ILP rolling photo quarantine 2

gorgeous!

bad iphone quality but here you go anyways:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2781/4139106761_c074a00814_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2620/4139106811_b83a20bf0d_o.jpg

omg <3 beeps' monster feet!!!!
and you let her stand on the table!

that is a pretty little girl. great indie chick vibe from first pic.

one of many firsts during a rainy week (note the sudden lunge towards the baby when it seems he might slip)....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufZ92WhFXc0

can't believe how big he is!

dude tell me about it.

how old is he now?

almost 1. no teeth!!

cats: protecting or plotting?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2477/4096001601_4d873705f2_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2534/4096745800_15aeb181f8_o.jpg

No, no, no, Tracer Hand, your kid is still one month old. Time does NOT go by that fast.

Sunny, can I borrow your cute baby for a while? I miss babies. (I would say I don't miss sleep deprivation. And in fact I don't as I'm still sleep deprived: my two kids take turns waking us up SEVERAL times during the night. I am fuxored beyond belief. ARGH!)

Wow, Tracer, that wiggly crawl once he reaches the top of the stairs! Our Louis was watching over my shoulder and wants to know if your Louis is Lou-e or Lou-iss? These things are important to 12 year olds.

Love the Museum of Childhood, it's a total nostalgia fest.

Sunny, yr baby is beautiful.

Nath - I'm feeling yr pain. Six years of disrupted sleep we had - it's hard. BUT IT WILL END! (probably)

Ned, I'm just fucked up beyond belief. :-( SIX years? Oh crappers :-)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Q2cuqOo8v8M/SxjyVlCoqKI/AAAAAAAAN68/SbSVhD9KCFY/s800/SAM_0152.JPG

No sleep here either. Archie had chicken pox, then bronchiolitis, then Howie got the pox. Just about all better now -- last night was the first they both slept through in about a month.

Wonderful stuff (not the sleep deprivation, the photos).

Has it really been five weeks since I posted on this thread? I look at it nearly every day...

Another pair of tights head for the bin after a rough day at school for Ava...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2756/4096129213_546c1e1353.jpg

Lulu, zoning out in a coffee shop with Ivan the Bunny (I had to sit on a stool)...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2574/4122706077_40d50bcdea.jpg

Little drummer girls in, hey, another coffee shop...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2485/4110772688_21b68c8d1d.jpg

Meg, that is one classic photo. MJ, sometimes i think, in the looks dept, Beeps and Lulu are somehow related. I've also been looking everywhere for Ava's boots in my size.

We are introducing Henry to Beeps' old miracle blanket tonight. A shortish wrapped up evening nap definitely showed some promise.

love seeing these cute kids ... here's mine
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2530/4153704159_cd0bf30cfc_b.jpg

omg!!!!!! i loooooovve the look on her face.

<3 those cheeks!

Back to no sleep again last night -- Howie has a back molar coming so was up +++ times.

MJ, this might have been asked before but what camera do you have?

Hey Meg - it's a Canon EOS 40D (before February it was a Canon EOS 300D; the shutter finally reached the end of its life on that). Usually a 28mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.8 lens on there. Both cameras were secondhand, off eBay, way less than regular price.

Are you thinking of getting a new camera?

Yo Ned! It's "Lou-ee". (French mom. Although in France they put the emphasis at the end, i.e. Lou-EE.) How about yours?

Here's like 50% of my reality these days:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2762/4163378257_14d6335a24.jpg

It chills me to the bone when I imagine what these two have in store for me over the next few years:

http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss71/fabrickd/DSC01220.jpg?t=1260260445

they do look like they're up to something ... as do these two ...
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_38ynGUtx_zk/Sx1u-6VnXrI/AAAAAAAAALE/NqXd9dbhXHA/s1600-h/tacandSylvie.jpg

gah
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2515/4168786327_f5b002c886_b.jpg

xp - same here Tracer - LouEE. Here he is with his sister and a friend.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2714/4179580351_762a642a35.jpg

And he here is with the same friend after getting their go-cart stuck (with my brother directing the rescue operation and my son helping out by taking a photo of the problem on his phone).
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2745/4180333914_716dd1fa57.jpg

Ned, your son seems as awesome as you.

Snow!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2785/4197237936_c444aa512f.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2748/4196491209_d951da71a8.jpg

oh my gosh ava's cheekbones are gorgeous! she's gonna make a stunning young lady in a few years.

ok I've never posted on one of these threads before but wtf. Here's a shot of my youngest daughter at the Noël displays at Galeries Lafayette last week:

http://i50.tinypic.com/et7akh.jpg

My little man's shot up a bit since I last posted a pic

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2757/4181967251_082a09d732.jpghttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/4195465524_089b27e4f4.jpg 

<3 <3

rockin out on his christmas microphone/speaker set, noise style

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/gypsyfrocksbedlam/IMG_3836.jpg

yesssss

Santa brought the girls a market stall (aka Ikea hack by Pam) - this is the moment of first encounter:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2530/4218849644_3262d2542a.jpg

The gals, still in their PJs, with their stockings:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2616/4218081139_a35f4c41da.jpg

You guys are so freakin' CRAFTY!

We visited my brother and his wife in Georgia for Xmas. Among other things, we made Christmas cookies. See if you can tell which of the twins had a horrible cold...

Owen:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4226047516_67f5d3cf19.jpg

Ben:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2646/4225279791_e23c4003cf.jpg

And here's a nice family shot we took on the last day:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4226067656_d9d145cf1a.jpg

awww poor ben!

H-Bomb:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4226188489_b5fe21eba9_b.jpg

Ridiculous babby blues:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/4226188587_8c97e5d5af_b.jpg

and smiling:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4029/4227018455_fd0ce6d2aa_o.jpg

5 seconds of beeps in xmas morning bliss:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/equinestate/4226187795/

our last photo taken in the 00's:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4232353895_aabfeaf832_o.jpg

Sunny, this reminds me of the muppet drumkit I got for xmas. lol. my parents threw it out after i kept banging shaggs stylee on the damn kit for ages. my mom has (like me) recurring migraine attacks so a drumkit wasn't the ideal thing to have around.

Happy New Year everyone!

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4234550289_4052b10183.jpg

Hey MJ - do you use a flash much? If so, any suggestions? The built-in one on my camera is awful. I think I've had decent luck in the past with one that tilted up at 45 degrees, but that was a long time ago...

I don't use flash all that much with the girls - the only pic on this thread with flash is the fill-flashed shot of Ava in the park from July right at the top.

I got a Canon 420EX Speedlite for a decent price on eBay about 18 months ago, specifically for an upcoming wedding. With a Sto-Fen diffuser on it and firing straight up to a low, white ceiling at the reception, I got reasonably good results but it was beginner's luck really. Only recently have I decided to teach myself how to use the thing properly because I've had wildly inconsistent results since (and Pam really dislikes flash, so even when I get a nice, soft, even light on an indoor shot of the kids it usually doesn't make the Flickr cut). Those bathroom shots from last April (where Ava appears to be throttling her sister) were probably the best flash pics I've taken of the kids. I tend to shoot at 120-135deg tilt (i.e. swivelled round and tilted back so I'm bouncing off the wall high behind me) or straight up but recently I've been shooting more directly (45-60deg) at a lower power and I've been pleasantly surprised at the results. Obviously, outdoor fill-flash has to be direct.

Like lenses, flashes are brand-specific as the metering systems/hotshoe connections differ from system to system. The good Pentax ones seem to be as expensive as their Nikon and Canon equivalents (and I wouldn't really recommend getting the entry-level Pentax (AF200FG) as it neither tilts nor swivels); there seem to be some raves out there for the Metz 48 AF-1 for Pentax but that may not be as available (or as cheap - it's a European brand, I think) in the US. eBay may be your pal here.

So you just use a fast lens and hope nobody moves? That's what I do, but it's so hit-and-miss...

I know what you mean. When I take photos at kids' parties I am slightly envious of the parents snapping away with flash because, as harsh as their photos are going to look, at least they'll be sharp and in focus and you'll be able to tell who is who. Mine tend towards the atmospheric! I do get a reasonable number of nice, casual f/1.8-f/2.8 shallow-DoF portraits though, with no flash to draw attention to myself, so the kids just get on with watching the entertainer or Santa or the cartoon...

A flash certainly takes the lottery aspect out of it - as long as you figure out how to bounce the light to yr best advantage and set up the camera so there's a good balance in the exposure between strobe and ambient. That all-important picture as they blow out the candles on the cake though - it's dark but you wouldn't want flash for that, would you?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2309/2269571855_4630243561_m.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3631/3288371387_5f03e9dc5c_m.jpg

(Btw, Schwantz - those old scans you're putting up at the moment are extraordinary!)

OK Beeps with the drums = <3. You guys are pretty brave!!

All these kids are adorable. You ppl make good babies.