Sharing is easy... so far

Suzi's son Dashiell and C pass a box back and forth the other day at our house. Neither of them minded when the other took the box. There was, however, no offering of the box.

Photography-wise, the background is a mess. I decided I didn't mind for a couple of reasons.
1 - The "my kid!" factor. In other words, it's my kid and why would I mind a little messy background when it's such a cute shot!
2 - The snapshot factor. Yep, it's a snapshot. A quick take of a cute moment before it went away forever.

Things that I like about the picture are the subject (it's my kid!), the 2 round, mostly bald heads, the intent expressions on their faces, and the moment of giving/taking the box. I also like that the photo was taken almost from their level. And finally, the background is good for showing the regular mess that happens with 2 active babies.

How could I have improved the shot? I could have gotten right down with them, maybe even looking up at them from near the floor, though the windows would have produced lens flare. I could have opened up the aperture so the background went blurry.

It's always easier to consider what to do after the fact - but it's fun to keep learning from my own examples.

Next up: Ask Suzi if we can go into the studio again with the 2 babies!

My kid treed the cat

It's true: my kid treed the cat. Which can only be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Zoom in on the "Look what I did!" face:

Mirror pic

C digs the mirror!

Photographically, I've always had a hard time composing mirror shots. I was hoping I wouldn't go wrong with this one.

The light coming into the living room in mid-morning is contrasty but lovely to shoot in. With C facing down, light bounced back onto his face from the mirror - I should try that kind of light bounce in the studio! And I love the highlight on his cheek, about the same value as the highlight on his hair.

And beyond that, he was smiling at me - his momma! - so the picture warms my heart every time I look at it. How does it affect you?

Photo collages

There's a series of photo exhibits that take place over a weekend in Lowell. That's coming up at the end of January. I recently did a series of photos of artists, artwork, and stuff they use to make artwork. The exhibit at Western Ave. (where I maintain a photo studio) has "Point of View" as its theme. In a building that has more than 150 artists, I wanted to show the variety of personalities, artwork, and the sheer volume of stuff.

I made 12 collages and stuck them all together. They look a lot like a quilt when seen from a distance. The next step would be stitching along the photo borders, but I didn't think of that in time!