Day 18 1-31-11

This morning I was messing around with my 55-200mm lens and lowering the aperature so that I could create a narrower depth of field (ss1/20, f/4, ISO800).  It was about 7 am so the sun wasn't really up yet, but the shutters were open letting in a little bit of daylight.  I love how Pierce's Cars tractor and his robot game are on the table and you can just barely tell what they are.  Kai was looking at his book and got distracted by them.  I also really liked the colors. Soon I'm not going to be able to do this as he is not enjoying sitting in one place for very long any more.  He tends to reach for things and ends up falling forward, onto his stomach, and then rolls onto his back.  From there he gets stuck, but not for long, I'm waiting for the day I find him across the room without even noticing he's gone!

Day 17 1-30-11

Depth of field?  I'm having a hard time with a narrow depth of field, but I'm loving playing with my new camera.  Nina helped me out with the camera today while Pierce and PT rode bikes (wish I had gotten my shot while they were here). Here is a shot of Joe and Kai that I took about 5:30pm without a flash ss 1/2.5, f/5.6, ISO800.  I think if I had the aperature a little lower that may have helped, but I was having a hard time getting a close-up that way (which is what I wanted) and my lens only goes to f3.5.  Still learning how to use my camera...try again tomorrow!

Day 16 1-29-11

Today I got my new camera.  A used Nikon D60 with 18-55 and 55-200mm lenses.  Seems to be working pretty well so far, but I'm still learning.  It is such a nice day today that we went to the park to play frisbee with the dogs.  Pierce loves this game (as does Leo, the dog).  The first picture is of Joe and Leo, the focus is on Joe.  The next picture is of Pierce.  He got a little bit of a bloody nose after going after the frisbee with Leo.  Still adorable.

Day 15 1-28-11

These two photos are my attempt at depth of field.  I like the one where Kai is in focus the best, but I just thought these were cool because I love the control I have with the camera.  Pierce is obsessed with the little Thomas magazine that he's looking at and Kai loves putting things in his mouth.  They often play next to each other like this, I look forward to when they will play together.

Day 14 1-27-11

Kai has a cold.  I took this picture of him in the morning.  The sun was barely up and shining through the window, he's looking out the window. Watery eyes, runny nose, tooth coming in, we've got it all.  He just looks so fed up here.

I had to post two today because this was so cute.  Pierce said he would hold Kai's hand so I focused on that.  I think it is great that our dog Leo is resting right next to them and thus is the background of the picture.  Since Leo is black and white I thought it appropriate to do the same to the picture

Day 13 1-26-11

Pierce's 4th birthday!  While there were many pictures of Pierce from today that were great, he got his new bike and helmet and we had a cake so you can imagine the typical shots I got.  This one I loved because of the concentration in his face (and I grasped the thirds rule), he was waiting for his Dad to pump up his bike tires.  He kept himself busy by throwing some rocks down the driveway.  It was so sunny I had to use my body to shade his face, but I think the look is wonderful.  Happy Birthday, Pierce!

Day 12 1-25-11

I caught Pierce playing with one of Kai's baby toys.  He gets transfixed by all the lights and noises.  He was quietly looking at the toy by himself in the dining room while the rest of us finished breakfast.  It's funny because while I say he was by himself what you can't see in this picture is that every pet in our house surrounded him while he did this.  So cute!

Day 11 1-24-11

I had a hard time today.  I didn't have a lot of time and none of the pictures I took seemed to satisfy me.  The one I chose I love the expressions on Joe's and Kai's face, but the shadows bother me and the background is too busy.  Still, it was the best one of the day and it tells the story of our evening.  Standing around the kitchen happy to be back home with family.

Day 10 1-23-11

After a long morning for Kai at Amy and Kris's house he fell asleep so I laid him on their bed for a nap.  With the white duvet cover and dark brown pillows it made an excellent backdrop.  Using my Mom's Nikon d5000 I was unable to capture the light properly, but managed to adjust the light a little upon editing.  I think this came out pretty well, I love the focus (which was what I was trying to accomplish) and he looks so sweet.

Day 9 1-22-11

Picture day!  Today we had our pictures taken at a studio and I told Pierce that if he could get his nice clothes on and listen to the photographer then he could have ice-cream after.  I love that this is mid-lick.

I also really liked this photo of the guys.  I love that they are in black and white with blue accent (after pictures).  They are walking to the coffee shop after a near melt-down when we found out the ice-cream parlor wasn't open for another 20 minutes.  Look how tiny Kai's face is!

Day 8 1-21-11

In my mad craze to take better pictures, my beautiful subject became less than thrilled.  It was a rough morning all around after Kai woke at 4:30 and had a BM he wouldn't go back to sleep right away and when he finally did at 5:50 he only slept until 6:30.  So, being his usual self he was a bit fussy and refused to eat yet again.  This is right after my first try at feeding him.  I set him in my chair to try something else, which ended up being the picture I chose for today because it captured the mood so well.  Not every picture can be a bright eyed smiley one, right?!

Day 7 1-20-11

Thursday mornings Pierce is at home with Kai and I.  "Come upstairs, Mom!".

The second picture is of the sunset today.  I managed to get home from a lonely day in the lab before it got completely dark.  The whole way home I was thinking about taking a picture outside and I was rewarded with this beautiful sunset.  I love how the crab apple tree got in the way so I took some more shots with the branches in the photo and while I was doing that some blue appeared above the red and I loved the colors.  Even with the simplest camera I don't think I could mess this one up!

Day 6 1-19-11

After waking up every couple of hours and finally for the day at 5:00am it's no wonder Kai looks like he has bags under his eyes in this picture.  I can only imagine what I look like!  He's playing with the burp cloth while I get Pierce's breakfast ready and just watching me with those darling brown eyes.

Day 5 1-18-11

Pierce came home in his "cheetah" costume tonight so he kindly posed for me.  Unfortunately my house is dark so the picture came out kind of yellow, but he has such a sweet look that I couldn't resist.  I decided to also post a picture of Kai I took in the morning because the lighting was so much better and the reflection off the dishwasher was great.

Day 4 1-17-11

Kai follows Pierce's birthday balloon around the kitchen with his eyes while we carry him.  I tried to capture his interest in the balloon in this picture, I also loved that he was in his typical state with something in his mouth-this time Joe's string from his hoodie.  The doorways created some nice lines in this picture which was difficult to take without a flash, but I think it came out ok.

Day 3 1-16-11

I love this picture of Kai eating breakfast.  I was trying to capture the morning sun without too many distractions/clutter.  I love how I got him looking at Joe (who was feeding him) while I got his head on one side of the picture and his focus on the other side.  The rosy cheeks, the big brown eyes...he's got it all!

Day 2 1-15-11

Pierce's 4th birthday party.  I love this picture because the three boys are all looking at Kenedy and smiling.  It just really seemed to capture the moment and expression on their faces.

Day 1 1-14-11

I have decided to join the momtographers 365 project.  The challenge is to take a picture every day for a year and see where it leads you.  I wanted to start this project to help my photos get better and archive my year with my boys.  It will be a real challenge, we'll see if I am successful.  Here is my first post, day 1.  Kai had his six month check-up at the doctor.  This is from my phone, terrible quality, but worth the image.