Sunday Afternoon Time With My Girls

[klb1122]

Inspired by Tourmeister's recent walkabout thread with the shots of his children, I decided to get the girls out of the house for a while last Sunday. I haven't tried to take many pictures of them since my 365 project ended at the end of last year. By the end of the year, trying to get a shot of my youngest became comical, she was over my project, and to be honest, so was I. I hadn't brought the camera out for a month and a half, so I was interested to see how she would react. I'm happy to say, it wasn't too bad.

I attached the Sigma 35mm f/1.4A to the D810 and set out to see what I could come up with. I like shooting wide open, or close to it. Other than liking booked and making my subject pop, I'm also trying to avoid getting everything in the yard and surrounding area in focus.

My oldest, Kamryn (5), is never shy of the camera. "Flowers", aka weeds, are popping up all over the yard. Kamryn loves to pick them.

Baylee (2) actually looking at the camera! If only for a brief second, at least it was a start!

I'm a fan of taking pictures of my girls while they are looking down, attempting to capture their eyelashes. Weird, I know.

They each took turns smelling the "flowers."

I gave Baylee a kiss and asked her to freeze her face.

Kamryn found some dandelions, which she loves to blow away.

Always trying to copy big sister, Baylee tried blowing on the non-dandelions and just ended up with pollen on her face. Such concentration though!

Kamryn's eyelashes.

My next attempt was to get Kamryn throwing some flowers in the air. This was poorly executed due to the busy background of the trees. You can barley see the flowers.

These two love each other! A bond that is unbreakable.

Next up, a couple random shots of them playing on and around the swing set.

After the swing set got boring, we broke out the sidewalk chalk and I let them go to town on the driveway. Not sure what's up with Baylee's face here.

That's better...

Our 11 year old weiner always has to be in the middle of everything, especially if I'm on the ground. Note my camera artwork.

Here's the problem I run into shooting wide open or close to it. The girls hair starts getting wild and with a bit of wind it's ALWAYS in their face and over their eyes. The camera ends up picking up the hair and the focus locks in there instead of on their eyes. This is the case with the photo below, but I love it, so emotion overrules sharpness.

Baylee went out and found a flower she was proud to show me. A bit mangled.

I guess they ran out of driveway, so they started coloring leaves with the chalk.

Now covered in chalk, it was time to get cleaned up for dinner. I think we all had a great time.

 

[M38A1]

Nice series.....

That Siggie f/1.4A. Is that the "Art" lens I hear of? Talk about razor thin DOF and sharpness on that razors edge. wow. And at 35mm you must have been right up in their space the whole time, right?

 

[Tourmeister]

I inspired someone!

Cool shots. I thought you had the D600. Was it the D600 that was lost during the 365 project? I did not realize you replaced it with a D810.

 

[Tracker]

 

[klb1122]

Nice series.....

That Siggie f/1.4A. Is that the "Art" lens I hear of? Talk about razor thin DOF and sharpness on that razors edge. wow. And at 35mm you must have been right up in their space the whole time, right?

Yes, it's of the Art variety. That lens is basically single-handedly why I no longer own the D600. I always blamed the AF on the D600, but when I converted to the D810 I had the same problem. I invested in the Sigma doc, and after a few painful hours, all was right with the world again. With the doc you can tune the AF at 4 different ranges, from minimal focus distance to infinity. The lens is incredibly sharp now. For a fixed 35, it is a hefty hunk of glass though. It is a beautiful piece of equipment though. My poor D600 took all the blame. I wish I could have it back now, especially for what I sold it for.

As to being in their space, I'm always in their space. But yes, if someone was watching me, I'm sure I look ridiculous. But that's the way I roll.

I inspired someone!

Cool shots. I thought you had the D600. Was it the D600 that was lost during the 365 project? I did not realize you replaced it with a D810.

My D7000 was lost during my 365 project in 2012. I had the D600 from that point until August of last year, when I moved to the D810. I'm really happy with the D810 and hope that feeling lasts for a long long long time. I did save a few bucks and picked up a refurb. model.

 

[Tourmeister]

Ahh! I had no idea you ever had the D7000

 

[Duke]

As always, you have a eye for a scene that I just can't seem to cultivate. I like how you get on their level and make them "big" in the frame of the image (if that makes sense). The focal length is perfect for these shots, wouldn't change a thing.

 

[Tourmeister]

"Help me..."

Just kind of has that forlorn look...

 

[klb1122]

Ahh! I had no idea you ever had the D7000

Yes, I started with the D3100 back in 2011. In 2012 I became a sponge and started soaking up all the photography knowledge I could and ended up moving to the D7000 mid-year. I was pretty happy with the camera until I lost it at the end of that year. Even without a ton of FX glass, I decided to make the move to FX with the D600.

As always, you have a eye for a scene that I just can't seem to cultivate. I like how you get on their level and make them "big" in the frame of the image (if that makes sense). The focal length is perfect for these shots, wouldn't change a thing.

That was one of the first things I learned with "shooting" children, to be on their level. At times it does make them appear much older, odd how just an angle can do that. I must admit though, I do like a looking up at the camera shot every once in a while. I honestly feel that getting on the child's level could dramatically improve may parent's shots, even with a cell phone. Small difference, big impact.

"Help me..."

Just kind of has that forlorn look...

That look is permanently plastered to her face. She's usually hiding from the girls most of the time, unless it's dinner time. She sits under their table and waits for mistakes.

 

[cmoore99]

Those little girls are sooooo cute. I like the Dachs to.

 

[achesley]

The blessings of the digital age! Lots and lots of pics. I think I have 3x the pics of my granddaughter than my 2 kids. And just last week, GD just celebrated her 1st year wedding anniversary. Sheesh, where did the time go.

 

[SweetPotatoFries]

These are beautiful shots of your adorable little girls! I love the focus on eyes and eyelashes and the candid photos! The dachshund is pretty cute too.

Jennifer

 

[klb1122]

Those little girls are sooooo cute. I like the Dachs to.

Thanks for bringing back up to the top. 5 months later and they have already changed so much since these pictures. Time sure does fly... and they grow like weeds!