Photo Friday: Back into the World
// August 27th, 2010 // No Comments » // Photos, Theme Parks, Travel
Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language. -Walt Disney
Say what you will about what his company has become, Walt Disney was an extremely smart man. He had his flaws, as do we all, but the way he looked at the world, and the way he had of synthesizing ideas into things no one had ever seen before.. genius. I’d have to list him among historical figures I admire. And as I’ve said before, my life is just a bit better when I can go spend time at Disney World. I mention it (again, I’m sure) because we renewed our annual passes last week, after our summer blackout period ended, so it’s nice that we can head back out there at will. It’s also nice that we’re coming into the end of summer. It’ll still be hot for a few months, on the whole, but at least there will be hope for the occasional cold front to slide in and bring some refreshingly crisp days. The sooner the better! In November I have several family sessions scheduled at WDW, all of which I’m really looking forward to. I’ll be practicing and looking for great spots!
Sally and Family, Take Two
// August 22nd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Family Lifestyle, Photos
Last year on August 22, I met up with Sally and her family for a family session around old downtown Winter Garden. Today, one year later to the day (though we honestly didn’t plan it that way!), we got together again for a family session around their home and neighborhood. Hooray for repeat clients, particularly fun ones! Sally, it was a pleasure to see you all again, and a real treat to see my work decorating your home! I think we got some more you’ll enjoy–here’s a sneak peek!
Thanks for the dip in the pool, too, it was just what I needed. See you next year!
Photo Friday: Happy Birthday Hallie!
// August 13th, 2010 // No Comments » // Family Lifestyle, Photos
A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm. ~Bill Vaughan
Our little Hallie turned three years old this week, and the quotation above is quite true. We have girls, yes, but they are nonetheless quite fond of most things creepy and crawly. One of their favorite hobbies is looking for earthworms and making new homes for them. Hallie’s worms, unfortunately, tend not to survive the experience. Three year olds are also not very gentle! But she is quite a spirited child, which can be both a good and a bad thing. Perhaps the most amazing thing about parenthood is watching your childrens’ personalities take shape. There are glimpses in the first few years, of course, but around this age is when things start to gel, I think. I’m quite interested to see what kind of young ladies my girls grow into–but that doesn’t mean I’m in a hurry to get there!
Photo Friday: Cat City
// August 6th, 2010 // No Comments » // Family Lifestyle, Photos
The city of cats and the city of men exist one inside the other, but they are not the same city. ~Italo Calvino
We now have one dog, four fish, and three cats, with the addition of Max here. We got him from the shelter a few weeks ago. He’s about 10 weeks old and naturally adorable. So far he’s also pretty well-behaved, too, at least for a kitten. Our favorite cat ever was an orange tabby named Gilbert–Max is a bit more on the cream-colored side, but we’re hoping we got lucky with his personality too. Hosting cats (because we know no one ever OWNS a cat) is definitely different than having a dog. They’re just such different animals in personality and predilections. I have to say it, though, I definitely prefer cats. But only friendly cats–the ones who are aloof and distant all the time are hardly worth knowing. Max climbs right up and rubs his face all over our chins, which is cute. He’s also very fond of the girls and lets them carry him around, though he does draw the line at being dressed in doll clothes. I don’t blame him for that!
Photo Friday: The Greatest Thing
// July 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // Family Lifestyle, Photos
The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return.
-eden ahbez
Today is my beautiful wife’s birthday–that’s her in the photo, holding our younger daughter. I don’t have enough good photos of her, I realize–which is to say, I don’t have enough photos that show her as beautifully as I see her in my mind. We don’t have one of those ethereal, shooting-star romantic relationships, never have. But what we do have is utterly real, and I think quite remarkable. I love her thoroughly, trust her completely, and can’t imagine having anyone else at my side as we go down this winding road called life. She’s the mother of my children, which is the most exceptional gift anyone can be granted, and she fills that role with such skill and enthusiasm that I am constantly boggled. I don’t think I had any real idea what I wanted–in myself, in a mate, from life in general–until I met her, and it just felt right. It’s been almost 10 years now, and it still feels right. As a matter of fact, it feels a bit more right every day.
I used to consider myself a poet, though it was all surely cringeworthy. I used to write songs, but I’d say they were mediocre too. I wish I could write a poem or a song or find the right gift that would do justice to what I see when I look at my wife, and what I feel she’s given me. But there aren’t words, there aren’t notes, there isn’t a store that sells anything so magnificent. All I have is actions, I guess–so I hope I’m doing a good job as a husband and father, and I promise to do my best, now and always. It’s the least she deserves. I love you, baby!
Photo Friday: Baby Geniuses
// July 23rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Family Lifestyle, Photos
Don’t forget that compared to a grownup person every baby is a genius. Think of the capacity to learn! The freshness, the temperament, the will of a baby a few months old!
-May Sarton
I might as well make the announcement here as well–my wife and I recently found out we are expecting our third child! We have two of the cutest and smartest little girls ever, and we’d been debating for a while whether to try one more time for a boy. Finally we decided what the heck–our home is large enough and our hearts are large enough, so why not? The only thing that isn’t large enough is our car, actually, so I think we’ll be shopping for a minivan sometime in the next 9 months! We’re due on March 22, but we expect him or her to arrive a week or two prior to that. I’m sure we’ll find out at some point whether it’s a boy or girl–whatever it is, healthy is the first and foremost thing we want, of course. But I do hope it’s a boy, if only so I’m not so outnumbered at home!
The photo above is the adorable little baby boy of a friend we visited on our trip to Virginia earlier this month. I haven’t really done much work with babies yet (aside from my own, but I hardly knew what I was doing back then), so it was nice to get a little practice, and he was a great subject. Our new little one will have to get used to the camera pretty quickly too!
Diana and Family at Delaney Park
// July 22nd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Family Lifestyle, Photos
I met Diana and her family at Delaney Park near downtown Orlando yesterday evening–I’d been trying to get together with her for a while, so it was nice to finally meet up! It was still Florida-hot out (read: so hot that even our sweat was sweating), and I suspect her boys were a bit cranky because of it, so we didn’t shoot for as long as we otherwise might have. Still, I think we got some good shots. Diana, I hope you agree!
Thanks again, Diana–let’s do some more once it gets a little cooler!
Photo Friday: Friends Old And New
// July 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Family Lifestyle, Photos
Yes’m, old friends is always best, ‘less you can catch a new one that’s fit to make an old one out of.
-Sarah Orne Jewett
Last week was our annual trip up to Virginia to visit my wife’s family, and we had a great time as usual. I also managed to hook up with an old friend with whom I worked with about a decade ago (that long? how old am I?!) here in Florida. I looked him up on Facebook a while back and found he’d since relocated to the same neck of the woods in Virginia, which was a pleasant surprise to discover! He’d also remarried and added an adorable little girl to the world, so it was very cool to not just reconnect with him but also meet his family. We met up for dinner and then dropped by a playground, where I was happy to get a few good shots of little Evelyn in the fading sunlight, like this one. So here’s to reconnecting with old friends, and adding a couple new ones in the bargain!
Photo Friday: Summer Days
// July 2nd, 2010 // No Comments » // Family Lifestyle, Photos
Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.
-Ada Louise Huxtable
Truth be told, summer is not my favorite of seasons. I prefer cool weather to hot under most circumstances, and here in Florida we get more than our share of hot–so my favorite season is generally autumn, and in particular the first cool snap after a long, hot summer. But summer has its moments, of course! I love to swim, for one thing, and there’s no better time for that. And the beach, of course. One of our usual summer traditions is a trip to visit my wife’s family up in Virginia Beach–the photo above was taken on our trip there last year, and I hope to get some awesome photos this year too. I plan to take a tour of Naval Air Station Oceana, which definitely appeals to the geeky kid in me. Hopefully we’ll do some neat new parks and museums, and of course the Botanical Gardens in Norfolk. Ah, travel. I do love going new places and seeing new things, finding new off-the-beaten-path spots to explore. I can’t wait until the kids are old enough to drag all over the world. Someday!
Oh, and I hope you all have a great holiday weekend. Happy Birthday to America!
On The Horizon
// June 25th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Family Lifestyle, Photos
Do not be in a hurry to succeed. What would you have to live for afterwards? Better make the horizon your goal; it will always be ahead of you.
William Makepeace Thackeray
I’ve always loved the beach. Anywhere land meets water tends to be an interesting place, but the beach is definitely the extreme example. The stretch of sand and the vast expanse of ocean stretching out.. it just makes me feel small. Insignificant. I imagine to a lot of people that sounds like it would be a bad thing. People like to feel important, so why should I enjoy feeling insignificant? I guess it’s a matter of perspective. It’s the same reason I love looking into the night sky: whatever problems I think I have really seem to fade away against such an expansive backdrop, and when confronted with the incomprehensible distances and timeframes involved. Continental drift, mountains forming, galaxies swirling, light traveling for a few thousand years to get from there to here.. it’s all so much MORE than me and the petty things I worry about. Perspective.
But of course my troubles are still real to me, and I know I’m not really insignificant. That’s because of the other elements in the photo above–those little girls. I love a good jumping photo, and in this case I really like that my Hermione is jumping into the ocean, fearless, with the endless horizon before her, and with her sister at her side. It’s literal and it’s symbolic, and I hope it’s a metaphor for the rest of her life. Jump in, chase the horizon, and do it with people you love. If that can describe your life, even in part, then you’ll be a success whether you ever catch the horizon or not.
