Stay Out of the Water
"Jason, no playing in the water."
"I'm not."
"And no touching the water."
"I'm not."
"And no getting in the fountain."
"I'm not!"
"You know what, just step back from the water."
Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40 and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens, in aperture-priority exposure mode. Aperture f/4, shutter 1/400 sec (0 EV), ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: straightened; curves for contrast.
Thoughts for improvement: A little bit wider to get more of the tile and more of his hands and arms would have been good.
Fame!
Our friends James and Mel gave us a family membership to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center for Christmas, and this weekend we took our first trip to check it out. Jason liked the kids' area a lot but, as you can see, he had fun in the main galleries as well. I'm not sure he really grasped the science just yet, but that'll come.
Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40 and Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens, in manual exposure mode. Aperture f/1.4, shutter 1/125 sec, ISO 1600. Post-processing in Aperture 3: curves for highlight recovery and contrast.
Thoughts for improvement: A higher angle might have been nice, in order to get more of the shadows in the frame. The sign on the wall is also a bit distracting.
Lego Window
I'm all out of new pictures for the week (actually, I ran out on Tuesday), so it's back to the archives. This one is from the trip we took to Legoland back in October. This house is part of a Duplo-themed toddler playground near the back of the park. It has stairs up one side and a slide coming down the other, and I think it may have been Jason's favorite part of Legoland. Which made me extra glad that our tickets were free.
Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40 and Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX lens, in manual exposure mode. Aperture f/4, shutter 1/500 sec, ISO 400. Post-processing in Aperture 3: brought up midtones slightly with curves; burned over everything except Jason, himself.
Thoughts for improvement: I could probably stand to crop out a bit of the bottom.
Hugs!
There are several little girls who like to hug Jason over and over again, one of them being his friend L. This shot is from our cookie-decorating get-together last month, and, as you can see, Jason had already reached the point beyond which he was willing to put up with repeated hugging, and had progressed to the "running away" phase.
You know, when I was younger (sure, older than Jason is now, but you know what I mean) I would have killed for the kind of attention he gets from girls. I suppose he'll get there soon enough.
Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, TTL flash mode (+1 EV). Aperture f/4, shutter 1/30 sec, ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: curves to increase exposure; levels to darken shadows and midtones for contrast and color pop; lightly dodged over Jason; added edge sharpening.
Thoughts for improvement: I think the reason this one didn't make the cut the first time around is because of all the clutter in the frame. The photos on the wall, the door behind L's head, the balled-up sweatshirt, the baby gate, and the edge of the wreath sticking into the frame--it all detracts from the focus of the image, which is L and Jason. I absolutely love the capture, though.
Model Shoot
I had hoped to get out for some street candids this weekend, but what with the new bed and Jason's music class starting back up and needing a haircut and so on and so on, I didn't have time. So, Sunday afternoon I took about 15 minutes and tried out some lighting techniques with Jason at one of the neighborhood playgrounds. Here I was trying to both overpower the ambient light with my flash and to cross-light using the sun as a fill/rim light. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for prime time with this technique yet, but even so it seems to have worked out pretty well, which is exciting.
Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, TTL flash mode (+0 EV). Aperture f/8, shutter 1/500 sec, ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: a bit of retouching around his mouth; light skin smoothing over his face; curves to increase exposure and contrast; levels to brighten midtones; reduced overall brightness; brushed in Intensify Contrast adjustment on his eyes; lightly dodged over his eyes; added vignette; added sharpening.
Thoughts for improvement: Well, the expression is a little "deer in the headlights" and I wish I had thought to bring a rag to wipe the spit off of his mouth. So, as a portrait it's less than ideal. But as this was mostly a lighting experiment, I think it was pretty successful.
Big Boy
Another shot of Jason before his first night in his new bed. I'm staying home with him today as he's feeling a little sick, and I just put him down for a nap. It's amazing to me how easy the day has been so far. He's really starting to act like a big boy.
Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 18-55mm DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, TTL flash mode (+1 EV). Focal length 24mm, aperture f/8, shutter 1/125 sec, ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: cropped to 5x7; retouched a scab on the corner of his mouth; curves to increase exposure and contrast; levels to brighten midtones.
Thoughts for improvement: I really like the quality of the light here, which I got by pointing the camera almost straight down and bouncing the flash off the white ceiling. The composition is a little weak and cluttered, but overall I think it's a nice picture.
New Bed
We got Jason a "big boy" bed this weekend. It was delivered on Saturday and he got to sleep in it for the first time Sunday night. I had chuckled a bit earlier in the day when Juliette had said "He's officially not a baby anymore," but actually putting him to bed was surprisingly emotional for me. Jason had his normal bedtime routine--bath, brushed his teeth, potty, pajamas, story, bed--and was very excited to get in his new bed. He fell asleep within five minutes, so obviously he was fine with it. Juliette and I, on the other hand, had to stop for a moment after we closed his door to hug each other.
Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Aperture-priority exposure mode (matrix metering), TTL flash mode (+1 EV). Focal length 18mm, aperture f/8, shutter 1/60 sec (+0 EV), ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: straightened horizon; Cloudy WB preset; curves to increase exposure and contrast; levels to brighten midtones and darken shadows; lightly dodged over his face; burned over the highlight on the headboard.
Thoughts for improvement: I should have gotten a little lower so as to get more of the bed and less of the space overhead. An even wider angle lens might also have been interesting.
Movie Buff In the Making
Two things that Jason loves are movies and putting things in rows. Not that there was ever any doubt about his parentage, but if there were... I mean, come on.
Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, manual flash mode. Aperture f/1.8, shutter 1/500 sec, ISO 400, flash power 1/16. Post-processing in Aperture 3: auto WB picked from the white part of the Ice Age DVD cover; levels to increase exposure, brighten midtones, and increase contrast.
Thoughts for improvement: I keep needing to bring up exposures in post, so nailing it in-camera is certainly an area I can work on. I like the composition here pretty well, though the little lamp in the top left corner does detract a bit.
Caress
Jason does this thing sometimes, when he's really happy with us, when we're holding him, where he puts a hand on either side of our face and smiles. He just looks at us, looks into our eyes, all over our faces, beaming, and it's like he's drinking in the sight of the face in front of him, like he sees something there that's wonderful and amazing. It's one of the best things about being his parent.
Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, manual flash mode. Aperture f/1.8, shutter 1/500, ISO 400, flash power 1/16. Post-processing in Aperture 3: cropped out a bunch on top and to the left; curves to increase exposure; levels to brighten midtones.
Thoughts for improvement: The focus is quite soft, but I can't decide whether or not I like it that way. The window in the background is a little bright as well.
Hey Howdy Hey
I think the most gratifying part of the holidays this year was seeing how much Jason loves his extended family. We spent Christmas with Juliette's family and New Year's with mine, and with both groups it was obvious how much he enjoyed being around them. He was particularly attached to Juliette's younger brother and one of my aunts, but he spent time with just about everybody and talked about all of them through the entire 11-hour drive home.
Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, manual flash mode. Aperture f/2.8, shutter 1/500, ISO 400, flash power 1/16. Post-processing in Aperture 3: straightened horizon; auto WB picked from Woody's vest; levels to brighten highlights and midtones; curves to darken shadows.
Thoughts for improvement: I wish I had been moved back just a bit so I could have gotten Jason's entire right leg and not cut off my aunt's knee.