Beautiful Girls

Yesterday I had a photoshoot with my cousins. Caitriona received her First Holy Communion a couple of weeks ago and yesterday she was dressed up again to do some photos. I had the pleasure of photographing her younger sister Meghan as well as baby brother Evan too (photos of him to come later). We had a lot of fun.

It's been a busy weekend so I am still editing, but here are a few so far.















And a snap of Meghan kissing Daddy. Awwwww!

Practice with Dylan

Yesterday I wanted to practice some shots with my 50mm lens and Dylan. He is so good about putting up with the camera in his face 90% of the time, but yesterday was one of those times that he was just not in the mood. We came back from his storytime at the library and he was tired and hungry. Interestingly, I think I managed to get a couple of nice shots in the 60 seconds of time I had.

I've realized recently that I much prefer the candid shots that I get from the more posed. Of course they are far more elusive, but I am going to strive to get more of these.

posed



unposed





Stop Mommy, you said that was the last one!

Katie Smiles

I met Lenore and Barabra 4 years ago at Gymboree when our babies were only 1. Four years later we are still friends and try to get together with the kids every so often. Saturday we went to Van Saun Park. The kids had a fabulous time playing together and I got to catch up with the girls whenever I wasn't chasing Katie.

We went to the zoo first and then had a snack break. I got Dylan and Katie an ice cream each. Dylan was having so much fun with Francis and Nuriel that he put down his ice cream to run. Katie wasted no time picking it up and claiming it as her own.

So, back to the title of this post, I asked her to sit on a ledge and smile for me while I took a picture. You could have knocked me over with a feather because out of the blue my "Miss I hate the Camera" decided to give me some cheese! Maybe it was the ice cream talking but hey, I'll take it. A while later she granted me another cheese while on the train. Maybe I should give her two ice creams everyday. ;)

Diane's three sons

I went back this week to photograph my cousin Diane's three sons. Brendan, whom I had photographed last week, and his younger brothers Sean and Aidan. They were so much fun! I was having some technical difficulties but because my models were so fantastic, I was able to get some fun captures. They are the sweetest kids. :)

First Holy Communion

Caitriona, the daughter of my cousin Michael and his wife Gail, received her First Holy Communion this past Saturday. There was a celebration to follow at their home. Luckily the weather was nice and the party was held outdoors. It was lovely. The kids played in the backyard spending most of the day on an inflatable jumpy slide amusement they had rented. I don't know where they get all the energy, but boy did those kids have fun.

Caitriona is a very pretty girl and looked particularly stunning in her gorgeous white dress. One of her friends asked her if she was getting married. As you can see, her dress is similar to something a bride might wear. Absolutely adorable. :)

This was my favorite capture of the day and I will show it in both color and black and white.









This is my cousin Kathleen with her husband Frank and their 1.5 year old son Austin.

Rain, rain, go away!

Another wet day in New Jersey. Instead of going to the park or playing outside, we had to spend another day indoors. Katie had her music class this morning and we were supposed to go to the library after Dylan got out of school but he didn't feel like going. We decided to make a Target run just to do something different. My wallet is a little lighter for it.

For Mother's Day I got a new camera lens, 50mm 1.4. I had borrowed a 50mm lens from a friend a while ago but had to give it back. I love the 50mm for indoor shots so I needed to get a replacement.

Here are some shots with it from today.

Dylan and his Gameboy







Are you done yet, Mommy?



Brace yourself.... here is a smile from Miss Katie!

Brendan

Brendan is the 9 year old son of my cousin Diane. He was kind enough to oblige me in photography obsession last week. I couldn't have asked for a better model. We mixed it up a little with traditional portrait poses and actions shots. Look at how adorable he is.

This was my favorite shot of the day.



He loves sports.



And chess too.



But most of all, he loves his Mom.

Just a few from the weekend

We had a relatively uneventful weekend. We went to the park, played outside, Dylan went to the driving range, blah, blah, blah.

Here are a few snaps.

Sprinkler fun



Tough Guy!



Don't even think that you are going to get a smile out of me



In touch with nature

Katie's Turn

Katie is the most wonderful girl in the whole wide world, but quite possibly the most stubborn too. She does not like the camera at all so I take what I can get.

Here she is on the neighbor's trampoline yesterday. The young girl next door was helping me get her to smile and look in the general vicinity of the camera. I'm trying out some black and whites.

The Many Faces of Dylan

Well, not exactly. It's just one shot of Dylan that I messed around with in PhotoShop. I am testing out a new photo hosting site.

I couldn't ask for a better 5 year old model. He is so good about putting up with my camera in his face so much, poor kid.

The Bronx Zoo

Friday Scott took off work and we all headed for The Bronx Zoo. It was perfect zoo weather, mid-sixties and sunny. The zoo is 245 acres so good weather is key. Dylan was on spring break at an odd time this year so it wasn't mobbed with spring break kids either. I couldn't have asked for a better day there.

First we visited Tiger Mountain. I loved this. The viewing area was behind glass in a cave type of set up. The area that the tigers live in is quite large so we were lucky to see one rather up-close.

Here kitty kitty.





We rode the skyfari across the park which was fun. Dylan was hoping it would be more like Thunder Mountain at Disney, so we had to explain that the zoo is about animals, not rides. LOL

We visited the monkey house, the polar bear, grizzly bears, penguins, the camels, etc. We would have loved to ride the camels and the monorail too, but the real season doesn't start until today (May 1st) so they were not operating.

I loved the flamingos. They remind me of Florida.




The most impressive attraction of the day was The Children's Zoo, hands down. The kids loved it here.

First they got to go into bubbles to see the prarie dogs from a very cool perspective.



In this tank there are large fish swimming with an alligator. Both Dylan and Katie loved looking at the alligator through the glass.



Along the way we saw lots of animals including a skunk, wallabies, peacocks, pelicans, rabbits, and then got to play in a cool treehouse slide. They did save the best for last. The best petting zoo I have ever visited. The kids absolutely loved this.












Dylan loved petting and hugging the animals...



until a goat bit his ear!

Shhh! He told me not to tell any of his friends.



For a change, Katie managed to get away unscathed.



It was a most fabulous day!