After lunch on school days, I usually take the boys to a neighbourhood playground - a great way for them to work off all sorts of pent-up energy. And after all that sweat and exertion, they happily pop into the shower and then for a quick wind down session of Veggie Tales (or whatever the video du jour is), and finally off for a nap, 100% content and at complete peace with the world.

I had the camera with me today, and surprise of all surprises! J1 and J2 were really compliant. Well, quite a bit more than usual anyway. I always have such a hard time just getting them to stay still long enough for me to snap a shot - and let's not even talk about having them look into the camera lens AND smile. But today - just look at those shiny happy faces!

(Camera Settings: Lens: 85mm, ISO 200, WB: Sunlight, Aperture: f4.0)

The only difficult part was working around the really bright midday sunlight and the harsh shadows that would result. No, the boys were not going to listen to me if I told them to stand in the shade or angle their faces this way or that so that we could get better lighting. I just had to take whatever I can get - and that was actually good enough for today!

I feel like I really should try to get a handle on taking the more "contextual" shots - pictures that tell the story about time, place and mood. I have too many of these portrait-style ones already. Anyway, I wanted to share these places I go to for major photo inspo:
Tara Whitney
Clair Bremner
Amber Ludlow
Don't you wish you could create magic with your camera like that? Enjoy!

In other news - this week has been a nice one for me for 2 reasons: this, and this. Wow. Knowing that your work inspired someone to create something with a unique spin of their own is such an incredible feeling - especially if they let you know about it! Thank you, Aida and Rebecca - you totally made me smile.