Letters To My Sons | September

It is September.  It is Fall.  And it is also the kick off to another year of Letters to My Sons.  Just as before, each month I will document about life with boys through my photography and a corresponding, heartfelt letter.  I am humbled by and grateful for those who follow these letters, sharing in the snippets of my complicated and beautiful journey raising sons.

Dear Cashew,

You did it!  This month you turned four after such a long wait, literally counting down the days for over two months. Your smile, from the time you lay your head down the night before and throughout the entire next day, was unstoppable. I took this photo just before you went to sleep, capturing your pure, sweet joy. 

That next morning you could not wait to get to school and let your teachers and friends know that it was your birthday.  We had a party in your classroom at 2 o'clock.  That is for sure.  You had asked me to make vanilla cupcakes with pink frosting and sprinkles.  Instead I bought mini cupcakes at the grocery store a block away. Sorry bud, I just couldn't bake them and schlepp them on the subway all the way down from Harlem with you, Grey and Grey's stroller this year.  But you were cool with it, even though you had promised Angelina that you were going to give her a pink frosted cupcake since her favorite color is pink.  Again, sorry bud.  Like I said though, you were cool with it.  And of course, I brought your favorite New York black and white cookies.  Only these ones were pastel colored. Whoah-hoah!  

The photos below are some snapshots I took of you and your friends. Especially sweet are the ones of you and Misha. He's your very best friend in school, going on three years now.  The teachers say you guys do EVERYTHING together. You love each other dearly but you also rough house a bit much, taking things too far at times and forcing the teachers to intervene. The two of you can be stubborn about apologizing to each other, but then minutes later are back to being a fiercesome twosome.  Boys will be boys.

 

(Click on individual image to view full scale and scroll through}      

Two days before your actual birthday, Daddy and I enjoyed a very special afternoon with you - just you - while Grey stayed home with a babysitter.  We took you to your favorite toy store, the gigantic flagship Toys-R-Us in Times Square, where we said you could pick out one transformer toy to add to your collection. Even better than picking out the toy however, was seeing a colossal Optimus Prime transformer before us.  Daddy lifted you up so you could give him a true, Native New Yorker greeting.  A Harlem pound.    

After the toy store we went to the New World Stages on 51st street to see the Gazillion Bubble Show. This was the big surprise that we had kept from you, sharing only that we would be seeing something special at 3:00.  The show was amazing.  Even Daddy and I were blown away by this man's talent with bubbles, the smoke, the lights, the creativity, skill and yes, the quantity.  At one point it was literally "snowing" bubbles by the millions down upon us.  You head was cocked back, mouth agape and eyes wide open in amazement.  Truly priceless. 


Well my Chunka Munka, my Cashew, my Boo Boo, it was a pleasure spending your birthday with you. Walking down the sidewalk after your celebration at school, you allowed me to take this photo of you against the brick wall.  You've got your transformer balloon, your birthday shirt on and the biggest smile in town.  

I love that smile.  May you always find joy in the simple things and silver linings in the not so simple things.

I love you.

And yes, Four Rocks!

 

Always & Forever, Mom

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Favorite Image of the Year {Week 52}

This is the final week of our second yearlong collaborative photography project, Photo 52. Over the course of this year we studied composition ranging from geometric framing to lines, perspectives and patterns and so much more.  We grew as photographers and nurtured our individual and group stories.  For this last post we decided to showcase a "Best Of" mosaic, comprised of everyone's favorite image from the past year.

I chose the image below for various reasons.  First off, it is a photo of my son this past summer (he was three years old at the time) running down the sidewalk with his friend and their balloons - a consummate summer photo with an emotional attachment. However, it's also a photograph that incorporates nearly all the things I try and look for when shooting.  Strong lines like those of the fence, interesting shadows, depth of field (the fence leads the viewer's eye back in space), shapes that are mirrored in various places within the image, patterns both similar and contrasting, and lastly, movement. When I can find a way to capture most of those things - if not all - I absolutely call that a final favorite.

Please click HERE to visit our collective blog, Who We Become, and see our yearly favorites all in one place. 

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Creative Composition: Photographer's Choice {Week 51}

This month's theme has been devoted to a breaking-the-rules approach to composition: the study of multiple exposure, as well as images that are intentionally captured out-of-focus. Breaking the rules of photographic conventions is compelling as an artist because sometimes the image is the result of a happy accident and sometimes it is the result of crafting an image with careful intent. Allowing ourselves freedom from rules gives us permission to take risks or see things in a new way. When a rules-breaking image works, it can be truly powerful and satisfying for photographer and viewer alike.

With this approach in mind, this week's theme is photographer's choice - a sort of creative free-for-all for us to share our most fun, thought-provoking or creative recent work.

Please click HERE to visit our collective blog, Who We Become, and see all of our images in one place.  

curtain

Four

 

“Sunsets, like childhood, are viewed with wonder not just because they are beautiful but because they are fleeting.”

― Richard Paul Evans, The Gift

 

Happy Fourth Birthday Big Boy!  I'm always so grateful when I capture this smile.

Commitment

They started dating in 1949, when he was 16 and she was 15.

 They married on June 30th, 1956, when he was 22 and she was 21.

 All in all, they've been "going steady" for over 65 years.

My Dad, also lovingly known as "Pow Pow" by my oldest son, will turn eighty-one in just a few days.  But he's not just sitting idly around.  He and my mother, his one true and long time love, have been jet setting around the world for nearly 30 years and are presently on a trip to Easter Island.  

Happy birthday and happy travels to the greatest example of commitment I know.

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Creative Composition: Intentionally Out of Focus {Week 50}

Focus is a big deal in photography. But sometimes photographers choose to use focus in a different way, to draw the viewers eyes to contrasting colors or other elements that are emphasized by the change in depth of focus. Removing focus changes the story, changes what the viewers' eyes sees.

Below is a photo I took of my oldest son playing with his friends in the late afternoon.  The light coming in the window at the time was such that it just bathed them in their busyness.  With the image being out of focus, there is a painterly quality as well as an energy that captures a brief moment in time of life with boys. 

Please click HERE to visit our collective blog, Who We Become, and see all of our images in one place.

Boys

Wind Chasers

“A kite is a victim you are sure of.

You love it because it pulls

gentle enough to call you master,

strong enough to call you fool;

because it lives

like a desperate trained falcon

in the high sweet air,

and you can always haul it down

to tame it in your drawer.

untitled-2-4.jpg

 

A kite is a fish you have already caught

in a pool where no fish come,

so you play him carefully and long,

and hope he won't give up,

or the wind die down.

A kite is the last poem you've written

so you give it to the wind,

but you don't let it go

until someone finds you

something else to do.”

- Leonard Cohen, The Spice Box of Earth

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Creative Composition: Multiple Exposure {Week 49}

For the last month of our year-long project we are exploring creative composition. Our first creative composition is multiple exposure, superimposing two or more images on top of each other. For such an image to be successful the content of the images and how they work together must create an interesting composition that hopefully tells a story of some sort. 

There are a number of techniques used to achieve multiple exposure:  in-camera on such models as the Canon 5D Mark iii or the Fuji xe2, through post-processing or with the use of applications that allow you to creative multiple exposures using your smartphone.

I created my multiple exposure image below in-camera with my Fuji during our final trip to the beach this summer.  The headless baby doll I found lying in the sand seemed a fitting, albeit creepy, subject to sandwich with the shoreline and beachgoers.  The result is a Magritte-esque ode to the end of another summer.

 

Summer:  Gone Baby Gone

 

Please click HERE to visit our collective site, Who We Become, to see all of our images in one place.

Summer:  Gone Baby Gone 

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Photographer's Choice {Week 48}

It feels as if he's pushing right through the frame into the viewer's face.  An oddball shot with a warped feel and a silly, mushed face.  All reason enough for me to pick it as my image for this week.  

Click HERE to visit our collective blog site, Who We Become, and see all of our images in one place.  

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Classic Composition:  Golden Spiral {Week 47}

Our third week of classic compositional techniques involves the golden spiral, a tool based on Fibonacci’s Ratio and the golden rectangle.

In laymen's terms, a spiral is drawn from the series of squares and provides a way to guide the viewer’s eye to the area of focus in a photo. Spirals, often referred to as "divine proportions", appear frequently in nature — a Nautilus shell, flowers or pinecones.  Like its many uses in art and architecture, the golden spiral can add depth and a sense of balance to a photographic image.

Please click HERE to visit our collective blog site, Who We Become, and see all of our images in one place.  

Sweet Esme


Photo 52: Within the Frame

Classic Composition: Golden Triangle {Week 46}

Next up in our month-long study of the Rules of Composition: The Golden Triangle. This rule generally applies to photos with diagonal lines. It involves splitting your photo into three triangles, one large and two smaller ones. This is done first by dividing the frame into two equal triangles with a diagonal line and then further dividing any one of the triangles into two more 90 degree angles. When you place your diagonal elements in the frame, it makes for a perfect composition.  

Please click HERE to continue to our collective site, Who We Become, to see all of our images in one place.  

Father and son & summer

Pre-Season

Goalie

The family spent a beautiful Saturday morning at Riverbank State Park playing soccer, basketball and baseball.  The biggest highlight was this one-handed, four finger dunk (Daddy got the assist!) in front of the Holcombe Rucker tournament players.    

Four Finger Dunk

Letters to our sons | August

***I am so thankful to be a part of this blog circle "Letters to our Sons" with so many amazing photographers and moms. In honor of our love for our little boys, we are posting a monthly image(s) along with a corresponding, heartfelt letter. This is the twelfth letter in what has been a most fulfilling year-long project.  After reading my post, please click HERE to continue around the circle, starting with the talented Kelly Roth Patton. 

My english muffin...with golden nooks & crannies.

My toasted coconut.

My little Grey Grey,

There are so many things that have brought you joy this summer: crawling through the grass, finding that you can stand upright on your own for several moments, throwback jams dance parties and wiggling your toes in the breeze created by me racing the stroller down the sidewalk. And let's not forget - bucket swings!  

You've also started to engage in more imaginative play with your older brother and I have to say, nothing warms my heart more than to see the two of you make each other laugh. You guys will frequently sit in a pile of soft blocks and rather than try to build something, you'll just throw them around in a fit of giggles. Other times you will zip and zoom cars around each other and throughout the apartment, with all the accompanying sound effects.

That is why it came as no surprise how much you liked the antique toy cars at the Carvers house on Cape Cod where we vacationed this summer, particularly the tractor. Even though your little feet couldn't reach the pedals, you handled it like a pro.  

Do you have your license Grey? 
'Cause you sure drive like you do.

Truckstar

 

 

 

Another one of your favorite things is Bear Bear. Just like your brother's Monkey, you have a Bear. He's blue, super soft and with you when you sleep, when you are playing and of course, when you need a little comfort.

You LOVE to kiss him and the suction sound of your pucker continues to make me gasp. I really don't think there is anything cuter. With one arm (sometimes both) holding his head affectionately, you'll plant at least half a dozen big smooches on Bear Bear. On the Cape, I captured a series of photos of you two together in what can only be described as an adorable "Bear Hug".     

Even though you haven't said many words yet (your first and only remains "Mama"), I do believe that one of your next ones will be "Bear".  

  

 

The other close buddy of yours is Daddy. Whenever he enters the room you go into a complete frenzy, first crawling toward him and then putting out your arms as a signal for him to pick you up. Daddy is convinced it's because he is the tallest member of the family and you get a birds eye view of all the action happening below. However, I'm convinced it's because it's Daddy - the most caring, loving and playful man any of us know.   

 

"Grey Grey, are you gonna start walking today?  Is today the day?"  This is what Cash and I ask you each morning when you wake up. You're close. Super close. You'll stand upright, fully balanced, for long periods of time until you want to move somewhere else and then you'll plop down on the floor and cruise like a cockroach. At 15 months old you're quite the beefcake and must be close to 30 pounds by now. Your older brother, who turns four next month, is only about six or seven pounds more than you which, frankly, says it all. If you only knew the number of these comments I hear from strangers:

 Whatta a BIG boy!

Such a CHUBBY baby!

Oh my! Look at those legs!  

 

And I haven't even mentioned your strength yet. Don't tell your brother this, but I once saw him have to use both hands to pull a toy from your one hand. It was rather amazing, but then again you have always been really strong. Sometimes Daddy and I have to work together: One of us holds down your limbs while the other changes your diaper or puts on a new shirt. I wonder if maybe some of this incredible strength comes from all those damn blueberries you've been eating this summer? Heck, I think you've eaten a whole pint once or thrice.  Blueberries and strawberries and cantaloupe - pretty much anything that's ripe, delicious and in season. 

It's been such a fun summer with you Grey Grey. I love your giggles, babbles and squeaks; the tan lines around your chubby creases and the cat sounds you make when you're in your room by yourself.  At times I just wanna squish you and smush you - because I can't believe how much I love you.

Always & forever,

Mom 

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Classic Composition:  Centered {Week 45}

Centering the subject has often been seen as a beginner technique, because the resulting composition is not viewed as being as dynamic compared to other compositions (for example, last week's Rule of Thirds). However, if you are deliberate with your composition, having a balanced frame with the subject at the center can be a very effective compositional technique.

The center of attention below is my superhero.  He seems perfectly placed for fighting crime, flanked by a gritty New York City background.  One morning this past week my son asked if he could put on his superhero costume.  He wanted to wear it outside, taking along his sock monkey as his sidekick.  Numerous smiles and comments resulted, particularly from older men most likely reminded of their own boyhood days dressing up as their favorite crime fighter.  Sadly though my son felt like people were laughing at him and asked me to take off his costume.  I assured him that people weren't laughing at him, but he insisted.  And with that, Super Cash 2.0 transformed into his street clothes and went on about his day.

Click HERE to continue to our collective site, Who We Become, to see all of our images in one place.

Super Cash 2.0

One week with a disposable

Recently my photography friends and I decided to shoot with a disposable camera for one week and see what we could come up with.  For me, the real challenge was looking through a teeny tiny plastic viewfinder box while remaining as still as possible.  The tinny sound of the shutter button didn't generate much confidence and after my prints came back I'll admit, I felt like tossing most of them in the garbage.  But I found a few of them to be interesting enough to post below.  I especially like the grainy quality of the film.  And just playing around with something different.