This week was a bit crazy and I didn't have a chance to pick up my camera as often as I would have liked. Luckily one gorgeous afternoon in the backyard while my husband and father in law built the best playstructure ever, I got some fabulous shots and was able to fit them in to some of the categories. :) Photography tip

Last week I talked about avoiding using your flash for better photos. But it's obviously not always possible to not use your flash. There are a couple of ways to improve flash photography.

After a long discussion with a very helpful attendant at Henry's around Christmastime last year I ended up buying a Gary Fong puffer which is a diffuser and softens the light from your flash. It was a relatively inexpensive way to improve the flash that came with my dslr. Another option is to get an external flash, and then you can do all kinds of fancy things like bounce the light so it isn't hitting your subject directly.

And if you just want to have fun, you can experiment with your flash. This hack from photojojo (a very cool photography newsletter you can sign up for) suggests using something like a paper towel tube to focus the light like a spot light, something that might be fun to try!

My two picks for this week

X is for Xcited

I'm still kind of embarrassed I didn't come up with something better for X. But there you have it ;)

W is for wet

I love this photo. He was having the time of his life splashing.

Participant photos

It's always hard to pick just four every week. Check out the flickr pool to see everyone's photos!

I love the hanging water drops in this "W is for wet" photo by wannabemomerin

This Z is for zoom by Maryinbriargreen makes me smile and think of my youth. I miss rollerskating. In the house. My mom probably doesn't miss that though ;)