Mr. Big Shot

I’m guessing you will all be seeing tons of shots of my nephew from here on out as he will be hanging out here every Wednesday and Friday! Woohoo! Now I will have a test case (who happens to be just too cute!) that is home during the day when there is some chance of taking a natural light photo (and I adore him to boot!!) Lucky me!! Here is a hilarious series of photos documenting his debut in the excersaucer at our house today.



Do you need something? I’m busy over here…..



Hmmm….this looks kind of interesting, but I’m having some technical difficulties with my eyelids.



This playing stuff is hard work.



Hey, you big people, I’ve had just about enough of this torture device….remove me at once and give me a snack!


I just love this little guy and am so glad his parents trust me enough to let him come over and play!


These photos all taken with my new lens in manual mode. I really want to be able to get good enough that I can adjust my manual settings on the fly….totally automatic, with no worries about what I am forgetting!! He is directly facing the big window, my back is to the window. Had to watch out for my big head shadow!! Maybe a little too bright and might want to adjust my white balance a little, as I like to see him a little more warm and golden! So fun to experiment with the whole manual mode thing….watch for more samples as I am bound to get it perfect soon!

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The BEST Brother in the World!!

So it is Webkinz mania around our house….the kids are constantly lining them up, playing with them, sleeping with them…you name it, the Webkinz are involved! Here is part of our collection….all lined up ready for something, I’m sure.

It was a red letter weekend around here this past weekend. Darling, sweet, fabulous Henry bought his sisters each a new Webkinz. (Clearly he is the saver in the bunch, as the girls can barely hang on to a dollar for more than a day…..what do you think Target invented the dollar section for?) They were beside themselves and have voted him BEST brother in the whole wide world! We added Louise, the reindeer, Frosty, the polar bear, and Bamboo, the panda, to our evergrowing collection.

I am so proud of him that I can barely stand it. Isn’t he just the sweetest nine year old EVER!! He is growing up so darn fast (ok, so I totally sound like someone’s old aunt who only sees them twice a year) but it is true nonetheless. Here is some more proof of that….check out those feet…he is only 2 sizes away from mine!

Rationale for posting these shots (other than that I like them): new lens used, 2.8 aperture, allows for shallow depth of field (focus in front and blurry in back, ok feet picture a little blurry everywhere) and letting in more light (necessary for cruddy northwest weather…..am insanely jealous of all Southern Californians…..taking pictures all willy nilly without a lighting care in the world!!)  More light experiment pictures coming soon!

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Mini Cooper


Finally, photos of my newest nephew!! He is the sweetest little bundle….so tiny!! I had the best time just snuggling him between shots….and his parents were ok too:)I was so excited about how the pictures turned out that I already even have their coffee table-ish book and birth announcement designed! Woohoo! I just love it when it all goes so right! Here are a few of my favorites….enjoy!



I love this shot with mom and baby holding fingers….doesn’t he look so content to just be snuggled in his mama’s arms? I think she is still in a little bit of shock that he is actually hers and is totally mesmerized by him and his perfection…..isn’t it amazing that they can come out so perfect…and as a mom, just about anything equals perfection as far as I am concerned. Sometimes I am still mind boggled that they can be inside for 9 months without me making any conscious effort to grow fingers or toes or anything in particular, and yet when they come out they are so well put together!



So a little side note about my funny brother-in-law…..can you tell he is the proudest daddy ever?  He is so in love with this little boy, he can’t even help himself….he just wants to show him off all around so everyone else can experience Cooper’s greatness….and he is pretty great, if I do say so myself!



Aren’t they the cutest little family? Congratulations guys, on your new addition and welcome to your new life!



One last one because I am a total sucker for tiny feet and toes!!

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Cooper Fernstrom - February 8, 2008 - 5:29 pm

Aunt Judith, you did an amazing job! Thanks again. I like my solo shot the best. Thanks for keeping my diaper on.

Sweet girl!


This tiny, sweet little bundle of joy was so much fun to shoot….especially because she brought some super fun people with her. Her whole family made it for her big modeling debut….her super cute big brother, who clearly adores her,



her wonderful mother, who is so sweet and gentle with her, all while managing to keep her brother totally included, C, you are doing the whole 2 kid thing beautifully,



her dad, who is totally wrapped around her finger but definitely has a crazy streak in him and was hilarious to photograph, lucky for him I’m not sharing all the “crazy face” shots I have of him….especially the really great pirate face I’ve got!!



and these are my 2 random favorites of the day…..a really sweet daddy moment



and I LOVE this one…..the dad is totally cracking her up! I think she might really like him….can you believe it!!



Thanks for such a fun day guys and for sharing your family with me!!

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Me Ra Koh Workshop


Shot #1




So I promised I would tell you all about this most amazing workshop I went to a couple weeks ago….and I think I might be ready! My friend, Michelle (see link to her website in the sidebar), and I had planned to make this a fun girl’s weekend and carpool down and stay in Tacoma all weekend. Her sister had other plans for her and went in to labor that morning with Michelle’s first nephew…we decided to drive down separately so Michelle could rush back up for his birth. The workshop started out on a Friday night with a wine & cheese meet & greet in this amazing old home, now a bed and breakfast, in Tacoma. We got to meet Me Ra and her husband, Brian…they are so fun & funny and just light up a room. (I found them through Me Ra’s blog which is as fun as she is and an amazing resource for beginner photographers…not to mention, I won my first ever photo contest on it!!) Saturday was a whirlwind of information and tons of laughing. We learned all kinds of technical, fancy terms and how to manipulate all the settings on our cameras for almost any situation (WOW!). Just when I though my brain was going to explode with all this new information, it was lunch time, thank goodness!! After lunch our mom & baby models, the talented & fabulous Benito, tiny dictator, and his sherpa, arrived to be our subjects. It was way to much fun for me to get to shoot them again in such a different setting, but I found the whole situation to be incredibly stressful. There were 8 women trying to get a good shot while trying not to get in each other’s way, while trying to figure out how the heck to make their camera do the right thing, while some of were using “new to us” cameras….overwhelming! Then we learned a little more (way to hard to concentrate while I’m fretting over having to turn in 3 of my shots from the day for tomorrow’s homework, sure that I didn’t get anything I will want to show).






Shot #2




After we were done learning for the day, we went out to an amazing Thai restaurant for dinner…YUM! and coconut martinis….ahhhh….much more relaxed about my shots now! Back to the hotel to get the pictures on the computer and see if there is anything decent to turn in…luckily Michelle made it back in time for dinner and editing and moral support! (she missed all the photo-taking during the day as she was at the hospital taking picutres of her new nephew…those turned out amazing!) Anyway, it turns out I have 3 shots that I actually do like…the three in this post. To see more about this fabulous, not to be missed workshop, check out Me Ra’s blog (see my sidebar for the link….I’m not fancy enough to know how to embed it here!). She’s got a category for workshops where you can find all the shots turned in as homework plus a bunch she & Brian took of me & Benito & sissy-pants…plus if you check out her contests, you will find my winning shot….it is also of Benito….he is too fun to play with!! I’m so excited for my next new nephew to come over today to play picutes with me!!



Shot #3




(wow, this turned out to be WAY longer than I thought it would be and I didn’t even touch the second day, hence the sending you to Me Ra’s blog to get all the real details….I’ve got lunches to make and school is actually on time today…what a shock to the system, don’t quite remember how our mornings are supposed to go…..) I’m thinking I may come back to this post later today and finish my thoughts, so be sure to check back and see how organized I am!!


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Deborah - January 31, 2008 - 8:27 am

I didn’t realize this before, but I think #3 might be my favorite. His pudgy little arm dimple just kills me, and I love the thoughtful expression. So handsome! If I do say so myself.

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