Month: February 2012

Try It: LEAP!

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Well, what would suit February 29th better than leaping?

Canon 7D: 50mm 1.4: ISO 200: 1/1250 sec: f/3.5

You may never get as much cooperation from your kids. 

Here is what to do:

Set the shutter speed high.

Set the camera to continuous shooting.

Get down low to exaggerate the leap but also keep the ground (or picnic table) in the photo to give perspective.

Share what you got in the Familiar Light: Try It Flickr group.  (Today there is also a leap group on Flickr.)

Canon 40D: 50mm 1.4: ISO 200: 1/250 sec: f/6.3 +bounced flash

Standing! (Already?)

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I got this photo when I brought my camera on a family trip to get ice cream.  I knew the ice cream shop would have some nice light.  It did and I took some pictures of the baby girl and her big brother and sisters there.

The picture of her standing is in a toy store.  I didn’t expect to take any photos in the mall, but didn’t want to leave my camera in the car.  I was glad it was on my shoulder when she stood on her own.  (Can you believe she’s already standing?)

Snapshots on Saturday

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Last weekend we went on a little vacation… to a hotel in Ohio.  We wanted to get away and the kids wanted a pool.  It gave me a chance to try out a camera I was given for Christmas.  It’s an Olympus Tough camera and it can be used underwater.  I am cautious (overly so perhaps) with my DSLR and wanted a camera that could withstand sledding and time on the beach.  

So, I held my breath… 

… and we took it into the pool.

Independent

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Canon 7D: 50mm 1.4: ISO 800: 1/250 sec: f/1.8He walks downstairs in the morning and proudly announces that he has dressed himself.

All day, I was reminded by this little triangle on his back he had dressed all by himself.   When I was cleaning up the Cheerios he’d spilled on the floor (again) while pouring his cereal by himself, I was reminded by his backward shirt that he is a little boy and very proud to be getting bigger.

I use my camera like a paper and pen to make a note of what happened today.  Something to remind me later of this little detail.  That’s why I took this photo today.  I know he will start to care about the direction of his shirt some day, but today, he didn’t … and I was charmed.

Try It: Bring Your Camera

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On Saturday, I went to my brother and sister in law‘s house.  As I was getting ready to go, I picked up my camera.  I had no specific reason to bring it, but I knew that the light in their living room is great for photos.   I thought maybe I’d get a photo like this one of my little girl.

Canon 7D: 50mm 1.4: ISO 400: 1/250 sec: f/2.0

A little later, I saw this moment between cousins unfolding, and I was happy to have my camera nearby.

Canon 7D: 50mm 1.4: ISO 400: 1/500 sec: f/3.5I was even happier to have it when this moment with my brother and his daughter quietly arrived.

Canon 7D: 50mm 1.4: ISO 400: 1/250 sec: f/2.5

I started bringing my camera with me routinely when I was posting a photo on Flickr every day last year (my 365 Project).  I learned that bringing just my camera with a 50mm lens is pretty easy.  (The 50 mm is a small lens.)  And even though I didn’t always strike gold when I took the trouble of bringing my camera along, I never got any great photos when I left it at home.

So, try it: bring your camera.  You may come home with nothing, but you might come home with a treasure.

Share your treasures here.

Halfway

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Canon 7D: 50mm 1.4: ISO 400: 1/100 sec: f/2.2 +baby in a carrier on my backAfter I gathered all of the groceries on my shopping list, I used to think, “Okay. Done.”  Only recently did I realize that when everything is in the cart, I still have a long way to go.  I still have to wait in line, put our food on the belt, buy it, put it back in the cart (“Anyone need to go potty before we go home?”), put the bags in the car, drive home, bring everything inside, including the children, and put the food away.  While the hardest part may be done when my cart is full, I’m not done.  I’ve started to think of the checkout line as the halfway point.  Maybe you already realized this, but I just figured it out and I don’t dread going to the store as much anymore.  

We’re all a lot happier now when it’s time to go shopping.

Canon 7D: 50 mm 1.4: ISO 400: 1/320 sec: f/2.2

31|40 Nap Time

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Canon 7D: 24-70mm 2.8: ISO 250: 1/200 sec: f/3.2 +flash, tripod and remote

I decided to take my own advice and take a photo of something we do every day … record a routine.  I’ve been meaning to take a picture of my little one nursing to sleep for months, but there isn’t an easy time to take that photo.  If it’s time for a nap, she’s tired, and I want her to sleep.  And setting up the camera on a tripod and taking pictures isn’t the best way to help her get to sleep.  But today, I decided to do it anyway.  

I intended the photo to be a picture of her, and, in some of the photos I took, you can see her better.  I took this one after I thought I was done.  I had put down the remote and I started twirling her hair, like I always do when she’s falling asleep.  Then I picked up the remote and took a few more photos.  To my surprise, my favorite photo was of me – doing something I’ve done countless times since my first child was born nine years ago.  A routine.  Now recorded.

Dear One

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Canon 7D: 50mm f/1.4: ISO 200: 1/200 sec: f/3.2

He lists the names people have for him. 

“Josh calls me Aggie.  Daddy calls me Boo-ski.  Mommy calls me Dear One.”

“Dear One” is from the book we read every night, Mama Do You Love Me?

It’s true. He is my Dear One.

Canon 7D: 50mm 1.4: ISO 200: 1/250 sec: f/2.5 +flash

Try It: Record a Routine

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Canon 7D: 50mm f/1.4: ISO 200: 1/250 sec: f/3.2 +flashRoutines get us through the day – especially the end of the day when everyone is tired.  Everyone knows what to expect, because we do it the same way every night.  Routines are so commonplace, we hardly notice them.  We’ve done them so many times that it’s hard to believe we could forget any part of them.  But they slowly fade away, just like a baby’s chubby cheeks. Take a few minutes to get some pictures of one of these ordinary times.  Try it: record a routine.

Canon 7D: 50mm f1.4: ISO 200: 1/250 sec: f3.2 +flashAtticus and I read the same book at bedtime every night and have for a few months now.  I can recite the text.  So can he.  With the words and images so etched in my mind I don’t feel like I’ll forget any of it.  But, he’s my third child, and I’ve watched these seemingly unchanging routines change with my older children without my noticing.  What books and songs did my oldest love when she was three?  

As parents we’re good at bringing out the camera at birthdays, holidays and the first time our child walks or rides a bike.  But there are so many ordinary and beautiful moments between those big events.  Look for one of those less noticed times of your day and try it: record a routine.  Let me know how it goes.

Extra Credit: Get yourself in the picture!

Canon 7D: 50mm f1.4: ISO 200: 1/250 sec: f3.2 +flash, tripod and remote