The Summertimes

Refreshing

2012-04-23T11:42:00.000+10:00

This morning myself and my little love did some gallivanting around our local area and I took some photos along the way. I love how photography makes you focus on the little things, whether it is a smile or a look from a loved one, or the little details along the path that we often overlook.

Two of My Loves

2012-04-18T16:23:00.001+10:00

Yesterday Aisling had the day off work and I'd been thinking recently how it was funny that she is the one who did all the art subjects in school, and I was more into the science and humanities stuff... aka the boring subjects :P I'm one of those people who kinda liked high school, and especially liked getting good grades in classes that came easy to me, and English and Biology somehow just clicked. These days I sort of wish that I had done Art in school as its only in the past few years that I've started learning lighting, composition and the theory behind what makes something visually appealing. I wonder if I had started earlier would it have changed anything? Perhaps not, as I'm pretty sure having my little guy to take photos of all the time is what has actually driven me to improve my skills this year, no amount of art subjects or theory can compare to a new mums desire to freeze time as their little baby grows up before their eyes.

But anyway, getting back to my original thought, I was wondering if Ash might be up for a creative shoot and she was :) Happy days! I really love experimenting with lighting and props/materials just to see what happens, and its fun scheming about other shoots we could do, not to mention it is just fun to work with my sister as we've never really done much creative stuff together up until now.

I also snapped a few pics of Tavi and Ash together, two of my loves that I love so very much :)

Sometimes

2012-04-17T21:12:00.001+10:00

Sometimes I like to turn around in the car and peek at him through my headrest.

To remind me how gosh darn cute he is.

To remind me that I already have the best job ever. Loving this boy.

Goodbye Holidays

2012-04-13T13:37:00.003+10:00

Chris is back to work :( boo! But we did have a great last day of the holidays going for a picnic out near Darboro/Samsonvale. Tavi and I are going to miss having him home so much!

We've been thinking more and more about what we would like for our future, for our family, and for our little son. Even though teaching does have its benefits we're not convinced that it will be Chris's life long career, which is a little bit daunting but also very exciting. My goal is for us to be able to live with less income so that he can be home more, and we can spend more time with each other and investing into this precious little life that we have been given to look after.

It is funny that Chris and I have both studied education, but lately idea of homeschooling is starting to look very attractive. I'm convinced that kids learn so much more from their parents than they ever will from any teacher, regardless of whether you home school or not, so teaching him will always be a priority for us, whether Tavi goes to school or not. We've also been talking to friends who have been home schooled and plan to home school their children and their reasoning why, and so far it seems like it might be a good fit for us.

I know, the pants are ridiculously huge. But also undeniably cute :P

We stopped off at a lavender farm but it won't be in full bloom till June. I'm hoping to buy some extension tubes for one of my lenses by then so should be able to get some cool macro shots. I also took my first panoramic shot yesterday, so much more to learn but its a start :) Next time I'm thinking sunset or the beach or the city, or perhaps all of them.

Our little nephew Jace is coming over this afternoon for us to take photos of him :) Looking forward to more newborn cuddles, he is just so tiny and cute! Will definitely share some pics of him next week.

Tavi is getting more and more active every day, having his own mini adventures and exploring his world. Speaking of which...

I miss this

2012-04-09T14:57:00.000+10:00

Ok so obviously I've been a little preoccupied lately, where my last post left off is where I've been for the majority of the past few months: Photography! I love it, like ridiculously, insanely, thinking about it 24/7, get jitters before a photo shoot kind of love. But, I do miss this too. We had a little impromptu family jam the other day, Chris on guitar and vocals, me chiming in when I wasn't moving Tavi away from the decidedly un-baby friendly things in the studio, and our little drummer boy was playing a mini djembe- so cute. But it was then that I realized that as much as I absolutely love taking photos, I also love a lot of other creative things too. Weird for someone who never really thought of themselves in the least bit creative until recently. I miss doing music with Chris, whether its at home with friends or throwing a few instruments in the car and having a jam at the lake/beach/park, I miss sewing random things, and I miss writing down at least some of the multitude of thoughts that swirl around my brain all the time. I've always said this blog was mostly just for me to be able to look back on and that is so true, but I've realized its also a good way for me to process whatever is going on and have an outlet to write/ramble/muse about whatever I'm interested in at the moment. So I'm going to try to update more often, for my own good. Probably most will be random stream of consciousness style such as this, if you want more cohesive polished writing and better layout, probably best to check out our photography website (www.summertimephotography.net) but if you want to keep up with whatever we're up to, I'll keep writing here :)

And because no post is complete without a photo, here is a picture of our little guy on his birthday :)

Lovely Sisters

2011-12-14T09:47:00.000+10:00

Family Fun at the Park

2011-12-13T08:44:00.001+10:00

You know what I like about taking photos in North Lakes? There is at least one park within five minutes of every house, so during our shoot yesterday we spent some time down at the local park...

Not Me! Monday

2011-12-12T20:08:00.000+10:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

The following is intended to be dripping with sarcasm and just a little too much truth...

This week I did not have a glass of Pepsi Max with dinner, which then resulted in me staying awake all night and using a particularly wide awake period from 2-3am to catch up on blogging. There is no way I that am sensitive to caffeine after being off it for so long.

I am not continually frustrated by my lack of spatial awareness when it comes to sewing, I've studied education and fully understand that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses and am totally fine that this is not my strong area. I also did not almost totally unpick and re-pin a huge amount of sewing this week because I had thought I stuffed it up... and finally I definitely do not compensate for total lack of sewing ability with a ridiculous amount of pins, nope, not me!

I did not use Tavi as a makeshift water bottle while editing photos recently, letting him fall asleep after a feed on my lap and not moving for over an hour, I definitely did not enjoy every minute of it. Also, I certainly do not dream about taking photos and come up with ideas for shoots in my sleep. Nope not me!

During a recent Brisbane downpour I did not resort to buying Tavi disposable nappies, I am a purist in every sense of the word, but if I had put him in disposables (which of course I totally did not) then I definitely would not have enjoyed a significant reduction in the amount of washing I need to do.

I certainly do not have enough fabric to make each of my photo shoots look different for quite some time. Fabric hoarder? Me? Pfft, no way!

And finally I did not burn myself a ridiculous amount of times while making this book wreath...and yet keep soldiering on... Me? No way, you are looking at the most talented person who wields a glue gun this side of the equator...multiple blisters from multiple glue gun mishaps? You must have me confused with someone else...

That time I Ripped Up Pride & Prejudice

2011-12-11T08:00:00.001+10:00

I came across this tutorial and loved the quirky wreath style and thought it would be a perfect Christmas decoration for our house.

I would have loved to use the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens because in my mind that would have been perfection, however I couldn't find it in the particular op shop I was looking in on the day I decided that I wanted to do it....and well we all know I am nothing if not headstrong and impatient at times...and this was one of those times *ahem* character flaw, moving right along... I did come across a copy of Pride and Prejudice and in my version of logic it was ok to buy it only to rip it to pieces because I already own it and have read it a few times. Problem solved. If you are not as pedantic as me when it comes to literature you could always use any book you don't like the look of, but personally I wanted to be sure I wasn't investing a lot of time into hanging tripe on my wall.

I'll be honest, I did squirm a bit when ripping out the first few pages, it just seemed so wrong. I suppose the fact that I majored in English literature didn't help either, but after I got over the initial uneasyness it was actually quite relaxing to rip a book to shreds. You should try it sometime, it had almost a cathartic effect.

I ran out of glue so will need to buy some more before it is totally finished but here it is so far:

I burned myself countless times with the glue gun, I even have a blister to prove it, but don't let that deter you from giving it a go. I just don't have any idea what I'm doing but jumped in and did it anyway...hmm impatience seems to be a theme, should probably work on that.

Happy Christmas :)

Cute Gifts For Teachers

2011-12-10T12:35:00.001+10:00

To all the teachers out there who are currently rummaging through copious amounts of chocolate and/or recovering from a sugar hangover due to vast consumption of said chocolate, I just wanted to shae the contents of one of the cards Chris got this year that accompanied a clear box filled with M&M's

Green is for the inspiration you give me each day

Blue is for your patience in showing me the way

Orange is for your warmth and caring style

Yellow is for the way you make me smile

Red is for my life that you have touched this year

You're a very special teacher, just like this box that's clear!

You place knowledge in children's hands and melt into their hearts and lives forever

You're a Magnificent & Marvellous teacher!

Thank you for being my M&M

I've seen plenty of gifts and cards over the years but this one is my favourite by far :) Feel free to steal the idea for your child's teacher next year. Hope everyone has a relaxing and restful holidays :)

Love. Smiles. Kisses.

2011-12-09T12:13:00.001+10:00

This week I had the pleasure of taking photos for Gemma and her gorgeous girls.

We had lots fun jumping on the bed, playing with toys, blowing bubbles and making a princess tent...oh yeah and we took lots of photos as well. I was thrilled when I saw the amazing quilt Gemma had brought along, so colourful and lovely! I'm feeling inspired to make a big one for us now...although I need to finish off Tavi's first.

Next week is starting to fill up with bookings so if you'd like me to take photos of your lovely family (they make fantastic Christmas presents for grandparents) email me at summertimephotography (at) gmail.com and we'll set up a time.

To see the full set of photos from this session visit my website :)

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year :)

2011-12-08T06:59:00.001+10:00

And also the most wonderful bargain! I love Advent Calenders, and had been thinking about making my own quilted one... and yes this was before I had any idea about what quilting actually involved. Since I haven't finished the binding on Tavi's quilt yet I had resigned myself to the fact that while it was a good idea, it would have to wait till another year as I simply don't have enough hours in the day.

I was out hunting for some vintage style props and came across this lovely handmade quilted advent calender, the i phone photo does not do it justice at all but it is lovely and only cost $7.50! You seriously couldn't buy the material for that! Gotta love a bargain :)

Her Tattoo Says it All...

2011-12-07T16:22:00.001+10:00

I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful moment to photograph during my latest session and I was absolutely thrilled when this gorgeous Mum gave me permission to use the photos. This set was definitely my favourite by far out of all the photos. And the tattoo? Well that is just the icing on the cake.

Looking forward to two more baby sessions to finish out the week and then hopefully going to the Lord Mayors Christmas carols this weekend as long as the rain stays away :)

The Summertimes: Not Me! Monday

2011-12-06T09:25:00.000+10:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This is a link up that I've often enjoyed reading so I thought it was about time that I shared a few of my own Not Me! moments. The following is intended to be dripping with sarcasm and just a little too much truth...

I most certainly do not allow Tavi to feed himself because it gives me some time to blog and edit photos, nope I definitely do not value my own hobby enough to make it worth the colossal mess and cleanup afterward, nope Not Me!

This week I did not check the letter box and upon realising it was just some junk and letters for someone who used to live here I did not just put them back because I couldn't be bothered bringing them in to the house.

I certainly did not encourage my husband to install air conditioning in our babies room so that he could sleep better without checking it with the rental agency first. I am such a responsible rule follower and would never do something like that.

I did not deliberate about what to make for a recent birthday party for ages, constantly changing my mind and I definitely did not end up making exactly what I had planned to do in the beginning, I would never be that indecisive.

I am always up to date with all washing and folding, and I did not find some random clean pocket nappies and inserts floating around the car. I also definitely did not stuff Tavi's nappies while in the car and stopped at a red light, because that is just weird, and only for frazzled time poor Mums... and totally Not Me!

So what have you not been up to lately?

My Must-Watch Chrismas Movies

2011-12-06T02:23:00.001+10:00

1. The Muppet Christmas Carol

I can't remember a Christmas where we haven't watched this movie, so suffice to say that its pretty much ingrained in the Christmas culture of our family. Who doesn't love a bit of Charles Dickens retold by frogs and pigs? Such a good movie and the songs always get stuck in my head. Definitely a good Christmas activity to watch this as a family over the school holidays.

2. Elf

One word: hilarous! Will Ferrell at his best, all of his comedy with none of the crude storyline. We like the movie so much that we went out and bought it again the last Christmas we spent in Ireland, because it wouldn't feel like Christmas till we had our Elf fix :)

3. The Holiday

Romance, travel, and Christmas all intertwined in a lovely chick flick. This might be one reserved for watching with your best girl friend as I do think chick flicks are best enjoyed in the company of another girl with a steady supply of snackfood. I've already watched this one but I love it so much that I'll probably watch it while making my next Christmas decoration project (its has to do with ripping a book to shreds, which normally I would hate but I think this will be so worth it!)

Special Mention: Robbie the Reindeer, not technically a Christmas movie but more like a Christmas version of Wallace and Grommit. We stumbled upon an episode of it on ABC back when we had TV and we thought it was hilarious, and of course the Irish accents and humor helps to sweeten the deal. Definitely worth fitting in amongst your Christmas viewing.

So what am I missing out on? Do you have any recommendations to add to my Christmas viewing?

For Hayden's Adoring Fans

2011-12-05T20:20:00.001+10:00

I had the pleasure of taking photos of this little cutie today, and by popular request here are some more photos :) Isn't he just the cutest? We had a lot of fun with different props and poses and Hayden took it all in his stride. Thank you so much Amore for letting me borrow your little son this morning, these are just a few to satiate Hayden's adoring crowd, dudes got a following already :P

The second I saw this amazing tattoo I knew I had to get a photo of it!

Such a sweetie. He totally lights up when he sees or hears his Mum. Absolutely gorgeous.

And what could be cuter than a naked baby? Oh yeah a smiling naked baby :)

Many more photos to come of this little guy and even more cuties! Lets just say my week is looking mega full with photo goodness. If you would like some photos taken of your own little sweet cheeks baby then email me: summertimephotography (at) gmail.com for more info or check out my website http://summertimephotography.smugmug.com/

Early Morning Edits

2011-12-04T09:09:00.001+10:00

For some weird reason I woke up when the sun was coming up, oh that's right I have a baby to feed. Usually I'd go back to sleep but today I couldn't...so i did what any normal person would have done and got up and edited photos...

Mmm so much glorious colour, hooray for rainbow themed birthday parties!

And lots of cute kids everywhere for me to take photos of!

Ralphie was loving the attention

And the birthday boy was having a great time too

The kids had lots of fun playing pass the parcel

And I had fun experimenting...

The weather was just perfect and the children had a great time in the newly constructed sandpit

And there were rainbow colours everywhere

I stole some rainbow goodness for a few family photos with the help of my accomplice and child entertainer extraordinaire Grace :)

Squish the baby!

He doesn't seem to mind...although maybe he doesn't count as a baby now that he is 2? I'm not sure about the technicalities but I am sure about how adorable this sweet family is :)

Did I mention he has a gorgeous little brother? MOAR baby goodness!! :P

And we can't forget Zeke's amazing technicolour dream cake...or rainbow cake to some. It looked awesome and tasted even better...mmm butter cream icing!

And what do I love about these photos? Oh just everything! Two people that are so dear to my heart, a scrumptious cake and a friend who goes along with my sometimes nutty ideas, a toddlers joy, sweet moments, and how photos are not always about capturing a moment but actually help in creating a fun memory.

Love x 4

Three years

2011-12-03T07:13:00.001+10:00

Happy Birthday To You!!

2011-12-02T09:31:00.001+10:00

Happy Birthday Mister 2 year old!

You are a bundle of fun and energy and we can't wait to celebrate with you this Saturday :)

We I first met you I was ginormously pregnant with our little guy and you were probably wondering who is this oddly shaped lady and why won't she get down on the floor and play cars with me?!

Thankfully I've been able to make up for that with lots of play time since :)

Tavi adores you and I'm sure if he could talk in more than single syllables he would say so himself. Even when he was a few months old he would always give you the biggest smile, and I can't wait to see your friendship develop through the years.

You came to visit us in hospital and I'm not too sure what you thought of your new little friend but you were very gentle and intrigued.

You kept me company when I was a bit too shy to feed Tavi out in public during the first few weeks and that meant the world to me :)

You are a joy to us and we are privileged to be a part of your life as you grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Love you lots Ezekiel xox

Tuna Nicoise

2011-12-01T08:06:00.000+10:00

After having a baby you have a heck of a lot less time to go out for dinner, or make a really lovely one at home. Sad but true. However, when you do have a chance to make something truly delicious and spend some quality time with your loved one you enjoy it so much more, so I think that balances it out a bit.

We don't tend to eat a whole lot of meat around here these days, but fish? Now that's a whole other story. I have actually woken up craving tuna and salad in the morning?? Most definitely not a breakfast food! (I am somewhat a stickler for appropriate times that things should be eaten) And no, I am most definitely NOT pregnant, but this whole healthy eating thing is making me want weird things.

When I was out at the Redliffe Sails restaurant with Cassie the other day I had tuna nicoise (said like: knee-swa) and it was oh so delicious that I knew I had to make it for Chris. We're heading out on the weekend to celebrate our anniversary but I wanted to make something lovely on the actual night. He approved. Immensely!

So light a few candles, pick up some tuna steaks and make this lovely meal for you and your loved one(s)

"Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity." ~Voltaire

The Best Part

2011-11-30T12:00:00.002+10:00

Amongst the beautiful flowers and dresses and the amazing landscape and sunset, I reckon this by far is the best part. This is what we celebrate. These vows and the emotion behind them is the whole reason for the day, the foundation of their marriage, and what will carry them through long after the flowers have dried up and the beautiful dress is packed away.

To all those who celebrate their anniversary around this time of year I encourage you to re-read your wedding vows often and love, respect and cherish that amazing person that you married :)

If a picture tells a thousand words then here is my essay

2011-11-30T09:28:00.001+10:00

Happy three year anniversary my love. You mean the world to me and I wouldn't trade the last three years for anything! We've had our ups and downs, traveled the world, lived in a few different houses, driven a few different cars (although our Kombi 'little Joe' will always be remembered fondly). You have supported me through a year without my immediate family living in the same hemisphere, through intense post-graduate study, throughout a draining and painful pregnancy, and through the vast changes that come with being a Mum. You are the best! I don't think I would have had an un-medicated birth without you to coach me through it all and I don't think I would be breastfeeding our little guy if it wasn't for your empathy, love, understanding and encouragement. You really do make my joys greater and my sorrows more bearable. Thank you for being my constant companion, and for encouraging me in my passions and believing that I can do it even when I'm not too sure. You are a constant delight in my life, and I love you so much! Your quirky way of viewing the world and creative mindset is infectious. Here's to many more years of being absolutely madly, crazily in love with you :)

It is Christmastime for sure

2011-11-29T12:21:00.001+10:00

Last night we did one of our family traditions and made the Christmas pudding. We're not always this organised but Ash heads away to China in a few days so we wanted to do some Christmas things before she leaves :) We will miss her muchly but know that she will have a great time away and hopefully come back with lots of stories to tell and photos for us to see.

Everyone had to have a stir, even our little baby boy, although he was more interested in trying to get what was inside the bowl...

This will be our first Christmas as a family of three and it has made me think about what I would like to instigate as our traditions, so I'd love to know what YOUR Christmas traditions are? What do you do, where do you go, what are your essential things to make it feel 'Christmassy' to you? I might steal some of them if you don't mind?

One thing I would love to do is to make Tavi a Christmas stocking, we always had them growing up and I'd love to make a quilted one for him. Even though some Christmas Eves I was sure that us kids had stayed awake the majority of the night, there would always be a stocking totally stuffed full of goodies that mam and dad had somehow filled without us seeing. It also satiated our desire to get up and open presents on Christmas day for probably at least another half hour, so as a parent now I like the sound of that too :)

Service with a smile...and surprises :)

2011-11-28T15:07:00.001+10:00

I'm seriously loving these little homie pants, I made some for Tavi and wanted to make a pair and matching onesie for Sienna who I photographed the other week.

Hopefully Sienna and her Mama like them and the photos :)

And my little accomplice?

He busied himself with a top hat and I'm so very glad he did.

This is why i tend to have my camera close by at all times. I think you can sometimes have all these great ideas for photos but the best ones are often totally random things that happen. Here's to cherishing the fleeting moments, baby smiles, and random happenings amongst the chaos of life!

2011-11-27T23:40:00.001+10:00

My gorgeous friend, her proud Daddy, amazing flowers, a memorable day :)

Just had to quickly put up an unedited photo before I go to...zzzzz