A pain in the @$$

Taking pictures of 1 child is one thing... Taking pictures of 5 is another.

 Ariel's not the easiest to photograph. She gets so stubborn when I take the camera out. She normally runs and hides. Adding 4 more to that was not the best decision... The whole time, I kept asking myself "what was I thinking". After taking 109 photos’ in my living room late one evening using reading lamps for lighting, this is the result I got left with... Out of 109 photos, only one was usable... The rest created a bunch of memories.

The final selection!

Through the eyes of a mother

When a person looks at something that a child has created, they think it’s cute. When a mother looks at that same thing, she sees a unique creation… a piece of art. This applies to the picture above. To you, it’s simply the picture of a gingerbread man decorated by a two year old… To me, it’s a lot more than that.

I handed this plain gingerbread man with fondant, frosting and small candies to my two year old daughter and her cousins to keep them quiet while we were waiting for food to arrive. Knowing Ariel so well, I handed a small amount of each decorative items thinking she was going to do what she does best… Eat it!

I was so caught up in what I was doing that I was paying absolutely no attention to what they were doing. I didn’t even glance over at the kitchen table for a second. After about 10-20 minutes, when a couple of the boys said they were done, I decided to go see the cookie creations. They proudly showed me what they had created in that short period of time. Then I heard that small high pitch voice say: “Garde maman” (look mama)… I raised my eyes as she was proudly holding up that little man made of pastry. I was amazed by what I saw. I couldn’t believe she actually decorated the cookie rather than eat it and what she had created. I even asked the boys to see if they helped her out. 

I was amazed with the details on it. The buttons on the front, the small candy in his left hand and on his left foot… the attempt to make eyes, a nose and a smile. For the first time I got to see a creative side to my daughter and realised how fast she’s growing. She is a creative girl, but it’s the first time she displayed it with an object rather than with movement or during play time. I felt so proud of her (I’m proud of what my daughter does every day… This just felt a little different) and I knew she was proud too. It’s unbelievable what pride can come out of one small cookie but that's what mothers do best! They praise the work of their children.

My reaction may have been over the top for a cookie, but I’m glad it was. My daughter got to see that we may celebrate her big accomplishments, but we also celebrate the small ones. The ones I feel will help built her confidence and pride!

To you, this may just be another gingerbread man, but to me, it’s a lot more!!

Oh Christmas Tree - Shutter Speed - On Photography

One thing I`ve been dying to try on my Canon is playing with the shutter speed. After digging out an old tripod that was buried under clutter in the trunk of my car, this gave me the perfect tool to do just that.

The key with a longer shutter speed is zero movement. There`s no way an individual can keep a camera in their hand for 30 seconds without moving it one bit... If you claim to be able to do this, you can proudly call yourself a robot.

Here are various pictures taken with the shutter speed at different intervals. No light are present other than the flash and the lights in the Christmas tree in most of the pictures. The camera`s setting are displayed on each photos.

I hope you enjoy the effect just as much as I do…

PS. I can`t wait to take my camera out of the house for pictures…

Happy second birthday baby girl! - On Baking

My daughter turned two in early December and decided to make her cake based on her favourite stuffed toy. She carries her little sheep everywhere and makes it participate in everything she does. I knew my cake was a success when she was able to identify it!! Everything was done using cake, a piping bag, frosting, chocolate chips. The base was decorated with fondant and gum paste.  

My very first cupcake creation - Halloween 2011 - On Baking

These are the first cupcakes I have ever made using fondant, gum paste and a piping bag to frost. I handed them out as Halloween threats for family and friends.

Goodbye Automatic - On Photography

Photography; little did I know about the complexity of the hobby.  Learning a lingo I had no idea existed consisting of aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. I was dumbfounded on how little I knew about all of  this. My first resource: YouTube.com. Ah YouTube! How did we manage to learn stuff without you for free before? Studying hard, late at night for a month (can’t watch YouTube video’s with a 2 year old running around,) I finally felt comfortable enough to challenge. Move away from a little setting on my camera called Automatic Mode.  Looking at that little wheel with letters I have no clue what they mean. M (I know this is manual), Av (aperture mode?) and Tv (which does not stand for television). I guess you need to try it, to understand it.

My first obstacle: With my partner working two jobs and having my driver’s license removed due to medical illness… I had nowhere to go. What a disappointment.

Resolution: The greatest thing about photography is that you don’t need to go very far to discover beauty. While setting up for dinner one evening, I glanced outside and notice that the sun was starting to set over the trees in my backyard. Now my backyard isn’t the prettiest but I sure did find it pretty that evening. So here was my chance. I took the camera out of the dark closet in my bedroom and into the light. I opened my patio door, from my kitchen… Trembling a little and not knowing what I was up against, I pressed the shutter button and took photos in every mode trying different setting eagger to see what result I was going to get all from my kitchen door. I didn't even have to leave the house.

Overall, I’m very pleased with the outcome. Each photo had their own uniqueness and beauty. That's the story behind my collage of photo’s displayed today. I still have lots to learn but a happy beginning none the less!