Category Archives: Family

Chili Mix

New lens, and, of course, I have to play with it!  Canon EF 40mm f/2.8.

Sweetie doing his best hand modeling for some chili mix he got in the mail from Greater Good. You all don’t get to see his goofy side that often.

Photo Shoot: Michelle, Matt & Mattix

I had the pleasure of photographing my nephew, Matt, his former girlfriend, Michelle, and their eight month old son, Mattix, yesterday afternoon.  Challenges: WIND!  And a baby more interested in doing what babies do – looking at everything except the lady with the camera and putting everything that interested him into his mouth. Hey, it’s what eight-month-olds do!

I had big ideas for the shoot which all came crashing down when the wind would not allow my white umbrella to stand, so I did what I could under the circumstances. I shot completely hand-held and did a lot of crawling around on the ground.

A few family shots . . .

Look at that face!

Kissing baby cheeks is the best.

(For this one, I used onOne’s FocalPoint 2.1 to highlight Michelle and Mattix.  I really like how it turned out.)

Crawling and exploring . . . that’s an eight-month-old’s job. 

I’m thinking he’ll be walking before he’s a year. 

Num! Leaf!

What’s that over there?

Binky shot.

And, as always, I learned what worked, what didn’t, and what to do differently next time. (For one thing, I could have utilized the stray person not in the shots (Michelle’s mom) as my assistant That thought came me as I was driving home!)

I’m here

I’m down in southern California for the weekend. Dad is recovering from surgery to remove his left foot. He came through the surgery well, and the physical therapist is working him hard.  We hope that he progresses quickly and gets into his first prosthetic in six weeks or so.  In the meantime, plans are afoot to remodel his tiny bathroom to make access easier for him.

I hope to get to the ocean on this trip. You all know how successful I’ve been at that on previous visits!

I learned to ride a bike on this street – back when those palm trees were not much taller than the cars parked at the curb.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Kiss

This week’s photo challenge.  There are all kinds of kisses . . .

There are the kisses of young love . . .

There are the kisses of a love that has stood the test of time . . .

Kitty kisses are tentative and filled with whisker tickles  . . .

Dog-to-dog kisses are often misconstrued by stupid humans . . .

Doggie to human kisses can be a bit messy . . .

He’s a pretty good sport

I was working out the kinks with my new flash and Sweetie  was kind enough to sit for me for about ten minutes after working all day and teaching a computer class after work.

Day 366 – The Den

In this room, I sat on my father’s lap as he watched the Friday Night Fights.  In this room, I learned how to whistle. In this room, I listened to the Beach Boys singing “In My Room,” when this room was my brother’s bedroom.  In this room I went through a few months of twenty-year-old angst, when it was my bedroom.

From this room, I bolted from my slumber this morning as my mother yelled for help as Dad slipped towards the floor as he tried to transition from his bed to his scooter. Between Mom’s and my efforts, Dad didn’t fall. But I worry. I’ll be out of here tomorrow and the home health aide isn’t back until Thursday.

But . . . still . . . this is a peaceful room. And it will always be “The Den.”

Well, I did it.

366 days.  Don’t worry, I’m not leaving, but this blog will take a different turn.

Happy New Year, everyone!