While my dear friend Christy did a LL with the little ones, Colton and I spent a blissful 30 minutes outside with my camera. At first he was unsure about using the camera (and so was I), but after just a few minutes, he was very comfortable with holding it and following instructions. He had a very keen eye in finding subjects to photograph, and pointed them out very quickly to me. I had the fun of teaching him about perspective and angles. I pretty much let him do the rest. I have to admit, some of these are as good as I have done after years of practice. He is going to be a natural, just like his big sister!
I wanted so much to get a picture of Colton taking Kels' pict, but ended up peeking over his shoulder to get her to smile and laugh for him. Even though we had a dry day, the leaves and ground were still really wet. We ended up using an old towel and folded it up small underneath her to sit on. She was a great sport to let Colton take her pict, even though they both decided it was too freezing to be out there after all :)
I have to share about this image. Colton was working so hard to try different angles and just when he was ready, a whole flock of geese flew by overhead. Kels was enthralled with those geese and wouldnt look at Colton for anything, so I told him to go ahead and take her pict anyway. I think it is one of my favorites, esp when she sees this pict and can tell me why she wasnt looking at Colton. Gotta love that.
When we got the OK for our assignment, my brain just started churning out ideas for contrast images. I really wanted something striking that would show off the difference in color of the leaves outside. They are all dark and faded now, so I knew something bright and shiny would be needed. I nearly ransacked the upstairs trying to find anything that would be bright and season appropriate. In the midst of my destructive forces Christy had quietly sneaked home and gathered a bunch her Fall silk leaves. They even had a small bit of glitter, and ended up being the perfect thing! Thank you to Christy for many things today, esp for coming to the rescue of all the kids art projects today! Love ya, friend!
One of the examples in Colton's lesson was of a winter tree scene. Our weather today was ideal for a similar image. Colton had a lot of fun, and once he got the hang of things, he just kept shooting. For some of the tree images I told him we were going to lay on the ground and shoot from there. He gave me that look of "I dont think so". I put down an old towel and lay down and slowly he got down and lay there with me. At first he didnt think it was too cool, but he quickly relaxed and was happy to shoot away. This top image is one of my faves too. Mostly because of the funny story behind it. We were laying on the sidewalk between our tree and the neighbor's Magnolia tree. I told him that the Magnolia would be a great subject and he informed me he couldnt take the pict because we were upside down. I told him to go for it anyway, and I am pretty sure he thought I was crazy, but he tried anyway. I told him how to hold the camera, and then just let him have at it. He got this one on the first try. It was upside down, which he thought was hilarious, but thanks to technology, we got it turned around for everyone to enjoy.
I think that Colton enjoyed the editing process almost as much as the photography. I let him pick which images he wanted for his project and then I let him tell me what he thought needed to be done to give the images a bit more contrast for the assignment. He knew just when to ask for more light or more dark to make the trees stand out. I think for one image, he even decided he like the B&W the best (yea, for having another one like B&W images!)
I was so proud of him that I knew I had to get picts too. I told him to stay put and ran in and got my phone and took picts of him taking picts. He was so busy shooting that I am pretty sure he didnt even know I was taking these.
This is a pict of a plant in our front yard. It is amazing to me the things that we have that seem to have color or bloom year round. Colton knew this had all of the things that his lesson had talked about and had to photograph it.
We went back inside after poor Colton decided he had had enough of the "cold" (if the boy would have any fat at all on his body, he would have realized how nice it was) :) He really still wanted to shoot though, so I gathered some misc objects and told him to put them together and then photograph them so only the subject was in the view window. This is what he put together all on his own! He got some hits and misses on making sure he got only what he wanted to photograph in the window, but I was so impressed at his creativity and making something fun out of just whatever. Ky also got in on the act and even took some from the floor angle that I didnt even think of! 
When I called and told Preston of our adventures of the afternoon, he teased that we need to teach the kids some cheap hobbies.... like folding paper airplanes....Hahaha. He was excited that the boys and I had had so much fun. When I asked him about using the PP program for Colton's project, he reminded me that when it came time for the techy stuff of the project to be sure to ask my big girls for help. ;) He was back to teasing today, and that was a relief to me that even though he is still feeling crummy, that if he is well enough to tease, that he is going to be ok. Hopefully this dumb cold wont keep him down long. Thanx for all of the well wishes in his behalf, I know they help tons and mean so much!
1 comment:
Wow! These are amazing! What a nice job. So glad you're having good days. I hope you have many.
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