Bird Nest Photography

We’ve moved!!!

2011-09-16T20:05:00.002-06:00

Please click on the photo, or follow the link, to our new site: http://www.katelynbird.com/

New Product-Storyboards!

2011-08-31T18:27:00.001-06:00

I’m so excited to offer a new product to my clients! I recently did some of these custom for a session and I am thrilled with how they turned out. Each storyboard is 20x10 and features 3-4 of your favorite photos. There are several different configurations to choose from. I’m working on incorporating them into a specialized package as well!

Price: $40 each

24 Weeks

2011-08-20T19:05:00.001-06:00

I really failed at my promise to take a photo every week of this pregnancy….I haven’t taken one since 5 weeks. But here are some taken today at 24 weeks. I’m amazed at how fast it is flying by! (Photo credits go to Gavin, PP done by me)

I Heart Faces-Water

2011-07-26T09:11:00.001-06:00

The theme this week at I heart faces is “water.” I took this last week at a session, what a little cute and full of personality!

K and T Family {Albuquerque Family Photographer}

2011-07-19T13:14:00.001-06:00

I had the extreme pleasure of doing a family session this weekend for a long time friend! I did her youngest son’s newborn photos a year and a half ago…It’s always good to see them!

A Touch Of Whimsy-I Heart Faces

2011-06-27T06:22:00.001-06:00

The theme this week is “A Touch of Whimsy.” I hope this counts… She indulged me the other day and let me take some photos. She was complaining, “her hair was hot.” I’m sure it was. It’s been 100+ lately…Head on over to I heart faces to participate. Have a great week!!

You Capture-Purple

2011-06-23T09:54:00.002-06:00

The themes this week are purple and bathrooms. I did not get a chance to do any bathroom shots, but I had taken these photos the week before for the purple theme.

Okay, so this last one has more red than purple…

Head on over to You Capture to participate! Have a great week! Next week’s them is “water.”

Vivid

2011-06-15T08:23:00.001-06:00

The theme this week was vivid. I missed the deadline…but I had fun trying.

Butterflies

2011-06-09T07:02:00.001-06:00

Whew. It is a lot harder to get out and take photos with three kids in tow…We went to the Botanical Gardens yesterday and I attempted to take some photos. I am hoping to go back next week when my partner-in-crime is back in town and can help me!

I Heart Faces-Motherhood

2011-05-09T07:15:00.001-06:00

The theme this week is motherhood at I heart faces. I love being a mother. I am so blessed! (x4)

You Capture-Spring

2011-04-20T07:10:00.004-06:00

I'm so happy Spring has sprung! Aren't you? Head on over to I Should Be Folding Laundry to participate :)

More Jeep Tour Photos

2011-03-20T20:33:00.001-06:00

More photos from New Mexico Jeep Tour:

New Mexico Jeep Tours

2011-03-19T23:14:00.002-06:00

Gavin and I had the extreme pleasure of going on a jeep tour today with New Mexico Jeep Tours. A HUGE thank you to my mom and dad for this opportunity. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed seeing all the sights and the immense history of the area. Our guide, Roch Hart, was awesome! If you ever have the chance to do this, take it!!

Custom Birth Announcements

2011-03-16T20:26:00.001-06:00

I’m pleased to offer these tri-fold custom birth announcements to my customers. Here’s an example of one I did for a client in January:

You can choose from over 25 complimenting colors and personalize all the text blocks. They include:

4 7/8" x 3 1/2" folded card featuring your personalization
White or Ecru envelopes.

Price:

Set of 24-$48

Set of 48-$96

The Light

2011-03-05T22:12:00.001-07:00

Evening light is still one of my favorite things…..

Before and After

2011-02-20T09:03:00.001-07:00

My friend, Teresa, did this. I thought I’d like to do it too. I often hear people comment that they want a camera like mine so they can take nice photos too. The camera is only part of the equation. Post-production is crucial as well. I also shoot pretty much exclusively in manual mode, so there is knowing how to set the settings, also ;) Here’s a rare glimpse at some SOOC photos to show the difference between how they come out of the camera, and how I process them for publishing/printing. For most photos I adjust lighting/shadows, enhance the saturation, sharpen, use noise reduction when necessary, retouch blemishes, crop, and straighten if necessary. It takes me about 5 minutes a photo to process. So, if you’ve ever wondered what the “time and talent” you’re paying for is about, this is a huge part of it.

You Capture-Red

2011-02-03T06:41:00.002-07:00

Yay! I’m so excited to be able to participate this week in You Capture. The theme this week is red, and because we had a snow day on Tuesday (and Wednesday) I had time to sew AND take photos!! Something I don’t always get a chance to do between three kiddos under three and working full-time! Studio lighting is something I struggle with. I’ve learned a lot in the past few years, but I am largely still more comfortable with outdoor natural light….I hope everyone is staying warm this week, it’s –4 right now at my house!!

Ps. I’m having a giveaway to celebrate my 500th post on my personal blog. I’m giving away the dress my daughter is modeling in these photos. It is a handmade (by me) reversible pillowcase dress, size 2-3T if anyone is interested!

A Giveaway!

2011-02-02T13:20:00.001-07:00

I’m hosting a giveaway on my personal blog for anyone who is interested. Up for grabs is the reversible dress Brooklyn’s wearing in these photos. It is handmade (by me) and a size 2-3T. Click here to check it out!

I Heart Faces Week-Innocent Wonder

2011-01-24T17:55:00.003-07:00

The theme this week at i ♥ faces is “Innocent Wonder.” I thought of this photo I took yesterday when I saw the theme : ) Don’t be too fooled though. She looks innocent, but she is quite the little spitfire! Click on the link or the button below to participate.

Some Recent Shots

2011-01-23T20:06:00.001-07:00

Baby “G”

2011-01-10T21:37:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I had the extreme pleasure of photographing Baby “G”. He is just beautiful! Welcome to the world little guy!!! Thank you, J and J, for letting me photograph him!

You Capture-Top 10 of 2010

2011-01-06T12:00:00.001-07:00

Ooh, I like this challenge at You Capture. I have the hardest time only picking one photo! I learned a lot this year in my photography journey. I’ve moved to shooting almost exclusively in RAW and in manual mode. I’ve learned to focus more on my backgrounds and composition, and not rely on cropping and “fixing” things in PS so much. So, here is my photography year at a glance. I might have broken the rules a bit and used 12 photos ;)

I hope I continue to grow as a photographer. I have been drawn to the visual arts for my whole life, but photography is the one medium that I have stuck with for more than a short period of time. Happy New Year!

Lynda-Lou

2010-11-27T08:04:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph one of my “baby” cousins. She’s not such a baby anymore…..she’s grown up into a beautiful young lady! The first few were taken in the bosque along the Rio Grande. The rest were done in Historic Old Town.

Fall Photos

2010-10-20T20:13:00.001-06:00

The B Family {Albuquerque Family Photographer}

2010-08-15T21:41:00.001-06:00

I had the privilege of photographing this wonderful family the other day. They are so cute together!

Family Photos: The Final Installment

2010-08-11T07:26:00.002-06:00

Last ones, I promise! I’m making my mom a bound photo album with all the photos. She is so excited about it….I really hope she enjoys it :)

Just me (I’m not a fan but my mother made me)

James

Dad

Family Photos Continued…

2010-08-09T22:22:00.002-06:00

More photos from yesterday’s session :)

My Mom and Dad. They’ve been married 35 years :)

Brooklyn

Brooklyn and her Grandparents

My brother, James. He thinks he’s a model ;)

My dad and his guitar. He’s recording a CD soon…..

My Happy Little Family

Just the three of us! (I sewed her dress special for this shoot and I might have been super AR about everyone matching around its color scheme….)

Me and My Girl

My parents with James

The Original Shinas Clan

Gavin and I

Me and My Little Bro

And there’s more still…..if you’re not bored of me and my family yet :) Also, we were at Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos. It was built in 1928 as a Ranch School for boys. Interesting fact: My grandma (Salazar) lived near San Ildefonso as a young girl. Her uncle taught at the school, and when tuition was low, she and her siblings attended there with him…..Another fun fact: Romero Cabin, which I used as a backdrop in many of the photos, was built by a homesteading family in 1913. It was originally situated on Los Alamos National Lab property (TA-55) and was moved to the Fuller Lodge grounds in 1985 in an effort to preserve it. Refugio and Victor Romero were relatives of my grandmother as well. Besides being a beautiful location…I’ve always found the history of Fuller Lodge and Romero Cabin very interesting. The ruins in the background of some photos are from the Ancestral Puebloan people. The Pajarito plateau has been inhabited since roughly 9000 years ago. This site was built ~1224 AD. OK, history lesson over!

Family Photos

2010-08-09T14:22:00.002-06:00

My mother has been wanting updated family photos. I finally obliged her yesterday. We traveled to Los Alamos for a special family photo shoot. Note to self: Getting six people to look at the camera and all smile on a 10 second delay is difficult. But also fun :)

Top:Gavin, Me Bottom: My Mom, Dad, James, Brooklyn

Brooklyn clapped every time I ran, sat down, and the shutter closed. It was hilarious!

Many more to come……Happy Monday!!!

I Heart Faces Week 31-Random Acts of Kindness

2010-08-02T08:49:00.003-06:00

The picture on our “waiting families profile.” We’re hoping to expand our family and provide a “forever family” to a child in need.

I have been so excited for this week and the chance to get the word out about something that is near and dear to my heart. Some of you may, or may not know, that my husband and I are in the process of adopting out of foster care. A few months into the licensing process I was itching to do something, and I contacted the New Mexico Heart Gallery to donate my services. Some background information for those who don’t know of this great foundation:

The Heart Gallery of America is “a traveling photographic and audio exhibit created to find forever families for children in foster care.The Heart Gallery of America is a collaborative project of over 120 Heart Galleries across the United States (and growing) designed to increase the number of adoptive families for children needing homes in our community.” It was actually started here in New Mexico and is in it’s eighth year. It has seen some great results! Some statistics from their website:

There are nearly 500,000 children in foster care in the United States.
Over 250,000 will never return home.
Over 123,000 need adoptive homes right now.
More than 29,000 aged out of foster care in 2008, at age 18 without anyone, to live on their own, unprepared and unsupported!

Can you change the life of a waiting child?

Can you adopt? Can you foster? Or maybe you can start a Heart Gallery or volunteer for one?

The contact person in New Mexico is Diane Granito. The photos of waiting children will be featured on various adoption listing websites and the prints may be displayed in several galleries around the state. So, if you are a bloggy/photographer friend, would you be interested in giving back? It’s for such an awesome cause!! There are Heart Galleries in almost every state I believe ;) You can contact me if you’d like more information. {{bird nest photos at g mail dot com}} Thank you!!!

I am now a contributing photographer to the Heart Gallery of New Mexico. I photographed “A” in January. His photos are featured on the website and in one of the hospitals. When I last spoke with Diane she told me they were getting inquiries from prospective parents for him and I was SO happy to hear that!

Thank you to i heart faces for the opportunity to spread the word on how we can donate our time and services to help others!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

2010-07-25T08:28:00.002-06:00

I found a new link-up over at Ashley Sisk’s Ramblings and Photos. Here are the rules:

The rules are simple:

Anyone can participate (although it started in a photography board on The Bump).
You're encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge.
If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I'm not too strict about it - I do my best to take fresh shots).
Link up here on Sunday (or Monday at the latest) - you can use the new button.
Have fun!

This week’s items were:

1. Food

2. Portrait

3. Chair

4. Game

5. Miniature

So, here’s my interpretation of the list. I had to dig for a couple but next week I will be on the ball :)

1. Food

Had to dig for this one. From my daughter’s 1st birthday party.

2. Portrait

Portraits I’ve got covered. My niece, Lilliana.

3. Chair

From a recent shoot. I love that rustic chair….I use it a lot ;)

4. Game

Does finger painting count as a game? I know it’s a stretch but one of my favorite photos ever…..

5. Miniature

Tinkertown!!!!

Next week’s items are:

Wide Open (also your POTW theme)
Clock
Junk
Shiny
View from Below

You Capture-Black and White {Albuquerque Photographer}

2010-07-22T17:02:00.002-06:00

This week’s theme is Black and White. Hope you’re all having a great week! Head on over to You Capture to participate :)

In A Yellow House-Landscapes

2010-07-21T07:42:00.002-06:00

The theme at In A Yellow House is “Landscapes.” I took this photo in Rocky Mountain National Park. I love the Rockies! You can see the Ute Mountain trail on the left hand side used by ancient tribes to cross the formidable mountains. Head over to In A Yellow House to play along! Have a great rest of the week!

I Heart Faces Week 29-Over My Head

2010-07-20T08:27:00.002-06:00

The theme at i heart faces this week is “Over My Head.” This is my brother, James. He is a pilot for Top Gun Adventures in Santa Fe. Here you can see him getting ready to take off in a 1945 SNJ fighter plane. He flew this plane for the fly-over for our fire works display this year. Head on over to i heart faces to join in the fun!

Kat and Sam

2010-07-10T07:27:00.001-06:00

I wanted to share some photos from my session yesterday. This is my cousin, Kathryn, and her boyfriend, Sam. Kathryn is also Brooklyn’s godmother :)

I have a few more to edit and I’ll share those when I finish. Happy weekend to everyone!!!

In A Yellow House-Sepia, B&W, Selective Coloring

2010-07-07T09:14:00.002-06:00

The theme at In A Yellow House this week is Sepia/B&W/Selective Coloring. I love color, but sometimes I love sepia too :) The shirt she’s wearing is actually brown….so I thought this photo would lend itself well. It’s actually converted to B&W with a sepia overlay. I lowered the opacity on the sepia to let some of the B&W show through. Head over to In A Yellow House to check out all the entries! Happy Wednesday!!

Mariposa, Mariposa

2010-06-08T23:12:00.001-06:00

Every summer the Albuquerque Bio Park has a butterfly pavilion at the Botanic Gardens. I LOVE this time of year if for nothing else than that! Brooklyn and I went to the Gardens today and enjoyed the butterflies. You have to be very patient, but it is sooo worth it. Hope you enjoy my favorite pics of the day!

You Capture-Sky

2010-05-27T06:36:00.002-06:00

Warning: This post will have a lot of photos, because I love SKY!! Yesterday we went to the park and I got lots of good sky shots :)

She turned two two days ago!

I LOVE New Mexico’s blue, blue skies…

Always so happy!

I love toddler poses….

Acoma, Sky City

Fiestas de Santa Fe

Have a great week and Memorial Day weekend! Head on over to You Capture to enter or view some awesome sky photos!

I Heart Faces Week 19-Celebrating Moms

2010-05-11T11:58:00.002-06:00

This week’s theme at i heart faces is “celebrating moms.” This is one of my favorite mother photos. I miss this with my baby…. Head on over to i heart faces to join in and view this week’s entries!

Fix-It Friday #50

2010-04-16T07:25:00.002-06:00

I’m joining in the fun for i heart faces’ 50th Fix-It Friday. Today’s photo comes from Debbie at 50centlove. This is her beautiful daughter. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Seniors 2010

2010-04-15T06:59:00.002-06:00

Today I photographed my coworker’s son who will be graduating shortly! Congratulations! Such an exciting life event!!

I Heart Faces Week 15-Desserts!

2010-04-12T00:42:00.002-06:00

This weeks’ theme at i heart faces is “desserts.” You don’t have to have a face or even a person in your photo. Just yummy looking dessert. This is one of Brooklyn cupcakes from her first birthday party. My awesome friend Sydney made them :) Enjoy this week’s photos. I’ll probably gain 10 lbs just looking at them all!

Click on over to check out the yummy photos this week!

You Capture-Feet

2010-04-01T07:17:00.003-06:00

Congratulations to Beth and her family for the arrival of their beautiful new baby boy!!! This week’s You Capture is being hosted by Keli. The theme this week is “feet.” Today is my Friday, how about you??? I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Fix-It Friday #48

2010-03-26T07:35:00.001-06:00

This beautiful little girl comes from Natalie P at And Then There Were Three. I really enjoyed working with this photo. SOOC it is really good. Exposure is great and it is nice and crisp throughout. Good job on that. Oh, and an interesting angle! I lightened it up a tad and adjusted the shadows to make it pop. I ran PW’s Fresh and Colorful Action, warmed it up a bit, sharpened the eyes and adjusted the contrast. I also burned the edges just a little. I tried a black and white (PW’s B&W Beauty), Coco (B&W with a Sepia Overlay), and just for fun, a Vintage (Coffeeshop). I had a lot of fun with this. Happy Friday everyone!!!

Head on over to i heart faces to join in the editing fun!

Santa Fe Top Gun Adventures

2010-03-13T21:12:00.003-07:00

My baby brother’s birthday is on Monday! Meet James, he’s splattered here and there on my blog ;)

James is a pilot. He has a 1969 Citabria that he bought in April, and he and my father are building a plane in my parent’s garage. Yes, you read that correctly, they are building it themselves…For Christmas my brother and my mom bought my dad a flight with Santa Fe Top Gun Adventures. You get 45 minutes in an authentic World War II Navy Trainer airplane. A true piece of history. Today, my parents treated my brother to a flight for his birthday. Gavin, Brooklyn and I went to check it out, take photos, and celebrate with them afterwards at lunch. Here are some of the photos. Happy Birthday James!

James and the owner, Don.

The Plane, a 1945 SNJ

Motherhood {Albuquerque Family Photographer}

2010-03-12T06:36:00.001-07:00

I am linking up with Patty at Blessed Moon today. Her theme is “motherhood.” I also made another video set to my father singing a beautiful song about mother hood. It’s on my other blog. Have a great Friday.