Kids and Animals


Doesn't get much more fun than this! Kids and animals. I don't remember seeing any scared kids. Little girls and boys were either all captivated and/or really really happy. Many grown ups too, indulged the kid within. Here are a bunch of fresh off the camera (wide angle f/4, 17-40mm w/ flash & diffuser) pictures from yesterday. Above: the Giant Thorny Phasmid, below: big python, hedgehog, hmm I don't know my lizards... a bunch of giant millipedes, little python, tortoise, hissing cockroach, eastern lubber grasshopper, chicken, some other snake (sigh, and I took herpetology too), and possum. The possum is way cuter than I'd have expected for a possum. Up til now, I've only seen possums hissing at me, or playing dead. AnimalPalooza was a huge success - let's hope for AnimalPalooza II next year! Thanks to SaveNature.org for putting it all together.













AnimalPalooza - Bringing Nature To You!


Are you the Bug Lady? Small children would ask as I crossed the playground, lugging two large duffel bags. Ripples of excitement punctuated with delighted shrieks spread from hopscotchers to kick ballers. The Bug Lady Is Here! I felt like a minor celebrity, and perhaps Pied Piper as children ran alongside, trying to peek into my bags.

Children love bugs. In my pre-Momma life I taught for SaveNature.org using live insects for Insect Discovery Lab. Preschoolers and kindergardeners had no misconceptions, no prejudices. They loved to watch, to touch, to hold, the Giant Millipede. The Hissing Cockroach. The Australian Walking Stick. First and Second graders bubbled with uncontainable excitement, hands shot into the air and curiosity tumbled forth, even before meeting the insects. Where do they live? What do they eat? How long do they live? My bugs inspired Pure Wonder - the kind that only kids experience - that’s what I loved about my job. One particular second grader enthused to Norm Gershenz, the director of SaveNature.org: This is the best day of my life.

This is why I think all San Francisco parents of wee ones need to know about:
AnimalPalooza. This Saturday September 24, 11am to 5pm at Fort Mason.
http://animalpalooza.eventbrite.com/
“Get closer to nature than ever before with hands-on encounters with wild animals.”
Much more than bugs. It’s not every day that you meet a Lemur. Hedgehog. Skink. Ocelot. Fennec Fox. Brought to you by SaveNature.org and featuring your favorite Bay Area non-profit conservation groups and education organizations.

Love and Respect for Nature. It was at the top of a mental list of Values I Want To Impart Upon My Daughter that I made while gazing down at my burgeoning belly, right after Fondness for Ultimate Frisbee. Hikes at Mount Tam. Turning over rocks near Stowe Lake. Swinging by the Cal Academy. David Attenborough documentaries. And every so often, an event like AnimalPalooza for an up close and personal encounter with animals we don’t see everyday. That ought to do it.

These Boots Were Made for Toddlin'


Sitting Still is the opposite of Toddlerhood, and thus the best toddler photos are candids. For me, a toddler shoot is opportunistic documentation of her explorations and conquering of this Big Fun World, finally accessible by her newfound ability to Run. It's a delight to watch a child discover a gazillion new things, one after another! I don't expect her to look at the camera - there are so many more interesting things to look at. It's up to me to try to predict where she is headed; otherwise I'd wind up with a lot of photos of her rear view. My main advice for toddler shoots - let tots be tots! Trying to convince them to sit and smile is just going to frustrate everyone. If she wants to drag an unphotogenic doll around with her throughout, run around in circles or stick her tongue out, so be it - that's who she is at 2 years old. A photo shoot with a toddler is an hour of playtime.

I am very fond of this set of photos. Yes, it was a typical gray San Francisco day, but such conditions didn't interfere with this tot's curiosity and energy. Excellent postpartum workouts, these toddler shoots!







Pizzazzy


Iphone photo editing is addictive; I do it while baby/dog walking, while computer photoshoping with my other hand, and while breast-feeding (TMI? Well, if you're a baby mom right now, you will understand how BFing is a great - and sometimes the only - time to catch up on all things digital.)

I have a new favorite photo app: Magic Hour. I did pay for it, but what's a few $ for the capability to make brilliant photo art on the go? This app has presets like all the other apps, but what is awesome is that it has manual controls for brightness/ saturation/ contrast, curves (if you dare mess with those), frames, vignettes, tilt-shift (selective focus), and textures. Any of these features can be adjusted on the existing presets, and can be saved as new presets. Which can then be shared with the entire Magic Hour community, for free! Also fantastic - it outputs relatively hi-res pics. All this in a few user-friendly minutes. Bam! Photos go from I Obviously Took This With A Camera Phone to Pizzazzy.

The Dahlia Garden outside the Conservatory of Flowers is at peak bloom right now. Gorgeously hued, impossibly large (as big as my baby's head!) and richly varied from bush to bush. Perfect subject for camera phone photography. And of course, nothing is as frequently photographed as our own babies (and pets). I couldn't help but include just one pic of my own Little One, snoozing away.

Autumn Around The Corner


Running out of steam or having a melt down doesn't mean that a toddler shoot is over. In fact, it may result in a rare opportunity for tot cuddle time photos.

My favorite season, Fall is almost here! For one thing, we'll actually see the bridge in photos such as that above, and I can plan shoots around daylight hours instead of fog light hours (in the latter case, the worry is not getting enough natural light at either end of the day). All "Summer", I've had to gloomily report to hopeful families that Baker Beach was too dismal for a sunset shoot. My poor shivering clients that come in from Marin, East Bay or the Peninsula arrive in shorts and sun dresses, not quite believing when I warn them it's Winter around here.

Fall also brings events that I love to photograph pro-bono. The Randall Museum has its Halloween Fest, followed closely by the Holiday fest. Kids doing crafts? In Costume? There is no funner subject! (except perhaps kids With Pets doing crafts in costumes...) Also upcoming is Animalpalooza on Sept 24th at Fort Mason. Hosted by SaveNature.org a local environmental non-profit, it's a rare chance for kids to meet and touch live animals. Why yes I used to be a teacher for them. Which is why I'll dedicate a full post to the event in September.

Then there are pumpkin patches. In past years, I've done shoots at the Clancy Patch at 7th and Lawton. But this year, with my Own Baby to prop up against a pumpkin in a cute costume, I will venture for the first time to a Half Moon Bay pumpkin patch. Looks like Farmer John's pumpkin patch fits the bill of down-homey and mellow, not all decked out with over the top haunted houses etc. I am extremely excited about this. Doing a baby pumpkin patch shoot was one of my main incentives for having a baby. Even planned to have her sitting up by herself in time for pumpkin season.

Right Here Right Now


Suddenly they're everywhere: Groupon, Living Social, Yelp Deals; and the family and mom specific Doodle Deals and Juice In The City. Maybe it wasn't sudden, but having recently emerged from Newborn Fog, it seems that these offers are spilling off of website ad bars left and right. Until now, due to aforementioned Newborn Fog, I didn't took advantage of any deals, figuring my brain wasn't capable of thorough deal scrutinization. Just recently I impulsively jumped on a month's supply of Fresh Baby Bites delivery for 50% off, and now I'm playing much more attention.

Occasionally I spot other photographer's deals on such sites, and I feel internal pangs - Argh! I want to expand my client base too! And even greater Argh, some of these photographers' pics are SO mediocre! Why are people signing up for this!? I feel a deep need, as if it is my earthbound duty, to rescue SF families from overpriced and/or blah quality photos. Alas, I put this need aside for the time being.

At four months, she's learning to peekaboo, she's laughing, she's poking herself in the eye with a drool dripping rubber spoon, she's drawing coos out of all the grandmas within smile shot on the Muni. I know all working moms must have to face the balance or choice of baby, work and sanity. I am very lucky to be self-employed, so for now: I choose to be a full time mom during the week, and to work part-time on weekends and evenings when she can have her Daddy-Time. Being an ambition driven person, it is tough to reign in my business. I remind myself: There will always be more babies to photograph in the future - but my baby is here and now and won't be a baby for much longer.

(Thank you for taking this photo Camille, SO nice to be In a photo with my daughter for once!)

San Francisco Maternity


There are many cold, grey days in San Francisco, especially in the Summer when the rest of the northern hemisphere is enjoying popsicles and sprinkler jumping. I do my best to embrace the wintry weather in my work. It is entirely possible have a great shoot on an overcast day - as long as my subjects are in good spirits; they will radiate their own warmth. Meanwhile, cloudy skies provide a flattering diffuse light, and also lends an introspective mood to photos.

It wasn't so long ago that I was pregnant. Maternity shoots remind me of those days of anticipation, a little nervousness, and a lot of excitement. It's nice to now be able to understand how moms-to-be now feel in my maternity shoots. The shared experience I believe, makes me a more compassionate photographer, and I strive for deeper feeling in my portraits than before, when my focus more heavily weighted on aesthetics.






Welcome to the World


While I was pregnant, some client moms casually mentioned to me: Oh, you'll be able to bring your baby to work. She can nap while you do your shoots. I was hopeful at first, but when my baby arrived, it was immediately apparent that photo shoots and baby care could only be accomplished if I had maybe, 4 arms and 2 heads. I didn't attempt this juggle until recently, when the opportunity arose to photograph for a friend. If my baby did not nap, or was disagreeable, I wouldn't need to worry about lacking professionalism to tend to her. In the end, I didn't just tend to her - I carried her around with my left arm and held the camera steady with my right hand, as she drooled and banged on my shoulder with her little fist. Couldn't do this if I were using my big 24-70mm 2.8L lens... or if I had to chase a tot - but with the compact 50mm 1.4 and a newborn, this worked out just fine!



Blue Steel


My first postpartum baby shoot post! I present to you a whole series of photos, a big dose of Smiley Cute to make up for my absence. I am happy that I am still able to shoot despite being sleep deprived; I can somehow turn ON for an hour, and then return to my drowsy state. Can't guarantee my clients scintillating conversation during the shoot, but I can take good pics. It feels good to be able to chase tots again, and to lie in the grass for better angles - no more lumbering around or squatting awkwardly with a pregnant belly.
 


A Blur


Ten Weeks (!) have passed in a blur, and I am mentally gearing up to recommence photo shoots this weekend.

This means I will need to lug the stroller out of my car trunk and replace it with my lights, stands, and such. Memory cards shall be emptied and the accumulation of (my own) baby pictures backed up on external hard drives. Camera batteries located and charged. Lenses and their front and back caps found - it is amazing how items become scattered, often haphazardly set down in unusual places when I dash off to tend to our crying baby. I once again am tuned into weather forecasts and study doppler radar maps, only to be reminded that the presence of sunshine in SF is Completely Unpredictable!

Of Being A Mom and Photographer


This cute hat was created by Rachel of Bebebeecouture, who can be found on Etsy.

Two months and we're finally smooth sailing. Well, relatively speaking - life is far more predictable and under control than even 2 weeks ago. Now when I go off to photograph newborns, I have the parental empathy and understanding that one can only give having experienced it firsthand. From the superficial things like sheepish requests to photoshop out dark eye bags, or showing up at a shoot, lint-covered and with hair obviously unbrushed for... days - to the helpless looks and frantic trouble shooting when a newborn breaks into ear splitting screams. The absolute joy and relief of managing to coax out a fleeting smile. The appreciation of a patient photographer :) And I also understand when some mothers seem simply so happy to have another adult to talk to.

I'm going to start easing back into some weekend shoots. I wouldn't call it "going back to work" since 2 shoots a week is hardly anything compared to 10 shoots a week during my full time high season. I do miss photography and I want to sprinkle in snippets of my pre-baby life to keep my mind fresh. Meanwhile my baby can have some Daddy time. As the year progresses, I'm going to have to think more about baby care options, and balancing work and home life. The same thing so many moms have to think about.

During my pregnancy, so many clients mused: You are so lucky, you can photograph your own baby! And I didn't think much of it. But now I am very glad that I have the great equipment and several hundred hours worth of baby shooting experience. Because I've also learned - They Really Do Grow Up Fast.

To friends who are regular readers of this blog: I've now got another personal blog dedicated entirely to our baby (with photos of course, but with talk of baby developments and parenthood). Let me know if you want the link.

Not Just Snapshots


I am learning how to multitask with a baby and to be a more opportunistic napper, so hopefully posts will start to become more frequent again. Thanks to those of you who keep checking in despite my far and few between posts!

I've been taking many iphone photos. It does a fine job of documenting snippets of baby life, when I don't have two hands free to hold the DSLR, it's too much trouble to get up and get the DSLR, if the lighting is less than ideal, or if my subject is so close my DSLR won't focus. The resolution is not great of course, but they conveniently capture the moment, and can even be artsy. In fact, I've enjoyed iphone and the free iphone app Instagram as an artistic outlet while rocking or breastfeeding my baby. There are few variables I can work with - composition, and a handful of Instagram filters - and the challenge is to make a compelling picture with low quality digital film nevertheless. The downside is not being able to print any of these as large photos.

Good portrait photography concepts still apply. I use diffuse natural lighting as often as I can, and orient my subject so that she is well lit. The pics are so lo-res to begin with, I crop closely to bring as much facial detail to the photo as possible, and to exclude irrelevant background. I vary my angles and composition.

The Reason


Here's the reason why I've been away from my blog. It's amazing, the ability of newborns to warp time; three weeks have sped by, except for the period between 1am and 5am when time slugs by and I wonder when she'll ever fall asleep again after feeding.

I've learned why families including babies are almost always late to photoshoots. It's miraculous that any make it on time at all. Babies this young function on their own schedule. You think you're ready to go, but then they poop and scream, they get cleaned and re-dressed and they poop and scream again and suddenly 20 mins have disappeared and maybe she's ready for her photo to be taken but I'm a disheveled mess. Or for the last four days she's fallen asleep reliably after her dawn feeding but today (inevitably, for my clients on photoshoot day) she decides to be wide awake, thus making her extra sleepy and cranky later.

Well, I must abruptly end this post, as I have baby things to attend to.

Maternity Leave

As you may have guessed from my unusually long absence, as of Sunday April 10, I became a mom :)
Hard to say when I'll be back to photo blogging as I now have lots of other things to do. But I will be back! Thanks for checking in.

Bunny Time


Happy Spring! Finally some stretches of sunshine in SF. I am still in the habit of checking doppler weather radar maps even though weather is of no consequence now that I'm on maternity leave. One of my last shoots included this Japanese Tea Garden variety of bunny. Her mom brought along some massive balloons as props, and they work nicely to lighten up what would otherwise be a dark background.

It's bunny time, in more ways than one. My own rabbitling should be arriving any time now, and I wait with impatience. I would have loved to use this time to do crafty things, such as to design mobiles/ garlands/ hangings (young babies are on their backs so often, I thought it would be nice to provide ceiling entertainment), little outfits, and one can never have enough quilts. Painfully swollen hands have put those fabric dreams to rest unfortunately, as well as any hopes of leisurely reading books, or baking, or even blogging very much (I take a typing break after each sentence). With either my wrist braces on, or my home-fashioned ice-pack mitt, I can at the very least, do some online shopping. On the bright side, given that my hands are bad at holding things and I spend a lot of time sitting, I am pleased to find that my iphone in its silicone sleeve, rests flat and securely atop my baby bump. I need only look down and with a few pokes, can check weather maps and email.

Of Contractions, Angler Fish and Quilting

I'm having a fake contraction right now. Fake in that it's not a real labor contraction, but my uterus is doing perhaps the equivalent of a slow motion bicep curl, in preparation for the real thing. I'd never heard of these practice contractions (fancy name: Braxton Hicks) before pregnancy. They started in late 2nd trimester - I thought it was the fetus curling into a tense ball. Now that the baby is, apparently, as long as a stalk of Celery - oh my bad, we're on Leek week now - it is as if Medusa glanced over and hardened my abdomen into a watermelon sized rock. The uterus is like a wide rubber band around the fetus, my OB says. So during these contractions, my abdomen distorts from a relatively symmetrical spherical mound into a landscape of two hillocks (which I've decided are the right shoulder and butt) with a steep side (the back) and a gentle slope leading to a valley of arms and knees, fetal position of course. The feet stick out of my right side, like the tail of a male deep sea angler fish after it has fused itself to its mate (if you don't know about angler fish mating habits, look it up, it's fascinating.)

All that aside, I've finished my windowpane quilt! I did not document in progress - with the end in sight, it was hard to pause during the throes of sewing to take pictures. Plus, I'm under a deadline here, and wanted to get on with things. In brief:
- I pieced together the front, and then the back (see below). I'd decided to add a quilted stripe made of some excess fabric. The green dot fabric is flannel.
- Sandwiched a sheet of batting (insulating material, like thick felt) between front and back
- Sewed through a 3 layers to hold everyone in place (about 5 parallel vertical rows of stitching between the squares and 6 rows horizontal)
- Trimmed all over so all 3 pieces were same size
- Made fabric tape (that blue edging, no it's not sticky like tape tape) with my tape maker
- Wrapped tape around all edges, pinned down and sewed on

 
It's not totally straight, but I am fine with that. I'd say this was my most challenging quilt thus far. Of course I'm keeping it, it's for my kid. A shame about my swollen hands - they complained bitterly throughout these final stages, especially when forced to use the seam ripper, or to tie knots in thread. If I didn't have hand issues perhaps I could whip out a few more quilts and such - especially now that My Edits are Done!!

Keeping It Simple: Newborn Portraits


I'm very pleased with this set of mostly black and white Newborn Pics, especially the above Dangle Baby. When I first started doing newborn shoots, I would worry about the variety of photos I could take given neck and body floppiness. I've since learned: there are loads of newborn position and angle possibilities. Artistic, memorable photos can be taken with no or minimal props, and I enjoy the challenge of achieving elegant, zen-infused simplicity in my newbie portraits.



 

Count Down Is On


Isn't this cute? They look so cross!

I've finally gotten around to packing my hospital sleep over bag. For when my baby decides to make her grand entrance (exit?), of course. One of the decisions I've been procrastinating on is What Camera(s) to Bring? The little Canon Powershot point n shoot was an easy enough decision, but I had to hunt it down, plus the charger and battery, and then delete pics and videos taken in 2008 that were left on the memory card. Hunting Things Down is much more laborious than it sounds, which is why I procrastinated. I am as maneuverable (and cheerful) as a beached beluga, and pawing through my boxes of camera stuff stored on various shelves requires limberness and dexterity than I've not had in weeks. Fortunately, found the Powershot in the third box.

Next, I decided on my Canon 5D II with 50mm f/1.4 lens only. My other lenses are massive in size and weight, and it seems ridiculous to haul that to the hospital, since I'm the one who knows how to operate them and I'm the one who has to endure labor. This set up will be good for low light pics, and has hi-res video - uh, NOT for labor, but possible for recovery room hanging out. It just doesn't feel right to go into this without my favorite camera, as silly as it seems to bring the DSLR.

I still have two-ish weeks to go, but I've had quite enough of these massively pregnant symptoms already. Just when I feel like I've accumulated enough discomforts, I detect a new one, such as my left wrist clicking in and out of position, or feeling like I landed - hard - on a bike cross bar. And I still have edits to do. As my hands become cabbage-patch-kid-ier by the day, it just gets harder and harder.

Brief Foray Into My Print Collection


I have a fledgeling print collection. Not photo prints, but art prints, and by art prints I mean prints printed by hand, not by computerized printer. I particularly like Letter Press Prints (such as Beaver above and the 2 prints at the bottom) for their texture, followed closely by Screen Prints (the Fat Birdie to the right, by Tiny Sparks Design in San Francisco CA) for color saturation and velvety surface. I've never done letterpress printing myself, but essentially imagine metal (or other material) blocks with a raised flat surface featuring the design, onto which ink is rolled and paper is pressed. Screen printing features paper on a flat surface, onto which a fabric screen stencil (stretched across a frame) is placed over and ink squeegee-ed through the screen. Both can only do one color at a time, so these multi-color prints require multiple passes.

One of my favorite prints is the Banjo Beaver by YeeHaw in Knoxville TN, perhaps because my husband bears some resemblance to him. He (my husband) claims that banjo players have a limited posture/stance due to the shape of the instrument, and that is why he looks like the Banjo Beaver. I don't know. I think all he is missing is the tail and hat. The photo is a screen shot from a video - more on the video of Fog City Banjo's premiere gig in a later post.

Another local print company, Dutch Door Press design some lovely Letterpress work. Below is a limited edition - only 100 print printed (note the 74/100 at the bottom left), of Year of the Rabbit, and California of their 50 State Birds and Flowers series. Prints like these aren't cheap - much work-person-ship goes into each one. So I'm quite selective, and will frame them for home decor. It's more refreshing that putting up my own art, and far more unique than buying mass made prints or posters like those one can purchase at art museum gift stores. I do also like supporting local artists and use of traditional media. All these artists are on Etsy.com.