Childhood is Awesome

20 March, 2011

Being a kid rules. Being a parent of kids like this rules.

I mean, seriously, when did we all decide that it’s not cool to wear a construction paper headband with kangaroo ears stapled to the sides?

Alisa and I are (obviously) awaiting the arrival of another little boy. Could be any day now. We’ve both been thinking a lot about what it means to be a parent, and what it means to get these kids raised in such a way that they can (a) function, (b) succeed, and (c) rock this world. It takes time and it takes patience and it takes a willingness to make all kinds of mistakes, but it is really the coolest thing I’ve ever done, which is why we want to do it again.

Sure, there will be lots of crying and sleeplessness, and poop, but there are also moments you get when your shy daughter gets on stage to sing and dance and when your son says, “Wait, let’s stop and clean my room, Zoë. If we don’t, I won’t be able to have any screens tomorrow.”

I have more to say on my style of fathering (cheeseburger + Marvel Comics iPad app), but suffice it to say, I’ve been feeling kind of glowy and happy about being a dad lately.

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Why Two Hearts?

15 February, 2011

Why does this little boy have two plush hearts sticking out of his shirt? If you have to ask, then no one in my family will talk to you.

Hint: BBC America

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Sample from Monday Gig at Braun Books

08 February, 2011

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My Doctor is Five

09 January, 2011

I will be the first to admit that this kid is a little obsessed right now with Doctor Who, but given all the possible things in this world a little boy could become obsessed about, I am okay with a hero who doesn’t like guns or things military, who gives every creature in the universe a choice and a chance, who thinks that human beings are “brilliant.” And, he could totally be the Doctor if they ever needed a five-year-old blonde version.

The thing is, this stuff (hair, screwdriver, etc.) is pretty much all his idea. Even the pose here was 100% his. He got all set up like this and marched off to church, gaining all kinds of attention, mostly from old ladies who wanted to gobble him up and lick the sweetness off their fingers.

More photos from the shoot at Facebook.

Posted in Family Life, From the Camera, Metablog, Rave | 3 Comments

Three Dimensions

18 December, 2010

This could easily be one of my favorite photos of Ike. Can you like one of your own photos that way? Don’t care. It breaks lots of rules. Don’t care. It makes our house look so space opera-y. And that’s a bad thing?

Now that the holidays are here, I’m going to attempt a few posts. Are blogs still something? Don’t know. I am growing tired of Facebook, a little. Twitter is so scattered. Perhaps the focus of the blog will feel, I don’t know…kind of retro.

Posted in From the Camera | 1 Comment

Finally Got the Zoë Portrait

19 September, 2010

It took a while, but we finally have a full set of portraits, now to send off for printing, then matte, frame, and hang in the house. I was shooting for naturalistic, informal portraits that focus more on what the family feels like. It think it all worked out.

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Back from Denali

15 August, 2010

Just spent the last week or so in Denali National Park, taking students on a pretty amazing experience through an absolutely unbelievable place. I had encounters with fox, grizzly bear, wolves, caribou, moose, bald eagles, golden eagles, Dall’s sheep, and the mountain itself.

I’ll post something more fully about the trip later. It was full of sublimity and absurdity, often at the same time.

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Add One of Ike, Too

23 July, 2010

What started with a lens and camera calibration check is turning out to be a full fledged family portrait project. I think these photographs really capture personality as well as the look of each person at this point in our lives.

Here’s the five-year-old, Ike. Next will be to catch the elusive critter, Zoë Ingrid.

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And My Lovely Wife

16 July, 2010

Put the camera on my lovely wife and got this. Ten years this coming January.

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A New Look

16 July, 2010

I’ve been toying with making some changes to the beard, which has gone basically unaltered for more than a decade, actually for almost twenty years. So, after buying some Doobie Brothers vinyl yesterday, I decided to grab my clippers and carve a little 70s out of my face.

I went about my business today, and a really curious thing happened. Tons of people in town and up at the reservoir and all over started talking to me about fishing and cars and guy stuff. It’s like this new look is professor camo. I might keep it.

Posted in From the Camera | 2 Comments