs as judges so incredibly difficult!

Without further ado, here are a few of our favorite photos of the week, in no particular order of course…

Top Pics of the Week

Submitted by: Jenny Rain

Submitted by: Simply You, Simply Me

Submitted by: Smokin’ Chestnut

…………………….

Thanks for joining Rebecca of Bumbles & Light, Alicia of Project Alicia and me in the Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge. We’re overwhelmed by the amazing turnout and beautiful photos that have been pouring in each week! We’d love for you to join us on Friday, October 28th , when we move our to our new theme – RED. All are invited regardless of skill level or time commitment. And all grab-able photos are eligible for a chance to be featured in our Top Pics of the Week series as well. As always, additional details and a complete list of upcoming themes can be found on our Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge page.

And don’t forget…

We have a Shades of Autumn Flickr Group set up for you to share your photos as a community if you wish. And for our fellow Pinterest-addicted Shades of Autumn participants, we have a Shades of Autumn Pinterest Board set up as well!

Rebecca, Alicia and I have been pinning away like crazy; adding our favorite entries onto the board each week. If you’re looking for some colorful inspiration, the Shades of Autumn Pinterest Board is a great place to start!

Thanks again for joining us in the Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge. We’re looking forward to seeing your favorite images inspired by our next shade of the week, RED.

Last week, I had the pleasure of serving as a guest judge in the Edit Me Challenge - the popular photo editing challenge hosted by photographers Branson and Kathryn. Participants were challenged to take the following straight-out-of-camera shot of my 14-year old daughter, Alyssa, and infuse it with their own personal editing awesomeness.

The photos submitted during the Edit Me Challenge were awesome, indeed. I had a blast going through each of the entries and picking a winner was extremely difficult. You’ll see what I mean when you take a look at my top three picks.

But before I send you to the Edit Me Challenge site, I’d love to share my own edit with you.

There’s nothing over the top about my final image. It isn’t the least bit glamorous or flashy. What you see is what you get – a teenage girl on the cusp of womanhood.

Though the blacks are a little too crushed for my liking, I’m happy with the warmth of my image. Alyssa’s eyes are bright. I kept the charming little wrinkle near the tip of her nose. Her eye and skin color are a true representation of her likeness. And her dark under eye circles and acne haven’t completely been removed.

While I can certainly appreciate the artistry involved in creating flawless skin via digital manipulation, I prefer to keep my subject – my teenage children, in particular – as natural-looking as possible. What this means for me as a photographer in the editing room, is that I make every effort to edit purposefully; removing only stray hairs and blemishes that cause a distraction and take away from the intended focal point.

The bottom line is that, as a mother, I want these images of my teenagers to evoke warmth and to represent their likeness during this special time in their lives.

But the photographer in me loves that flawless skin can be achieved during the editing process!

The winners of the Edit Me Challenge certainly worked their magic on the SOOC image of my daughter, Alyssa. I was thrilled with their work and I think you will be too. Head on over to the Edit Me Challenge site right now and check it out!

I’ve been riding an emotional roller coaster for the last week and a half and I’m so very tired.

I’m tired of crying.

I’m tired of the sleepless nights.

And I’m tired of waiting.

It’s my 37th birthday and I’m going to smile.

Even if it kills me.

…………………….

Have you heard?

The Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge is still going on and we’ve had an amazing turn out. Stop by on Friday and share your favorite photos inspired by our new theme, red. As always, details can be found on the Shades of Autumn Photo Challenge page.

And as always, thank you so much for stopping by and linking up here at Live and Love Out Loud. I’m doing my best to stop by as many of your blogs as possible throughout the week. Please forgive me if I can’t make it out your way. If you’re looking for even more folks to link up with, I’d love for you to visit a few of my friends…

What should have been a great weekend filled with firsts was instead a sad weekend filled with tears.

And waiting. Lots of waiting.

I didn’t make it to Saint Louis. I didn’t attend my first blogging conference. I didn’t meet my online friends in real life.

I stayed in bed and cried. And waited for the phone to ring.

My grandfather is dying.

I’m on an emotional roller coaster these days. Happy one minute, sad the next.

But I’m waiting. Always waiting.

Waiting for the phone to ring.

Waiting for an end to my mother’s crying.

Waiting for the roller coaster to stop.

Helplessly waiting here in small town Missouri as family and friends gather around my grandfather’s hospital bed in Hawaii.

Always waiting.