Dinosaur Jr.

I couldn't resist this little dino suit in the Mothercare buy-one-get-one-free sale a few months ago, and Jack has just grown into it!

I was too excited this morning when my new Nikon 17-55mm lens arrived in the post! (See last blog entry) I could hardly wait 'til Jack woke up from his morning nap so I could try it out. I was interested to see if it would make my 50mm lens redundant, and with a close-up shot like this, I think it might! In theory, it should.

I was at Ikea Belfast at the weekend, and got a few cuts of interesting fabric for backdrops. They had a sale bin with bits of leftover fabric, and they had this large bit of orange fabric for £2.50. So, I thought it would come in handy, and I think it looks pretty good contrasted with the green suit. I think it would also make an appropriate Hallowe'en backdrop.

Doesn't he make the most adorable dinosaur!? Oh I could just eat him up!

It's only a Paper Moon...

During my hunt for some inspiration, I came across these 'Paper Moon' portraits, or 'Man on the Moon' portraits, as they became known. These became popular in the late 1800s as they were more affordable than the more traditional studio photography of the late nineteenth century. Booths popped up in County Fairs, carnivals and arcades across the USA. The height of their popularity was 1920-30, and were almost never seen after 1950.

Perhaps I am drawn to these novelty portraits because just after I graduated, I had the pleasure of travelling to the USA and working in 'Yesteryears Photographic Emporium', Delaware, for a few months. There I took many mocked-up old time photos, which were a great souvenir.

Anyway, this is my attempt at a 'Paper Moon' portrait. I draped a C-shaped breastfeeding cushion with some black bedsheets, made the moon and stars with some A0 card, and had my husband stand close by to catch Jack should he catapult himself off. As it turns out, the hardest thing was to stop Jack catching himself a star, ripping it from the bedsheet, and of course, putting it in his mouth. The edge of the moon also got nibbled. It wasn't made of cheese.

I added a slight glow to the edges of the moon and stars in Photoshop. Also, I dodged in the bedsheets a little on the photo. I think it is charming to see a little bit of the set-up, like the old photos. You can see more vintage portraits here

Jack is 8 months old this weekend.

Hello bloggers!

I'm always searching for another creative outlet, so I have decided to jump on board the blogging bandwagon and share two of the things I love the most with you- my little son, and documenting my little son.

A little bit about me? I studied Film and Photography at Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. I was in fashion and marketing for a few years, before I had my son. I now freelance in design, but in my spare time I love nothing more than to document Jacks existance... daily! I just can't stop. I photograph, video, write about, make prints, and anything else I can think of.

Out of all these methods, my heart remains true to the art of photography. Recently I have been trying to step away from the everyday 'snapshots' and come up with some unique, conceptual portraits, that are possible to capture with minimum equipment. And when I say minimum equipment, I'm talking some home made backdrops and my trusty SLR camera...

Lets link, or friend, or whatever you bloggers do!

Enjoy!

Above is a photo of my little angel taken against a white bedsheet using natural light, with my Nikon D200 and 18-55mm lens. He is wearing a vintage jumper that my best friend sourced during her daily fashion hunts.