Showing posts with label movie making. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie making. Show all posts

Friday, April 4, 2014

photographing babes

photograph of newborn taken by my very talented cousin-in-law Camilla
Digital photography has opened up endless possibilities for capturing moments in a child's life. The medium means that no flash is needed, there are multiple chances at getting the 'right' shot, images are easily manipulated, and sharing can be instant. 
photographs by Anne Geddes
I can only imagine the trials Anne Geddes needed to go through to create her brilliant images. Shooting long before digital photography was available, Geddes was a trailblazer of baby photography and completely changed the way people looked at portraiture. The setup time required, the creation of props, the unlikeliness of having cooperative subjects... then the angst prior to developing the film must have been considerable. Geddes greeting cards, calendars and books have been sought after since the early 1990's. Geddes still shoots and devotes much time and effort to philanthropic causes
Small babies are ideal still life subjects - when they are asleep: posable, not likely to move, and asleep for extended periods! This has negated all the problems associated trying to get a newborn to smile for a camera - or at least to look a little bit awake. Some people have been having a lot of fun and results are very creative. I love the simplicity of the Blackboard Adventures shot by Anna of Cute Moments Photography.
photo from cutemomentsphotography.com
A couple of mothers have turned their passions into lucrative careers, popular blogs, collections and even book contracts. Queenie Liao created Wengenn in Wonderland using her son as the subject in elaborate scenarios.
photo from facebook.com/Wengenn.wonderland
Adele Enersen started a blog posing her sleeping daughter in various poses entitled Mila's DaydreamsThe collection later published in the book When My Baby Dreams.
photo by adele enersen, found at fashionisintheair.com/2011/01/milas-daydreams-adele-enersen
photo from: harpercollinschildrens.com/books
Action Movie Kid is taking all of this digital fun to an extreme. With a dad employed by Dreamworks, this toddler has the most awesomely documented (!) life. My children couldn't stop laughing at the short (mostly around 10 second) movies made by James' father Daniel Hashimoto.
video still from youtube.com/user/theActionMovieKid

Thursday, December 5, 2013

believe dream inspire

I LOVE when the kids pull on their creativity hats. It has become somewhat of a tradition for the kids to submit an artwork to the Reflections Art Competition. This year was Luc's 5th submission, Nic's 3rd and Mietta's 1st. Run by each school's PTA, Reflections is a national competition that has a 40+ year history.

The process was a little painful this year. I had given the kids the WHOLE summer to give their submission some thought. This year's theme was "Believe, Dream, Inspire". Nothing like a firm (and close) deadline to inspire and motivate. 
Luc had wanted to make a movie about going to Mars. He had completed a series of storyboard cards and some test shots... but this is where his project stalled. As Paul and I were madly finishing his Halloween costume at the same time his Reflections submission was due, we suggested that Luc somehow document the costume-making process. This challenge he took up with enthusiasm - and did an admirable job. I figured he would use some Doctor Who music for his soundtrack, but ended up using Beethovan's Moonlight Sonata - which worked brilliantly with the frenetic pace of his movie. 
Mietta has been making many Healthy/Unhealthy eating charts - madly cutting and gluing images found in supermarket flyers and catalogues. Healthy eating and Happiness became her theme. I helped with the cutting of cardboard while Mietta directed (!)
Nic's preferred media became apparent after finding many interesting images appear on my iPad (via Photobooth and other photo-manipulating programs). His brother and sister became his willing (if somewhat silly) models. 

We were thrilled to hear that each child won first prize in each of their respective categories. Perhaps the submissions were somewhat slim this year? Regardless, we look forward to seeing how their submissions do at County level.