"Taran's Eye View

For literally 25 years I've been wanting to learn about photography and get a "real" camera. Finally last week I broke down and, in my usual impulsive style, found a used digital camera on craigslist and ran out an hour later to pick it up. Also in typical fashion, I'm overwhelmed by the manual (last I saw it, it was stuffed in the oven of Taran's toy kitchen), so I have the settings stuck in the same position as they were in when I bought the camera last week.

My friend Sarah is a beautiful photographer and directed me to a helpful site with some good tips for beginning photographers. (The tips are from wedding and family photographer
Lexia Frank . If you have any interest at all in the art of photography, check her out.)

I'm looking forward to some time this weekend while T is sleeping to take a walk with my camera and play a bit with it in the sunlight. Speaking of my friend Sarah, she recently realized that in many of the photos she's posted on her blog, very few included herself. Since then she's started including weekly "selfies" on her blog and encouraging her friends to do the same. In that spirit, I took the above photo, as well as the following:




Although, it's fun to get myself in the picture, Taran is a way more fun subject. Despite having no idea how to actually use my camera, I am already appreciating some of the major differences - the biggest one being the refractory period between shots. This is vital for the moving target that is my toddler.




I'm suddenly able to capture the incredibly shifting landscape of his transient moods in a way that I just couldn't do with my old point-and-shoot.

Yesterday Taran was using our dining room table as a fort and I got down to get a "Taran's eye view".


This was one of my favorite hang out spots as a kid - I have a set of folding chairs from my parents at our table and about 35 years ago, I remember lying under the table looking at the same chairs.






The chairs are battered, dinged, chipped, and scratched and a total mismatch with the $20 Ikea chairs and $5 yard sale find blue wicker chair also strewn haphazardly around the table. House Beautiful, maybe not so much. House Happy....most definitely!