Stuart Brothers

We took the kids to the park, and thinking I was going to be sneaky I took my camera to try and get four-year photos of Jareth. He hasn't been feeling the camera so I thought I would catch him in action. He was very aware of me, so he made it a game to avoid photos haha. Nathan helped me by getting Jareth to follow him through the tunnels. Nathan's the best photo assistant ever, I tell you. Jareth did let me get a couple of him on the swings later, so all in all not a complete fail on my part. I couldn't resist taking a photo of Liam too. His eyes are so lovely!

Flash!

I'm sure you can gather I prefer natural light to artificial light. I was reading an article today, and the author said many photographers who say they prefer natural light do not actually know how to use flash or strobes. She said that wasn't the case with all photographers, but it made me feel like taking out my flash. I will admit using flash is not my strong suit. Unless I have a nice white wall (or low ceiling) to bounce the light off of I feel a little lost. We used strobes in the studio, so I am more familiar with those. Sophia is always dressed up in some get-up or another so I recruited her as the model, and since Nathan has always been my little assistant of sorts I volunteered him to hold the reflector. We used a white foam board as the reflector and set to work in the kitchen. It was really difficult getting Sophia to relax, as with common with small children, and a lot of her facial expressions were really contrived. However, once I uploaded the photos on the computer I realized we did manage to get a handful of photographs where her true self came through. Here are my favorite photos of the night. I turned the SB-800 flash to my left and upward into the white board Nathan was angling down toward her, as you can tell by the slight shadows on her right side.

Petroglyphs and Fires

Another Sunday, another adventure! For this adventure, we drove up to the Three Rivers Petroglyphs site. The weather was perfect for hiking around and looking at the petroglyphs. While there, another adventurer told us about the Valley of Fires. Since it was still early in the day and not too far away, we headed there next. I was really blown away. Every time I think I know New Mexico, we discover another place that just blows me away.

Adventure Sunday

Since we always try to have an adventure (or two) during the weekend, a group of friends started an official Adventure Sunday page. It is a good place to organize details and try to get more people to join our ragtag group of friends on our random quests. This past Sunday we went to Sue Young Park and had a picnic/sports day. It was a lot of fun! It is really great to see the kids play outside because as much as video games and television are entertaining, in my heart there is nothing better than some outdoor activities.

Hiking and more hiking

Since the weather is so lovely lately, I have been hitting the hiking trails. Last week we went to Aguirre Springs, and I had forgotten how much there is to explore there. Unfortunately, we headed out a little late so not much time was spent exploring. We will have to leave earlier next time.

Today's hike was a little more rough. I bought Nathan some new hiking shoes and of course we had to break them in! We spent three hours hiking on the Ron Coleman trail. The views up there were just amazing, and I am so proud of Nathan for being such a great adventurer. We climbed up the mountain and hiked up the ridge that allowed us the view of both the eastern and western sides of El Paso. It was a truly great way to bond with him and take in the beauty of the Chihuahuan desert.