mary elizabeth graff photography

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My Book of Days Photo Journal Project : I am passionate about photography. I believe that life is passing us by-- make sure you take time to photograph it. Here are my daily photos where I try and capture my life and those that I am photographing best.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

My Book of Days Photo Journal Project

Favorites :

michelle-kevin engagement 9-09 :

michelle-kevin engagement 9-09

joe fox's band 2/14/10 :

joe fox's band 2/14/10

Slideshow

Most Popular Photos

stovepipe wells-death valley at sunrise.

swingin' with my little guy. that smile makes my heart soar.
i never understood what pure love was until i had my boys.
newly added texure.

took the fam out "chasin'" light tonight. i found a spot that was pretty sweet-and it lasted just a few minutes. beautiful skies, cloud cover and the tips of the foothills in the background.

feelin' reflective about my 38th birthday on monday. i ditched the flash for this one.

my boys and their toes! i love this shot!

my apologies to those who are not feet lovers. i hate my feet but i do love all of these!

my sleeping beauty casey.

near crested butte. outrageous color eh? i've lived in colorado for 8 glorious years and this is the most amazing color i have ever seen. (and we've traveled here a lot!)
how lucky am i?

this one's for you john.

another fantastic night shoot in downtown denver (a fellow smugmugger was in the group too-rockymtnmels--melissa!) we had a wonderful time and got some fun shots. more tomorrow. i am too sleepy to upload any more!
night night!

i had 4 kiddos here today. these two tuckered out. so sweet. casey and aspen.

just one of my favorite portraits of these two.

of all of the official portrait sessions i've done-my favorite pictures are captured in everyday-life settings. nothing formal, nothing posed, no pressure--just everyday interactions. when this was taken i just tucked myself away in the corner and let the boys interact--asking them to just look over for a second at me. i want more photo sessions like this. i want to offer my customers precious shots like these. i want to get better at capturing the innocence of the moment as it unfolds naturally rather than trying to recreate something that looks staged. there is an art to that and i am hoping to really master it in my work this year.

a BIG thanks for all of the comments on my photos. you guys have no idea how much your feedback means to me. opening up smugmug dailies is one of the best parts of my day!

my neighbor got a d 300. he let me shoot a few frames to compare it to my d 200. this is taken right out of the camera---no processing or color adjustments. 'nough said.

i officially have camera envy.

i forced my MIL to ride the rickety ferris wheel with me at Heritage Square park in Golden, Colorado. we had some laughs and bonded a bit. more pics of the view in a minute.

watching the skies.

more from my botanic gardens escapade this weekend. i am starting to like some of these more and more as i look at them. sure wish i had the class to actually learn something about taking macro floral pics. but it was fun playing around.

i had the most AMAZING night photography walk downtown tonight. not only did i learn a lot-but i had an absolute blast.
i know this photo has been done very well already by (sbarge) already but i just had to post my version too. so- here's denver's city and county building lit up for the holidays.

i've always been intimitaded by night photography and usually resort to switching to aperature priority to compensate for my insecurities with setting the shutter speeds for long exposures. this one was taken in total manual using my cable release. (thanks efrain for helping me out so much tonight!) http://illuminateworkshops.com/
please check out his offerings and take a class or two--illuminate photography is just wonderful!
check out efrain's group shot in the link below (he used an extra strobe) very cool!

http://graffs.smugmug.com/gallery/7004686_efYYy#448396202_QY2ad

i am still on the 'trial' period with lightroom 2.0 and so far i am really intrigued. it seems as if i have the 'need new presets' fever. i just ordered $70 worth on davidjay.com. heaven help me. i have just gotta stop spending money.
here is a david jay preset. neat huh?

is riley the cutest dog or what? she cracks me up how she gets in between your legs or on your body to get comfy. today in particular she found my bottom to be particularly cushy. i seem to store excess fat from the winter there!

poor boys-all they do is cough. this is week number two for casey and three for aaron.
and i woke with a sore throat. mike's been down since monday.

we're bored today and just tired of being in the house.

pictures at "red rocks" (the outdoor apmitheater in morrison, colorado):http://www.redrocksonline.com/index.asp
before a date night out. first night out (sans the boys) in months...well more like over a year. this park is minutes from our house and has great lighting, amazing colors and is great for people watching and great views of downtown denver in the distance.

window kisses.

the little guy cuddled with me on the couch today and fell fast asleep. i treasure special time like this with him.

fields and fields of lupine in washington gulch-crested butte, colorado. amazing.

today while having my 'special time' with my oldest while the youngest one slept he asked me "if boys wear rings like girls do". this spanned the topic of marriage a bit and he was curious about it. i am not ashamed to admit that marriage has been hard for me and that it is more work that i had ever dreamed. we were on the couch cuddling and i put the ring on his finger to show him what it looked like. i explained that he doesn't want to put a ring on this finger until he is really sure he wants to keep it there forever.
then i realized that the very best gift i can give him is to show him what the beauty of marriage is and how wonderful it can be. lately my husband and i have not been doing a good job of that.
in that quick conversation with him on the couch and just seeing that ring on his finger i realized so much.
children can teach us such powerful lessons.

finger painting (and toes and arms and legs) in the backyard with the boys.
my idea of fun (not my husband's!)

more here:
http://inthepaintingofchaos.blogspot.com/

the color in colorado is outrageous. stay tuned for more pics from aspen and crested butte (no i didn't get to see andi!)
this was taken by leadville, colorado on the way to aspen. just amazingly beautiful.

i actually liked this image of myself (one of very few). it was taken a while ago. i added the texture and liked how it turned out.

another sleepless night (it's 2:04 am as i type). lots on my mind.

from the archives (a few weeks ago during a good weather stretch). have i mentioned how much i love casey's toes??

we have the busiest week on record this week: therapists, evaluations, kindergarten/school info sessions, meetings, photo shoots and aaron's eye surgery. please forgive me for not commenting and posting. i'll be in an out this week. i'm already looking forward to catching up during breaks in our schedule! have a wonderful week all!

from the other day. love this smile!

my boy peeping into the kindergarten classroom. such an emotional moment for me. he wants to see the class--and i want to cry. where did the time go? 5 years has passed in the blink of an eye.

i couldn't really not count these special friends in my book of days because they have been and are a big part of our lives (and our days)! (and i hope they will continue to be for long long time.)

even though the sun was an issue-i enjoyed doing your family photos tam and john. thanks for driving all the way down to our end of town today! you are very special to us!

(i'll upload the rest of the gallery overnight!)

gracie and her apple.

first day of school shoes.
chucks of course.

more softbox photos. more toes!

"i'm stuck in 'texture-land' unsupervised, while my mom burries her head in the laptop and pse book. i gotta tell you--this is gettin' old."--aaron

i miss you already sydney raye...thanks for sharing your spirit with me during your visit to colorado. you are one special little girl. i've fallen in love with you in 5 short days.

did you ever have one of those days where everything seems to go wrong. well i did today.

this adorable family agreed to postpone yesterday's session until today as we were expecting better weather . well--the clouds overtook and it was freezing when we met at red rocks and only started warming up at the end of the shoot.

i grabbed all of my lenses and carefully wrapped them in my sootsac, grabbed the d 700 and off we went.

cliff note version: i had the camera settings wrong and the focus wasn't working correctly on the lens i chose (the 24-70 2.8) so most ot the pics are not focused correctly or sharp enough. i spent the day agonizing at what obvious mistakes i made and talking the family into a reshoot. they are busy so we'll have to wait.

some of the images were fun but not to the level i hold myself to. i sure learned a lot today. and thankfully they were so understanding.

what a day. and a huge lesson in humility.

thanks j and f (and boys) for everything. we'll get it right next time.

nobody misses papa more than this little guy. he asks for him every day.
come visit again soon daddy.

another beautiful day in colorado and off to another park. have i mentioned just how lucky we are to live here?
i dragged the boys in our radio flyer wagon (with two cute umbrellas to keep them shaded) around the 1.4 mile loop at clement park. then as a reward for their good behavior we went up the hill to the playground. everyone was happy--especially me!
every day here is a gift to me.

at the farmer's market in boulder. although it's hard to work with without a tripod-i do love the 60mm macro lens. and the light was just perfect. plus-i just love tomatoes!

is it REALLY this time of year again? Where did the time go?

daddy bought halloween costomes early--and a certain little guy didn't want to go to school today so he could wear it. (he did go to school but got to wear the costume after dinner.)
i'm all for cute toys and such to go with the theme--but am puzzled as to why there was a big hatchet and a small fire extinguisher included in the set??
regardless--he made me smile so much tonight. what a character!

my little guy 'bonked his bean' (graff lingo for "hit his head") this morning awfully hard on the toybox. he got over it very quickly but i was thinking that the black and blue spot on his forehead might not look too well for his birthday on sunday. so--i raced to dress him in his birthday portrait outfit and urged him to pose for me. it was a struggle for us both but i think i got a couple of cute ones.
(thanks john for offering feedback and helping me to pick these out of the album.)
happy early birthday my love. sorry-but momma is probably going to dress you up for a few years to come--until you are able to put up a fight!
more here:
http://graffs.smugmug.com/gallery/5253917_FWefQ#319560566_ux7Uq

i got to spend some fun time in boulder with steve from the dailies (sbarge): http://sbarge.smugmug.com/ and another smug mugger josh and his girlfrirend mel, (http://www.dreamlivecapture.com/) {be sure to check out his trip journal section)

we then met up with an amazing photog and my instructor/friend efrain cruz.(not pictured)
if you are in denver and want to take some classes, he, by far, the best: http://www.illuminateworkshops.com/

being outdoors + time with daddy + snacks = one happy little guy!

my entry for a contest/photo walk in boulder this weekend. as soon as we starting the group walk it started to pour. i wanted to capture this girl best before she became aware i was taking her picture...but that didn't work out. this is one of my entries.

thanks for andi tippie and john bennett for their feedback...both fantastic photogs in my book!

here are the rest of the shots i got that were decent: (remember--there was no theme to the contest--just two hours to get some neat shots. i looked at it as a chance to try out my new 24-70 2.8, to meet new friends, and to get some fun shots of the 'characters' in and around boulder, colorado's pearl street pedestrian mall.)

http://graffs.smugmug.com/gallery/5786452_CyUiJ/1/359937953_tds8C#359937953_tds8C

lemme know what you think!

this is the type of image i just love. not posed--just real and unscripted. thanks for being my model yesterday froggy!

portrait of my best friend.

thanks for planning and executing a lovely trip for us all. you are an artist true in so many things (especially planning and packing). thanks for your hard work and patience. and for listening to the 'wiggles' cd over and over and over.

went to boulder for a picnic with tamara and some friends. afterward we headed to boulder's pearl street mall for some coffee and ice cream for the kids. out of 150 picture taken-this one is my absolute favorite. i love the blur of the background and the busy pedestrian mall on a beautiful colorado day. i love the telling connection between tam and her daughter. these two aren't too tough to photograph, they are almost always happy and smiling!

at the park today--all of us! we had a nice time playing in the snow.
i like some of the photos i got today. any feedback would be appreciated:
http://graffs.smugmug.com/gallery/4480402_i6CRM/1#263536376

a fun shot inside the art studio at the children's museum in pittsburgh. i could have stared at this for hours.

from a family session yesterday at city park in denver. this little cutie's hair actually stands up like this all the time!

it was so wonderful to finally meet him as i had photographed his parents while pregnant last fall. i hope to do pics with this family again when daddy can be in the photo too in the next few weeks.

a rare family portrait. i lugged my tripod up to this park today so i had to include this. plus-i am not loving these plug-ins so i gotta get my $120 worth!

coffee with lynn this morning. her smile is so infectious and i love spending time laughing with her. i loved the light by this window and find it allegorical that it was shining so brightly on her. although she's had some bumps--she is well on her way to a much brighter future. thanks for the gift of your frirendship lynn.

fun guesthouse in crested butte, colorado.

gotta ask andi the story behind this place!

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