Stars, Stripes and Blossoms

In my garden

As I mentioned in my post last night, I picked up a new macro lens yesterday, so that I can try some close-up nature photography. I woke up early this morning to try it out in my garden. So today I will share some of the little pieces of my garden. Tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and cherry blossom buds.

From the mind of a 2-year-old

I'm in the car with my husband and the girls, and the younger one says "Oh no! I left something at the man's house!". We were on our way back from the camera store (where I got a new macro lens...more on that tomorrow) and a restaurant, where we had eaten dinner. So the 4-year-old replies "What man?". And the younger one replies "The Man!", and they go back and forth for several iterations. Then I ask "What did you leave at the man's house?" She answers "a sticker."

I of course was completely baffled, and then my husband figured it out. He had taken her to the men's room to wash her hands after dinner, and the stick she had on her hand had fallen off. In her mind the "men's room" and "man's house" were close enough ;)

When Photographers' Kids Get Together...

They have lots of fun! We had a little playdate with another local photographer and her little gal, and of course we had to had a little fun playing in her studio.

Two boys and a ?

We're not sure if the boy they're expecting is a boy or girl, but I did get a big smile when I asked this mom to imagine pushing a little girl in a frilly pink dress around in a baby carriage. We had a great time this morning and here are some previews from their session.

Egg Hunt!

I just had to make this shot from our egg hunt today into a little inspirational poster. She was eventually able to get the egg--being the photographer mom I am, instead of helping her I was taking her photo ;)

The Difference Between Girls and Boys

I'm taking this week off since the kids are on spring break, and I'll have some more photos to share next week. But in the meantime I'll share another "kids will be kids" story.

This afternoon, the girls were playing in their neighbor's yard, and they were up in the neighbor's winterized sailboat. The little boy who lives at the house says, "This is a police boat. You have to play police or you have to get off." So the girls say "We're mermaids, lets go play in our mermaid garden," and proceed to get off the boat. Then a little while later, the older sister finds a neat spot in under their elevated playfort to set up a pretend ice cream stand. She asks "Does anyone want ice cream?". And the boy replies "We don't sell ice cream here, just guns. Police guns." Well the mother assures her son that it was ok to sell pretend ice cream there today, and the girl continues her imaginary entrepreneurship. She asks me "Would you like some ice cream, it's ten dollars". "Oh my," I say. "Ten dollars is a lot for ice cream." And she says, "ok, one dollar."

How Quickly They Forget...aka Young Romance

No photos today, just a little story. Last year my preschooler had a little guy in her class who she referred to as her "big boyfriend". They looked very much like pint-sized high school sweethearts, always finding a place next to each other for circle time, and walking hand-in-hand on the playground. At the end of the school year they parted ways, as he was going to a different preschool this year.

Fast forward to today, about 9 months later, I arrived to pick her up from the childcare at my gym, and there is my daughter, playing "adventurer" with this little boy--her "big boyfriend." In a complete stroke of chance they had been in the childcare at the same time. But when I asked her if she remembered who he was, she looked at me as if to say "why would I know who he was?--he's a little guy I just met in the gym", and just said "no". So while I look back fondly at her first little boyfriend and how cute they looked marching happily around together, I guess the whole period has already slipped from her young mind. So we said goodbye and the ex-preschool sweethearts went their merry ways again, completely nonplussed.

A Walk in the Park

I can hardly believe its only the middle of March! Yesterday I had a session scheduled with this little 4-month-old and it turned out to be such an unseasonably warm day, we opted for a spontaneous outdoor session. Here's a little preview for his family, who I know are eager to see the photos, especially his photographer aunt from across the country who sent him my way :)

At the Farm

It was a nice March day today, so we decided to take a trip out to the farm and have a little picnic with some friends. The animals were as happy as we were to be able to get some sun.

The new red petti

We did a modeling work today--a pair of cute Mary Janes, and a Disney-inspired top. For the tee, I decided to pull out our fun new red pettiskirt. The girls just love pettis!

Around the World, Part Two

For the second in my series of "vintage" travel images, we're stopping in India. I had the opportunity to go to India in 2002 with my husband and inlaws. We took a train through the desert Rajasthan region of the country, where we saw little villages like this one, and at every train station, we were met by a group of young children who found the trains passing by one of the most entertaining parts of their day.
In one of the cities, we had the chance to witness a groom on his way to a wedding. He's the one on the horse near the middle of the crowd.
And on the other extreme, we visited many gorgeous palaces built by Indian royalty, and saw the remnants of British rule. The image of the woman in the window is from one of the palaces, and the last image is of the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta.
I have to look through my photos to see where we will go next. I am thinking maybe the country of Georgia. Check back soon to see more, or subscribe to the blog to get a email when the updates are posted :)

Around the World with Veralana...Part One

Before my children were born I worked in international health, and had the opportunity to travel to many of our projects overseas. I thought it might be fun to pull out some of my old photos from those trips and share a little of my travels. These are all scanned images I took with my handy APS film camera.

The first in my series is Albania. The poorest country in Europe, Albania has a rich and interesting history. When I went there in the early 2000s, they were still suffering from the aftermath of living under the Hoxha regime (when it was isolated from both the East and the West) and the difficulties of converting from a socialist to a market economy. The image above is from an area in the hills near the capital, Tirana.

My work in Albania was mostly in improving primary health care, women's health services, and emergency medical services. One of the major challenges was the lack of medical supplies and aging facilities. The image below is on the grounds of one of the main hospitals in Tirana.

I miss traveling, but I wouldn't change my decision to change my career focus so I can spend more time with my children. I'm hoping that as they get older I can combine my photography with my background in international development, maybe taking photos for international organizations. But in the meantime I will search through my box of photos for some more images for my series. Check back soon for images from India.

1st boy!

One of my maternity families from last month invited me back today to take photos of their 1st little boy. Lucky guy has 3 big sisters to give him fashion advice as he grows up ;)

First Signs of Spring

Today I saw the first signs of spring in the garden--some tiny little yellow flowers peeping out even before the crocuses.

If you're thinking of booking a spring or cherry blossom session, please reserve your session date early, especially if you'd like a weekend. I only have a few weekend appointments available this spring, and I anticipate that they will fill up quickly. Cherry blossom season is March 29-April 13 this year :)

HItting the books

This little guy is the son of two doctors, and their house was full of huge medical books. So I thought it would be fun to incorporate them into our images. We did some indoor portraits and then braved the windy outdoors for some natural settings. Isn't he such a cutie? And his big brother and mom and dad were so easy to work with.