Just like every month, the 12th kind of creeps right up on me.  And just like every month, I contemplate whether or not I actually want to charge my camera battery and concentrate on taking photos of our day.  And just like every month, I love doing it and I'm so thankful I decided to stay on this path.

I do love photography.  I am very much a novice and have so much to learn, but I love playing around with my camera and light and finding new ways to document the same moments that have likely already been documented.  

All of these photos were taken with my Canon (I have the Rebel T1i....super old, huh) and my 50 mm lens.  The 50 is my favorite lens by far.  It gets that pretty background bokeh and makes photos seems dreamy.  

I only shoot in manual mode, but it took me a few years to feel comfortable enough to do that.  If you haven't put your camera into manual mode, I highly suggest doing it and playing around.  When you shoot in manual, you have to adjust your shutter speed, exposure and/or aperture depending on your light and your subject.  This was the hardest part for me initially because I was always capturing a moving target (i.e. my kids) and I felt like I was fumbling to get the right settings AND the best image.  Eventually, I started practicing on random objects and got pretty comfortable with how to change my settings according to my light and subject.  But don't get me wrong....it's still very challenging to do on a moving target, especially inside where some light is good and some light isn't so good.  In the end, I take more photos than I should and then just delete the ones that aren't the best (to me).

So...enough with that little blurb, huh...

Here are the June edition of our 12 on the 12th photos.  I decided to change them to black & white when I edited them just for something different.  I'm not sure if I love them this way or not.....hmmm...

Our day was a very typical summer day....playing cars, pretend play, manicures, painting, giggles, pool, coffee and reading.

If you played along, I'd love for you to link up your photos in the comments section!!  If you missed it this month, there's always July.  :)