SUNLIGHT

     The flowers of late winter and early spring
 occupy places in our hearts
well out of proportion to their size. ~Gertrude S. Wister

SMALL STUFF

 

Well today I couldn't be confused with someone who was focussed....

I was planning a productive day at home,

catching up on some card requests

which led me

 to take this photo.......

......which led me outside for different light.

This led me to stop and stare at our garden which

 needs a weekends work...

which made me notice a fly sitting on an Arum Lily

 and after trying to swat it away

 to no avail,

 I lifted up my camera  and took a photo of it...

as one does of course with flies....

and because it still didn't move, I decided to try harder

and get a better macro shot....

again as one does with flies...

of course.

 

Well I was very surprised at the detail I got, hand held.

 This switched my brain to macro mode

 and I thought of all the beautiful

 Dandelion shots I had seen before

and never had the time (patience) to try ....

so I went and found a Dandelion.

 

...but of course, because I'm me, I couldn't leave it there.

 I felt inspired by the beautiful macro images I had seen, with a single drop of water
 sitting on top....

which led to test my patience for the next hour. I got this....

 and this.....

I have new respect for macro photographers. My body 

had to contort and twist to catch the right light, bokeh and flare...

but it all led to a feeling of satisfaction....

or is that a feeling of new challenges? ...

or my aching back telling me to leave it to those who know how!

A GIRL AND A CAT



These two have such a strong bond.

 It's so strong that her cat is more like a dog with how

 she responds to a call or a pat on the bed. Miss J picked her out

 over seven years ago, she was the little runt

of the litter of course,

 and they have been best friends ever since.

This bond has its concerns.

 Her cat has heart problems and has a low life expectancy so

 you can understand how dreadfully heart broken Miss J

will be when the time comes. We have tried from the beginning to teach her that

animals are not like humans and have taken her with to vet visits

 to hear the vet talk about it but I can see the defiant denial in her eyes.

 She is willing her precious friend to live forever.

 So we wait and she simply enjoys their time together as she should.....

I saw them lazing in Miss J's bedroom

in the sunshine

 and I have very few photos

 of them

 together so I grabbed my camera,

threw a throw over her bright flowery duvet cover so

 the focus would be on them and proceeded to catch moments.

 These are not thought out images or correctly posed either,

they are just moments telling a brief story

 of a girl and her cat lazing on

 her bed in

 the

warmth of the sun.

♥

And they were on the move,

out the door, dress thrown on the bed,

 I suppose because there was no more room

 left on the messy floor.

 This is why I love photography.

These moments have to be captured and treasured.

 That IS what it's all about.

 So clichéd.

 So true.

 

Yes girls will be girls.....

I cannot begin to describe the tornado of mess my two leave behind them....

They are both old enough to clean up their own mess so my job is to just nag them...

and take a photo

of course.

x

 

Girl In Her Red Dress | Melbourne Photographer

We had planned to do a fifteen minute mini session to mark her turning Thirteen, but the park was so quiet and the light so yummy, we decided to make the most of it and got a few more poses in. I can't believe my first born, my baby, is now officially a teenager! Where did the years go? I still see her as a little curly headed girl, always full of questions, constantly talking. So when she sweetly peeked around the tree like this I had to snap the moment....just as a reminder that although she is growing up, she still has so much of that playful, cheeky child in her.

Colour or black and white. You choose. I couldn't. 

 

She is a natural poser, maybe it has something to do with being in front of my camera so often, but her natural clowning can't be contained for long and when I get this expression I know something is brewing behind those eyes.

Yip, there it is. Cartoon time. The funniest thing for me is how hard she laughs at her own clowning.  I mean it literally takes minutes and minutes for her to stop laughing hysterically! Of course we are all laughing so much by then none of us can carry on until she calms herself.

 There it is again. A jogger jogged behind her just as I took the photo and she found this incredibly funny for some reason. The giggles continue...

 I couldn't decide between the black and white so I again put both versions up. These are my favourite because I can see her eyelashes and freckles. You see....she's still my baby!

I adore her so much. Can you tell?  Happy birthday sweetie pie!

EXPRESSIONS

..... of the facial kind.

 I had to laugh the other day when a friend commented on my daughters very intense expression.

 We have known each other since our kids were together in first grade

and I wondered how she had missed seeing it before.

 It made me think about it though

 and how I always got that comment when I was spotted in my car driving....

except I get told I look angry.

 So I made a concerted effort to relax my facial muscles so as not to send the wrong signals.

 So here we are with life repeating itself,

except reminding her to relax only makes the frown deeper.....

and in anycase on her I find it interesting.

 It happens when she is miles away in her own thoughts

 and I wish I could tune in.

 Or maybe

 I should be careful what I wish for...

after all she is a teenager!

 

And then she registers my camera

 but only her lips change instantly to tell me to go away:)

Her full thoughts haven't returned to the present yet.

 

 

 

I love the mood of this next pic,

to me it shows the relaxed,

 hazy day we had on fathers day,

 with just a suggestion of hubby with his hands in his pockets

 pretending to stare at the ocean

 but actually listening to

 the conversation of

 his girls and

 having his mind slightly curdled.

DAY OF SUNSHINE

 

 I keep on having to look at these just to prove the sunshine wasn't just

 a figment of our winter weary minds.

Sunshine, warm wonderful sunshine....

 My heart skipped a beat and my hand got camera itch for the first time in weeks.

 Even Miss J couldn't wait to soak up some sun fun

 so we headed up the road to the cherry

 blossoms where we mostly played

 and squished our toes through grass and mud.

 Eventually I was allowed

 to capture a few sweet

moments...

x

 

 The best part of the afternoon for Miss J though was when she made

 a new friend with a girl and her horse,

 happily riding through the orchards till the sun set.

 Needless to say her heart went to sleep happy but

 her mind also kicked into scheming gear

 on how to convince us to buy her

 a horse of her own and

 keep it in our backyard!

 "But mum, I just HAVE to have a horse. I feel it deep in my HEART!"

 And I know she does......

SIBLINGS

I couldn't have asked for more photogenic children to photograph.

 They were so relaxed in front of the camera and up for everything, even sitting in slushy

 mud and wet long grass.

 Thanks guys for a fun afternoon and for being such great sports!!

 On a side note my cameras high ISO capability is now worth its weight in gold.

 Melbourne autumn/winter sun starts setting at 5:00pm and light runs out quickly after 4:00pm so my after school sessions have had to be very quick.

 If winter continues this way, earlier weekend sessions

 might be my only option.

 The photos from this session moved from ISO 500 to ISO 6400 in the space of an hour!



 



Mr J is a budding photographer and already has a very creative eye

and is so tech savvy for such a young age.

 We had some very interesting chats about photography!

Miss M is just herself in front of the lens, just the way I like it.

 Look at her beautiful naturalness!

This is one of my favourites from the session.

 It's unposed,

 just a moment

caught when she spotted the berries.

 I adore

 the colours and

 her

 gentle hand.

 

 

 

 

 

She had brought her umbrella along because of the weather

 but instead of rain,

 we got a stream of sunlight when the clouds parted.

Her favourite thing to do was to chew on sweet,

short stalks of grass.

 

 



Another favourite of mine. The colours are gorgeous and I love how the branches frame her.

Thanks again guys.

 I'll see you again in the summertime:)

♥