Photo Feedback

I missed last week's photo feedback opportunity. After submitting for the first time the week prior, I was so happy with the feedback I received I do want to continue, but it just didn't happen last week. Even looking at others' photos and finding the wonderful (the easy part) and the could-be-improved (not so easy) is helpful in trying to become a better photographer.

So, here's my submission. I've been wanting to get a BW shot of the boys in their jeans and no shirt for a while. Enzo was looking to pose for me last Thursday, so I pulled this from my checklist and tried it out.  The day was rainy, but we were getting a decent amount of sun flowing in the kitchen door. We were very limited in terms of space with the oven behind me not allowing for a lot of back up room. I was using my 50mm prime lens, too, hence the close crop.

Not making excuses! Just explaining.. ha ha. I haven't formally checked it off the list because I want to get the same shot of Nico, but also, I'm not sure I'm satisfied with it.  So, go to town... let me know what you think. I really appreciate it.

Shot with my Pentax K5, FA 50 mm 1.4.  f2.8, SS 125, ISO 400.

Simple Things Sunday

Taking part in a new weekly photo challenge. It's called "Simple Things Sunday" and I love the idea.
It's a gentle reminder to appreciate the small things and to find something good even in a not-overwhelmingly-wonderful week. (Which mine was).

We got to spend most of today just putzing around the house... though it's about to get busier in a short hour or so.  I took out my camera to try some settings I was reading about in Popular Photography magazine and look what I found... a few simple things that make me happy.

Jt was playing guitar right under the window and it definitely mimicked the shadowy lighting in the article.  So as he practiced guitar, I practiced finding the light. (He plays guitar much better than I find the light.)

 The trick was to find a way to get enough light to his face, which was in the shadow. The first photo I brought out in post-processing, but this one I managed to expose for.

Here's one way not to worry about his face being in the shadow.

Enzo brought along his Far Side Collection and joined us in the music room. The light from the window was directly on him only a few feet away.  Amazing what a difference it was.

Nico joined shortly after when he heard our voices and brought his Kindle. I love how they want to be in the same room even to do their own thing.

Enzo could take it no longer and abandoned his book to fill in the sound with his own rhythm. They were playing "House of the Rising Sun."  We're definitely a house of hobbyists and I love when we can all do them together.

When it Rains

We had just finished lunch, which somehow ended in a discussion of Yogi Berra and his famous quotes. I pulled up a few on my phone to read and we wondered aloud whether his words were intentionally funny or slyly philosophical. I loved watching the expressions on the boys faces as they pondered, "When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it." or "The future ain't what it used to be." Sometimes they cracked a smile, other times their heads cocked as they considered the meaning of the words.

As we were loading our plates into the dishwasher, Nico unwittingly came up with this Yogi-like gem: "It's such a waste of a beautiful day when it rains."  I pointed out the silly and the sublime about his comment and we laughed and repeated it over and over to let it sink in.

To a boy who is itching to get outside and try out the efficiency of several battle poses for his newly-minted Star Wars character, it is a waste of a beautiful day.

I had taken this photo only an hour before to enter in the Beautiful Black and White challenge at I Heart Faces.  I guess we were all thinking about how the rain was affecting our day.... but, for me it was good. (Don't tell him I said that. :-)  )

Out of the Costume Box - P52/Week 10: "Personality"

Since they were wee little, Nico and Enzo have loved taking on the personalities of book characters, movie characters, animals, neighborhood workers and, of course, some personalities of their own invention. Their costume box overfloweth.

There were days when I mothered Clifford the Big Red Dog or Barney the Purple Dinosaur all day rather than my own Enzo.  Nico had me climbing our 'mountainous' steps as we became big horn sheep in search of a grazing area.  I've seen pirates and lions and construction workers all in the course of an average day.

As they've gotten older, like everything else, it's evolved. Dressing up quickly became "be somebody" in our house and even in their everyday clothes, it's still their favorite and most consistent play time activity.  The exploding costume box is still in place, and these days there are times when either one of them will feel out a new character they've written about or drawn by becoming that character in play to see what he or she or it is like in some character-defining scenario.

Yesterday, they dug into their box and became composite Star Wars characters. Nico is a jedi, Master Chiodi and Enzo, always willing to be the bad guy, is Darth Enzo.

 Nico's costume is made up of a toga that he made himself when exploring the life of Greek gods (yes, it went all the way to his ankles when he made it) and a Hobbit cape from his 7th birthday party. 

 Enzo wears a partial Darth Vader costume, but wanted to be more of a rogue cowboy/bounty hunter, hence the 25 year old cowboy had that was handed down from Dad. 

They asked me to come outside and chronicle the battle between the good and evil. Being a simple humanoid, I had no choice but to oblige.  It was a few hours before sunset, so the sun was glorious. I put them where they'd be back lit and whoa! did it do wonders for the light sabres.

 I cranked the aperture down to f22 and so the sun could tell of the battle's importance.

We loved how the sun favored the Jedi, his light sabre and costume being so much lighter, giving its tacit approval for good. Evil is no match for the force when used for good.

I used the rogue's shadow pose (2nd photo) for my P52: Week 10: "Personality"

Sweet Shot Tuesday

As I browse the photog-o'blog-osphere, I see so many lamentations about photographers' kids not wanting to have their photo taken, especially by the more prolific photographers: Stories of grunting and hiding and just-plain not cooperating.  Nestled into my long, long list of reasons I know I'm blessed, is the willingness of my favorite subjects, my boys, to pose for me, dress for me, travel to some fanciful location or even just to play and not pay attention to my camera.  They've got such patience for my twirling around them to find the light, not complaining when my reflector blinds them because I put it at the wrong angle or dealing with my mood when I feel like I can't catch a single shot.

There are definitely times when they'd rather not dance for my camera and I try to abide, but, more usually, even if one is not into it, the other will go it alone.  So, I've usually got a subject or two.  Lucky, lucky me.  This past week it's been Nico's turn to take one for the team and has volunteered every time I've asked.  This is one of the shots I got.  So sweet.... so, I've posted this with Sweet Shot Tuesday over at My 3 Boybarians.

P52/Week 9: "Color"

I've committed myself to participating in a photography project called Project 52, where each week there's a challenge to take a photo with a particular theme and enter it on the group Flickr site.


I will vehemently deny any accusation that our long-intended visit to Phipps Conservatory was finally and intentionally scheduled in the week where the theme for the P52 is 'Color.'  It would seem too easy wouldn't it?  I mean, who wouldn't rather have the challenge of finding color during a week with 100% cloud cover, 50% chance of precipitation every day, not a snowflake among those millions of drops?  Isn't the purpose to challenge oneself?

I, for one, would have much rather had to look anew at the way brown and gray force me to ponder my place in the universe, to consider the miracle of the dormant twig and/or philosophize the ethical implications of having my kids sit in a downpour with bright red hats on.  That's the kind of challenge I'm up for.

But, no, poor me, I had to drag myself to Phipps Conservatory and look at this:

That which does not kill us makes us stronger. - Friedrich Nietzsche

Are you kidding with this? I seriously gasped when I first came upon it but, oh, ahem... only because I was stifling a yawn.

Texture and color? So obvious. Ho Hum.

This was just a ploy to lull us all into a deep, deep sleep.

Oh, the repetition ... The blossoms just go on and on and on...

And, I couldn't imagine a single pose for the boys in such uninspiring surroundings, but, you know... I had to keep them awake, too.

Ok, seriously, sorry for the sarcasm. 
We had a wonderful time at Phipps that was far from mundane. I felt very lucky to have such an opportunity, coincidentally (really) during "color" week. 
Enzo said he had to refrain from just running in circles in each room it was so inviting and bright. He said he wanted to stay overnight.  Nico had us on a quest to find plants from S. America and Mexico so he could gaze upon plants of the Mayan culture (his current fascination).  Me? I could just photograph there all day.... so gorgeous.  

One more treasure in this bountiful (although currently natural-color-lacking) city.

P52/Week 4: "Imperfection"

I've committed myself to participating in a photography project called Project 52, where each week there's a challenge to take a photo with a particular theme and enter it on the group Flickr site.

The theme for week 4 in the P52 project was imperfection.  (Yes, "was"... that was 5 weeks ago.) The entries from other photographers were so perfectly imperfect, I became a bit overwhelmed with the abstract of it, felt anything I had to offer was too sappy or obvious or just plain ironically awful and well, I just didn't do it.  Perfect, right?

I've had it in the back of my mind and knew I wasn't just going to let it go, (I want to be able to count those 52 at the end). I figured I would find some streak of inspiration at some later date and come back. Well, yesterday at Phipps Conservatory, I may have had an aha moment, because I found this:

Or not...
I know it's not earth shattering either in it's idea or execution, but well, if nothing else I had all those other photogs beat in my personal imperfection of waiting for (and expecting to find) perfection.