George March 2012

Canon 1V (BW) & Contax 645 (Color); TriX-400 & Portra 800; One Hour Photo Avenue, Los Angeles

Mr. Funny

George is absolutely brimming with personality. He loves making people laugh and is constantly trying new things to get a giggle out of someone. Currently he is in "funny word" stage, which means he makes up words and says them over and over again in mismatched sentences. His favorite ones so far are "pook" and "ooka" followed up with "bleh, bleh." Thankfully he's pretty much given up on the potty talk.

Oh, and here is a movie with George singing "Jingle Bella, Batman Smells."

George Singing

Contax 645; One Hour Photo Avenue

2011 Favorite

This is one of my favorites from 2011. I never posted it. I love the way the light was pouring in through the silky and the breeze was making the material dance. I have some more like it but can't find the files or the disk right now.

Contax 645; Fujipro 400h; Can't recall lab but I think Fromex

Marble Game James

James with his obsession, Quadrilla.

Mamiya 7ii; can't recall film; RPL

Does Out of Focus Mean Ruined?

Friday was a hard day for Cash and me. It started off good but slowly deteriorated and ended with me in tears. Most days I can roll with the constant fussing, crying and restlessness but Friday it just got to me. The root of the problem is sleep, and the fact that Cash doesn't need much. Now that he is sleeping more at night (yay!), it seems as though he just plows through the day without needing much precious sleep at all (boo).  This probably sounds like I have nothing to complain about, but honestly it makes for a really long day when you have a baby that wants to be held most of the time starting at 6 a.m., and two other boys with whom you'd like to be involved.  When Cashie naps it allows me to rejuvenate; it provides me an opportunity to gas up for the next few hours filled with playing, eating, answering, cleaning, etc.. By 4:30 Friday I called Fran pleading with him to come home so that I could get a break from my precious love, Baby Cash. 

Anyway, this post wasn't supposed to be about more sleep issues. It truly started off as a post on the fact the images below are out of focus. Somehow I got sidetracked with everything else going on in my life. Last week I shared 10 minutes of time with Cash and my Mamiya 7ii.  My Mamiya is my go-to camera when I want to document a piece of my life by actually being present in the photograph instead of behind the lens (I use the self-timer).  Life can get so loud and crazy around here, and it's good for me to stop and make time for the moments that pass so quickly. I set this up using zone focusing, something I've used in the past and continue to experiment with. I've had pretty good luck so far, but this time it didn't work out that well. It's clear that in most of them my leg is in focus but Cash and I simply are not. Even so, I don't feel like the images are a total loss. They remind me of a short moment in time when Cash and I bonded outside of all the craziness and everything was just the way it ought to be. I'm going to pull these up next time the goin' gets tough and the day feels completely out of focus. Because it's certainly not ruined. 

Mamiya 7ii; Delta 3200 rated @ 2500; Fromex

Early 2010 Favorite

This is one of my favorite images of the boys from early 2010. It was taken right after I got my Contax 645 and started experimenting with film. It wasn't staged and I adore it; George looks like he is watching James' every move, something he still does today.

Contax 645; Fujipro 400h; Fromex

A Few Snapshots at the Park

Canon 1V; Kodak BW400CN; Fromex

Vacuum

A while back were given a toy vacuum that made its way around the house quite often until a piece broke off and it started scratching the floor. I had to throw it away. From then on when I went to vacuum, George was right behind me asking "Where's my vacuum?" Each time I told him it broke and I had to throw it away. "But where's my vacuum?" would be his response. (I guess the idea of being taken away to a very deep hole never to be seen again couldn't register a two-year-old - who can blame him?) Well, on Christmas Eve we were visiting some friends and George grabbed hold of their toy vacuum. I told Bridget, "Oh, this boy loves his vacuum and I need to get him another one really soon." She sweetly asked that we take theirs because her kids never played with it, so off it went to its new home (Thank you again, Bridget!). So now, George has another vacuum with which enthusiastically follows me around the house cleaning.  Score for George!

Canon 1V; TriX400; Fromex Photo, Marina Del Rey

Hanging Out Watching Football

Contax 645; Can't recall film; One Hour Photo Avenue, Los Angeles

The Best Gift

Mamiya 7ii; Neopan 400 pushed to 1600; Fromex Marina Del Rey, CA; tripod setup f5.6 / 1/8 second

Still loving my Mamiya for the self-portraits.

Holiday Tears

This is what a 3-year-old boy looks like after you tell him for the fifth time he's got to stop eating all the candy intended for the gingerbread trains/house. Grinchy mom strikes again.

Taken this evening at the beginning of the decorating.

Polaroid 600SE; Fuji 3000B

Keepin' It Real

Hmmmm.....I can't remember but James is either "gettin' a talking to" in these two photos or in need of some love. With all I've seen from him lately, most likely it's the former, but I like to think he voluntarily comes over in need of a little TLC every once in a while.

Contax 645; TriX 400; One Hour Photo Avenue, Los Angeles

Thankful

Below is just one of the reasons I am thankful this Thanksgiving. I adore my family, and, even though things can feel really hectic at times, I know I could not ask for a better life. 

I hope everyone out there had a wonderful and full day. I wish we could have been in Boston celebrating with my Mom, Dad, and sisters, but I'll have to work on that in the future. I'm sure Taryn rocked the kitchen and made an absolutely unforgettable meal. Love you guys!

Happy Thanksgiving to my Camaj family! I treasure you dearly and hope to see you out here in California soon!

God Bless.

Polaroid 600SE

So far, he's exceeded my cuteness expectation.

Canon 1V; TriX 400; One Hour Photo Avenue, Los Angeles

More From the Trampoline Later....

Contax 645; Portra 800; One Hour Photo Ave, Los Angeles

A Witch and A Mummy

Halloween 2011 was just as fun as last year in Michigan. We packed up the kids and went over to Chris & Tanya's house in Rochester, whose neighborhood is just about the most perfect Halloween set-up anywhere. Almost every house participates in some capacity (no dark houses here), and there are loads of children running around all over the place. The only difference from last time was that James was a total maniac as he ran from house to house on the heels of his cousin, Zeb. Seriously, he could not be stopped; after we left the house I barely saw him, except for his black cape.
For two months James told me he wanted to be a witch. At first I was skeptical, thinking he'd surely forget about it or change his mind. But no, he never wavered. There were times when I asked him if he wanted to be, say, Batman or an astronaut. He replied yes, he would like to be those things for Halloween as long as he was a Batman "witch" or an astronaut "witch". Yep, the witch was hear to stay. (And no, calling him a warlock meant nothing - he still wanted to be a witch). So, off I went trying to conjure up a semi-masculine boy witch, hat, broom, and all.
Now, when George decided he was going to follow suit and started requesting to be a witch, that's when I put my foot down and simply told him he was going to be a mummy. "Oh, a mummy. Ok, Mama, I'm a mummy". Goodness, I love him.
Before we left for the night at Nani's house:

The witch laugh:

James and George here with James' Halloween escort:

Later on at the Demetral's house:

My Peekaboo Halloween Baby with him Papa:

Boston 2011

During our trip to Boston, we spent one of our days walking around a random Christmas tree farm my sister found while on one of her bike rides through Boxford, MA. Because I don't get the chance to spend a lot of time with my family, it was important for me to try to get some photos of them/us together. The trees where truly beautiful and the clean air smell made my heart happy.  We parked and hung out around the entrance for a while where a few local dogs ran over to greet and bark at us. After that we walked down a short trail and just watched the kids run up a small hill. It was a simple trip but one that left its New England mark on me. Up first is my beautiful sister, Taryn:

I love her outfit for where we were at the time, a Christmas tree farm in Boxford, MA.

And even one of me at the end:

Contax 645; FujiPro 400h; One Hour Photo Avenue, Los Angeles