Out and About: Yosemite in Winter (Part 1)

Hello Friends!

I won't bother apologizing for the gap between posts. This working mama has to, well, work!  I will, however, thank you kindly for checking in every now and then-- thank you! 

It's probably obvious from previous posts that my little family and I love nature. We much prefer to go on a hike than to an amusement park (though we've done that).  We would rather go camping than go to the city and stay in a hotel (though if it were just the hubby and I we'd be up for that!).  The boys are happiest when they are either wet, muddy or both and their joy makes us happy.  So it's probably no surprise that when we would take a mini vacation in our favorite place, Yosemite. 

What's not to love about Yosemite?!  It is truly a wondrous place.  The best part of this visit was that the park was largely empty the first week in December before the first snow fell. While we missed the snow - insert sad face here- we still enjoyed long meandering bike rides throughout the park, took some nice short hikes with the boys, and genuinely enjoyed each other's company in a way that we hadn't on previous family vacations. 

Here are a few photos taken of a hike near Tunnel View on our first day there.  I also shot some film and hope to share those once I get them back from the lab. That is, I will share if they are share worthy.  ;-)

These oak leaves had the most intricate patterns.

While I love nature I find photographing landscapes intimidating.  My Other Half is an AMAZING landscape photographer.  Here is my humble attempt at landscape photography. 

Today is the last day of 2014.  I wish you all a fabulously happy and successful new year.  May it be rich in health and family.  

Thanks so much for checking in. 

Until next time. 

--Carolina 

The Film Files: The Boy

Hello friends!

I know, I know, I know!  This is not a post on Santa Monica and Hollywood nor did I keep my promise to post last week.  -sigh-  I wish I could cram more time into my day with less interruptions.  Until then I will post when I can. I might even post more than once a week, but in the spirit of keeping it real, well, let's not hold our breath shall we?  ;-)  

Moving on...

I've mentioned before that I love film photography. Love it, love it, love it. I have a few frames I would like to share today from a couple of months ago I took of my oldest.  These frames were taken on a super bright day around 2 pm in September.  The sun was still high and it was a hot day! 

I did not use a light meter as I didn't have one at that time and the internal light meter stopped working the very first time I used the camera. Yeah, major bummer.  :-/   So I just used what I know of digital metering for these. I think I could have overexposed a bit more, but I must admit I like the rich and vibrant tones I did get. For those of you who are interested, the camera is a 35 mm Yashica with a Contax lense, manual focus only.  The film is Kodak Portra 400.  These images have not been edited in any way by me or the film lab.

I can honestly say that I am in love with film more than words can express. There is a soulfulness, a depth, a certain intangible something to film that digital can't exactly match (though you can get close).  These frames don't match what I envisioned but it's a start and practice makes progress, right?  :-)  

I am really excited about including film in my photography journey and hope to share more in the future.  My next goal is to take better notes in regards to settings, type of light, etc., so I can share that info as well. If you have any advice, suggestions, or resources for film photography, don't be shy- share!

Until next time!
--Carolina

Out and About: Disneyland

Hello Friends!

A couple of months ago we had some very special guests stay with us for a little bit. During their stay we made a little trip to Disneyland and the kids could hardly contain their excitement!  They were both equally giddy at being in "Mickey's Park" (as the oldest dubbed Disneyland).  Below are a few photographs from that trip.   Well, more than a few.  ;-)

When we arrived the boys went hog wild over this guy:

I felt we were on or near this ride for a-very-long-time.  The boys really liked it. 

My oldest got to battle with Darth Vader.  :-)

The very content birthday boy!

They were dazzled by this guy.  Both my boys have a silly sense of humor so it only seemed natural that they would be in awe of this guy.  ;-)

My youngest ran up to this guy to give him a great big hug. 

My guy with my youngest.  Mwah!

My youngest loves carousel rides and he could ride on these for hours on end if we let him. 

 The sign of a good day is a sleeping child.  Amen. 

The next day we found our way to Santa Monica. I'll post photos of that trip later this week. 

Thanks for checking in!

Until next time, 

--Carolina 

Maternity: Ms. A

Hello Friends!

I've been missing from Blogland these last couple of months for a variety of reasons that I don't need to get into and quite honestly aren't very interesting to you, the Reader.  In short I have been busy with regular life stuff that I have not had much "free" time to devote to the blog. 

Rather than write a post with all the fun stuff my little family and I have done to date (and most likely bore you in the process!) I'll give short snapshots of our summer in later posts. 

If it's not evident to you in past blog posts (or in this one), let me just say that I have an addiction passion for photography. It's something that I breath, that I dream and daydream about ALL THE TIME!  I've begun delving into film photography recently (I've shared some images here of my very first roll of 35 mm film) and hope to post my humble results in future posts. 

All this talk of photography leads us to this post. 

I am fortunate enough to have friends, family, and colleagues who are willing to sit for me so I can expand my photography knowledge and experience. My gorgeous colleague Ms. A  and her fiancé Mr. A recently sat for me and were patient enough to let me shoot some film as well, which I am excited to share once I get the film scans back.  

Here are a few of my favorites: 

Could Ms. A be any more beautiful?!

Just when you thought she couldn't be any more beautiful!

For those who are curious, I made the floral head piece about an hour before we were scheduled to meet so it would be fresh.  It's made of ivy vines, large carnations, and baby's  breath. I had never made one before and was frankly quite surprised how fast it came together. 

This is a very tender shot that I am absolutely in love with!  We had less than a minute to get in position before the sun set.

Thanks Ms. A and Mr. A for allowing me into your world of love and wonder. It was truly an honor to capture the love, friendship, and respect you have for each other.  I look forward to meeting your little one!

And thank you, dear Reader, for checking in every now and then! I hope the past couple of months have treated you well.  I look forward to sharing more images of recent shoots in the near future. 

Until next time,

--Carolina 

Maternity: Ms. E

Hello Friends!

Do you have friends that are just so gorgeous that when you see them you just want to photograph them?  I have friend-colleagues that are gorgeous but only one has been willing to let me photograph her.  C'mon you guys!  What gives?!  Let me photograph you, too! Yeah, I figure that if they read this here then I might shame them into letting me shoot them.  I'm sure it's apparent I love photography and will use whatever means at my disposal to get my friends to "willingly" model for me!   Sis, this includes you! ;-)

The gorgeous Ms. E is expecting a little boy within days of this post!  I asked her a couple of months ago to sit for me for some maternity shots.  She was shy about the shoot but agreed once I described my overall vision: natural environment, lots of white, and loose hair.  Basically, simple and romantic was the theme of the day.  We met up at a regional park near our homes a couple of weeks ago and had a fun time. Here are a few of my favorite images of the day. And yes, folks, she really is this gorgeous. Really.

This last image is my favorite.  Thanks Ms. E and Mr. M for letting me capture what is clearly a special loving relationship.  I look forward to meeting and photographing your little baby boy in the near future!

Until next time, 

--Carolina 

Lensbaby: Test 2

Hello Friends!

It's been pretty warm around here but every now and then I catch a hint of fall: a falling leaf, that certain crispness in the air. If that isn't enough to let me know that fall is around the corner the manic running around weekday mornings getting ready for work and getting my oldest ready for school proves it.  :-) Crazy hectic seems to be the unwanted motto in our household and boy can it be tiring!  

But I digress! A couple of weeks ago I posted my initial results with the Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic.  As I mentioned before the Lensbaby requires practice to get the results you're after. After shooting in manual on my Nikon for some time I figured I wouldn't have any problems using the Sweet 35.  Yeah, overinflated ego much?!  ;-)  Talk about humbling!  It's true that there is always something to learn and photography is no different. 

I need to take my own advise and begin to photograph inanimate objects but I am always drawn to photographing people. Usually the only people around are my two little ones and sometimes I have to entice them with a treat just to get them to stand still for me for a minute or two.  ;-)  C'mon!  Surely I'm not the only one to do this?!

Here are a few shots of my youngest taken with the Lensbaby Sweet  35 Optic. 

Yes, it's quite clear that I need practice. LOTS of it!  But for the most part I'm pleased with my overall results. With more practice I'm sure my results will improve. Especially if my bribes are tasty or fun enough to convince my little ones to stand still long enough! ;-)

Until next time, 

--Carolina

Out and About: Monterey

Hello Friends!

It seems that despite my love of lazy weekends I am rarely home on the weekends for a significant amount of time.  This may explain why I am so exhausted come Monday!  ;-)

We had guests from out of the country recently and so we made some special trips we might not have made otherwise.  Thank goodness for them!  ;-)  I promise to post photos of our guests at a later date. 

We made our way down to Monterey to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium and boy am I glad we did.  It is simply a spectacular place to visit and if you have children please find your way there!  They will love it and love you even more for it! At least that is how our oldest expressed his thanks for taking him there.  ;-) 

After spending several hours at the aquarium we made our way to the beach with a few stops on the way there. 

My youngest likes to make friends with both animate and inanimate objects. :-)

My oldest was feeling shy.

The boys really enjoyed being in the water. What is it about boys happy in water whether it's in sand or dirt?!  Messy boys make happy boys.  At least that's the case in our house.  :-)

We were able to get a few rare family photos!  :-)

I hope your weekend was equally fabulous and full of adventures!

--Carolina