Wordless Wednesday

I Heart Faces: White

Strike

I Heart Faces: Beautiful Eyes

This photo was taken over a year ago and I know it's a goofy photo, but this really was the photo that came to mind when I saw this challenge! Look at those eyes!!!!! Haha!

Don't underestimate the power of this beauty

Yesterday was a pretty terrifying day for us. The water was calm. The kids were enjoying themselves; boogie boarding and wave riding. We were watching the waves that were getting bigger and bigger. The kids were about waist high. The break of the huge waves that were coming in looked odd, we thought. The kids looked like they were in a safe calm place. Ashton was a few feet in front of Amelia when all of a sudden Ashton got taken in by a rip tide. I ran in after him. He was pulled pretty far out, well over his head. Ashton THANK GOD can swim. As I was running in after him I got taken in by the rip tide. I was helplessly getting clobbered by huge wave after wave. Losing sight of Ashton, horrified. As soon as I would get remotely near him I would get clobbered by another wave, as we'll as him. We were only in the water a few minutes before a lifeguard reached us. Still a few minutes longer than I ever wanted to experience that horror. I thought I lost my baby. I could hear him struggling, gasping, choking...it was the most horrifying experience I've ever had to go through. Today he's safe, I'm safe, but still a little shook up. After this, both my children will never enter the water without life jackets. I don't care if they can swim or not! The power of that water weakened me to my knees. Fighting those waves EXHAUSTED me. Ashton looked so shocked, scared, and exhausted himself. It was only a few minutes. So, please just remember this beautiful ocean can turn ugly in the blink of an eye. Take all precautions - I know from here on out I will be.

Before and After Blog Hop Thursday

Before SOOC just resized and sharpened for web

After

Canon 5D II, 50mm1.4 Photoshop CS4

Surfers Healing ~ Our Day

Surfers Healing is an organization that gives children with Autism a free day of surfing. It's such an amazing organization. Water seems to draw children with autism in and with the sound of the waves, feeling of the sand, it somehow becomes very therapeutic for them. It's defiantly that way with my son. Ashton has been surfing with Surfers Healing for 5 years now. He loves it. This year Ashton seemed more overwhelmed than he did the past few years. A lot of tantrums this year, but he did amazing once he was on that surf board. Here are a few photos from our day ...

Here is the website for surfers healing. Check them out! Donations always help to, because if it wasn't for donations these kinds of free activities wouldn't be available for these kids. www.surfershealing.org

Wordless Wednesday's

I took this photo with my camera at my hip :)

Photographing Ashton

If you follow my blog you know my son, Ashton, has autism. Photographing him is very difficult. Forget posing him, having him smile at the camera, and family shots are mission impossible! My best photographs of him are always when he's doing his thing. Every once in a while I get a great big smile and always by chance. I made a small storyboard with a few pictures that show the difficulty in trying to get him to sit down and smile for the camera. He may be a lot of work to photograph, but I find all the great photos I do get from him always seem to tell a story, express his personality, and gives a glimps on how he sees the world around him.

I wanted to come back and add my favorite of the bunch, but in color.

Project 64 colors ~ Forrest Green

A wall in Venice Beach!