Sara Atkins Photography

316

09.23.10

Cindy and Darren, they are pretty darn cute. And, they LOVE their food. Actually, if I had to sum them up in three words it would be food, travel and laughter. They are always making each other laugh. Cindy especially, she can't help but to have a grin on her face. I would like to think it is because I am just that funny, but I know it is because she is thinking about the next delectable bite.

We met at V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena. It is a special place for them, it is where Darren took Cindy for her first birthday with him.

Cindy's first bite. I love the look on her face here. She is in complete heaven. Right after this shot she looked at me and said, Sara, you have GOT to try this. There may not have been a camera in my face when I took that bite, but I assure you it was pretty close to the image above!

Darren Cracks me up. When we got together the first time to talk about their plans for their wedding Darren was telling me about his soon to be father in law. He said he was super nervous about asking him for his blessing to marry his daughter. He went to their house to have that man to man talk. He asked for permission and the response: 'would you like some fruit?'. He had me rolling.

Darren and Cindy, thank you for a beautiful day in Wine Country! I can not wait to head up to the mountains with you and photograph what I know is going to be an amazing wedding (with incredible food!).

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ncle Bill:

Nice, Sara -- Enjoyed meeting them -- and your great party -- and your new home. You did such a great job finding that place -- I know you and Charlie will be happy in iit. Missed you at the Clariton breakfast. Luv

(09.26.10)

Sara Atkins:

Thank you Uncle Bill! I am so glad you made it up here! xoxox

(09.26.10)

jan neary:

you do wonderful work

(09.27.10)

Sara Atkins:

Thank you Jan!

(09.28.10)

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318

Tibdbits: My digital darkroom

09.22.10

Several months back I got a suggestion from one of my brothers (Trent) to show the various stages of edits. He thought it might be a good way to show all of the work that I put into my images. I thought it was a brilliant idea, but life got away from me and I just got too busy! Well, I have now come back to it and here is the first of my digital dark room series.

This is a pretty cute shot. When I was running around looking for good places to shoot I was just looking for good light. That is the first thing that you need for a good picture. When I got into the master bedroom I noticed the big window with beautiful light coming in. There was a couch in the room that I thought would be a perfect spot for this shot. So, I moved the couch over, let mom put baby to sleep and place little munchkin on the couch. I took the shot and this was the result. It is a good shot. The light is beautiful (except for the blown highlights at the bottom) and the composition is nice (not crazy about all the distracting stuff in the background though).

This is the final result. There are no distractions in the background, the eye is drawn straight into my subject. Then the protective couch begins to show itself and the colors really pop. The two images have a completely different feeling. The finished image took me several hours to create in my digital darkroom, but it was well worth the effort. So, How did I do it? First, I figured out what I wanted. I knew I wanted to get rid of all the distractions. I cloned out the bed and the all the stuff in the background, piece by piece recreating a backdrop as I went. I then made several layers of paint, texture, dodging and burning in the background to create my new background. I did the same below the couch to get rid of the patterns in the carpet paying special attention to those blown highlights. At the bottom of the page, it is hard to see but I actually recreated the left foot of the couch. It is more visible in print. I selectively adjusted the couch to get that deep chocolate color to really pop in the highlights and get the texture of the big fluffy pillows to come out. I adjusted my contrast and levels to make just the baby draw the eye in. Finally, I adjusted the sharpness of the whole image. This is the difference between a snapshot and a piece of art. with the right light and a cute baby anyone can create that first image. The second image takes a bit more time and effort.

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Carol McGinty:

Very interesting! Thanks for the lesson.

(09.22.10)

erin:

Too cute, love the nakey baby and the photograph!

(09.22.10)

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317

Nibbles: Almond Banana Bread

09.16.10

In my previous life (prior to the paleo diet) I LOVED to bake. Sunday afternoon tea was a prime time for my baking adventures. Sitting down with a cup of tea and freshly baked goodies was a special treat. I still love to bake, it is just a little more tricky. I mean...how do you bake without wheat flour, butter, milk or refined white sugar? Impossible right? Well... it doesn't have to be. I just have to change the way I think about baking. The following is a recipe I found and tweaked a little, the result was delicious!

Ingredients:

2c. almond flour (the Trader Joe's one is great)

1 Tb. baking powder

About 2 tsp. cinnamon

5 eggs (pastured please)

5 tablespoons liquefied coconut oil

½ cup hot water

2-3 ripe bananas, mashed

2 tablespoons honey
A couple of handful's of pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease a loaf pan with coconut oil. Mix all of the wet ingredients. Mix all of the dry ingredients (except pecans). Now mix them both together and pour it in the loaf pan. Sprinkle the loaf with pecans and stick it in the oven for about 40-45 minutes until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool for a bit on a wire rack, then try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting. I love it with a little bit of honey right out of the oven. It is lovely toasted too!

Some other add-ins to try:

Dried cranberries and a little bit of orange zest
Various other nuts

Ohhhhh chocolate

Try some out and let me know what you think!

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Gene:

looks great I will try it.

(09.16.10)

Sara Atkins:

Thanks Gene, let me know what you think!

(09.16.10)

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315

You married me today

09.15.10

You married me today, three years ago. It is amazing how quickly the time has gone. Thank you for loving me, despite me.

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314

Thing's I love: Shoes with a Purpose

09.15.10

Shoes, it seems like us ladies can never get enough of them. We want to look cute, obviously. However, I have always been a bit utilitarian when it comes to my footwear. My favorite shoes all have a very specific purpose. Yes, I suppose looking cute is a purpose, but I mean a REAL purpose. Slippers, warm and cozy: check. Ridding boots, check. Climbing shoes, check. Snow boots, yup. Flippers, check (yes they do count!)

Enter: Vibram FiveFingers

Stop Laughing. Seriously. OK, I get it. They might be a bit funny looking. And maybe they don't fit into that 'looking cute' category. But they are definitely in that 'usefulness' category. Not only are they supposed to be 'the most amazing running shoe' but they are great for a whole host of other stuff. Hiking, bouldering, cliff jumping, windsurfing, yoga, crossfit. Pretty flippin cool if you ask me.

Over our holiday in Italy Charlie suggested I read a great book called 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall . Read it. If I haven't got you thinking about new footwear, this book certainly will. Or maybe it will convince you to throw out your footwear all together. It got me thinking about my footwear and lead me to the Vibrams, but at that point it was just a thought. When I joined Cross-fit East Bay and learned that 'running shoes' do not work as weightlifting shoes I began to wonder about my looming purchase. Follow this by my genetic predisposition to having crappy feet to begin with and I got to thinking, maybe what I need to do is strengthen those feet of mine. Back to the Vibram. It was time for a new pair of running shoes, and these fit the bill.

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Julie:

I saw these on a fella in a local restaurant, all the kids were starring at him like a three-legged dog.....i bet they'd be great for climbing trees !!

(09.15.10)

Sara Atkins:

I haven't climbed trees in them yet, not too bad for climbing rocks though!

(09.15.10)

Jen Scott :

Haha! Those shoes have been all the rave amongst the very active in Hawaii for quite some time now. I've seriously considered getting a pair myself with all the running I do, but just recently settled on the new Nike Free, which has been terrific. Let me know how the Vibrams work for ya! Still meaning to call you, btw...

(09.15.10)

Sara Atkins:

Jen it is so nice to hear from you! Charlie has the Nike Free which he loves, they are also a lot less attention grabbing. Which isn't such a bad thing =) So, what are you waiting for, call me already!

(09.15.10)

Shelly:

Jamison really wants a pair, but he wants to try them on before he purchases them. Where did you get yours? I'm guessing you ordered online somewhere? Did you get the fun finger socks too?

(09.23.10)

Sara Atkins:

They are pretty awesome! I got them at REI on San Pablo. Tell him to go there to try them out. No finger socks yet, but the are in my future =)

(09.23.10)

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