I Heart Faces Photo Challenge / People's Choice

My first photo challenge! I'm so excited to be entering an I Heart Faces Challenge. This weeks theme is "Best Face Photo from May 2011"
May's been a quiet month for us. My son's been sick with bronchitis. But I love this photo. We're just having some quiet time reading a book. He's just started school this year and they have a "Book a Night" home reading program. He was so excited because he was the first in his class to reach 100 nights. He's growing up but he still looks so small behind that book.
Photo processed with The CoffeeShop Blog Butterscotch Vintage action. 

About Me

Processed with The CoffeeShop Blog Butterscotch Vintage action. Frame by Paint the Moon.

So this is me! I'm a 35 year old mother of a gorgeous, highly spirited and intelligent 5 year old boy, who loves to chat, learn and explore. He's the main reason I take photos. I love to capture his expressions and gestures.
I was born in Sweden but grew up in Australia after we moved here when I was 5. As kids we visited Sweden regularly and spoke Swedish at home.
I've also lived in New Zealand for several years. My husband is a "kiwi" and was in the NZ Airforce. I met him during a short exercise here and then took a huge leap and moved to NZ with him after having only spent a total of 2 weeks together! ... I guess when you're in love you have to follow it. 2 years later we were married and we have just enjoyed our 10 year Wedding Anniversary.
I've always loved being creative. I've enjoyed drawing, painting and also loved taking photos with my film SLR. At school I wanted to pursue a career in the creative field, like graphic design, but at the last minute decided to go to university and study to become a Registered Nurse. I nursed for several years, specialising in Intensive Care. Then I became a mother and shift work simply didn't fit in with our family life.
So fast forward to this time last year...we were preparing for a two month trip to Sweden. The first time I'd been back in 8 years, the second visit for my husband and the first time my son had visited and met our extended family. I had never warmed to the point and shoot camera that my husband had bought after the birth of our son and we knew we'd regret not taking lots of photos as mementos. So we decided to spend money we didn't really have at the time to buy a DSLR. That's when my journey with photography began.

Project 52 Week 1

So I decided to do a Project 52. I'd love to tackle the challenge of 365 at some point but seeing as it's taken me half the year already to start a project I think I'll stick to 52 for the moment.
I've decided to post my photo on Mondays so it's the photo for the preceding week.
I've got a house full of sickies at the moment so no-one feels like posing for photos. So I decided to do some macro photography instead.
I've been inspired by Claire Penn's beautiful peacock feather fine art prints. I love their colours.
I used my 50 mm 1.8 lens together with an extension tube EF25 II, ISO 200, f/5 for 1/320. I think I'll write a post about doing macro with an extension tube.
By the way these feathers where dropped from Percy the peacock, a resident of the semi rural area that my mum lives in.

Chasing Rainbows??

My first ever post! So why Chasing Rainbows? Look up the meaning of the idiom chasing rainbows you'll probably find an array of explanations about trying to achieve something not possible or practical. Songs are written lamenting "Why can't I stop chasing rainbows?". I believe this is such a negative way of looking at what I think is such a romantic expression. Why wouldn't you want to chase rainbows, I think they're beautiful, and sure you may not "catch" them but you get to enjoy their splendor while you try.
I think of photography in a similar way. Life is so beautiful, and photography is one way of capturing a moment in time, or memory, to keep and treasure and to share with others. I've become completely obsessed with photography, learning how to use my camera and improving my skill, so that I can best capture those precious moments in our life.
Rainbows have also featured in important moments in our life. A beautiful rainbow appeared while we were having our wedding photos taken on a beach 10 years ago.  Also, our favorite holiday place is Rainbow Beach, where we go to relax and enjoy family time together.
So Chasing Rainbows to me means endeavoring to capture treasured moments with my camera.