Claremont Hills with My Kit Lens

     My dear friend Susan and I hiked the hills of Claremont the other day.  What a sweet place to go:  there were lots of other hikers but not too many, the trail was wide and canopied by trees, and a stream bed was parallel to the entire hike.  A wonderful place for taking dreamy, romantic pictures!

Foray into Film: B & W of the Children

I tried a black and white film that can be processed easily at the local Walgreens (c-41 processing).  A previous set I had was bleached out because I had falsely assumed that the photo techs would know what to do with it.  It turns out most black and white film sets require a different set of chemicals.  It makes sense now but I didn't think about it then.  Lesson learned:  Don't assume anything!

They confronted me...

     The trees and the peacocks were taking a stand at the LA Arboretum the other day.  I just stood, listened, and captured.

  

How I Won the Lottery

     We did win the lottery with our 3rd child.  He slept through the night at 8 weeks.  He likes short but sweet night night routines.  When sick, he just wants a single hug and goes back to bed.  He loves to speak and babble.  He gives kisses all the time.  And the other reason is that he is utterly adorable.  He has the biggest eyes, the longest eye lashes and cutest cheeks.  I must pause here and state that my husband and I can take no credit.  His birthparents were the ones who blessed us with this boy.  From them comes his personality, his cuteness, his DNA.  But, since the day the judge pronounced him as ours, he is all mine, at least for now.  There will come a time when he will steal the heart of another woman for whom he will lay down his life.  So, I am trying to milk every possible moment with him. 
     Recently, he caught the flu bug.  He was the last to hold out.  And now he is the last to recover.  He's been wheezing but he has been sweet and playful.  So instead of going to church today, I just followed him around like a groupie.  I thank God for you and I love you, Son! 

Trees

     When I was thirteen, I returned with my family to the Philippines to visit my maternal grandparents.  On one of the days we were there, we decided to go swimming at a resort with natural soda lakes called Hidden Valley Lake Resort.  On the way there, we had to drive through a lot of forest.  There were sign posts to assure us that we were going the right direction with parts of this poem written on each one:

Trees

by Joyce Kilmer

I think I shall never see

A poem as lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

I never forgot that poem because I found so many truths in it.  23 years later and I can still remember the vision of that poem as it stood among sign posts surrounded by dense tropical forest.  I continue to be inspired by trees.

Foray into Film: The Eyes Have It

     Continuing my film exercises, I snapped some photos of the girls. Chair rungs can make some nice framing.

 

Foray into Film: Homeschool Coop

     I've been experimenting with a cheap used film camera I bought online.  I wanted to take it on as a discipline.  Film doesn't allow me to work a picture by taking several shots at a time.  It forces me to pause and think and frame.  I hope I can incorporate that type of behavior with my digital.  If anything, that alone will save me badly needed storage space and inspire more thoughtful photography.  I started this experiment by taking pictures of the children at the coop I teach at every Wednesday.  A bunch of other wonderful moms and I share the teaching load of extra curricular subjects.  The moms get  help while the children get to understand the dynamics of a classroom environment and profit from a multi-aged peer group.  It's not a rare thing to see little newborns or babies sitting next to mom while she teaches.  We mothers also get to decide the curriculum and manage the school.  It works on so many levels.