A photo journal comprised of my thoughts on motherhood and other life happenings, as well as some of professional work as a photographer. Southern California is home.
I have loads to say about instagram and iPhoneography, so much so that I’ll be sharing different thoughts on the topic once a week or so over the next month (or so). I wanted to start by introducing you to three different classes that The Define School now offers to strengthen your iPhoneography skills. Yes, there are classes on how to use the camera on your phone. Sound crazy? If you saw what some people are doing with their iPhones, it wouldn’t sound so crazy. Kevin Russ, for example, has been described as the Ansel Adams of iPhoneography; and for good reason, his work is mind blowing. Makes you wonder if the fancy cameras are even worth it.
I’ve had many of friends purchase a DSLR and come to me asking how to use it. And, truth is, it’s not something you can teach someone in one sitting. And, truthfully speaking, it’s not something a lot of people have the patience to learn in the absence of true, innate passion.
But the iPhone is easy to operate. So easy, in fact, that you can’t go to a concert or Disneyland or playground without seeing a whole heap of moms (and dads) with their phones out and pointed in their kid’s faces. The iPhone has made everyone a photographer.
What many don’t know, however, is how easily you can improve the quality of the photos you capture. Simple things like tuning into composition or becoming a storyteller through your photographs. Within each of us, there is an artist and the iPhone is fantastic in that it can easily bring the artist in all of us to the surface.
The Define School has teamed up with the iArtist Collective to offer three different classes on iPhoneography. Here’s a bit about each one:
The Foundation of iPhoneography, by Audrey Breheney, goes over the inner workings of your iPhone’s camera, lighting and composition, apps and social sharing platforms, organization and storage of your photos, as well as fun DIY projects.
Self + Art, by Carolyn Mara Borlenghi, speaks to exercising your creativity, tools to battling road blocks, and battling criticism.
A Mother’s Story, by Soud Thammavongsa, discusses documentary style photography, images that capture you in an individual role as a mother, and applying your newly-learned approach to your everyday life.
Let me know if any of you decide to sign up for the classes! And check back over the next couple of weeks as I will be sharing some iPhoneography tips as well as some pros + cons to instagram.
Growth & Appearance: You’re still a big kid. You look like a 2 year old but waddle like an 18 month old. Your hair is blond and thick. We shave it often. Currently you have a scab on your knee and a scratch of unknown origin the side of your right eye. We can no longer leave you in just a diaper because you take it off every time. Even with shorts on the other day, I saw you trying to pull the thing off. Not sure that it’s quite time to potty train; I think you just like to be naked.
You have all your teeth, next ones should be the two year molars.
You wear a size 2T clothes / PJ’s, size 6 shoes, size 4 diapers.
Eating: You’re a tank. You love to eat and waddle as fast as you can over to your high chair as soon as you see food being made. Sometimes you require a snack just to shut you up until the food is ready to be put in front of you. You prefer to have a fork in your hand and are okay at using a spoon, but more times than not you use your hands because you can shovel it in faster.
You’ve consumed entire meals before your brother takes his first bite.
You love blueberries, cereal, carrots, cheese, oatmeal, banana… who am I kidding… there’s really not anything that you don’t like. You love eating ice.Sleeping: You’re still taking two naps a day. You wake up around 8:30 and nap around 10:30 for two hours. You nap again in the afternoon around 4:30 for an hour and a half or so. You’re not the most fun to be around on the days where you miss your nap.
We’re hoping to switch you over to the bottom bunk. We took you out of the crib and you are now sleeping in a big boy bed in your own room. Eventually we hope to put you and Hooper in the same room. You’ve transitioned out of the crib okay but nap time is more like whack-a-mole. We’ll keep at it, with fingers crossed. You love your blanket, as well as your stuffed animals. But your blanket is a must.
You still suck your thumb and put on your “hand hat” when you’re tired.
Talking: You say a ton of words and communicate well. The other day you handed me your empty sippy cup, asked for my “hand”, told me to “come”, and led me straight to the fridge where you pointed at your sippy cup and whined. You just started saying “thank you”, which is the first time you’ve put two words together. You also say “pee” for “please” and “side” when you want to go outside. Every time we go over a speed bump, you say “bump”.
You follow directions well.
Development: You started a little gym class and go with the nanny since I’m still unable to lift you. She says you’re the tallest in your class and you do well with everything. The balls, she says, are your favorite.
You join in on the bike rides by pushing your feed off the pavement as opposed to pedaling. Your shoes are all warn in from where you push off and one time, when you went out without shoes, you came in with wounds on your big toes from pushing. It won’t be long until you can reach the pedals.
Your laugh is as hearty as can be and seems to come from deep down in your belly. You love to be around laughter and occasionally snort when you laugh; it’s adorable.
You love being chased.
Perhaps it’s a second child thing, but you definitely have a sense of what is yours (of what you want to be yours) and refer to things as “mine”, accompanied with a whine and / or cry.
You’ve discovered that the computer is pretty cool and I can no longer sit at my desk without you climbing onto my lap. Sometimes you simply want to draw with a pen, other times you want to smack all the keys on the keyboard, and other times you request to watch a video on YouTube (you love the Fox Song and any nursery rhyme and all the truck / fire engine videos that your bro loves).
You love to steal my pen and get pissed anytime I’m writing with one and won’t hand it over.
Following in the footsteps of your brother, you love to do what we’ve coined as “the grandfather” (where you walk around hunched over and shuffle your feet like a little old man) and “fancy feet” (where you stomp your feet back and forth in quick succession).
You refuse to go down steps by yourself and ask for one of our hands to hold. You finally did it by yourself the other day, but it took a lot of coaxing.
Favorites: You love to have books read to you over and over and over again. Your favorites are “Goodnight Moon”, “I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly”, and any beginner books that has cars or trucks. You ask me to sit and then plant your little bottom in my lap constantly. You’re fascinated anytime a police car or fire truck goes by with their sirens on and you could sit behind the wheel and pretend to drive the car all day long. You also love to put your hands under the facet in the bathroom. And, of course, you love cars.
We moved Van into a big boy bed this month and spent loads of unplugged time jumping and horsing around. Time infront of the TV is a saving grace, at times, because -as you can see- unplugged time always involves some sort of tackling. As I move further down this road of recovery, I hope to spend more and more unplugged time outdoors.
Please show my fellow Childhood Unplugged comrades some love by checking out their submissions over on the Childhood Unplugged blog. You can follow @childhoodunplugged on instagram, where we take turns featuring images from loads of other photographers and / or mothers who are joinging the movement and making an effort to unplug.
