Terrace Time

I've decided to join the Chic Critique Forum’s 52 week project, and I thought I'll combine this post with a few pics of Matt I took this evening.

It had been a while since I took  Matt up to the terrace, and he really needed to get out today, so I took him and his bicycle up to our apartment's terrace, and took my camera along as well.

Priyanka

Here's a post that I've been wanting to put up for a while now, and  I'm so excited about these pictures! A little over a month ago, we were invited to an Arangetram of our friend's daughter. It was the first time that I had been to one and we were quite excited to go. I thought I would take my camera 'just in case', and I'm so glad that I did! I asked Vasanthi, Priyanka's mother, whether it was okay for me to take some pictures, and she said it was no problem.  I had taken my 50 mm lens, because I knew that I would be able to get some sharp, clear images even in low light, but I needn't have worried, because the stage lights were very nice! I wasn't sure whether I could sit up front, but there were a few empty seats in the front row, so I went and sat down and took my pictures from there.

From the beginning to the end, I was so amazed at Priyanka's talent and stamina! As I watched, the grace of her dances, the expressions on her face, the intricate footwork, the story-telling through her dances - they all captivated me, and I was so happy to have my camera there and be able to capture a few moments from that evening. It was a 2-hour dance recital, and we all really enjoyed the evening.  I hope you enjoy these pictures!

Musician in the Making?

So, as I focus on people in my world and in my life and in my city, there is one little person who is so special to me :) My son, Matthias, came into our lives a little over two years ago, and completely turned our world upside down! Many people say that marriage is a huge change in your life, etc, and yes, it is, but having a baby ...well, thats a whole different ball game!

Being a mother (a mother - I still can't believe it sometimes!), has changed me so much. I think at heart, we are pretty selfish, and having a baby changes all that. You learn to put your little one's needs ahead of your own. When Matt was still a few weeks old, I swear I felt a physical tug in my body every time he cried. It was like there was almost a physical bond between us... it was such an amazing feeling - well, and a little tiring, because I kept jumping up in the night every time I heard him cry! :)  The first three months were some of the most difficult times in my life, but somehow, God's grace helped us through it.

And today, I am going to post a few pictures of Matt. I have titled this post 'Musician in the Making?' because ever since he was little, Matt has loved music. At first whenever we went to church he would run to the stage and want to play with the guitar - we had to literally hold him back, many times. His love for the guitar turned into a love for the drums, and even now, Matt loves to take out his drumsticks and drum away on anything he can find at home. I've had to hide the snare drum(!) my father-in-law bought for Matt, because he would've driven the neighbours (and us) up the wall. 

Anyways, here are a few pictures of Matt that I took while experimenting with some flash photography. I'm still learning a lot, and I still have so much to learn, but I would appreciate your comments and feedback on these pictures :) I wish I had taken the time to iron out the green cloth behind him - but I was too much in a hurry to check out the flash, and I thought I would leave it as it is, SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera) and see what you guys think of it.

p.s. today my facebook page completes 6 months! Have a look at the page and take a moment to 'like' the page if you like my work! Thanks a lot!

 I love the effect on this last picture - it was taken at a slower shutter speed and this is Matt in motion! :)

The stories of our lives

I was thinking yesterday about how all our lives are made up of stories. Sad stories, fun stories, embarrassing stories and happy stories. We all have them... and those stories are what makes us who we are. I can think of so many hundreds, or maybe even thousands of stories that make up my life. And I think photographers have also started this trend of shooting in 'bursts'. What that means is, you take a series of photos continuously to catch a short story rather than a moment.


For example:

Joel

So after focussing on a couple of ladies, this past week I thought it was maybe time to put up some pictures of a guy :)

This post is about a friend called Joel. These photos were taken for Joel's cd cover and inserts - you can see his album cover here.

I would like to mention a few things about Joel that challenge me. Joel puts his heart and soul into everything he does. I had the privilege of being able to sing for two of his concerts, and I was so amazed at how he was able to get his dream idea of a concert into reality. I remember him talking about how he wanted his concert to be a certain way, and he had very specific ideas about certain things. To be honest, I didn't take him seriously, but I was so impressed at how the concert was exactly how he had planned it to be - as much as I knew about it, anyway.

Lady in the Limelight

Lady in the Limelight

I was hoping to get this post out earlier - in fact, I had a couple of other ladies lined up for my blog posts this week, but I realised it was all too much to take on. I shall, however, blog about the other two ladies sometime soon :)

Today's Lady in the Limelight is Marsha. In fact, she and I worked on a blog post together a few days ago for the event of Women's Day. Marsha is an AMAZING cook, and has a charming little blog called The Harried Cook with lots of do-able recipes with yummy results! I admire Marsha so much for the many hats that she wears - not literally, of course - Marsha in a hat would be quite an interesting sight... :) What I mean is, that she plays so many different roles - wife, mother, cook, singer, pastor's wife, dog-lover, English dictionary - ahem, I mean English teacher/trainer, curriculum writer for kids in her church... and the list goes on. These are only some of the things that I know about anyway. I remember a few years ago, some of us friends (it was mainly my husband's idea) decided to invent a new word and try and slip it into our conversation to see if she would notice. After a few attempts of us using the word in all the possible ways that it could make sense, she saw through it straight away! We always go to her if we have any questions about our English grammar, etc :)

Marsha is a great mom, her beautiful daughter, Aimee, and my son Matt are only three months apart, and it was so comforting to have her as a friend especially throughout my pregnancy and Matt's first year. Here's a photo of them when they were just 7 and 10 months old.

Woman of Worth - women's day special :)

Lady in the Limeleight

Ok, so I know that its not women's day yet ... there are still 3 more days to go. However, I wanted to focus a bit on a few women who are changing their worlds a little by little, day by day,  in their own way...

Today's spotlight is going to shine on Kavita - a good friend, mom, fellow band-mate, lover of life, lover of laughs (her laugh will not fail to make you smile:)), and the list goes on... !

 Here are a few pictures of Kavi I took a while ago: