I might have started a tradition with my virtual birthday wish to my husband last week. Today is my son’s third birthday and it only seemed fitting to do the same for him. Most of the time I feel like my kids should be the age that they are – like I have lived every moment of the three years with my son by my side. People, myself included, often say “Where did the time go?” But if I really think about it, I know where it went. It went to bathing, feeding, rocking, walking, playing, smiling, laughing, crying, worrying, and loving. It was spent watching tv at 3am with a sleepless newborn, building sandcastles in the sandpit on a Wednesday afternoon, being the first one in line at the aquarium on a rainy day, and waiting for a fever to come down in the middle of the night. Physically and emotionally children demand that you be present – and I am so grateful for my camera that lets me capture our everyday in a way that keeps me grounded in the moment. A friend once said to me that nothing teaches you more about the passing of time than a child. And I think that is so true. While I feel as though I have lived so that every day of the last three years can be accounted for – time still passes. My baby has grown older, developed new skills and gained more independence. There is nothing I can do but acknowledge the passage of time and hope that I spent it well.
So I wish my darling boy a happy third birthday. My heart is full of the past three years of daily “doings.” I am incredibly proud of the sensitive, strong, brave and kind person he is becoming. I can’t wait to see what another year brings. And with that, here are some of my favourite images from the last year.
April 2014 | Just 2
April 2014 | Easter
May 2014 | Hiding
May 2014 | Old Soul
May 2014 | Fish Markets at Sunset
June 2014 | Contemplation
June 2014 | Playing Sleeping Beauty
June 2014 | Sleep
July 2014 | Buzz
August 2014 | Reflection
August 2014 | Manly
September 2014 | Scootering
October 2014 | Hard Day at the Office
October 2014 | Kung Fu Panda is So Funny
October 2014 | Halloween
November 2014 | Cool
January 2015 | SuperBuzz at the Chinese Gardens
January 2015 | Darth
February 2015 | Lunar Markets
April 2015 | C.A.
April 2015 | Bondi
April 2015 | Birthday Boy
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Today is my husband’s birthday. This is the 11th birthday I have had the honour of marking by his side. Life is much different than it was eleven years ago where we were political consultants in Washington D.C. I never would have thought I would be raising two children in Sydney, Australia a decade later – married to now Dr. Lee and with an exciting new career as a child photographer. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. As a sort of visual birthday wish I thought I would post some of my favourite photos from the past few years. Going through my catalog, I realised just how few I had of him. I could only find a few that are just of him by himself. There were more of him with the kids, but certainly not anywhere representative of the time he spends with them. When you have kids, you tend to photograph just them. Dads and mums often get left out which is why family photos are so important! I’ll definitely add pictures of Ilro to this year’s photography goals. When they grow up, I know my kids are going to want to see photos of him doing what he loved when they were little. In any case, here are a few of my favourite in no particular order. Happy Birthday Ilro/Ahpa! We love you and wish you many more happy, healthy years.
Boxing Day 2014 | New Toy
March 2014 | Last Photo of the Day
April 2014 | Almost Bedtime
September 2014 | Quiet Time in the Midst of Frozen Chaos
September 2014 | Ingrid’s Birthday
March 2014 | Naptime
June 2014 | Darth Vader at Luna Park
September 2014 | Taking One for the Team on the Tea Cups
April 2014 | Easter
July 2014 | Winter Festival
June 2014 | Winter in Sydney
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I am sure many of you have had the shaving cream method of dyeing Easter eggs pop up in your newsfeed this week. As a child photographer it looked like a great activity to capture while the kids had a bit of fun. It has been raining all day trapping us inside, so the kids were clambering to do something different.
First thing you should know (if you don’t live in Australia) is that Australian chickens lay brown eggs. You can find white eggs at Easter at some specialty shops but I haven’t sought them out. The brown eggs do not take up color like the white ones, but they do look a bit more like Autumn and Easter is an Autumn holiday here. I had read that this way of dyeing eggs was a bit less messy than cups filled with coloured liquid that could tip over in a second. Knowing my two munchkins and their propensity for mess, I was skeptical. I dressed them in old clothes anyway and we set up a table outside on the balcony. And I am sure glad I did. The kids had such fun colouring the shaving cream, mixing it, rolling the eggs, and slathering it everywhere they could reach! I literally had to cut their clothes off when they were done. Our eggs didn’t turn out as beautiful as the ones I had seen, but the kids loved them and were very proud. Plus they smell great and are super smooth – thanks to the shaving cream. I might just hunt down white eggs next year but for now, this little activity/photography shoot was a big success! Happy Easter!
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Here we are in Week 6. There are lots of things I love about doing a 365 Project but probably my favourite is just documenting our everyday life. Whether I look at these photos in a month, a year or 10 years, I will be able to recall what our days were like in 2015 – what my children loved, how they acted, how they looked and how much I loved this time. Week 7 wasn’t anything special – no big events, holidays, adventures or milestones. Just normal life. And I am thankful for that. These photos are my way of saying thanks for the ordinary miraculous days we get to live with those we love. Sometimes ordinary is just what we need.
37/365 The Turtle
35mm ISO 400 f/1.8 1/3200
39/365 Kung Fu Panda
35mm ISO 1000 f/1.8 1/200
40/365 Sweet Feet
35mm ISO 1000 f/1.4 1/320
41/365 Ribbons in Her Hair
85mm ISO 2500 f/2.2 1/100
42/365 I Heart Shopkins
85mm ISO 2500 f/2.2 1/250
43/365 Shower
35mm ISO 2000 f/2.2 1/125
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Into Week 5 we went and we saw January fade into February. We all survived the first week of big school – but our family found ourselves EXHAUSTED by Saturday. It was so nice to see the kids so happy to play together on Saturday morning. This week my son also started his first class independent of his sister. It was a little touch and go at first as he was used to having her by his side. But by the second half he was all smiles. Mostly we entertained ourselves until it was time for school to be out. I am sure we will find our stride together as the weeks go on and we settle into a new routine. This week I also tried a little experiment in intentionally out of focus images which you can read about in full here. The week wrapped up with a little playtime in front of the camera – something I am guilty of not doing enough. On to Week 6!
29/365 The Storyboard
50mm ISO 2000 f/2.8 1/200
30/365 Sports Class
50mm ISO 500 f/4.5 1/1000
31/365 Saturday Morning
50mm ISO 1250 f/2.8 1/200
32/365 Dancing
50mm ISO 400 f/2.2 1/4000
33/365 Home
50mm ISO 6400 f/1.8 1/200
34/365 Missing Her
50mm ISO 1600 f/1.8 1/640
35/365 Self Timer Kisses
ISO 1000 f/3.5 1/320
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