Heidi Zapolski Photography

It's all in the details

2012-01-25T07:51:00.000-08:00

So it's been awhile since the last time I've written anything here. Being a stay-at-home mom I've had a hard time finding the time to take the photos that interest me most. Apart from taking photos of my kids because frankly, they're adorable, I miss taking more fine art style photos. I've been so super busy building my other blog, Mommy Made From Scratch, taking photos of my food creations that I haven't had much time for fine art.

Since I haven't shown a whole lot of my fine art photos on here in the few months since I first began this blog, I thought I'd showcase some of my older work hopefully building up to some of my more recent photos.

Today I'd like to feature some of my more detail-oriented photos. This is one of my favorite ways to take photos. Seeing things through the human eye sometimes makes you look past all the beautiful and extraordinary details surrounding us. I'd like to encourage you today to take a closer look at the wonders surrounding each of us in our daily lives and notice all of these wondrous details. They're worth sticking your nose (or camera lens) deeply into their personal space or taking a second look back at what you may have missed in the past. You never know what beautiful things you may have missed.

And the winner is...

2011-11-26T08:59:00.001-08:00

The winner for the My Memories digital scrapbooking software was randomly drawn and the winner is number 13, Karrieann at TwoCentsReview@...! Karrieann won by following hzphotography via Google Friend Connect.

I tried contacting the winner but keep receiving a message saying that the email address does not exist. I also tried contacting you on facebook but can't find your info because facebook recently made it more difficult for me to see who "likes" my page. So if this is you, please contact me within 48 hours to claim your prize. Otherwise I will redraw the winner.

Thanks for all the entries! Congrats to the winner!

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge / Autumn Splendor

2011-11-14T13:06:00.001-08:00

Leaf Fun

One of the reasons I started this blog was so that I could use it to enter contests such as the weekly photo challenge over at I Heart Faces. This weeks' subject is Autumn Splendor.

I hope you like it!

My Memories Review and Giveaway expired

2011-11-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

I was recently contacted by Liz from My Memories to do a review of My Memories Suite Version 2.0 digital scrapbooking software. I consider myself to be a crafty person and have done some old-fashioned paper scrapbooking in the past but haven't really had the time, money or space to dedicate to it. As you all know, I love photography and take literally thousands of photos of my children but I rarely have the time to do anything really creative or fun with them. One of my sisters, (you know who you are!) is a stay at home mom like me but has two more children than me and still seems to be able to create gorgeous scrapbooks for family and friends all while homeschooling! She makes me sick. I'm totally joking. I love my sister! So when My Memories contacted me about their product I was excited to try it out.

Let me start off by telling you a little bit about My Memories. My Memories is an award winning digital scrapbook software that is fun to use for both well-seasoned scrapbookers as well as eager amateurs, such as myself. My Memories Suite is rated #1 by Amazon and TopTen Reviews. With this software, you can create digital scrapbooks, photobooks, cards, calendars and gifts all with your own computer.

From the My Memories website: "My Memories Suite version 2 software is a complete digital scrapbooking solution that provides a powerful set of creative tools and multiple sharing options that no other software can offer. Its intuitive workspace and enhanced time-saving features are perfect for a beginner to build an entire album in minutes, or to empower the design pro to build a scrapbook album masterpiece."

One of the awesome things about My Memories is that once you're done creating your album, you can then choose several different ways to share it. This includes printing it out, making a DVD or CD or even making an interactive album in which your friends and family can watch videos, listen to musical accompaniment you've provided or basically use it like a website by clicking on links or embedded files that you've included. These are some of the things that traditional scrapbooking can't provide.

I created this short video scrapbook of my family's trip to a pumpkin patch this fall. I hope to add on to it to make a complete scrapbook of this fall season with my family.

One of my most favorite parts about My Memories is their website. After you've downloaded the program, you can then(if you choose to do so) head on over to the website and check out the plethora of bonus background papers, embellishments, designer pages and all sorts of other fun things ranging anywhere from free up to $8.99. However most of the digital scrapbooking kits are on the low end of the price range. The software itself comes with plenty of options to create with on its' own but it's nice to have the option to add more if you want to.

I created this personalized page of Christmas gift tags that I had downloaded for free from the website. With some of the photos I used the My Memories software to turn the photos black and white, red and sepia tone.

I also created this scrapbook page using one of the free downloadable designer templates from the website. I added the photo, text and the speech bubbles to what was already provided by the software.

As with any new program or software, there is a bit of a learning curve but it doesn't take too long to get it all figured out. Once you do, it's fun to then try out all of the more detailed aspects of the program and add even more digital scrapbooking kits.

If you have any other questions about My Memories, you can check out their YouTube page, blog, or their website.

And now for the super fun part...

My Memories is giving one of my lucky readers a download of My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software ($39.97 value)!

There are five entries for this giveaway!

To enter, please visit www.mymemories.com and choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout, then comment below on this blog post telling me which ones you like best. *This entry method is required.*

For four additional entries:

- Like My Memories on Facebook and tell them Heidi Zapolski Photography sent you
- Follow My Memories on Twitter and tell them Heidi Zapolski Photography sent you
- Like Heidi Zapolski Photography on Facebook
- Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect

This giveaway will end on November 25th, after which the winner will be drawn randomly and notified via email before announcing it on this blog.

Also, My Memories has been super kind to offer my readers a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the My Memories store - $20 value! Just copy and paste the code STMMMS29429 and enter it during checkout to receive your discount!

Use Code STMMMS29429 at checkout!

*Disclosure: My Memories provided me with a free download of their software to review. I am not being paid to review this product. Everything written about the product is written by me unless otherwise noted. I will be compensated an established amount for any and all use of the above discount code. However, this does not influence my review of the product.

A Few Fall Photos...

2011-10-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

Bright Fall Leaves

Red Leaf

Rusted Barn Door

Pumpkin

Old Vine-covered Barn

Autumnal Array

Fall Trees

All the Gourd-y Details

I'd love to hear your feedback! Let me know what you think! If you want to contact me personally, check out the Contact tab at the top. Thanks!

Intro

2011-10-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

Photography has been an interest of mine since I was a teenager. I went on to graduate from college with a degree in photography several years later. I've since married and had kids so my photography has taken a back burner to daily life as a wife and mother. I hope to one day pick it back up again full time but for now I'm just enjoying taking photos of my family and sneaking in some fine art photography when I get the chance to. I hope to use this blog to share some of my fine art photos and maybe every now and then some photos of my favorite subjects, my kids. I hope you enjoy! I'd love to hear your feedback.