366 Project Day 8

If all else fails, take a picture of my husband’s food.  My husband (I call him “Yes! Chef”) is one of the best cooks I know.  He studied under a local chef (John Evans of Zack Jack’s) for a year or so working in his restaurant.  He also does some catering for some of the local wineries.  Cooking is his hobby and passion, not his vocation.  One of the reasons I took a couple of food photography courses over at ppsop.com is because I wanted to photograph my husband’s food.  So, as I go thru this daily challenge of taking a meaningful photo every day, more than a few of them will undoubtedly be of my husband’s food.  The above shot is of some Bangers and Mash that he made with some sausages he got from my brother as a Christmas present.

Yes! Chef's Chicken Noodle Soup

Oh!  What’s this?  Another shot of Yes! Chef’s food.  Anybody that knows our family, knows that if it’s Sunday, my husband makes Roast Chicken.  We call it Roast chicken Sunday and I look forward to it every week.  The day after Roast Chicken Sunday, we roast the leftover bones and make stock.  Then we frequently make Roast Chicken Sunday soup. It was most tasty!

She will float away if you don't hold on to her...

My daughter called me on Day10 and asked if I would do a quick photo shoot with her and her boyfriend because she was getting ready to leave for a Mission in Africa and they wanted some pictures of themselves while they were apart (5 months).  I’m always happy to take photos of my family and especially happy to take photos of people that are happy…especially with each other.  This is just one of the photos I captured that I especially liked.  If you would like to see a little slideshow I made of the event, go here:  The Adventures of Aly and Brian.

Day 11...editing

I wish I could show a more creative and exciting photo for Day 11, but I spent the whole day delightedly editing my daughter’s photo session.

Day 12

The point of this daily challenge is not to take snapshots (see Day 11), but to think about the photo that you will take each day.  In the end, my photography should improve.  Here is a set up I used earlier in the year and I wanted to try out my snoot on my flash. It didn’t quite turn out the way I wanted, but this is a learning experiment.

Day 13...what the heck?

After my celebration experiment on Day 12, I gathered up the confetti (really some of our shredded paperwork) and placed it on some black shiny plexiglass next to our window.  I liked the colorful reflection and I thought the confetti would add some interest.  Maybe not.  As I said, this is a photographic journey…so back off.

Day 14: Sunset in Old Town Sac Town

I had the opportunity to do a little photo shoot in Sacramento on day 14. Around sunset we headed down to the river and I caught this shot.  I love to use this building as a backdrop for some of my portraits.  It is a pretty building all by itself.

Well (dusts off her hands)…another week done.

Want a fun photo shoot for a Valentine’s Day present?  You and your honey can have a quick photoshoot like I did for my daughter and her boyfriend along with a quick slide show.  The photoshoot took less than an hour. Contact me at schmautzhaus@sbcglobal.net for the details.

I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph a little boy’s first day of preschool.  His mother shyly asked me if I could document this important day in both of their lives.  How could I turn her down?  It never even crossed my mind.

We met at a park about 1/2 hour before he was due at school so I could get a couple of shots before the excitement took over.  It was cold and foggy but I knew the story I wanted to tell.  He excitedly got out of the car and began walking to the park with his backpack.  It was the perfect picture of a little boy going off to school for the first time.  So…snap!

Then I had him get up on some of the jungle gym equipment so that I could get some head shots.  It was too cold and wet to play on the jungle gym, happily for his mom, but it made for some interesting effects in the photos.  The background virtually disappears in the fog leaving only his face showing all the excitement of his new adventure.

We left the park and headed out to the school.  He was incredibly excited to see the playground at the school.

As we walked up to the school and just before we walked through the doorway, he showed a little apprehension about the whole school thing.

But, he was a trooper and never cried nor said he wasn’t going to go through with the whole thing.  He got inside and saw that the rooms were bright, cheery and toy filled.

He found this toy camera and began to take pictures of me.  Heh.

When it was time for mom to say goodbye, he looked a little concerned, but he “manned up” and let his mom walk out the door without him.  I think mom had a harder time than he did.  But his mom told me that when she picked him up later on…he loved it and can’t wait to go back.

What a supreme honor to be part of this next stage of their lives.