Busy...

No blogging lately. I have been somewhat out of commission what with the kids extra curricular activities....

Namely, Loubie's soccer and April's piano...

Then, my Mum and Dad arrived. It's been well over a year since we last saw them. This time, with them flying West to East, they have been really battling the jetlag.

But, we have been out and about. Dad brought some of his OLD Nikkor lenses (by old, I mean, 45 years old). So, I got hold of the 35mm 2.8 and played around. Here's Dad at the seawall...

That image is SOOC, pretty sharp for such an old lens. However, I am not sure if I can go without auto focus...although it felt good to turn the focus ring like the old days. Mannn, I'm getting old...
Here's the actual seawall...

I also had a newborn shoot. Remember this lovely couple? Well, now there is a lucky baby boy in the equation. He was only 8 days old when I took the photos, what a sweetie. I will be posting more photos from the session soon, but here is one I really loved of Mother and child...well 2 actual images, one pose, I like it in both colour and BW...

The kids also had bowling birthday parties. Together. April's birthday is in, well, April. Loubie's isn't 'til August, so we decided since my parents are here and Albert won't be here for much longer to do both their birthdays while everybody was together...I made both cakes (kidding!) But, I did make Loubie the rainbows on his :o)

And that's about it for now, homework to help with, dinner to cook, paperwork to clean up...laters :o)

I Heart Faces - Pout and Pets

OK, this week the I Heart faces category is POUT. The first person I thought of was Loubie (the son) as he pouts a lot. But Lo and behold, I could not find a pout photo of him. Then, I realized I had the perfect pouting sleeping newborn from a shoot the other day. So here is my pouting entry...
Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks!

The 2nd category this week is pets, anything goes. Well, I just really love this image of Harry dog: his great eye, the in camera crop, the depth of field (or lack there-of) and his orange coat and the blue leash. So, here is my pet entry...He is such a good boy...

For the love of Photography...Part 1...

Decisions, Decisions...

Earlier this week, I had the chance to buy a what is known in the world of photography as the 'cream machine' (Nikkor 85mm 1.4).
(Forgive me all non-photo addicts that are reading, this might bore you, but then again, it's good insight for life! So, keep reading...)
I tried the lens out and I wasn't really feeling the working distance on my D300 (which has a crop sensor), but was feeling the pull for a new lens, one with iconic status, the one I was holding...When I take photographs I like to be up close, it's my style. Others like to be backed off and that's their style...I also like minimum equipment. Even back in the days, it was just me, my SLR and one or two lenses. (RIP oh, cool fisheye!)

On the one hand I wanted that lens because it IS a great lens but on the other hand, I didn't want to dish out the money for a lens that I really was not going to use too much, just because. Especially, there are a few lenses on my 'wish' list. If you know me, you know I am not a good decision maker. Especially, relatively expensive buys (oh for a trust fund/unlimited credit cards that I never had to pay back LOL). Well, I can already see my hubby and Dad nodding vigorously to my lack of decision making skills...

The very nice and very wise man who was selling the lens had a look at my images, mostly taken with my 50mm lens. He said since I was doing so well with the 50mm, I should stick with it. He told me I could get great images with a pinhole camera. What a nice guy!
Since he saw I was uncomfortable with the working distance, he asked why I wanted the lens...
I had to dig a bit for an answer. This was quickly turning into a psychological counseling session :o)

So, why did I feel the need for this lens?

I told him, I think, a lot of it was the people who are always talking about lenses and turning their noses up if you don't have the best or most expensive one out there. Maybe having this lens would convince me and make it concrete that my images were indeed good (even though I think they are good already, not in a big ego way)...I am a firm believer in 'it's the eye of the photographer' first and foremost. Maybe it was keeping up with the Jones syndrome that inflicts this culture. No doubt good glass matters. It can help to improve your images, but that alone won't make the image. Someone has to make the exposure. Ever seen sharp snapshots taken by someone with a bag full of the best lenses? That's not the lenses' fault, now is it?

'Ahhhh, the Len's snobs' the wise man said, telling me basically this:
When someone (AKA a lens snob) asks what lens/camera you are using in a questionable (oh, that lens/camera) fashion, pull out a wallet size image and tell them the type of lens/camera that takes an image like this (pointing to said photo).
That man is a genius!
Ironically (or is that coincidentally?), I found THIS website today, a few days after I had put this post together...I don't even know who this guy is but I loved his little video snippets...
And here is something else from the same man in the link above. This is very cool under one minute video. Can I get a WHOOOO YEAH for Part Time Photographers?!!! Can I say YEAH for PT Photographers working their lenses: big, small, long, short!!!
Part 2 coming soon...
I leave with this typical Okinawan structure...

and a sunset from Sunday night...that's a ship passing by...Summer is coming!

Canvas...Back to Biz...

I wanted to share some ideas for printing after the shoot.
You may remember my shoot swap recently with Shelia? Well, she has done a lot better than (procrastinating) me and actually got some groupings of 12x18prints ...

and a 20x30 Gallery Wrap AKA Canvas Print...

I would highly recommend getting a museum quality canvas. It will come ready to hang, requires no frame and you can get them nice and huge or small and sweet. The image 'wraps' around the sides which looks great...

They are printed with archival inks and each canvas is sprayed with a UV coating and gloss finish...See my website for details and prices...
Here are a couple of pics of my own. They are both 20x30...excuse the actual picture of the picture quality, I just want to show the relative size...

closer...

Seriously, you will love a canvas print! I do!

Top 'o the mornin' to ya...

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all and word to my half Irish Motherland...Oh Danny Boy...the pipes, the pipes are calling...from glen to glen and down the mountain side...


This week for the I Heart Faces contest the theme is GREEN. Well, the first thing that popped in my mind was last Halloween when we found that crazy green spotlight. Remember?
These photos are StraightOutOfCamera. And no flash...Yeah, it was a strong light. I hope whoever sees them gets a laugh. Albert will kill me for posting him up, oh well...! If you don't see any more blog posts, you know what happened!

Here's April with the kids entry:
Here's Albert for the adults entry!
I tried to get the photos bigger, but blogger was playing up, so I gave up...

What else have we been up to...well...Loubie made a Leprechaun trap for Kindergarten. April helped out...
The leprechaun sees the rainbow and goes down it falls into the trap with gold. But, he can't get out! Weee heeeeee...The fuzzy bobble is the trap door...see it?!
Also, wanted to share my elephant that Albert got me from Thailand...He only has one tusk. I guess that's what happens when he comes home on a big boat in a big kit bag...superglue, where are you?!
I am off to drink some Guinness (not!)

TWOTHOUSANDANDNINEWOW

This is long, it is a personal post, so you may find it boring and repetitive. Read if you want!
This was in my drafts folder since January, so I am posting it now with a subtitle of:

A year Today!

Yep, it's been a year today that we have been on Okinawa...WOW-E-WOW
Our first 'home'...Hamagawa Lodge! Different weather this time last year compared to todays rainy cold miserable day...
I was so excited to see all the outfits, shisa dogs, Okinawa nicnaks. I felt like a tourist...
Can you believe it is 2009, what happened? I remember when April was really small and people would tell me it all goes so fast before you know it she will be all grown up. I wondered what they meant. It wasn't going that fast. BUT NOW I KNOW.

Now, the kids are 8 and 5 and I am wondering where did the time go? And it's getting faster, I am literally running behind it to keep up. Where is my little baby April with her bright blond ringlets and smile that would stop traffic and everybody else in its' sight? What happened to that little baby, Loubie, that I had to pat his bum to get him off to sleep?
What happened to time? How did I arrive here in Okinawa? What happened to my job at the YMCA and my visits to London? Gone, they are gone and I am slightly freaking out. Is 2009 going to fly like the rest? Of course. I know it is. I literally blinked and an hour went by.

Physical and Mental and Emotional

I have been hitting the gym (Gotta love listening to Pink on April's ipod shuffle!!!). Yes, you did hear me right. I WENT TO THE GYM! But, it's very sporadic.
I have been taking photos both personally and professionally. I have been crackbooking (I mean facebooking). A LOT. It is great to connect with old and new faces and it's like the old days where I would make a quick phone call to say hi.

The kids drive me insane, but they keep me sane and grounded. So, I think about the kids and try and hold on to why they are so special to me, right now. And I have to put it into words to solidify my thoughts, before they disappear in another year and another sibling argument...

April: I love April for her great insight into everything, her use of words and super sonic reading skills. I love her sense of humour. The fact she wants to be a Marine Biologist and Photographer and her love and big knowledge of sharks. I love her singing, her art and her caring heart. I love that she is forgiving. And strong minded. Also, she is very nice to me when I get the camera out, again...
Lewis: I love Loubie for his crazy sense of humour, his toothless smile, the way he still snuggles with me, his love of books. His love of the Care Bears and rainbows. His crazy computer skills! His snugglebubbleness! His fuzzy hair!

Lean on me

Alot of times in my life I think of my friends: past, present (future?).
My fellow photographer and friend, Shelia, just left the Island (see how old this draft is, sitting collecting virtual dust) and recently wrote a blog post about friends, all so true. You can read it HERE. It seriously made my shed a tear. It also has some really cool photos of that recent photo outing we had with the kids. You'll remember mine HERE.

Good friends are hard to find. We all have friends here and there, but a lot of them that we call friends are more like acquaintances, which is fine, we need them too, at that point in time. But, sometimes, you find people that you know you are going to be in contact with for life (even if it's a quick message on facebook!). I, being a Taurus and born in the year of the dog (read: super loyal), have a few of those. Isn't it great when you can pick up the phone and talk to someone that you haven't spoken to in over a year and just take the conversation flow like you had talked yesterday? I love that I am still in contact with people that I met when I was 5 YEARS OLD!!!
We need friends, friends help us to be mentally healthy (it's true, I read it in Oprah LOL!), especially out here, one needs friends, and I think I have made a few. Hopefully, no more will leave the island anytime soon...

Growing (older)

I was standing in line at Subway the other day and it suddenly hit me. I am going to be 40 in less than 2 years. I stood, shocked, but accepting. Shocked, because sometimes I still act the same as I did when I was in my 20's. I think 'shouldn't I be acting nearer to 40' Whatever that is! What is that? I remember in my early 20's, 40 seemed so old, so fuddy duddy, frock wearing and tut-tutting. But it doesn't have to be that way, does it? I feel like I am going to be one of those crazy 80 year olds with sneakers, pink hair and a crazy attitude!!! I hope so! I hope I have some like minded friends to join me!

I 'stole' this from Shelia ages ago...
I know it's old, it's a quarter of the way through 2009 for crying out loud. But, I would feel guilty if I didn't publish this little post...

Tips for Better Life for 2009

1. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile. I try I do, honestly, just not this week...
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. When I take a nap. Or, with a laptop in front of me. Does that count?
3. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy. I try, just not this week!
4. Play more games. Plenty of them around here. Board and Wii...
5. Read more books than you did in 2008.. Will do.
6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
8. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness. I try, just not this week! LOL!
9. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. I try, just not this week! See a pattern forming?
10. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar. hmmmm....I need to flip.
11. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others. Even the evil be-yatch neighbour in SD?
12. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. I try, just not this week!
13. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Don't compare your partner with others.
15. Forgive everyone for everything.
16. What other people think of you is none of your business. It's none of theirs either, esp. if it's horrible LOL
17. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. True.
18. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
19. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. Is there a way to strip my horrible brown walls...
20. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. I wish we didn't live in such a materialistic society.
21. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. Do velor pants count? They are J-LO!
22. Call your family often.
23. Each day give something good to others.
24. Don't over do. Keep your limits. Does that apply to driving too. Because they drive awfully slow out here...

Well, dear little January post. I am sending you off to blog land now, thanks for being so patient :o)
Here's a sunny sunflower to brighten a rainy day (Here in Oki anyways...)

And here's April on Sly with instructor, Jenn running through the sea. Bliss...

I Heart Faces - Creative Crop...

This weeks I heart faces contest is 'creative crops'. Hmmm, I thought, I rarely crop any photos, don't think I can enter this week...I sort of mentally crop them in the viewfinder while taking the image. So, when I read the rules...cropping creatively in camera was allowed... So, here's mine...I still don't know if it really constitutes a creative crop...but that's the least of my problems LOL...

Very recent shoot with the lovely baby B, whose birth I photographed (WOW, was that really 3 months ago?)...
The I Heart Faces site is here. Professional, Amateur, all are welcome...just as long as you love faces...
Byesie bye for now :o)

Bits and Bobs...

What's been going on this week in Okinawa land?

Well, my image for the little I Heart Faces competition came in the TOP 10 out of over 400 entries!!!You can see the top 10 HERE.

Recently, I was asked by Masae, the owner of Cafe Caracalla to photograph a mango pancake for an ad she wants to run in a magazine. Here is the image she chose...

...and here is the image of the after shoot!!!

LOL It was the yummiest shoot ever!

For those of you reading that are into photography and documentaries, you should def. check out this brilliant Documentary I just watched, 'Born into Brothels'. Basically, it's about a photographer who went into Calcutta's red light district and lived with the families and gave the kids cameras and taught photography classes...The photos these kids took are amazing! Check them out! The website for the 'kids with cameras' organization is HERE.

Also, check out Okinawa Hai's TO WORK post this week about my photography business...I am going to do a more detailed post soon about my love of photography and how the story unfolded...just because I also love to write! Feel free to skip it if I drone on!

Here's a couple of images recently taken at the Fukushu-en (yes, I realize the name is kind of bad word sounding!) Gardens in Naha...Definitely going back here, don't know why it took me so long...Thanks Kali and Nancy for the lovely morning trip!

Details...

I played around with this one!

Gorgeous doorways...

One more, this time of the seawall graffiti taken with a (borrowed) super wide angle...

and I thought this was quite thoughtful of someone when I ordered a pair of shoes for April from the States:

OK, I am really going now...Later Alligators...