Let's go fly a kite!

We have a lot to do 'round these parts. So much, I find ways to escape it. Clean? Pack? Oh, did I not mention that we are moving in 3 months? Below the mason-dixon line, no less, yeeeee-haaaaaa! Whoop. Whoop. Okay, so, what was I saying, oh yes, nah, forget all that house work, let's go fly a kite instead. Right?

Now, I am feeling kind of...uninspired lately with the picture taking thing. I get this way when I have too many pics on a memory card that I have yet to edit. But, I desperately want to record these days with my boys. So, my solution? Break out the film camera. Point. Click. Develop. No photoshop. No clearing that memory card that is full.

 Now, this picture is deceiving. It looks like we were masta' kite fliers and all. That is not true. Not in the least. We got these kites off the ground for...maybe a second...twice? I let the boy's pic out their kites, and Pete picked Batman. His was the cheapest, flimsiest, yet it flew the best.

One-armed-Joey managed to pick out a kite with dual holders. You know, where you need TWO hands to steer the kite? I did not notice this minor inconvenience until after we got to the park. So, eventually, Joey used Pete's kite, on account of only having ONE hand. 

We pretty much gave up after this. We hit the park, but not before grabbing a picture of my Joey.

So pensive, serious. Joey, relax babe. 

This park is great, by the way.

Now, you may ask yourself...'ya know, I swear she has four kids, but I only ever see pics of one or two...where are the rest?"

Here they are, and *this* is why you never see pics with all 4. 

Yeah, you will see single pics of these kids for some time to come. I try. 

And before we got into the car, I had Joey lay down for a pic I have seen and wanted to duplicate.

But allergy eyes and a bright sky are not a good combo. I still think he is cute though. :) 

Fuji 400h, in case you were curious. ;) 

Film...

There is just something about it that really melts my heart. Is that melodramatic or what?!! No, really, I love film images. The above one was a fun shot, just for the love of color. I did not do one thing to this in Ps5...no sharpening, no curves, no color poppage...nothing. To me, that says alot about the beauty of the medium, because to get this same look, I really would have to tinker around with midtones, hue saturation, and probably even a color fill to get the grass that hue. My digi grass is always more yellow than blue, but it is quite the opposite with film.

I just recently took part in a film workshop called shooting the breeze. Wait, I did not take part in anything, I was a total bum! :( It was a great class...the pdfs are beautiful and informative, the interviews and pictures are inspiring, and Suzie is talented, amazing, and sweet. I feel terribly for not being more active in it. I signed up for it on a whim, thinking it was such a great idea, it would force me to shoot more film. But...between editing my digi images, taking on a new project, and having a busy life with 4 boys(and this time of year is especially busy with baseball!), I ended up being a silent observer, and before I knew it, it was over. I am the worst procrastinator, and time slips outta my hands pretty easily. It was a beautiful class though. Anyhow...I guess this is where I am at with film and digi, I feel like I don't really have the time to devot the attention either one needs unless I focus one ONE medium. That is a silly sentiment though, I know, so I am going to do my best to explore film *and* digi, and utilize my time better overall...

Anyhow...isn't that swing pic full of pretty color? :) 

Fuji Superia Xtra 800, if you are wondering. ;) 

Past weekend...on film

It was nice out, besides the mud and gray skies and chilly wind here or there, of course, so we got outside. Figured it would be a great time to play around with some film. 

We headed down to the rails to trails for some bike riding. For anyone that does not know, the trail is an old rail line, turned into a biking/hiking trail.

Joey has really come into his own with this whole bike riding thing. He rocks. He even attempted some wheelies. 

We had not gone very far before we saw this thinga-ma-jingie. From best I can tell, it was a handy way to load coal onto the trains below. We love finding little bits of history in places like this.

 

 The boys(and Joe) started exploring, and we soon found that piles of coal were everywhere.

See it? How old was it? How long has it been piled up here after the rails were abandoned? Pete spent several minutes doing this, basically getting no where, like a little running man, until I finally gave him a boost. 

If you look real close, Paul is like, look ma, more coal. 

Then, we started collected it, and placing it in the stroller. *sigh*

 Okay, boys, that is enough with the coal.

When Jude saw everyone get out, well, that was it for his peaceful strolling. He had to get out too.

And then we were on our way back.

 2 funny things about this picture. 

1. Paul was just smiling for the camera. He was fussy the whole time, and him and Joe were bickering back and forth about his chain skipping, not pedaling enough, the training wheels, etc. Those two. LOL

2. See Joe in the background with a piece of coal? Just like the kids, isn't he? Joe, enough with the coal. Put it down. 

Then, on Sunday, we had an Easter Egg hunt at the Knights of Columbus Hall. 

I was metering without a light meter, using some old filmy rules. You ever hear of the sunny f.16 rule? Of course you have. What about the cloudy f.11 rule? Yeah? Have you heard of the Central Pennsylvania-light-vacuum-more-dreary-than-before-charlie-found-the-golden-ticket-in-the-willie-wonka-and-the-chocolate-factory-movie-f.8-rule?  Oh you have. That's good. That is what I used. 

Earlier in the day:

Me: Joe, do you think we need to wear our mud boots to this?

Joe: Nahhhh.

 Lesson learned...in Spring in Central PA, always wear your mud boots...

I heart faces photo challenge, slice of life.

I heart faces is having a 'slice of life' photo challenge. While I don't think this picture is technically perfect or all that great, you can't deny it captures a slice of our life. 

Jude. Up front and center, crying, while mama is attempting to do something else, with someone else(Pete in background). I love it. I had to snap it. :)

Beatrix Potter

Joey read the boys some Beatrix Potter last night. Paul says, to Joey, "Did you know that Benjamin Bunny is Peter Rabbit's cousin Joey?" 

Priceless.

Eva, by the way, I *did* come across that story you warned me about. Yes, harsh results for poor Jemima Puddle Duck. For those that do not know, a fox ate her eggs, her babies! For real! It really ends that way! It really does. I am not kidding. Amazingly, the boys were cool with that. They got the  lesson there, I suppose.

Today, I read a quick little diddy about a bad rabbit that had his whiskers and tail blown off by a man with a big 'ol gun. 

Oh Beatrix Potter, you really know how to tell a good tale...

And my boys love it. The gunning, whipping, spanking, egg baby eating, dinner with no currant rolling, rabbitt skinning/pie making warning...they love it.  

 And they usually pay attention...

for the most part...

Coloring and such...

I'll have you know that my expensive new toy is on the way back to B&H. For 300 bucks, I don't think I should have to tinker with exposure compensation. Anyhow, here are the last of the fuji 400h pics. I really do like this film. The colors are fun. And, for cvs scans, these aren't too bad! What I don't like is that I had to sacrifice precious iso by overexposing these. And, look, I used flash with these, so maybe metering flash with film isn't so scary after all.

You know that Pete likes to color.

Did you know that Jude does too?

Okay, not really.

 No Jude! No!

He just likes having or doing whatever the boys are having or doing.

Even though he is just a baby. Shhh...don't tell *him* that.

I have been having the most fun with this wide angle on my film camera. I love looking down at the kids, making them bobble heads.

Showing you what I see 99% percent of my day...the 'pick me up or I will totally and absolutely freak out' baby.

Love him.

But if Daddy is home, this is not my view. It's Dad's. When Jude hears that back door open, he runs to it, babbling, happy, giddy, goes over to Joe, and demands to be picked up. It is so adorable.

We all love it when Daddy comes home. :)

 So that is it for the fujih. I don't know what I will do about shooting film now, without a light meter...I might look into getting a cheaper used one. That way, if it is off, I won't be nearly as offended. 

It is Ash Wednesday!
As I type this, I am nagging the boys to hurry up and eat lunch so we can go. I don't want to take hungry kid to Mass. I don't know if we'll make it, but we will try. And per Joey's request, we are going to the fish fry at church later. Joe said, "we are fasting all day, and you want to eat that later? are you sure?" LOL Yes, a good ol' fish fry is extra tasty when you are extra hungry, Joe. ;) Now, for the giving things up part of Lent...I am giving up eating between meals, and trust me, this WILL be a sacrifice. ;) A girl needs to snack eat ya know. I will also read a psalm every day. :) Joe and Joey will pray 10 minutes a day together. :) Paul? He keeps changing his mind. He says he is giving up Candy. We'll see. Pete says he is "giving up a toy you blow into." Joey rolled his eyes, saying, "we don't have a toy that you blow into Peter." So, I guess Pete gets off easy.

Eating

Amazing, this life. So much beauty, everywhere. Yes, it's amazing that I can find so much beauty in how a baby and toddler eat. Everything about it is something that I want to cherish and remember. These were shot with my 35mm canon film camera wit fuji 400h, seriously overexposed, but they came out because my new pricey light meter is seriously underexposing stuff, well in my humble opinion(more on this later). 

Jude is a super eater. He loves to eat. The other day, I fed him eggs and Cheerios. Okay, they are the generic brand of Cheerios.

But he likes them all the same, you know. 

This bib is super helpful. 

When we feed these little ones, of course food ends up on the floor. But, it is usually stepped on, pressed deep into the cracks of the wood floor. *sigh*

I unpacked Pete's old pedipeds for Jude. These shoes are so cute on him. Oh, do you like my new boots? Hey, thanks! ;) 

 What do you see out the window Jude? 

Hey, that is a good idea, baby!

Hey Jude!

Pete was there. Having a bagel snack. Sometimes he will gimme a smile...

But sometimes a toddler just wants to eat his bagel. 

Joe comes home for lunch sometimes. I LOVE that. LOVE it. I make coffee, we joke around about our days. I so enjoy his company at lunch. The other day, he walks out of the kitchen, comes back in and says, "go look at Pete. He is so small at that big table." I look and then yank out the camera. Joe laughs, asking me why I am taking a picture of that. 

This is why.

He does look tiny at that big table. And he is adorable. I am going to miss this tiny toddler at my big table someday.

So, I don't know where I am going with this film thing. I like the look of film, but there are things I don't like. I don't think any of the pictures I have taken can be printed larger than 5x7 because of the grain. I know a medium format is key for larger prints. And, you need a light meter for film. With my digital, I feel like I really get my histogram. I love my histogram. LOVE it. I use it with natural light, with my speedlite, and it is so accurate in getting perfect exposure. You don't have the luxury of a histogram with film cameras. So, I bought a light meter. And, the drama begins. It seems to be underexposing just slightly. I underexposed quite a few pictures on a roll of film. :( Annoying. Some of this may be user error too, I admit I am not light meter savvy. I don't know...I am just not sure if tinkering with this light meter is worth 300 bucks. :( I will probably return it. But, then what about exposing for film? I don't know, maybe I will use the palm of my hand method until I decide how much time and money I want to invest in this filmy adventure....

More fun with film

Color film that is. Developed at CVS again(I know, I know).  Try to spot the green color cast, ay yi yi. But, I am not complaining--for a 3.99 CD. :)  And, it may have been my fault. I was guestimating exposure based on the in camera light meter. I think I do need a light meter. Just playing around again. :)

Kodak 400VC

  

 

Kodak 400NC