Berry Slim Pickings!

Finally, a post way over due!  

I have wanted to post photos of the girls for weeks now and and well, let's say things have been a wee bit busy.  

But first a quick update on Shelby.  Thankfully she continues to recover uneventfully from  surgery and finally started walking, no wait, I mean running... about a month ago and it's all good, especially since Kira now has someone to chase around the house besides me.   Also she navigates the stairs like a pro, puts her own shoes on and seems to also have an affinity for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons! 

Kira is finishing up pre-school today and I can't believe that I had to already register her for kindergarten, sniff sniff!  Yikes, where did the time go???  I am so proud of her.  Despite all the changes this year, Kira has been such a trooper; working so hard in school and completely enjoying her 4 hour intense gymnastics classes.  She too is a huge fan of the Jersey Boys (and if I have to listen to that CD one more time, it may accidently go flying out the window of our car) lol.  

Well both girls are huge fresh fruit lovers and as a treat we decided to go "berry picking" here in the Garden State.  It was interesting to say the least (the big cherries and strawberries were nicely packed in the farms local store) I basically needed a magnifying glass to find the strawberries and beans, but the cherries were fun for all of us.  

I totally enjoyed watching the girls and tried to capture their enthusiasm for "farm" life.  

My  Berry Sweet Girls!

(yes these eyes sparkle naturally) 

A berry fav of mine

Now where are those strawberries again?

Needless to say the best part of this outing was desert before dinner!

 Shelby makes some crazy faces upon tasting something new or in this case cold.  

Big sister Kira laughing hysterically at Shelby's ice creamed face.

Thanks for stopping by friends.  Here's to a Happy Summer 2012.

Everything I needed to know about photography posing...I learned from a pre-schooler!

Yes, it's so true, most of what I learned from posing children I actually learned from my daughter!  She is very determined and stubborn and so I thought, why not take advantage of doing things her way? Actually knowing the developmental behaviors of kids is really the key.  Although, Kira has always been set in her ways, most 5 yr olds love to run, dance, explore and of course dress up and use their imaginations.  So ya just got to work with it.

I used to believe that in order to capture those "perfect" shots I had to continuously keep my finger on the shutter button or by the end of a shoot walk away exhausted from trying to entertain a child who had their individual ideas of what "play" was (and sitting through an hour or two family session just wasn't one of them.)  

So my sweet, creative and feisty little girl helped me to realize that pre-schoolers are quite capable of knowing the true definition of candid photography.  
These images were taken with my D700 and 50/1.8mm lens.  I changed the ISO depending on the light since I love to shoot nearly wide open (f/2.2 or lower) and adjusted the shutter speed as needed.  Also I like to set my EV at 0.3; a nice combination that works for me when trying to obtain optimal exposure.

Yesterday I bought some flowers and as we walked around the house we found some bright pink azaleas that caught Kira's eye and so as you can see this is what she did and how she wanted to use her "props".  Notice she wanted a "pony tail that was off to the side" so I had no control over this spontaneous shoot, which made it even more fun!

Here is the typical, "okay Mom, you can take just one picture," with hands placed strategically on the hips and a face that says "you've got one shot

Oh how this child makes me laugh and if I can say one thing, her attitude is adorably displayed in the image above.  She wanted to blow bubbles and I wanted just one more photo and again, her face says it all.  I love her laughter, pouting and most of all her sensitive personality.  But this image I'm saving for her future husband:)) and in gallery of favorite images.

 

The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.

Albert Einstein

Thank you sweet Kira, for these very important child posing tips.

Spring is here!

So the day started off packing drinks and snacks, setting up the car and heading off to CHOP for Kira's follow up on the ruptured ear drum scenario.  I felt so organized, the girlies were fed, bathed and dressed an entire hour before we had to leave!  Yay for me.  We arrived early and I went to check in and the receptionist told me "uh hmmm, her appointment was yesterday".  I asked her again and she repeated it.  Okay it was my fault I gazed at the calender and for some reason thought it was a Thursday not Wednesday.  I felt so bad dragging them all the way into the city and even worse knowing I had to come back next week.   Mental notes don't cut it any more, now written ones don't either!  I guess being somewhat sleep deprived and stressed doesn't help either, so now I have to find another way to keep my important dates in mind.  Perhaps temporary tatooes!

Well on the way home, we passed by these gorgeous forsythias in full bloom and well I couldn't resist a few shots.  It was late in the afternoon and brisk so Shelby was sitting nearby, staying warm.  Both girls had colds too.  But I wanted some photos of Kira "when she's in the mood", they usually come out best.

Mommy, I picked these for you!

I love Kira's sense of elegance as she held these branches back so gracefully.  Then she

proceeded to act like the typical tomboy she is and ran around the park till she wanted to go home.

I love watching her play, she's always fascinated me and still does as it takes so little (when we're outdoors) to entertain her.

Awh, my baby love still holding her flowers for me. 

I couldn't resist taking this photo from my car.  I do love how the skyline of Philadelphia has changed so.  I used to drive this route hundreds of times when I was working or studying at Penn.  So of course I took a short drive down memory lane and drove right by the doors of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.  I worked in the operating room as a new graduate and I can still see the window in this photo where I would sit while circulating and gaze out onto 38th and Spruce.  They were good times and I worked side by side with some of the greatest surgeons in medical history.  I didn't know it then, but HUP taught me so much and I am still grateful for those years of experience.