Isabelle continues to surprise us.
She has jumped into school this year with both feet and seems happy and confident.
She not only continues to catch up on her reading, but her writing as well.
Today, after she was done with ballet and homework, she decided to write a story. On her own.
I didn’t even know she’d written it until she asked me to staple her little book, “Three times, mama. Here, here and here.”
Thank goodness for steady hands.
She titled it Bell and Luke
Shhhh, but I think she is Bell in the story.
And I think Seamus is Luke.
That, or she’s hinting that she wants another dog.
I just love her little book. She did it all on her own, with no help from anyone.
My favorite part – besides the adorable illustrations and misspellings – is the end.
Because it makes her smile, every time she reads it.
It was late in the evening when I took these, the day just got away from me. I tried shooting with the overhead light on, but the shadows were too harsh, so I had to position her as well as I could in front of the window that faced the setting sun.
I chose to use these for my Sunday Snapshot pictures because shooting indoors with a high ISO is not my preference. But sometimes it is necessary, so I figure practice is a good thing.
I took these with my Nikon D90, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. My settings for the first one were ISO 4000, 26mm, f/2.8 and 1/50. And I edited them first in Lightroom – to reduce the noise as much as possible – and then in CS6 with Florabella Colorplay Clean Base and Rosy Cream.
If you want to play along, here’s are the details. Linky will be open until 10:00 AM on Tuesday for any other folks who are late to the party this week. Like me.
1. By linking your photo below, you are giving permission for me to post your photo should it be chosen as a favorite of the week.
2. Snapshot posts should have the photo to be considered at the TOP of their post, and should include the Sunday Snapshot button as well as a link back here to encourage others to play along.
3. Photos entered must belong to entrant.
4. Share any photography tips and/or settings on your posts for others (like me!) who are learning – this is encouraged but certainly not required.
5. I’ll review each Snapshot entry and then select a favorite to be announced on Wednesday.
6. The winning Snapshot will be selected based on composition, color, emotion, creativity and post-processing.
7. Weekly winners will be featured in a monthly Sunday Snapshot post which will be judged by y’all, the readers.
8. The winner of the monthly Sunday Snapshot will receive a photography related goody. The September winner will receive a set of the newly-released Colorplay Photoshop Actions from Florabella. Ohmygoodness, this set is fabulous.
To link up this week with your Sunday Snapshot, just copy the code under the Snapshot button and paste it into the body of your post where you’d like the button to be displayed.
When you hit ‘publish’ it should show up just fine. Then add your link below.
Happy Sunday Monday, y’all.
MG Atwood says
Oh Stephanie, this just makes me smile. Tuck that away in a very safe place. I have a tiny little book that my daughter wrote when she was in 2nd grade. All about kittens. I hang it on our Christmas tree every year and it makes me smile each time. Nothing sweeter than beginning spellers and readers. Love it! Nice job with the low light. They look wonderful!
Yvette says
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this – these are the type of photos I think about taking but always forget!
Joy says
That is SO cute. She looks so happy and proud. 🙂
Lisa@Advent's Adventures says
they are awesome! I love them and your girl couldn’t be sweeter if she tried!!! I love her book!
Christine says
These are fabulous! I think that trading off a high ISO for capturing these memories is well worth it! I adore her expression in the last photo!
Heart & Seoul says
LOVE these! I completely feel your pain on indoor photography but you captured it just perfectly! It’s moments like this that make me love being a first grade teacher! I especially adore the phonetic spellings!
Kim from 3 peanuts says
This is the sweetest post . It is really touching my heart as we are in the process of having Kate tested for dyslexia and some other learning issues. So, I KNOW how these things mean so much from a specific child. I love her book. The writing is engaging and the illustrations are divine. She is quite the author and I love how good she feels about her accomplishment.
I think these photos are so special and they are beautiful too. ISO and noise don’t matter so much when you are capturing such special matters of the heart.
Debby says
My little second grader is also writing her own books this year. What a wonderful way to capture this moment in time. I love the book & your photo story that goes along with it. I LOVE the last picture. She seems very proud & well should be!!!
The Gang's Momma says
YAY!!!!! Now, she’s not just a reader but a WRITER too!!!! That’s fabulous, Miss Isabella. Soooooo proud of you and all you have accomplished 🙂
By the River says
How wonderful to see her improving in her reading and writing! A very cute story. Was that a hint about the hair? Keep up that enthusiasm Isabelle!
Mary Beth says
That is adorable. 🙂
tish says
made me cry