Day 29: Preschool

Today was Clara's first day of preschool and she couldn't have been more excited.  She has been waiting for this day for so long, ever since we visited the school late last spring when she was on the waitlist.  We took the traditional first day of school picture on our front porch in front of the brick wall and I was proud of myself for remembering to set the aperture to a middle sort of a setting.  But I wish I had shuffled my feet to the side for a different angle so that the lines of brick were straight.  Oh well.  Live and learn.

 

32 mm, ISO 500, f/8, SS 1/50

Day 28: Acorns

We got outside this afternoon to enjoy the beautiful weather and Paul helped the girls gather acorns from oak trees.  It is still warm outside, but we can tell that fall is getting closer as there is starting to be a bit of coolness in the air and I love it. 

50 mm, ISO 400, f/3.2, SS 1/500

Day 27: Molasses Cookies

Food photography is so much harder than it looks.  I have taken a lot of bad food photos and still feel like I just don't know how to arrange the food or approach capturing an image of it in a pleasing way.  The Molasses Cookie recipe is here and they are soft and sugary and perfectly spiced and are amazing plain or sandwiched with ice cream between two of them, which is what I did with these.  I took them to a ward party tonight where they got rave reviews.  These were the only big ones in the batch because I made the rest tiny so that each ice cream sandwich was just two perfectly sweet, cold bites.  I wish I had taken a picture of them but I ran out of time at home and they were gone pretty much the moment desserts were set out.

50 mm, ISO 400, f/2.5, SS 1/1000

Day 26: Potty Training

It's Day 2 of potty training for Miss Rose.  She has had 1 success each day and a whole lot of accidents.  I am hopeful that by the end of the weekend things will have clicked with her and we can stop spending half our day hanging out in the bathroom.  Clara has been a big help celebrating the successes by giving Rose marshmallows and cheering, and she has been so willing to run grab fresh undies or pull-ups when we've needed them.  I am so looking forward to being done with diapers.



50 mm, ISO 1250, f/3.5, SS 1/100

50 mm, ISO 2000, f/2.5, SS 1/80

Day 25: Nectarines

We love hitting up our local farmer's market each week to taste the different offerings and pick up something yummy and fresh.  This week it was nectarines, onions, and zucchini for us because the peaches were lackluster, which was kind of surprising.  Clara loves helping to pick out the fruit or drop it into the bag for me.  I tried a bit of a different composition this time by intentionally focusing on the nectarines in the foreground and blurring Clara while she was looking through the fruit for the perfect ones for our bag.



50 mm, ISO 200, f/2.8, SS 1/1600

And I had to include this one of Clara munching on her "big carrot" that she got for free from one of the produce booths.  With all of the amazing fruit and baked goods available every week, it is always the big carrots that she is begging for to snack on while we walk around and she almost always charms the vendor into letting her have one for no cost.  Wily little thing.  She was especially good about sharing with her sister tonight and the two of them crunched their way around the market and spoiled their dinner (sort of?  it's hard to claim that they spoiled dinner by eating a raw carrot but on the other hand, they hardly touched their teriyaki chicken, rice and vegetable bowl). 

50 mm, ISO 200, f/4.5, SS 1/400

Day 24: Behind Bars

I wanted to try another composition perspective today by getting low and shooting up at Rose to portray her larger than life personality, especially when she wakes up happy from a good nap and laughs and jumps and jabbers at me for a while from behind the bars of her crib until she reaches out both arms and waggles her fingers in a "you may pick me up now" gesture.  I desperately wanted to sneak into her room to take a "peeking" perspective between the bars while she slept, but I knew that there was no way I could do that without waking her up so I passed on that today, but one of these days I am going to do it.



50 mm, ISO 1000, f/4, SS 1/100

50 mm, ISO 1000, f/4, SS 1/100

Day 23: Laundry and Leotards

One of my photography goals is to develop the ability to accurately document daily life, especially as our girls are growing up.  A favorite parenting quote I have heard is that the days are long but the years are short.  Today was like any other day - filled with washing and folding laundry, playing "bucking bronco" for the girls, cleaning the kitchen multiple times, make believe with the toy animals, taking the girls to gymnastics and the park, ironing (so much ironing - it is possibly my all-time least favorite chore), soothing hurts and bonks, going to the gym to exercise, picking up toys, baths and bedtime routines.  I can't get over how my heart fills watching these two little hooligans run around in their little leotards which are not only great for gymnastics but for dressing up and pretending to be Tinkerbell, complete with a special request Tinkerbell bun hairdo that Mom obligingly put in.  I'm exhausted but satisfied with today, and already feeling weary thinking about tomorrow's back-to-school brunch, orthodontist appointment, and 3+ hour mandatory parent prechool meeting for the coop that Clara will start attending next week. 

 

50 mm, ISO 640, f/3.5, SS 1/200

Not sure quite how I captured this flare from the fluorescent lights at the gymnastics studio, but I sort of like it actually.

 

50 mm, ISO 3200, f/3.2, SS 1/200

50 mm, ISO 640, f/2.5, SS 1/320

Day 22: Swinging

I seriously love that 3 weeks ago I would have just been hoping for good luck to get a shot like this in auto mode and now closing out the Mastering Manual class I can plan a shot like this and feel pretty confident about how to get it.  This is pretty much SOOC even.  Why did it take so long to get brave and learn how to shoot in manual?!  I love it!



24 mm, ISO 250, f/9, SS 1/500

Day 21: Nail Polish

The girls got pedicures from daddy on the back patio this afternoon.  Paul painted each of Clara's toes a different color (which she loved) and then did Rose's tiny toes in all purple.  Then Clara returned the favor and painted daddy's toes (he is such a good sport), then mine.  The girls were in heaven and I was reminded yet again of how lucky I am to have married such an incredible guy who is the perfect father to two adoring little girls.

50 mm, ISO 125, f/4, SS 1/200

Day 20: Shadow

Another day at the beach today.  I quite like the way this "self-portrait" of my shadow turned out. 



24 mm, ISO 320, f/4, SS 1/1250

Day 19: Carseat

We had a little wait in the Park & Call lot at the Oakland Airport today waiting for Rose's birthmom's plane to arrive.  The girls were so good and just sat in their carseats singing and chatting and I was so glad I had my camera with me and thought to turn around and take this picture of Rose looking out the window, which was rolled down letting the breeze blow through.  I feel like it is a good example of framing that we talked about in this week's lesson about composition and I might submit it as one of my composition homework assignments.



50 mm, ISO 400, f/1.4, SS 1/4000

Day 18: Flower Crowns

I had these great visions of creating whimsical flower crowns for the girls and then taking them to "the forest" (a nearby wooded area with a creek) to play fairies and toss rocks in the water and taken pictures while they had some outdoor time.  Unfortunately, it didn't go quite as planned and the girls weren't so keen on the idea of hanging out by the creek, even once I took the flower crowns off (which, although cute, didn't stay put very well and kept slipping off anyway).  I am trying to make a conscious effort to spend more time out of doors with them doing theoretically simpler things like this but keep running into roadblocks like heat and drought and a deep seated aversion of Clara's to perspiration and hiking.

 

50 mm, ISO 400, f/1.4, SS 1/400

50 mm, ISO 400, f/1.4, SS 1/200

Day 17: Waiting

I got a new lens for the camera today!  Its a 50mm 1.4 lens and I'm super excited to start practicing with it and seeing what I can get.  But we had business to attend to this afternoon so instead of any special photo shoot or anything we went to the doctor's office for Clara's 3rd x-ray for her broken right clavicle and hung out in the waiting room for a bit.  The orthopedics department doesn't have kids toys in the waiting room so the girls just climb all over the place.



50 mm, ISO 800, f/2, SS 1/1600

Turns out Clara has some more waiting to do for her bone to completely heal.  It is coming along nicely but Dr. Melinda said no gymnastics for 4 more weeks until we go in again for a 4th x-ray.  The doctor had a really serious conversation with Clara explaining how her bones made a sort of glue to stick them back together and the glue is working well but it isn't all dry yet and if it gets pulled apart then it will break again just like if you tore pieces of paper apart when the glue wasn't totally dry between them.  Clara settled for being told that she at least doesn't have to keep wearing the sling anymore as long as she doesn't go crazy climbing or jumping or falling again. 

50 mm, ISO 800, f/2, SS 1/200

Day 16: Toddler

Just a quick portrait on a cool textured wall behind the library this morning.  I can hardly believe my 19-month old baby wears size 3T and is suddenly understanding everything I say, even if she doesn't have to words to vocally communicate right back to me.  But we're getting by pretty well with affirmative or negative head gestures and smart guessing.  The 18-month to 2 1/2 stage is my favorite, I think. 



35 mm, ISO 200, f/4, SS 1/200

Day 15: Quiet Play

This week for the photography class I am doing we are talking about composition, so I am trying to keep that in mind in my daily picture practice.  In this first one I tried implementing framing a little bit by shooting from the doorway and getting a bit of wall in the foreground.  It also helped keep me a little hidden from the girls who were having one of the precious, sweet moments where Clara was reading a book to Rose and Rose was letting her and none of it was my idea.  I'm still struggling with indoor lighting and getting the shutter speed up for more sharpness without boosting my ISO super high.

 

82 mm, ISO 1000, f/4, SS 1/20

And this next picture was actually composed even though it may not look quite like it because I intentionally angled myself to block distractions that were elsewhere in the frame (like some yard toys that were visible through the window until I adjusted my angle and kitchen and room mess that is outside of the frame in this shot).

47 mm, ISO 640, f/4, SS 1/80

Day 14: Board games

Most Sunday afternoons we play a board game with Clara.  Her favorites are Hoot, Owl, Hoot, Candyland, and Go Fish.  I think I really need to get a lens that goes to a lower f-stop than f/4 because it would give me a lot more light for indoor shots without decreasing my shutter speed so much or upping my ISO to higher levels. 



24 mm, ISO 1000, f/4, SS 1/50

Day 13: Beach Sunset

Going to the beach twice in one week feels decadent but we had to hit up Crown Memorial Beach on a Saturday when Paul could come with us.  We went in the evening to watch the sun go down and the images were totally different because of the change in lighting and the air quality being affected by smoke from forest fires.  I don't normally love tilted images like this first one, but there is just something about this picture of Paul that works for me.  I keep finding myself staring at it and thinking how lucky I am to be his.

 

24 mm, ISO 200, f/9, SS 1/320

I know I should probably be more selective and post fewer photos on here, but I just am so pleased with how these turned out. 

65 mm, ISO 200, f/9, SS 1/640

60 mm, ISO 200, f/9, SS 1/200

65 mm, ISO 200, f/4.5, SS 1/320

Day 12: Shave Ice

On Friday evenings during the summer, we like to hit up the concert in the park for a little free entertainment.  This time we picked up a pizza to take with us and Paul got the girls a shave ice for dessert.  Shave ice isn't really my thing, but I love that it is theirs.  A girl needs traditions like this with her dad. 

 

32 mm, ISO 400, f/4, SS 1/800

Day 11: Twirling

Some afternoons while your sister is sleeping, you just have to put on your twirliest dress and spin.

 

35 mm, ISO 1000, f/4.5, SS 1/60

45 mm, ISO 1000, f/4.5, SS 1/60

Day 10: Beach

The light was just too, too lovely at the beach today.  And practicing frozen action is seriously so much fun.  I am LOVING freezing water droplets.  It feels like magic and it is kind of the coolest.  This is at Crown Memorial Beach in Alameda and was perfect for the girls because it has no waves since it is in the bay.  In fact, the day was so clear that we could even see the city and both the Bay and Golden Gate bridges. 

 

80 mm, ISO 400, f/5, SS 1/1600

35 mm, ISO 400, f/5, SS 1/1600

I also went tried to focus on portrait work and paying attention to light metering and shutter speeds, implementing some of the feedback I just got this morning from Sarah, who is teaching the Mastering Manual class I am taking, and I loved how these next three images came out both technically and compositionally.  These are almost SOOC shots, which is exciting for me.

 

80 mm, ISO 400, f/5.6, SS 1/1250

55 mm, ISO 400, f/4.5, SS 1/1250

50 mm, ISO 400, f/6.3, SS 1/1250

Day 9: Bubbles

After a super frustrating day yesterday trying to figure out how to work shutter speeds for panning and implied motion, I decided to work on frozen action today.  I felt like it was a bit easier and these images came out pretty well, although I don't quite understand why or how my ISO jumped to 1250 on these, which I didn't even notice until I went to post them here.  But I'm mostly happy with how sharp the bubbles came out, especially since it was a breezy day and they were blowing away from the bubble wand pretty fast.



105 mm, ISO 1250, f/9, SS 1/800

105 mm, ISO 1250, f/9, SS 1/800



Day 8: Costco and Carousel

I took my camera into Costco today with the idea of doing two images using an f/4 aperture where my subjects were closer to the camera in one shot and set farther back from the camera in the other shot to see how depth of field compared.  I love that both girls had their legs crossed at the ankle without me posing or coaching them or anything.  When we were driving home and the girls were munching on bunches of grapes, I get a little choked up thinking about how I won't remember these mundane experiences for long.  I won't remember the feel of getting those carts moving when they are loaded up with my two girls and a cart full of groceries.  I'll forget the wake of smiles we leave in the aisles as we pass older shoppers who are charmed as Clara and Rose smile and wave and chat and sing.  The memories of how Rose likes to pull me close and randomly give me hugs while we rumble between shelves of spices and pasta and cereal will fade with time.  I hope that I can remember to not just capture the "beautiful" images but to try to hold onto these precious, regular, special-in-an-ordinary-everyday-kind-of-way moments through this 365 project. 

 

32 mm, ISO 400, f/5, SS 1/25

60 mm, ISO 400, f/5, SS 1/25

After Rose's nap, I took the girls to Tilden Regional Park to check out the merry-go-round.  I have been meaning to take the girls there for ages but have just never made it there because it is about 45 minutes away.  But since week 2 of Mastering Manual deals with movement and I wanted to give panning and implied motion a try I decided to go for it.  I need to review the lesson about changing shutter speeds and panning because this was a LOT harder than I thought it would be and I could not get my camera settings quite right.  The shots I liked best were honestly more fluke than anything, but at least it is a start.  We had such a fun time on this antique carousel that we might head back again this week to try again when Paul can come with us. 

24 mm, ISO 400, f/10, SS 1/3

24 mm, ISO 400, f/11, SS 1/4

24 mm, ISO 400, f/11, SS 1/4

Day 7: Twin Lakes

I know, another lake shot.  But today was spent driving home and these were the only photos that I took.  Twin Lakes was probably the most traditionally beautiful mountain lake spot that we saw in Mammoth and these pictures are just from the parking lot since the girls were in the car seats and we were packed and headed home.  I finally felt like I was getting a teensy bit more comfortable shooting with a higher aperture but I definitely need to keep practicing and thinking of other settings where I might enjoy using it.

 

24 mm, ISO 400, f/22, SS 1/80

24 mm, ISO 400, f/22, SS 1/80

Day 6: Convict Lake and Mono Lake South Tufas

Part of my homework for the first week of the Mastering Manual photography class I am taking is to practice shooting in manual using an f/18 or f/22 aperture to get the entire image in focus and sharp.  So we headed to Convict Lake in the morning to check out the views and try to get in some shots of the mountains reflecting off the water while things were still calm.

 

24 mm, ISO 400, f/22, SS 1/100

24 mm, ISO 400, f/22, SS 1/125

In the evening, we drove to Mono Lake to try to capture some sunset images of these cool rock formations called "tufas".  Honestly, I struggled with lighting in these so much!  I couldn't get the dynamic colors of the sky without totally darkening the rock formations that were sort of the whole point of the shoot.  Argh.  Anyway, it was at least a good experience to practice and try to implement some of the things I have been learning about light metering and aperture settings, even if I didn't get what I was hoping for.  And the tufas were so beautiful and odd and otherworldly that it was amazing to see and we will definitely try to go back again some day.

24 mm, ISO 400, f/22, SS 1/15

32 mm, ISO 400, f/22, SS 1/6

Day 5: Lake Mary

I have wanted to visit the Mammoth Lakes area for years so that we could go see Devil's Postpile National Monument.  But when we finally made the trip, we didn't realize until after a long bus ride into the trailhead that Paul thought I had the camera while I thought he had it (since he was carrying the tripod and camera bag and lenses) and instead it had been left in the car.  Since you aren't allowed to drive your car in and have to pay $7/pp for a bus ticket which takes hours round trip with the time hiking and everything, going back for the dslr just wasn't an option.  Which was such a bummer.  So we took a couple pics on our iPhones but I ended up practicing manual shooting with our dslr back by the lake our cabin was on. 

 

40 mm, ISO 400, f/8, SS 1/320

40 mm, ISO 400, f/4, SS 1/320