Raw

I bet Reagan could care less that his picture this morning was taken in Manual mode in RAW format. But he makes a good model while I figure this whole thing out since he so still. And the good news is, I'm doing it!

While I have all this information fresh in my mind, I'll go ahead and share the how's and why's that I have come to know about.

Why shoot in raw format instead of having the images already converted to jpegs in your camera?

• the white balance isn't set yet so you can really create a much better lit picture after it is taken.
• you can lighten shadows and darken overblown portions of the picture.
• it is a much higher quality image than jpeg to do initial edits like lighting and sharpness, before doing finer tuning in something like photoshop.

Why shoot in manual instead of using presets like "portrait" and "landscape" in your camera?

• the results are so much more unique, authentic, artistic, and special.
• you are in control, instead of the camera.
• you can determine the shutter speed, f-stop, film speed, iso, focal point(s) to your liking
• you will understand how your camera works and some of the subtle aspects of photography
• even if you don't shoot in manual once you learn how, you will at least know what your camera is doing and what is "wrong" with pictures you don't end up liking.
• it is fun!

Family

{Bryan with his Mama and our sleeping babe}


{At the Bonicelli Family Reunion yesterday afternoon}

This was just Bryan's Grandpa's portion of the family. Grandpa Derito's two siblings also had their extended families there... quite the crowd! So many little ones running around with their proud parents, grand parents, and great grandparents!

So glad to be able to put my wide angle lens to use. And after talking with a fellow photographer in the family, I am determined to start shooting in manual mode now (graduating from aperture priority mode primarily) and using raw instead of jpeg! So excited to take this leap and see the results.

A world without Legos?

...I shudder to think...

I wear my emotions on my sleeve (sorry for complete lack of transition here). So, when a very deflated looking me ran into my great neighbor friend at the mailbox yesterday evening, she noticed. And being the amazing person she is, she brought me this today:

A little backstory -- the other day I had half-jokingly, okay maybe 1/3 jokingly, yeah who am I kidding I was dead serious... said that I need a paper chain for each day until school starts. She delivered! She rocks!

Each day has witty little things written on it like "are the first day outfits planned?" Love it! Thanks, Megan!

Yeah, we have had a rough go of it the past couple of days with the boys yelling and fighting. It has no doubt been a fun and busy Summer, but I think we have all officially hit the wall with the whole "being together all day" thing. The boys are probably as excited for school to start back up as I am.

So, I can't go out on that note... here is a picture Jack made today:


My reaction: "wow! that is a great picture, Jack, and it's not going anywhere."

Jack: "yeah, 'cause there's a tape army holding it up."

Reagan

lover of all things edible

reacts to the words "leash" and "walk" with a frenzy of excitement

patient and kind with little ones

giver of kisses

sweet doggie

"who's a good boy?"

even though he tries to break the rules and get on the leather sofa whenever we have company...

...we love our Rags Dog!

bulleted

• got Warren registered for 1st grade and picked up his school supplies. I don't know what has me smiling more, his shy little assertions when I asked if he thinks he'll ever want "hot lunch" at school ("yes but not the first day of school and maybe just once or twice a week" was his answer), or all the little goodies in his box of school supplies. I may have actually held the little Pink Pearl eraser and felt the smoothness of it and even breathed in the familiar smell of it... but I'll never tell.
• Nolan is starting to only take one nap per day -- ALREADY!
• I really need a good solid hour of uninterrupted time to work on my photography website, organize my thoughts on a few topics, pay some bills, start a family calendar, etc but that chunk of time is so elusive.
• I don't know what came over me this morning, but first thing I scrubbed down the kitchen. I mean really cleaned it... moved every item on the counters even which is not done very often, er maybe ever.
• I am tired. Oh so tired. Been staying up too late. Bryan is up for a big promotion at work so he has been preparing for interviews and we have been working on our office project and also just leaving the TV on too late. Going to hide the remote tonight!
• Loving my new lens! It has given me a renewed interest in taking pictures. I love my 50mm f1.4 prime lens but it can get a little boring, using it exclusively. I sold my kit lens on ebay and am so happy to be rid of that thing.
• The boys are doing some "work" at the table right now and Nolan is taking a little nap. I can hear thunder and the sky is darkening by the minute. I hope it rains, I love the rain.
• I am counting down the minutes until I will open a bottle of wine and relax for the evening.

UNLEASHED

You would think that the boys were consulted on the design of this park, they love it so.

Squishy green ground and wide slide.

Wide enough for three little monkeys...

Towering equipment, tractor, shade, pigs to ride...

Spiral slide and vertical spans for climbing...

...all makes for three very happy little {handsome} boys. Who often have to be lured to the car to leave by their sweating, tired Mama.

What's REALLY happening here?

Truth be told, one of the many reasons I love photography is that a picture is so... still... and quiet.

It is a crisp moment in time captured forever, but also gone forever. The exact moment, scene, expression, etc will not likely present itself again, so that picture is quite an amazing little artifact. Modern technology never ceases to amaze me!

So, on with it. What's really happening here?

Looks peaceful enough, right? Two little brothers putting together a puzzle? Or maybe they're taking it apart? Pretty irrelevant either way, right?

"Domestic bliss?"

Ummm... or not!

Nolan only took 45 minutes of his normal 1.5 hour morning nap and was whiny beyond all belief. I had to set him down to make lunch (whole wheat spaghetti with fresh tomatoes from Grandma Caryl's garden with sweet peas on the side, in case you wondered), and he is making a very shrill, attention-getting noise here.

Further more, Jack is supposed to be picking up the puzzle that we put together this morning, but instead he is tossing the pieces all over and being very sassy in his responses to my telling him what is appropriate behavior.

Now that we've cleared that up with those two, when I look at this picture I also see:

::the boys' backpacks hanging there, reminding me that school starts in a few short weeks!

::the last surviving balloon from Nolan's birthday party.

::a dirty rag and dishtowel on the stairs waiting to be carried up to the laundry room, which is pretty much always the case.

::a box of Kleenex on the floor left over from Jack's school supply shopping trip on Sunday.

::Warren's toy "soupcase" on the floor of the living room, with its contents spilled all over.

::beautiful sunlight streaming onto my favorite houseplant -- the one that I should probably water since I can't recall the last time I did so.

::another moment captured and gone forever, for better or worse!

Real Life

Haven't done one of these posts in a LONG time!

Here is our kitchen and dining room as it really is most of the time. Stuff strewn just about everywhere, a baby in the highchair, a makeshift office set up on the table since our real office (which is just to the right of the dining room in this picture) is still a construction site. But hopefully after the granite desktop gets put in on Tuesday, there will be a little less clutter going on...probably not!

When I look at this picture I see...

...all my camera stuff all over the table. Got a new wide angle lens yesterday! Went for the 17-40mm f/4 L, if that means anything to anyone, myself included.

...the walker toy that Nolan pushes around, making him the third boy to learn to walk using it.

...Bryan drinking a "special drink."

...Reagan hanging out under the high chair, where the gettin' is good!

...Sunflowers that have reached the end of their road.

...a blown glass ball that my mom got me in Alaska hanging on the knob of the china cabinet since I love it but have never quite figured out how to display it.

...a picture of Bryan as a child that lives on the counter and is one of my favorite Earthly possessions.

...a happy home!

And so on and so forth.

My photography website it up! Not really sure about a plan of action for marketing or anything formal and business-y like that, but I am enjoying this little hobby of mine and THAT is what matters.

I had an obvious lack of pictures of Jack taken by me, so I took him out the other day. He did so well taking direction and working for the camera. Here are just a few of my favorites... I am saving one for his birthday letter this year. Cannot believe he is turning five! Just doesn't seem possible.

Nolan's first birthday was delightful. He thoroughly enjoyed himself, and made out like a little bandit with new bath toys, clothes, books, etc. Just when I thought we had every toy possible...

{"Barf Vader"... hamming it up for the camera!}

{He was so tired by the end, but I had to get a mommy/baby pic}

Warren and Jack are down in P-town, visiting their Grandparents this weekend. So, I only have one baby and am making the most of the chance to get some things done. Going to get Jack's school supplies, go look at a new lens (yay!!!), take some portraits of a pair of adorable brothers that live in our neighborhood... and just enjoy a little bit less noise until tomorrow.

N.B.O.T.S.

I have so many things I could say... more than a few posts in draft, saved and incomplete. And instead of working to finish and publish those, in fact, instead of doing anything that resembles productive and sensible, I present to you...

...the naked baby on the sidewalk post (also known as the N.B.O.T.S post)

Without further adieu.

{Let the cuteness roll...}

{Hiney in the air!}

{A quick smile for the Mama-razzi!}

{Contemplating his next move...}

{Oh yeah, that was a bold move!}

{"I know, I am soooo cool."}

{Digging in the mulch. Duh!} {Flashing some tushy.}
{Bringing some mulch with him.}
{Finally crawling to Mama, who can't resist and gladly hands the camera off to Daddy.}
{I love me some N.B.O.T.S.!}

I know, I have a problem. But they grow so quickly. And those dimpled cheeks and distended belly vanish before you can hardly get in 3,000 kisses on each smooshy part.

...sigh...

COMING ALONG

Secured the domain name www.mamarazziportraits.com, now just gotta design and build the actual website!

Ordered business cards with this logo:



Jotting down lists and lists of ideas for all kinds of settings and poses for maternity, family, etc.

Taking a little girl's pictures this evening... in a TUTU I bought! Can't wait!

THIS AND THAT

Yesterday, Nolan really started to walk. And I started to cry. Warren noticed and came to comfort me... he gets it, and I love him for that.

He is such a neat kid! And have I mentioned that he loves Legos...





Nolan's birthday party was perfect. I have lots of pictures to wade through, but somehow, I'd rather look at these two of Jack from this morning... these eyes!





We are having a lazy day. Still in pajamas, in fact. Planning to deliver thank-you cards, hit up a park, and eat dinner out since Bryan has softball tonight.

Nolan had his one year check up yesterday. He is the picture of health, even at a slight 17 pounds. So, we are feeding him protein shakes, which he seems to like okay since it is chocolate flavored.

ONE YEAR OLD

So... I have been, like, THE worst blogger ever.

For anyone still checking in here, sorry. I have been BUSY. We have had a few house projects going on, Warren had his Lego Engineering camp last week, and I have been working to kind of maybe just a little start a PHOTOGRAPHY business! Yay! I'll unveil the name and all that good stuff hopefully soon.

And in case that hasn't been enough to keep me totally running around like a mad woman, I have also been planning this little Angel's birthday party:



Marinating fajita meet as we speak for the friends and neighbors that are stopping by for a casual, kind of last minute put together of a celebration of sorts. We usually don't make a big to do over the first birthday, so this is a little change of pace. Oh and cookie dough is refrigerating for these awesome Playdoh cookies I have been wanting to try for a long time. Will share the recipe and pictures... sometime! Ha!

I cannot believe Nolan is one. I know it is beyond cliche to say that, but it is my true sentiment. This past year has gone by in a blink. And the birthday parties are becoming much more frequent now with three! Here is little Noli sleeping on his Aunt Jenny's chest last month at Warren's birthday party {Aren't they a pair?}:


So glad a few of the home improvement projects we have been working on are mostly done! Whew! My mom and sister are coming to stay with us for a week next month to get my sister settled in for College about an hour from us. Yay!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NOLAN! LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH!

"It's okay, Noli, I got ya."

Just in case Nolan was feeling a little insecure being set on a tree stump by his camera wielding momma... he's got two big brothers to reassure him that he's in good hands.

Here are a couple of my other favorites from this little impromptu photo session in the woods on 4th of July, a day filled with multiple BBQ's and enough outdoor play to satisfy even three little boys' love of all things squirt guns and rowdy.



Yep, these three were crashed out by 8:30 and never even heard a firework, which turned out just fine since we had torrential sideways rain that made for a perfect cozy sleep to end a very fun day.

I know I am biased here, but these are some handsome boys!



Oh and I may never get pictures done at a cheesey studio again... loving outdoor pictures of my guys looking at their goofball daddy much better!

What do you think...

...he whispered in his baby brother's ear?