From there to here, from here to there, Funny things are everywhere
Remember when you were a kid, how fun it was to hurl yourself down a hill and try to outrun your momentum?
Today’s lesson was “gravity always wins.”
Lucky for us, the day’s other lessons included “cousins are awesome” and “it’s finally summer” and “there’s nothing better than family, even when they’re howling with laughter as you face-plant in the sand.”
We have driven past this monument in the Half Moon Bay section of Barrhaven many times, and I’ve always been curious about it. Last night after swimming lessons, Lucas and I decided to head over to check it out up close.
There’s a placard that explains that what I thought might have been a starfish is actually a falling star, and the monument is one to whimsey and astronomy – two of my favourite things! So I told Lucas: “Go catch that falling star!”
Today’s lesson is that if you have the chance to chase a falling star with a lively eight-year-old at sunset on a pretty late spring evening, you should absolutely do it!
It has been a good long while since we’ve had a cat picture around here, hasn’t it?
Both the cat and the man-child are growing up. Lucky for me, while the cat remains averse to cuddling, the man-child is still open to the idea of a hug every now and then.
I have been editing black and white portraits all day from a workshop I took yesterday. More to come on that, but in the meanwhile, I needed to change directions for a bit so I edited this photo I took earlier in the week.
I love it when the scilla come up. They’re always just ahead of the daffs and the dandelions and the other harbingers of spring, and each year they wander a little further afield in the yard.
When I heard that a neighbour had a mama dog that was about to give birth to a litter of puppies, I reached out and said I’d love to trade my mad portrait photographer skillz for the opportunity to take photos of the newborn pups. On Easter weekend, we watched with awe and delight as Facebook status updates revealed a healthy litter of TEN Cane Corso puppies. TEN! Can you imagine?
Even when you’re prepared for maximum cuteness, there’s no way you can anticipate how adorable ten mewling 12 day old puppies can be. Take a look!
I was pretty sure at one point that I wasn’t going to get “Grey” out of Simon’s arms.
I’ve taken pictures of every age from newborn to centenarian. I’ve taken headshots, family portraits, weddings, baptisms, mitzvahs, celebrations and extended groups. Had you asked, I would have said the most challenging (and, my most favourite) age to wrangle is the toddler years — but they had nothing on these puppies. I have to admit, I suffered a lot of delusions about how easy it would be to line these guys up for a portrait. I mean, they’re barely mobile, and I had four helpers. You can see how well that worked out!
Adorable, yes, but exhausting! And because that wasn’t challenging enough, we decided each pup needed to be the star of his or her own portrait.
TEN puppies! Can you imagine how crazy that’s going to be once they get their feet underneath them? And in case you were wondering, yes, they did all have that delightful and unmistakable new-puppy smell. I checked each one!
Hmmm, maybe it’s time for me to expand the business to include pet portraits as well? Or maybe we just need a puppy or three of our own. For the photography, of course. Strictly for the photos.
You might remember just about a year ago, I was commissioned to work with Ottawa Corporate Yoga on a really neat project. Glenda Rodriguez was inspired to create a set of cards to help families incorporate yoga into bedtime routines, to help kids get to sleep and stay asleep. I took the photos that were eventually printed on the cards.
Glenda got in touch again recently for a new project. She’s working with Ausome Ottawa on a new set of cards with a specific focus on helping kids with Autism. Here are a few of the photos from our session with Mia and Leo performing the asanas.
Adorable, right? And such an “ausome” idea. Here’s the best part, though: I finally got to see how the bedtime yoga cards from last year’s photo session turned out!
I’m so pleased – they look AMAZING! If you’re interested in learning more, or in seeing a few cards up close, you can check out the Bedtime Yoga page on Ottawa Corporate Yoga’s site.
Snow in April is probably more common than not, but I’d still be happy to be done with it once and for the season at least.
Pretty sure my wee irises are having the same thought:
The good news is that it’s currently raining, but the bad news is that there is still a few more centimeters in the forecast. Oh April, you are fickle indeed.
Look what I found in a sunny spot in my garden this week? First flowers of the season. Yay! I was so happy to find them that I indulged in a little photo play. You can’t really tell from the photos, but these are about the size of my pinky finger – tiny little dwarf irises.
Which one do you like best?
The Easter bunny got a bit of help putting the treats together.
Unfortunately, the “helper” kept getting distracted by the photogenic qualities of the colourful candy!
I couldn’t tell you whether it’s me or the boys who more love decorating Easter eggs. They all have a lovely artistic streak in their nature, and I’m delighted to have them trapped in a room doing an activity together that’s delightfully photogenic. Wins all around!
I always start going for documentary-style shots of the activity and their interactions.
I try to catch their different personalities.
And then I just had fun with the shapes and colours.
It might be an early and icy Easter, but it’s definitely a colourful one!