Life Inside the Doll House

The big excitement today is that my brother is staying with us for a couple of days. He lives in Melbourne and sadly we don't see him very often. My brother travels around a lot and this has earned him the name Travelling Uncle M - like the Fraggle. He doesn't look much like a Fraggle though. The kids just love having him here. 

I cannot believe that I am into the final 10 days of this project! In an ideal world I would be able to savour these final days and reflect upon what I have learned. That might have to come after the project is finished because sadly there really is no time or space for reflection this week.  We went to Paris this past weekend. The trip was planned around the annual European Blythecon. When I heard that it was in Paris this year, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to turn it into a family city break. My husband and I got engaged in Paris 10 years ago and hadn't been back since. We were really excited to show the kids something new.  Of course some things never change wherever you are! They were delighted to find one of their favourite TV shows on French TV - Rabid Rabbits. The rabbits don't speak properly so language was not a problem.  Day 355. It is always so nice to have new settings to take portraits in. This was taken after our first meal in a F...

Just a quick one tonight because we are packing for a very exciting trip. It is midweek and I have been working which means that time and energy for photos has been very limited. Day 353 - Very late at night and essentially hunting the house for people/things to photograph. Day 354 - This is one of mine and Bear's new favourite pastimes. Rexy caught sight of them this evening and I think that we might have won another one over. No loo roll shall pass through this house unpainted this summer. 

The boys had a playdate this afternoon, which gave me the time I needed to get my Project 52 Liquid  shot. I had a lot of fun with this one. I love playing with water and shutter speed. I was lucky enough to find the first ripe strawberries of the year in our garden. I was also interested to play around with water and oil.  Now the problem is that I cannot decide which to submit. I am very indecisive. I think that I might have to make being more decisive a photography goal for next year. 

They say that a picture says a thousand words. If that is the case, then this picture will tell you exactly where I am at today... This steamy heart shaped bokeh idea is not mine. I saw it somewhere and I wanted to have a go. The Lensbaby is so much fun! My tripod arrived today and I played around with some splashy pictures. The theme of this week's 52 project is Liquid. I won't submit any of these. I wanted to use strawberries, but we didn't have any today.  I was able to use the tripod to take some pictures of Bear and me. It is so tempting to criticise myself but I will not. The purpose is for there to be a record of my time with the kids. I feel happy that I am able to do that more and more. 

This weekend, as the title suggests, consisted of the school fete and father's day. I took some photos of Rexy and Bear on the morning of the school fete - day 349. It started off pretty well. I was thinking that I really don't get enough photos of these two together.... And then Bear started strangling her brother... He didn't seem to mind though.  The school fete itself was pretty full on and I didn't have many opportunities to get the camera out. I was pleased that I remembered to try out a little fill flash though. I have been meaning to play with this technique for ages.  In this photo I took Rexy with no flash against a very bright background. He was in the shade so is face is pretty shadowy.  This time I turned on the flash to eliminate those shadows on his face. It still looks a little flashy to me, but overall it is a better picture... I think. I will play around with toning down the flash to see if I can imp...