Families
Quick shoot results are in! Yay! Okay, I expected more people to be interested, but it was fun nonetheless :)I'm going to be having a booth at the Isral Expo in Irvine. If you're in the area drop by and say hi!
I have SOOOO much to write about this shoot but I don't want my mediocre writing skills to take away from the awesomeness of this family, so I'll make it short.
Family documentary photography is really where I want my business to be heading. It's something I feel is important, real, and not nearly as common as it should be. Recently I was given the opportunity to shoot this absolutely delightful family in Santa Rosa. This is exactly what the family does on a normal Monday. What they wear, what they eat, where they go, what they play etc. And as the years go by they will have these awesome memories documented, not just what they looked like but how they were. How cool is that?
Yeah, I thought so.
Enjoy, and thanks for looking.
We started off with some homeschooling (them, not me :))
Learning makes you hungry (well everything makes ME hungry, but we're talking about normal people here), so mom makes some yummy looking cheese sandwiches (wherever I go, cheese sandwiches seem to be following me).
I think it was someones birthday here (mom's sis?) so they all (actually we) sang happy birthday (well Frank sang happy boothday, and I think he thinks we were all laughing at him...)
Hannah looooves dressing Violet up, doing her hair etc. And she has very pretty hair. All I noticed was that coffee though. I love coffee.
Back to some reading drills with mommy. Schools cool, but how awesome is snuggling up with mommy and reading some?
Reading is knowledge and knowledge is power. Hence the biceps.
That. Is. A. Big. Book.
I love how all the siblings play together!! It's really sweet.
Off to the chopping block (it's not easy, I tried, and, well, it wasn't pretty). If I was that block I would not underestimate the power of a Frank. Even if he's seven.
Getting the mail was a very important daily ritual. To be met with shoed feet and appropriately attired hair.
Jasmine was in awe over mom's wisdom. Yes, holding those yellow flowers under your chin will make your chin yellow (sadly it won't make my beard blonde).
And off to the front yard for some ballage and rideage.
Jordan would be proud (check out that wrist motion!)
I'm not sure if she made it in but I'll lead you on :)
They have this park nearby which makes me want to pick up and move. Now.
This is one of the very few posed shots we did. Figured we'd get one or two nice family shots (the other's at the end). How cute are they?!
Mom's sister (birthday girl?) and her family came to join. She's laughing at me.
These ducks were scary. I'm serious. For some reason growing up we had a duck as a pet (bad idea) and it terrorized me.
I was told I was doing a good job.
This is Jeney's grandson. It's amazing how much everyone oogles over him, (not that I blame them, and how edible are those cheeks?!)
How handsome is David? (and how awesome is his hair?)
For some reason I'm doubting he caught it...
And for some last family photos... (I'm already missing this family)
How proud is grandma?
Normally I'd finish there. But the family only asked for two shots. The mail one and one with me in it. As they put it: "If we are documenting this one day, then you are very big part of it."
Good point.
The Thalors are quite possibly the cutest family in the world. Though it's a pretty close race with mine. Long story short (yay for grammar!) the ticket to Memphis was cheaper if I flew back through Atlanta, and my cousins, whom I haven't seen in quite some time happen to live right around there. And being that her mom makes some of the best cakes this side of the equator I figured maybe it was hereditary (it is!!).
We had some time before I jet packed out of there and utilized every moment eating (I had my first Shwarma since leaving Israel at this dinky little restaurant with awesome food. (They also had another cousin of mine there, this one from Montreal. She was also eating Shwarma. Its a family thing.) If you do not know what a Shwarma is you have yet to live), and managed to spare a few to run off into the forest for some family photos.
And here they are. Enjoy:
2012.I remember as a kid thinking of the years past 2010 as "the future". We all expected flying cars and possibly jet packs by now. We (we, being me here. And being quite the anti-social, hide-in-a-book type of kid, I have no clue what others were thinking) never saw the Internet coming. And here's why: when we think of "the future" we tend to think of things we know about. And how they could be better (we already had cars and airplanes, flying cars was just a logical step). But something entirely new? Where do we even begin to start? Where does it come from?
Start blah blah: I'm not going to get into it here, but Kabbalah teaches that there are two main aspects of thought. Chochmah and binah. Chochmah is the conception of an idea, that flash bulb going off and binah is the ability to incubate the idea, to fully comprehend it and hopefully implement it. Chochmah is also the part of us that allows us to connect with things far beyond us. And the way to cultivate is is through what is called "bittul" namely, nullifying oneself (for lack of better word). It's the ability to step back from your own perceptions, prejudgements, and preconceived notions. To allow something that is completely foreign to your current state to become part of you. And paradoxically it's only then that we really experience ourselves. That we really find out who we are deep down. ... end blah blah
Being Jewish and all, we have our own new year (and own birthdays! And mine is tomorrow :)) however resolutions are always good, so I'll put down a few of my new year resolutions here and at the end (of the year, not the world) I'll post the results.
Physical: People assume I'm in shape. I'm not. I was blessed with a body that doesn't gain weight and can usually jump right into prior states of prior physical prowess without major downfalls. But I never exercise and I feel it. My back aches, and I'll pull a muscle or get a cramp scratching my back. So by the time the year is out I would like (well more like resolute) to: 1. Run a mile in under 6 minutes. Currently I haven't clue how long it would take, probably around 8 and a half. 2. Run a 10 kilometer in under 45 minutes (my last one came in just under an hour and that was 7 years ago in South Africa). 3. Do a cartwheel. As much as I have been able to do odd stuff in the past the simple cartwheel has always evaded me. 4. Do a backwards handspring. Why? Good question.
Photography: 1. Shoot an entire session at f/8 or smaller and kill it (good kill). 2. Take photos of 100 semi-strangers. As in people that I have to do with on a day to day basis but don't really know them (the barista, gas station dude, doctor, check out, cashiers, etc.) 3. Start (and finish) at least one large project that has no current financial benefit. Not for the good karma, but for being able to shoot without thought as to what people (or even me) expect. 4. To master the group photo (my current Achilles heel) both formal and casual. 5. To rock the off camera flash like a boss (even though stylistically its not really me now, I want that to be a choice, not a crutch).
Personal, emotional and spiritual resolutions are in the works. I'll save those for my birthday.
And because most people don't even read what I write and just come for the pics I'll start off the year with this yummy family session. I love how they came dressed exactly how they'd dress on any other day. It's like a slice out of their life that one day when we're old and wiser we could look back and remember exactly how their life was. Dirt stains and all!
Enjoy, and may this year be the best one yet. Hands down.
This family is AWESOME. Each kid has such a great and distinct personality (and the parents also rock).
Check back soon for some awesome posts/announcements.
It's odd how I feel today. I'm obviously a big fan of Apple and of Steve but I've never given too much thought about why.
I'm actually sad. I'm not grief stricken or anything, just a bit sad. And even the skies seem to be weeping a bit.
Steve was a modern day Dagny Taggart. A giant among men. A great man. Apple will go on but only if it embodies the vision of it's founder. Of one man. Apple was able to accomplish what it did (fundamentally change every industry it entered), because it didn't let it's success lead it down the rabbit hole of board room decisions, corporate decrees, and stockholders outcries.
One man changed the music industry, the phone industry and to a large degree the computer industry. He led a crusade for simplicity, for beauty, and for above all function.
Of course I don't agree with everything he did, but if he cared about what others thought of him Apple would have been dead 15 years ago and we'd be living in a world of thousands of buttons, dials, wheels, widgets, of clutter and plastic.
So I raise my cup of tea and say goodbye to a man who proved that man can be great, as long as he has a vision and the conviction to follow it.
Goodbye Steve.