The World at Knee Level

"The World at Knee Level"

A person on one of the photography forums that I watch had a little too much caffeine one day and came up with some interesting challenges for photography. Several were listed, including taking photos in film, riding a motorcycle while shooting, and even hitting a male prostitute and running away to apologize at a safe distance (like I said, a LOT of caffeine). One of the suggestions, though, was to walk around on your knees and take pictures like a toddler would. Other than the fact that I would look like a creepy guy going around taking pictures of people's legs, I thought the change in point of view was interesting. So I did the next best thing and armed my 2-year-old with a point-and-shoot camera and let him take pictures through his perspective. By the end of the day I had 200 photos. Here are a few pics from my son's perspective.

But first, a few disclaimers:

a) These were taken by Ian without any help from me or Seleta.

b) They were taken with a Canon Powershot point-and-shoot.

c) Little, if no, touching up was done with the exception of two photos that were converted to black and white.

d) If you want art, this ain't it. But it's interesting to see what my son thought to take photos of.

Here's a shot from the backseat of my truck going to the pet store.

The car seat. I never really noticed the diamond pattern before.

Daddy's addiction. You're right, Diet Dr Pepper tastes a lot like regular Dr Pepper...

At the pet store...

Yours truly...

The fountains outside of a restaurant that we walked to...

I'll spare you from the blurry photo of the kids menu...

Our walk to the restaurant...

One of my gear bags...

A film Canon Rebel that Ian also takes pictures from. There's still a roll of 36 in there that he's using up for me.

Seleta coming home from work...

The fur on one of our Beagles, Bandit.

I have no idea...

The fur on our other Beagle, Lexie...

Ian's friend and comrade-in-arms, Dyson...

A close up of one of the wheels on Ian's Little Tykes car...

Our third dog, Tank...

Me playing with my iPod...

And finally, our star photographer...

I hope you enjoy the different perspective on things. Just remember, every time you look down on someone, someone may be looking up to you.

Act accordingly...

A few shots from Al

Al Ungar was the second photographer for Jacob and Jennie's wedding. Here's a few shots of us that he took:

Weddings, Snow Drifts, and Bedding

I'm sure many of you know that Ian's transitioned over to a twin bed now and out of the crib/toddler bed he had. He's much happier (even though he's still mastering getting off of it that works better than sliding) and we're much happier because we now have a place to curl up with him.

Here's a few shots from the Jacob and Jennie Wedding/Winter Storm of the Season weekend including a few shots of us getting off of the mountain. While many of you know about the power going out, the fire alarm going off, etc on the day of the wedding, many don't know the story about us attempting to get off of the mountain. The Reader's Digest version? My passenger side windshield wiper didn't work since the valet left the wipers on when they parked it, a foot of snow settled on the top, and I started the engine and let it warm up for 30 minutes while I dug out the truck - not knowing my wipers were trying to work the entire time.

On the way down the mountain with only one wiper, a chunk of ice and snow took out my driver side wiper. Luckily we were near a 76 station that had one for sell and we continued to limp down. Once on the freeway, it rained all the way through to the 5/210 transition. As I was chaning lanes, my passenger side wiper sprang to life, jammed up the driver side, broke it off, and flung it two lanes over and hit a truck. Needless to say we were happy to eventually get home. Ian was a trooper and watched "Finding Nemo" on Seleta's iPod Touch the entire time. So...

Thank you to the Apple Corporation for inventing such an evil device.

Also, if it was your truck I hit with my wiper: I'm sorry.

It was definitely gorgeous when it wasn't raining/hailing/snowing...

Here's a shot of the guys attempting to find their tuxedos in the dark.

Sorry, dude. You're a little young (and a little too alive) for the Rat Pack.

Conflagrations, Presidential Toys, and the American Past Time

He's got his mugging bat, his cell phone, and his Starbucks. What more does a kid need?
Seleta and Ian had the day off together last week when I had court. So, she got him a bat and ball and went to park to play some baseball. Unfortunately for me, the kid's good. Really good. He throws straighter than me, hits better, and I think he knows the rules better, too. I know, not hard to come by, but still it's freakishly amazing how good the kid is.

This is Kaylee - Ian's girlfriend and first love (he goes for the older women - and blonde). In his hand he holds a small cup of frozen yogurt - his second love.

Febuary 15th we woke to a fire behind our house (one street back and a few doors down actually). Of course I ran over with my camera. Sadly the house was a total loss. Even though everyone made it out okay, a dog, some geckos, and an aquarium didn't. The house belonged to a former Fillmore city councilman and was possibly started by an electric heater.

In January, the Reagan Library had on display one of the few surviving original Magna Cartas. This was one of the 1312 copies, unlike the 1397 copies that the United States has at the National Archives. I know, I'm a nerd, but I wanted to go. Unfortunately, I wasn't even allowed to go in to the room unless I slung my camera on my back. So alas, I have no pictures of it. But here's a few from the Air Force One exibit.