happy easter!!

five on friday

1. This is probably one of the most painful Five on Fridays I've ever had to type so it's going to be short  a FoF. 

2. Since I've been a sewing whore lately I had a hobby-related "incident" yesterday. I was cutting some thread and didn't get my middle finger out of the way in time. Needless to say 36 hours later my middle finger near the nail is still bleeding. And it hurts to type the "E", "D", and "C." (Ouch, that hurt to type those three letters.) Oh, and I've had to flip the hubby off a few times to get some sympathy!

3. The family and I are starting to make summer plans and this summer might turn out to be a 180 from last year. We're thinking of driving to Oregon from California. I can't WAIT to see that part of the country and I can't WAIT to take a crapton of pictures along the way!!

4.  Easter is two days away and we bought Early Bird's Easter dress yesterday. This year I was brazen enough to let her pick it out... gasp! And not surprising to me she picked out a pick fluffy gown with tulle. (why does this not surprise me!!) Oh, and it looks like it's suppose to rain on Saturday, the day of our church egg hunt, and Sunday... dang California weather!

5.  Random photo of the day:

sunset and the skateboarders {san jose, california, family photographer}

For the past few months we've had a few skateboarders showing up on our street to practice. They've always been very polite and are always fun to watch. They also happen to come at the perfect time of day, for me at least, around sunset. A few days ago I finally decided to ask them if they wouldn't mind if I took some pictures of them while they did their thang! They didn't mind at all and seemed really excited.

I had a great time and loved capturing them in the beautiful light we had that night. I totally forgot to ask them their names so hopefully they'll see this and chime in!

Thanks again guys and hope to see you around the streets soon! You were great models!!

five on friday {san jose, california, family photographer}

1. Can We Bring the Holidays Down a Notch?! Seriously! It's a good read!! If you haven't read this yet you need to. Whether you agree or not it's still a good read. And for me personally, since Early Bird is getting older, Christmas wore me down this past year. I can't possibly imagine trying to have every. stinkin. holiday an over-the-top celebration all year around (and don't forget about the birthdays sprinkled in between). For those of you that do, more power to ya! You've got way more creativity and energy than I ever had or will have. (And you know who you are Austin Jenn ;) Oh, and I blame Pinterest for half the problem ;)

2. As for the latest holiday, St. Patty's Day. Here's how it went down: Early Bird and I woke up Saturday morning (the day BEFORE St. Patty's Day. This will be important in a minute.) We head to the kitchen and I realize it's St. Patty's Day (remember, it's really the following day.) I told her that we can color her oatmeal green and then wear green the rest of the day so we won't get pitched. She was PUMPED about adding food coloring in her oatmeal. So, we eat our green oatmeal and (I think) we wear green the rest of the day! (By this point I'm excited that 1. I didn't forget St. Patty's Day, 2. We celebrated it doing something lo-key and 3. Early Bird had a healthy breakfast AND it was fun!). So, the next day we go to church and on the way in we were greeted by another church member asking us where our green was? Doh! You mean TODAY is St. Patty's Day?! Oh well, we celebrated early the day before and you know what?! Early Bird didn't care! Which means I didn't care either ;) It was a win-win.

3. I think I'm a tad late to the party but I'm obsessed and I mean OBSESSED with Downton Abbey! I just finished season two (I think the fourth season has started. Right?!) I'm not sure what I enjoy more, the costumes, the beautiful lighting they use (mainly on the exterior shots) or the story lines? Oh, the gorgeous sets play just as much a part as the story lines!! It's such a good combination of actors, setting and story lines. If you haven't caught the bug it's not too late. I think you can see it on Hulu or do like me and watch it on Netflix, on the iPad, in bed, under the covers, the first three episodes, all at one time.

Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantam, played by Maggie Smith, is by FAR my favorite character!! Quick witted and talks straight from the hip! Oh, and I love her family loyalty. 

 check out that set and her costume (oh, and she wore PANTS! Can you believe it?! The nerve of her!!).

unfortunately I wasn't able to track down all image sources. However, I think most come from here, PBS' Web site.

4. Mother's Day is coming... fast! If you need a good gift to give (even to yourself) try a spring/mother's day mini-session! check HERE for details!

5. Random photo of the day:

Grandma, Grandpa & their Harley

If you had asked me a year ago if I would be taking pictures of my, yes MY parents on a Harley I would have said forgetaboutit! 

For those of you that don't know my mom, she has been in education for forty bajillion years. Which means a teacher can wear a leather jacket, boots and a helmet if she wants! 

I guess grandmas and grandpas don't have to grow old sitting in rockers, they can grow old riding on a hog!

spring/mother's day mini-sessions {san jose, california, family photographer}

They're BACK! Spring/Mother's Day mini-sessions! If you're ALWAYS the one to take pictures this is a great excuse to get in front of the camera!! Limited spots.

~ Two dates, April 27 & 28

~ $100 

~ 20 minute sessions, includes 10 hi-res edited images (up to 5x7)

~ up to 4 people ($25 for each additional member)
~ park location around Los Gatos, California

~ additional images and prints available for purchase

~ limited availability

a little something different {san jose, california, family photographer}

Working on a little something different and outside my usual box.

This woman, S, and I met in our yoga class. She's in her 40's and beeeeautiful! AND she has an awesome figure to go with it! This was her first time modeling boudoir and this was my first time doing something completely different than taking family and children's pictures. We were both a little nervous, to say the least.  I'm not sure how often I'll do this type of photography but it was nice to stretch my creative muscle!

friday's feature

It's the beginning of another month and it's time for a Friday's Feature with another talented photographer. 

Michele Sylvester of Michele Sylvester Photography comes to us from El Segundo, California.

After her interview make sure you check out her fabulous Web site here.

~ Tell us about you and your family.

As cliché as it sounds, I married my best friend.  Neither of us were looking for a relationship or even really had time for one, but after a day spent together, we became inseparable.  We had our first son a year after we were married (almost to the day)!  Gibson was our one and only for about 6 years.  We went back and forth for a while about having another.  So naturally, we got a fur baby.  :)  JD (Just Dog) is very intimidating looking, but she's the sweetest most gentle fur kid.  I'm a reservist in the military and found out I was deploying when we finally made the decision to have another so we had to wait a little bit more for us to grow our family.  Jackson, who we lovingly call Fat Baby, completes our family in ways we never imagined. 

~ Name the places you have called home. Where is home now?

I've always referred to Weaver, Alabama as home and it will always be home to me.  It's where I go to recharge my batteries and ground myself.  I've lived in Seoul, Korea; Riverside, CA; Monterrey Bay, CA; Weaver, AL; Alameda, CA (on a ship); Petaluma, CA; Alameda, CA (again, but not on a ship) Corona, CA.  I now live in Los Angeles and the community we live in now is starting to feel like home.

~ Describe a day in the life of you.

It's pretty routine.  I get my husband and Gibson ready for their day.  Then Fat Baby and I keep each other pretty entertained until his nap time.  I use that time to get some work done that requires more focus, after I pick up the crazy path of destruction only a toddler can leave.  We head up to pick Gibson up from school.  Then it's homework, snack, reading, and then the boys play for a bit while I straighten up and get dinner ready.  After the boys are tucked in for the evening, my husband and I watch a little tv or a movie.

~ Describe your photography style and how it came to be.

Hmmmm...I guess the best way to describe it is natural.  I don't like to over pose my subjects.  I give a little direction, usually asking them to do something (sneak up on someone, chase me, tackle Dad, etc) or I'll tell some ridiculous story/joke.  I've also been known to use a broken English accent (my mom is Korean), wear a fake mustache, wear “Where's Waldo” glasses, dance (I should stop so people don't think I'm having a stroke).  It really depends on my clients' personalities what antics I'll pull, but I try to keep it laid back and fun!  I'm just ME at every session.  I have never really had a problem with making a fool out of myself to get people around me to laugh or feel comfortable.  I've found that if I'm relaxed and having fun during the sessions, my clients do too.  I tried being serious and kept a lid on my silliness because I wanted to be “professional”, but that didn't work for me and I don't think it worked for my clients either.

~ What's in your camera bag and what do you use to carry it?

Nikon d90 with battery grip, sb700 speedlight, 50mm f1.8, 18-55mm f3.5, 55-200mm f5.6, UV filters, hood, back up batteries, pen, small first aid kit, mirror, hand sanitizer, lens cleaning kit, multi-tool and flashlight, wipes, hair bands.  I have an Epiphane Clover in red which I LOVE, but I also have a Crumpler in gunmetal.

~ If you could only watch one television show for the rest of the year, which one would it be?

Wow.  This really is a tough one for me.  I love so many shows, but I think I'd have to say Parenthood.

~ Where do you find your inspiration?

I love watching people interact with each other, with their environment.  There's just something about the way a face lights up when they see someone they love, a boy seeing his baby brother for the first time, the way a man in love looks at his wife, a kid scoring the winning goal.  People.  All beautiful to me.  All special.  All amazing.

~ Tell us something no one knows about you.

I drank my first beer when I was 3.  My poor papa realized too late that I found his cold beer.  It was hot out.  It was the first secret I can remember us having (from my grandma).  :)

~ Name a place you have been and want to go back? What do you want to see or do there?

I want to go back to Korea.  I want to visit my family who I haven't seen in a very long time.

~ Tell us where we can find you on the World Wide Web.

www.michelesylvester.com

Thanks Michele for stopping by and letting us peek into your little world!

Everybody have a great weekend!