Photojournalism

This week's theme at I Heart Faces is a little bit different. For this challenge, they've defined photojournalism as using an image (or images) to tell a story.

I've spent a lot of time going though picture after picture trying to decide which one to enter. I finally decided on a photo that is not a recent one. In fact it is one I took with my first 35mm camera. I don't expect it to be chosen because, well, it was taken by a 12 year old who knew nothing other than that she loved to take pictures. It's also a little battered and had to be scanned into my computer by my less than stellar scanner/printer.

I have always loved photography. As a kid, my dad was an enthusiast and I caught the bug from him. I received my first camera in second grade (it had Smurfs on it!) and after using that to death, was given my first "real" camera in fifth grade. It was a Canon Sure Shot with a remote and I loved it. I especially loved using the remote to sneak pictures when people least expected it. lol I used that camera for almost 16 years until I got my first digital point and shoot (also Canon!) when I was pregnant with Anakin. I actually still have the 35mm and it's still in perfect working order. :)

Growing up I always had my camera with me and I have hundreds of pictures in boxes from field trips and parties and school days. I'm amazed I didn't send my parents to the poor house from developing all that film but because of my obsession, I have tons of pics of things that I'm so thankful I have.

I took this picture the summer after sixth grade when my Girl Scout troop went to New York for a week. We spent a couple of days in New York City seeing the sights. I have many pictures from that trip and plenty of the famous New York skyline, all featuring the towers, but this has always been my favorite shot. I love the crowd of people, especially the older lady in the corner. I love how it was a very overcast day and how the towers seem to fade into the sky.

Kindergarten

So, today Anakin went to his first day of Kindergarten. Last night I laid out his clothes, packed his lunchbox and backpack, and had a mini panic attack that my little boy was going to be at school all.day.long. LOL

And of course, I had my camera ready this morning. However, the only picture I got where he wasn't wriggling with excitement like the little puppy I've always thought he was was at breakfast.

I don't think he was impressed with me that early in the morning.

Most mornings I will drop him off in the loop at school, but today I walked him into the gym to meet his teacher. Of course Mia was with me and had to give him lots of hugs and loves before he left her all day.

He just wanted me to put the camera down and take him inside so he could start his day. LOL

The first things he told his teacher once we went inside were that "my Nessa bought me this lunchbox and it's a puppy because that's my nickname my mommy calls me". He also told her that he was almost a Jedi but that for now he was just his daddy's padawan. Oh, and he has lots of lightsabers.

That's my boy. <3

First Day of Middle School

This morning, Claudia started sixth grade. First of all, I'd like to know how the heck that happened?! It was easier when Jesse went to middle school because at least then I could say that I didn't give birth to him, so it didn't count. Know what I mean? Never mind the fact that he starts high school (High school?!) on Monday.

But now...now...I have no excuse. Nothing can erase the fact that I just dropped my firstborn off at middle school this morning. And Tuesday is Anakin's first day of Kindergarten. Full day Kindergarten. I will only have Mia from 8am to 3pm every day. I'm not going to know what to do. I guess I could clean the house or something.

You know, after I'm done inspecting my gray hairs and wrinkles.
OK, so not really. I'm mean, I'm only 32.

So, anyway. This morning she was up and ready in no time. I tried to grab a couple of pics before I took her to school.

Can you tell that she was not enthused with the picture taking? She was ready to go and there I was making her smile for the camera. I got that shot of her and then she was "Can we go now?"

She was just a little excited about her first day. That is until we pulled up to the curb to drop her off and then her voice started to crack a little and the nervousness slipped in a bit. I did good though, I didn't shed a single tear.

Until she was out of the van. LOL

How Time Flies

It's hard to believe a year (and summer!) has passed already and it's time for the kids to go back to school. Claudia starts middle school on Friday, Jesse starts HS and Ethan begins his last year of elementary on Monday, and Anakin begins all-day Kindergarten on Tuesday.

Obviously, since none of my kids have returned to school yet, I don't have any new pictures for Trendy Treehouse's FDOS theme this week, but I do have a pic from last year when Anakin went to his first day of PreK.

While we waited outside for the rest of the kids to arrive, Anakin was showing Mia all the "cool" stuff about his new school including the brick with the year the school was built on it. LOL Hard to believe next year it will be Mia's turn.

Beach Fun

This week's theme at I Heart Faces is beach fun. We are lucky enough to live within an hour of many great beaches. This year we've not gone as often as we normally would because we've been renovating our new house but I did get some great shots one evening when we met Jason after work and spent a couple of quiet hours at the beach.

Anakin loves the beach because he loves to play in the sand. He never goes into the water past his feet, but he will dig and build in the sand all day. By the time we're leaving, he's covered head to toe in sand. I still don't know how he does it. LOL

Sew Relaxing

This week's theme at Trendy Treehouse is My Favorite Things and I'm a day late. lol

Partly because it's back to school time and my house is crazy with getting four of the five kids dressed, shoe'd and supplied for the year. But I'm also late because it's a hard choice to make. I think of my kids first when I think of what's most important to me, but they are not things, they are my heart on (multiple pairs of) two feet.

Then I think of what things I have that make me happiest; do I pick the things that are sentimental in value like my rings my father bought my mother, or the quilt my grandma made? Do I pick my camera (obvious choice) or my Nook (also obvious if you know me IRL)? In the end I picked this:

I love to sew and find it very relaxing. I started sewing in high school in home-ec and found that I was good at it. I seldom use patterns; I love taking what is in my head and making it real.

I don't sew as often as I would like to as we don't really have a good space for it all the time and I'm busy with all those kids, but Halloween is coming and that means it's time to start designing costumes! I spend hours every year designing and sewing my kids' costumes; I've done princesses, and fairies, banshees and zombies and Sweeney Todd, a dragonfly, and a pirate.

Also, we're moving and I've promised the kids new bedding and curtains for their rooms which I will sew for them. Even better is that we have a small alcove off of the living room that I'm setting up as the homework/craft area so I'll have more room to sew!

Portraits of Hope

This week at I Heart Faces everyone is posting about their experiences using photography to give back to the community to bring attention to a wonderful group of photographers that are giving back by taking photos for families of children that are ill.

Please click the image above for more information. :)

However, considering that I've just recently started shooting for people other than my family members, I didn't think I had anything to add. But I'd forgotten something.

Last year I worked with a group called Portraits of Hope in my area. Their purpose was to try to get information out to the public about children from our area in the foster care system. These are children that are either in foster homes or in group homes (sadly, all but one of the kids I photographed lived in group homes.) All these kids are ones that need homes and forever families and the hope was that getting their faces out there would help find them homes.

Now, in order for me to do this I had to sign away my rights to the pictures I took because I was working with the foster program. A small thing when you remember that these kids don't have families but I cannot share them here. I can however, link to a news report about Portraits of Hope that was on the local TV station and in it you do see one of my pictures (the girl with the pretty beads in her hair--she was so sweet but shy. She liked trying to pose for me though, and that picture was the one she liked. :) ) You can see a couple of others in the background.

Heart and Soul: Portraits of Hope

Doing this was an experience I will never forget and one I'm glad I did. Of course, I don't get updates on the kids (privacy and all) but I truly hope that they've all found families now. If I didn't already have five kids, I'd probably have been trying to bring them home with me. They were all great kids.