Summer photo shoot opportunities

Summer is getting closer by the day... I can feel it in the air and it's getting me excited about outdoor photo shoots!

I have wanted to do a staged outdoor picnic shoot for so long... so I'm hoping some friends come forward and self nominate to be my models. If this is something you want to do get in contact with me through my facebook page (link on the side of the blog). Photo shoots are always limited because I love my weekends and need my downtime!

Inspiration...

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any takers?

Let me introduce you to...

Milan. (3 months)

As devout followers may have noticed, most of the babies I photograph are female... so I was looking forward to being able to capture a few pics of a baby boy!  He was an absolute treat to photograph, he gave me so many expressions and poses without any encouragement.... a total model in the making.

Usually I would remove shirt dribble stains...by the time I noticed, I decided I kinda liked it... so the dribble stayed.  

 bath time...

Thanks Yelena & Hamilton for letting me share the pics x

refrigerated bribery

A few posts back I mentioned my new found ability to refrigerate things.

There has been a long standing joke around the office about a particular recipe for a refrigerated cake. I found a recipe and printed it and asked my colleague (nicely) to please make it for us and kindly placed the copy of the recipe on her desk.

A few months later, no cake had arrived for morning tea... we had many muffins and treats... but no cake. Probably because everyone had been working so hard to meet budget...

Being the little red hen that I am, I took it upon myself to make attempt it, after all it is a refrigeration only cake... right up my alley... to thank everyone for working so hard.

So this is the outcome.

The berries are still frozen as I threw them on right before I ran out of the door to work... and in my scattered morning brain I somehow reasoned that the frozen berries would keep the cake chilled during the 30 minute drive. I was a wee bit worried about the cake getting warm and loosing it's shape.

It was yummer than it looks I think.

A little window of happiness

It can come in handy when you have a house guest who builds things for a living. I casually mentioned how I would like to breathe new life into the window seat downstairs so we can lie on it in the summer and read books and he said OK.

It is the best sun trap in summer for cat naps and reading and lazing about...totally untapped potential.

So now that I am posting about it here he actually has to do it. Not that I'm pushy... but basically now he knows my readers want to see the before and after shots of this project... so the pressure is on!

The materials are set and my weekend is free from photo shoots and errands (apart from one) I need to find the perfect fabric fro covering the window seat... I have already sourced some inspiration.

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I have some wall painting to do.. and a few things to rearrange and buy to complete the room which doubles as Mr D's workspace, my soon to be workspace (so we can work alongside each other and I can annoy him) and houses the fold out couch/extra guest room come summer.

Inspired here by the contrasting front (white) with moulding detail.. too much?

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Needless to say it could be referred to as the Multipurpose Room. It is one of the largest rooms in the house and most under utilised. All of that is set to change.

The curtains go over the window area, so this is something I could do in this room - would need longer draping curtains... $$$

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Do you think it's completely pushing it if I asked to have storage under the bench seat? you can be honest... just for maybe some spare blankets for when guests stay? The window area is old and partial to a bit of rot/dampness, so I would have to make sure it is pretty dry in there to prevent musty blankets. yuk.

*Update : after some discussions the other night we are now debating relocating the slider doors from upstairs into the downstairs room and then install some nice bi fold/stacker glass doors across the front of the house and maximise those panoramic west coast sea views....

So now we have to decide/measure/cost these options and weigh it all up... boring.... But I think it is important to explore all options before rushing on in there.

Watch this space...

Constructive Criticism...

My beloved Canon has been getting quite the workout lately! Two more shoots are booked this weekend which further emphasises why my camera was the best purchase ever. I love any opportunity to use it!

This weekend I have a 3 month old lined up, who is onto her third photo shoot already (bumpy and 2 weeks)...Then on Sunday I capture yet another new life, baby Lincoln.

I am so glad my husband told me "you really need to find something else to take photos of other than the cats"...

Rather than take offence, I followed up on my friend's request to take photos of her baby...

Now that's what I call constructive criticism....

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Lunch Envy

I never remember school lunch being a big deal when I was a kid. I was fortunate to have a stay at home mum which meant I had a nicely packed lunch everyday. I had a marmite sammie, some baking sometimes,  a piece of fruit, a box of sunmaid raisins and a bag of lunch chips. From memory it was pretty consistent. Not amazing (sorry mum) but consistent (thanks mum)...

Now that I am well passed the stage in my life when I could eat whatever I wanted... I had total lunch envy when I saw these pictures. I love snacking as opposed to big meals. These compartments of snacks containing a balance of sweet, salty and savoury appeal greatly to my inner grazer.

I wish I had someone to prepare a lunch like this for me every day (despite being borderline ridiculous)...

Would my fellow colleagues still respect me if I pulled out a lunch like this?

Perhaps not.

http://www.anotherlunch.com/

This lady just must spend hours creating these elaborate lunches for her kids. I think I'd draw the line at a marmite sandwich.

It may however be inspiring to some of you who are always trying to find ways to make healthy food appealing to your fussy customers.

Maggie-May is freaken awesome

The last time I took photos of this wee girl she was 3 weeks old and even then her cheeky personality was shining through. At 3 months she has mastered another few hundred expressions for my camera, and I absolutely loved snapping as many of them as I could.

Thanks mum and dad for letting me share the pics!

West is Best....