in between bursts of rain we set out to just get out.  i grabbed my phone for the walk for one reason…the camera on it.

one thing we stressed on our photography panel at BlogHer was that whatever camera you have, it is not going to take very many great photographs sitting in your bag at home.

it is not the gear, but how you use it.  even more simple, that you actually use it at all.

i love how a one block walk is a world of adventure to children.

once again the vignette app for the android phone does not disappoint.  i really love what it does with black and whites.

in one image for each. (for now)

my trip was not just for the conference.  there were photos to be taken as well!

as you can imagine, there are A LOT of pictures to edit so i just pulled one from each folder as a preview.  i am taking the weekend to cuddle my children and recover from the jetlag.  monday i will dig in and get started editing.

until then…

clover went back to the hospital today to meet with her metabolic team.  she walked in the door and marched off towards the elevators.  i was merely there to keep up with her and push the stroller holding our bags.  you would never know that only a year ago, she was stuck in a bed in the same hospital.  clearly she does not hold a grudge.

her report was good and as long as she does not get sick (come on spring!), she does not need to return for five whole months.  they even let her skip out of the blood draws this time.  i know that we can manage this and more importantly, she can manage this.  she is so tiny, but strong.

it was amazing to spend the whole day with just clover.  i feel like we really bonded today.  we laughed, we held hands, we did what she wanted.  i have said it before, but i mean it this time…i am going to make a day a week where i spend time with each twin by themselves.  what cool little people they are.

today’s 365 shot with the cameraphone just had to be with my clover jane.

from today.

i plan on collecting my 365 shots weekly in a post here on the blog with thoughts on the process, but they go up daily on my flickr stream.

but until then it is more “phone-tography” (and then the point and shoot bali pics that I still have to post!)

although, come to think of it…what are “real” photos anymore?

today was adventure thursday with the twins.  we hit the local play center.  not very adventuresome, but honestly, trying to go to the bathroom at home with the twins around is an adventure so when we actually leave the house, there is the question…will we all survive?

and with that visit, i was crowned mayor of the place on foursquare.  i am slowly acquiring a whole empire of children’s venues on that site.

and yes, that is gemma’s sweater that was actually peta’s sweater that she shrunk and i have now shrunk again.

with a camera phone.

i have decided to do a 365 project of self portraits…all on my camera phone.  writing about certain topics for our book has prompted me to explore things i would not normally take on…like a photo a day of myself for one.  we got a new phones and they are Android ones which means they have a bunch of cool apps just like i have been watching my friends play with on their iPhones for a while.  one i found was this great little camera app called Vignette.  i took a photo with it setting the camera to Toy Camera BW with a square frame and immediately felt like i had found a lost friend.  the resulting image was really so similar to the ones i used to get from the holga that now sits i my closet…empty.  of course there are the tell-tale signs of digital, but man was it close.

and it got me thinking.

i miss the imperfection of film and medium format cameras.  the Yashicamat was probably the best camera i ever owned and i sold it to help buy my first pro digital body, Nikon’s D100.  i thought that was going to be it for photography for me and i could see the end of film.  i can still imagine the end of film, but my thoughts on it have changed.

i am tired of the perfection of digital and frankly i am bored by a large facet of my own photography.  it isn’t that i want to eliminate that side of my work…not at all.  i love a perfectly exposed crisp shot with even tones.  i have never been one to over process.  i like my work clean and real.  even with film, i was never a whimsical photographer.  if anything, my work was darker before.  there was always the clean work i did commercially, but then there was the Holga, the Hasselblad, the Yashicamat, the Minolta, the SX-70, the Contax, the Fuji 645.  two were sold, but most are still in my gear closet lovingly packed away.  i need film and a lab and a good scanner…oh and some more time.

just 2 days into my 365 project and i remember the love i had for imperfection.  for grain.  for contrast.  for lack of color.  for unexpected focus.  for letting the image stand at time of exposure.

so i will be posting weekly to the blog, my 365 portraits and more in this exploration.  while the 365 will be with the phone camera, i may finally get my film and post those results here too.

i would love to see your 365 journey too and will be posting a link widget with my first week collection.  i want to feature some of the ones that inspire me here on my own blog.

we are all seeking something with photography, what are you looking for?

it is so important.  the little things.  the moments.

telling your family’s story in photographs.

it is something i do on an almost daily basis.

out takes from our book shoot this past weekend on this topic with the delightful stafford family (whose twins just happen to be 2 weeks younger than mine).  see more from the shoot over on peta’s blog.

thank you for being such a wonderful family to work with!!!!

So excited to have a fashion story in the gorgeous new magazine MAEVE.  Peta Mazey and I shot and styled this story on Thrifty Fashion for your kids.

Go check out our spread and the whole fantastic magazine.  It is online and it is free… filled with beautiful articles and images.  Be inspired.

So excited to be featured alongside such great photographers in the kid industry in a magazine for other professional photographers.  Thanks to Stephanie Boozer for the great interview!  Now Stephanie, how is that “what annabelle wore.” project going?

If you would like to read the article and are not a member of PPA, you can subscribe online at http://www.ppmag.com/

I planned to have the redesign of my website ready to go at the same time as this feature was published, but life got in the way.  It is all about balance and between family, the book, the class and shooting… things shift in priority.  My web designer, Brian Hoven, is very patient.

Just a little longer and my portfolio will be back online in a gorgeously updated manner!

while making the new galleries for my redesigned website, i found a lot of things i had never blogged.  often when i am doing commercial work, i am not allowed to share the images until the project is released.  by that time, so much else has been shot, that i forget to blog them.  here are some from a fashion shoot in january.  there are a few more from this range in the kid fashion gallery on my new site.  the site will be up this coming week (if i get back to work creating the galleries!)  my online portfolio has really needed a facelift, so i am very excited for the release of the redesign.

looking at these reminds me how much i really love working with tweens.