Author Archives: Nicole

More Than A Hobby?

Over the past twelve months I have come to love my camera. I enjoy the creativity involved in capturing the daily adventures of our lives through the camera lens.

I think I take decent photos. Candid potraits of my children and my husband and my friends and nature and, of course, my children. My style has become one of capturing the moment rather than poses.

I am under no illusion that I am a brilliant photographer. I am in awe of photographers like Jay Reilly and Tara Whitney who are so incredibly talented that they can create a career out of their art. But, I think I take a decent picture.

So I have decided to take my photography to the next level. I am going to start slowly and begin offering candid photo sessions to friends. I thought it might be fun to hang out with a family for a couple of hours – at the park or some other relaxed setting – and just take a series of photos. I would charge a small fee and promise 20 digital shots that they can then go ahead and print in any way they wish.

I need to start with friends because, frankly, I’m nervous. My photos up until now have be reliant on having two little models in close proximity who I can just shoot any time I see a moment. This venture would mean creating an environment – and relying on the weather… and my photography skills. That’s why I’m starting with friends. I need people who are willing to forgive if for some reason it doesn’t work out.

Here are the steps I’m taking:

  1. Think of a business name – I think we have one but I’m letting it grow on me.
  2. Learn more about my camera – I began with a two day intensive photography course last weekend and now I am in practice mode.
  3. Practice, Practice, Practice – until Aperture and Shutter Speed and ISO are a second language.
  4. Wait until the weather gets better and set up a few sessions. I have a couple of friends who have already expressed interest so now I need to follow through.
  5. Overcome my nerves and concerns about not being good enough.

So there you have it. Of course I need to make time for all of this as well, but Kei is very supportive. In fact he has grander designs for our little business but we need to start small.

Now it’s in writing and I would look pretty silly if I didn’t at least try to make this happen…Right?

Wish me luck

Outside – JANUARY 15TH 2009

It’s so nice to finally be able to venture outside – without the coats and the scarves and the hats… and the extra 30 minutes it takes to wrestle two children into all of that gear.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still cold. Just not AS cold as it has been.

Oh and the sun now sets at 5pm. Enjoying baby steps toward spring.

The Goatee – JANUARY 14TH 2009

Photo taken before Kei shave off the Goatee – well half of it anyway. I actually like Kei with a little facial hair, although it is awfully prickly, which is not ideal when you want to kiss your kids… or your wife.

So part of the goatee remains.  The bottom part in case you were wondering.

MOTHER OF THE YEAR – JANUARY 13TH 2009

Look at him. So fresh and clean and content… Well, he was. What you don’t see is that immediately after I took this picture, Samuel fell forward and hit his mouth on the floor. There was a lot of screaming and quite a bit of blood.

My baby experienced his first fat lip… and all because his mother was taking a photo and let him fall on his face. Of course I also had to take a photo of the fat lip…

ENTERTAINING – JANUARY 12TH 2009

For the Ishida’s, a new year means a year without renovations. Which also means that we now have no excuse not to invite people over to our house. Sure, some of the trim is still not painted, we have big patches of plaster on the dining room walls, and we desperately need to update some of our accent furnishings (really must do something about the stuffing falling out of the cushions), but I have to let go of all of that and embrace the house as it is.

Last weekend had us entertaining on Saturday AND Sunday – wow! Actually I find it easier because then I can clean once and get two visits out of it (hee hee!). Our friends Tim and Laurie came over on Sunday with their two gorgeous children. “M” loves the camera so I have plenty of photos of her, but the boys were moving a little too fast for me to catch them. Here’s what I managed to shoot.

THE LATEST OBSESSION – JANUARY 11TH 2009

A couple of weeks ago, Kei declared Christmas over and packed away the Santa hat. So what does a kid do when he can’t be santa anymore? He thinks of another occupation. When someone gives you a fire hat then you go with it. And it just so happens that Santa has a lot in common with Firefighters – they both wear boots and button up shirts. There is one thing that firefighters can do that Santa doesn’t though, and that’s shoot water from a hose – in this case a vacuum cleaner hose.

STORIES

Lately I have found myself focusing on my photography more and scrapping less. Which is fine. I love taking photos and I am learning more and more every day (although I still REALLY need to get away from Auto mode).

At the same time I don’t want to move away from telling the stories. The thing that makes my scrapbook so special every year is that it tells the stories that can’t be captured in photos alone. When I was putting the book together I found myself including fewer of the one photo layouts and more of the pages with a lot of text.

So it’s important for me to continue with my scrapping – and achieve this by using more of stash and buying less new stuff. I really don’t need any more papers. (I will be helped in this goal thanks to a $50 GC that I won to Emily Merritt’s store – whoo hoo). I am also taking part in Jen Wilson’s Project 52 which is really great because I have a ton of Jen Wilson products that I have never used and her challenges are always so inspiring. 

And so to end my rant, I actually have a few new LOs to share – surprise, surprise. (click on image for credits)

This first one is my very first Jen Wilson Project 52 LO.

This one is for a Paislee Press challenge – where I am going to be a guest artist in April – Yippee!

This is just one of the LOs I plan to create about the big snowstorm of 2008 – yes, it was that impressive.

 

I guess I’m off to a good start.

ON THE MOVE – JANUARY 10TH 2009

He’s officially crawling. Over the weekend Samuel went from dragging himself around on his elbows, to complete hands and knees crawling across the room.

And what have we discovered from Samuel’s newly discovered mobility? He LOVES paper. If there is paper anywhere in the room he will find it and either put it in his mouth or rip it to shreds. He also has an uncanny ability to spot the nearest outlet or power cord and head straight toward it, even if it’s hidden behind a piece of furniture.

I think we were spoiled with Thomas. He was never interested in power outlets or other items that could injure him. In fact we didn’t even bother covering most of the outlets until a couple of months ago when we moved back upstairs. It seems Samuel is going to keep us on our toes. Now that he’s moving and pulling himself up to stand, I have an urge to created a padded living room.

SHAVING – JANUARY 9TH 2009

Thomas found this little food pusher thingy that my Mum gave me. It apparently helps toddlers get food on their spoon or something. We’ve never actually used it for it’s original purpose but Thomas started shaving with it. He will come up to me every now again and ask me to feel the silky smooth skin on his face.

Kei decided to take it one step further the other night by lathering Thomas up in the bath and teaching him how to puff out his cheek. He’s a quick learner.

TOGETHER – JANUARY 8TH 2009

As much as I already miss my baby, it is so nice now that Samuel is old enough to “play” with Thomas. They keep each other occupied while I get ready for work by doing things like… lying on the floor and banging on the heating vent. Yup – that killed a whole 10 minutes.