Outtakes

It's that time of year again...Christmas card season. Sometime in the middle of November I realize I need to come up with and idea for our card. This year, as hard as I tried to formulate a plan, the best I came up with ahead of time was to buy the boys not-quite-matching sweaters. One night while The Husband was working late I threw them in front of a white backdrop with said sweaters on and told them we were taking the Christmas card picture.

Now, normally I would show you the best couple of pictures. As a Photographer it's my job to portray subjects in the most flattering way possible. But when I was going through the pictures I decided I was going to do a blog post with the ones that normally wouldn't make it.

Here they are!

What on earth is up with The Youngest's eyes??

Poor Murph.

Taking a break from all of the seriousness.

For Heaven's sake, what is he doing with his mouth?

This one makes me smile, but in the end we chose an even cuter picture.

Maria & Bob's Engagement Session

I know, I know, it's Monday. The title should say "Macro Monday", not "Maria & Bob's Engagement Session". I haven't forgotten, but The Youngest is home sick from school, school was delayed 2 hours for The Oldest because of freezing rain, and the fridge has been broken since Friday and my coffee creamer is on the verge of going bad. Something had to give!

So, like any good Mother would, I let The Youngest watch Nickelodeon all morning so I could edit some photos from Saturday's E session and try to find someone to fix the fridge.

We started out by braving the icy trail that leads to Taughannock falls.

On the way back Bob started a snowball fight with Maria.

When we arrived at the park we were greeted by two snowpeople. (I prefer to think it was a couple enjoying a nice winter afternoon). I thought about asking Bob and Maria to pose with them, but I thought they'd think I was nuts, so I decided to ask them on the way back. I figured by then they'd know I was nuts and do anything I'd asked. By the time we got back some vandals had decapitated the snowcouple. I mentioned that I'd thought about taking their picture with them and Maria confessed she'd had exactly the same idea but she didn't want me to think she was nuts! So Bob graciously fixed one of the snowpeople so we could take this picture.

Maria asked me to take a picture like this because this is how they hang at home.

Warming up inside with a glass of wine.

Last but not least, Queen Maria on her throne of ice! Thanks for the great time you two!

Just One!

This afternoon I spent several hours with Bob and Maria, who are getting married in 2008. We spent a couple of hours at Taughannock Falls in Ithaca, and then popped over to the Commons for a bit before going our separate ways. Bob and Maria are a very down-to-earth couple and I already feel like I've known them for longer than I really have.

Bob and Maria, here's one to tide you over for a couple of days! I had a great time hanging out with you both this afternoon!

B&W Friday

I always love an opportunity to photograph my Little Buddy! Besides the fact that he's got the most beautiful blue eyes ever, he's also really good at taking direction. He's without a doubt the most cooperative 2 year old subject I've ever seen.

Peanut is shaping up to be just as good. She slept the entire time she was here, with the exception of a few seconds when she opened up her eyes. She makes newborn photography look like a cake walk, and I know it's not!

This shoot was for their Christmas cards and I honestly drew a blank when trying to come up with an idea that would incorporate an infant and a 2 year old. Shirley has tons of interesting antiques at her house, so I wasn't surprised when she said she had an old sled we could use. I think it was perfect.

The "D" Family

This is my favorite from a session I did with them over the weekend. The boys were very patient with me taking pictures when they really wanted to be playing! Look for pictures of just the boys in a couple of weeks.

Flag Football

Yes, we've been getting hit with snow the last 24 hours and The Obnoxious Ones have a snow day today (yipee). They've completely forgotten rule #1.

DO NOT ANNOY MOM BEFORE SHE'S HAD 2 CUPS OF COFFEE.

But this post is about sports.

Flag football resumed Saturday afternoon after a week off. That allowed The Youngest to regroup, re-focus and practice his moves. This is one of his favorites. At least he's not in the game at this point, and thanks to Homer expressing his point of view on the matter, I'm even enjoying watching it.

This, however, is a different story. See how the other kids are on their feet? I'd like The Youngest to stay on his feet as well. Call me crazy, but I think Coach would like it, too. The Youngest prefers to roll around on the field after every play.

Finally, Coach realizes that The Youngest has attention problems and decides to give him a position that requires him to concentrate. Good move on the Coaches part, IMO. He was a very good quarterback.

See the look of sheer concentration as he passes off the ball?

Macro Monday

Yup. Last week's image was indeed a hammer. Sorry I didn't have a chance to post this week's picture sooner!