She’s growing so fast! Our little Clara is getting to a really fun age. She’s much more interactive – talking, laughing, and giggling a lot. She can say both ‘Mama’ and ‘Dada’ now, and she’s clear on which one of us she wants at any given time. She’s still a pretty easy-going little girl, and not much rattles her. It turns out this is a very good quality for a second child to have! Her brother Liam loves to play with her, talk to her, climb into her crib in the morning, and generally play round. He’s one of her favorite people, but he is a little bit rough with her at times. We’ve tried teaching her sign language, but she hasn’t used anything but ‘please’ yet. She’s modified this sign to fit her preferences, and she does this sign with a circular motion of her hand up on top of her head instead of on her chest. Her hair sticks up on top of her head, which is cute and a little funny-looking. She goes to bed pretty easily. All we have to do is lay her in her crib with a pacifier and a blanket, and she puts herself to sleep. Liam STILL hasn’t mastered this art, though he’s getting better. Clara has two cute little teeth on the bottom of her mouth, which she uses to chew cheerios and anything else we give her. She does’t like to be fed, but will eat without hesitation (or notice, apparently) if she has something in her hands to work on or play with. We’re enjoying every stage, and especially this one. Enjoy the picture below, taken by Lisa and Rachel in the studio last week.
Category: photos
New post on another blog!
I haven’t put much time into blogging lately (sorry!), so I thought I’d let you guys know that I put up a more in-depth post on the Shinn Photo blog. It’s a behind-the-scenes write-up on a photo shoot I did about a month ago. Let me know if you like it, and if you want to see me continue writing such things!
Enjoy,
Andrew
Here’s the link: shinnphoto.com/blog/?p=317
Reedley Fiesta
Captions available at www.flickr.com/photos/shinnphoto !
Break Time
Yesterday morning we went on a walk down the street–Liam on his scooter (with his helmet, of course), Clara in the front seat of the carriage and Maggie running alongside sniffing at smells that wafted her direction. It was quite a long even though we only went to the end of the street and back. By the time we got home, it was time to cool off and have a break. Liam wanted to take a break with his sippy cup of milk and his sandals close by. He also really wanted to be in the picture with Clara. He is a funny boy!
The picture of Clara by herself is the first time she held the sippy cup by herself. She was so proud of herself.
Her little personality is developing and it’s fun to watch the things she gets excited about, the places she randomly decides to stop and play, and her reactions to Liam. She’s learning to be patient with him when he takes the thing she’s playing with and Liam is learning how to have a toy ready to trade when he wants to take one away from her. Oh, the bumps and happy times of learning how to share!
Our friend: Janel
Janel has been taking care of Liam and Clara this summer and they have really grown to love her. Liam gets excited when he wakes up when we tell him he gets to go to play with Janel and Clara gets a big smile on her face when she sees Janel. We did a session with Janel yesterday, and Liam joined in the fun! He enjoys being with Janel–playing dominoes, reading books, making crafts with pom-poms and pipe cleaners, and watching “Finding Nemo.” She will be at camp next week and the kids are going to miss her when they don’t get to see her on Monday. School is starting in a couple weeks, which means this summertime fun is coming to a close. We have been blessed to have her this summer and are thankful she was willing to jump into life at the studio with our kids.
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New pictures of the kids and me!
Here’s Clara asleep at Ellyce and Vidal’s wedding.
Here’s Liam enjoying what he calls “Daddy Milk”, which is really Keifer from Trader Joe’s. Keifer is a special treat for Daddy, and it resembles milk, so Liam made the logical jump to calling it Daddy Milk.
Here’s a rare picture of me. This is what it looks like when I’m teaching you photography. Lisa is using a wide-angle lens to test the light in the shade of a tree at Ellyce and Vidal’s wedding. When I’m teaching, I often offer myself as a subject without bothering to smile or pose. This leads to lots of bad pictures of me, which are the most common type I have. Oh, well. I guess this one’s not too bad.
Car accident in Reedley
Two cars collided at the corner of G and 11th Street this morning. Both were going fast and one ran a red light, according to witnesses. Everyone got out of the cars alive and without serious injury. Here are some photos:
Pictures of the whole family!
We shot a minimum depthy of field family session at the end of the day on Friday. Enjoy!
Liam’s Photo shoot
Liam wanted me to take pictures of him today while we were waiting for a client (who never showed up). He directed the entire photo shoot, including the poses, props, location, my shooting position (knees, Daddy, knees!) and everything. It was so cute! I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of Clara today, but she’s not old enough to demand her own photo shoot. What fun, and what a funny kid!
Which camera should I buy, Andrew?
It’s kind of like asking which car you should drive. There are lots of them out there in different price ranges, and many serve different functions. I may recommend a sporty little Honda when you were looking for a Lotus. Or a Mini Cooper when you wanted a big 4×4 Yukon. But there’s one thing everyone wants from a camera, and that’s good pictures. Here are two cameras that come with the Andrew Stamp Of Approval ™. I’ll try to elucidate the use cases for each one to aid in your buying decision.
This is the camera you buy if you want something that fits in your pocket. It’s not the cheapest camera you can buy that’ll fit in your pocket, but it’s probably the best in this class. They retail for just under $500, and I’d like to shoot this camera for a while. It’s essentially a Leica camera (snobby art student camera brand) with a cheaper brand name on it. One of the biggest benefits to buying this camera is that you won’t be tempted to buy any lenses for it; it doesn’t change lenses. You can buy some adapters to make it act like it has a wide-angle or telephoto lens, but you won’t be tempted to plunk down another 4 grand to buy the good glass.
These are the cameras you want if you’d like to really learn photography. I think an SLR camera (one you can change the lenses on) is the best way to put yourself in the driver’s seat. You say you’d rather buy Canon cameras? Well, those will work just fine, too. The best camera brand to buy is the one that all your friends shoot. You can swap lenses and advice with each other most easily that way. The D40 is in the $400-$500 range, while the D90 will set you back about a Grand. With either of these cameras, you’ll have the opportunity to buy lenses later on. Even though lenses can be wicked-expensive, they really unlock a lot of the potential in your camera. You can do some neat stuff with good glass.
This is the camera to buy if you’re buying a gift for me. 🙂
But, seriously, people make good picture, not cameras. I had a great time a week or two ago shooting a Pentax K-1000. It’s old and manual-everything, but I shoot it to remind myself that I can make good photos without a computer, and without my fancy cameras. So no matter what camera you have or which you end up buying, go enjoy taking pictures with it. I promise that more pixels don’t equate to more joy. Mostly.