Another in my series celebrating Summer 2015…
During the holidays, I love my RaFa to embrace the ethos of ‘childhood unplugged’. It’s an indulgent time to fuel their imaginations, feel their roots, explore & sense freedom, re-connect with their English family and experience English life. I wonder at their imaginations and can’t resist grabbing my camera to quietly stalk their games and play. They are usually willing participants and it’s a marvellous feeling that these memories are not only for their lives – but could be enjoyed by many future generations. My regular readers know I believe in the power of photography and hope that my images of my children’s childhood unplugged become a valuable personal legacy for them.
The sun was shining – although it could have been warmer – but RaFa’s enthusiasm wasn’t dampened as we set up the paddling pool and grabbed the garden hose. Thank goodness for my trusty 70-200mm lens which allowed me to keep a good distance between me and the possibility of a good soaking!
.jpg)
These images have been sat on my hard-drive waiting for me to show some editing love. But at the same time I was looking through them last week, I got the chance to embrace my inner geek & photography obsession by live streaming some of the US ‘Click Away 2015’ talks. This is arranged by the ever-fabulous www.clickinmoms.com collaborative, and amazing resource.
Their mission is: “To inspire and empower women to capture life and memories more beautifully in both their personal photography and professional endeavors, to make flexible, high quality photography education and mentoring accessible, and to maintain a safe and supportive community for continuous learning, sharing, and growth.”
Seriously, some of the speakers at this conference are the female ‘rock stars’ of portraiture and family photography. One day I have vowed to attend in person, but for now, this was the next best thing (and cheers to technology!). These women know how to truly celebrate childhood unplugged and it was an incredible source of photography inspiration for me. Showcasing a wide variety of different styles and approaches, I wished I could have watched all the talks live, but I feel blessed to have taken away so much sat at home in Abu Dhabi.
.jpg)
Freshly inspired and energised, looking at these photos I wanted to experiment with a slightly different editing style. Monochrome (black & white) is an enduring passion of mine, and I have always favoured the stronger contrast look. But I wanted to up the stakes with these and go for a truly dynamic & artistic look to emphasise the movement of play. I love the power of Adobe Lightroom to explore this – a far cry from my darkroom days of lore! With Lightroom & my beloved iMac I can lose myself and experiment to my heart’s content. I have also been having some fun with triptychs & photo series… Inspired by Lisa Tichané of Tout Petit Pixel Photographie‘s talk at Click Away… I am already picturing these compositions printed on canvas!
.jpg)
Question: How much fun and laughter can be orchestrated with a garden hose & paddling pool?
Answer: Endless!
“It’s an indulgent time to fuel their imaginations, feel their roots, explore & sense freedom, re-connect with their English family and experience English life.”
Playing voyeur through the apple trees…
“…it’s a marvellous feeling that these memories are not only for their lives – but could be enjoyed by many future generations…”
“Thank goodness for my trusty 70-200mm lens which allowed me to keep a good distance between me and the possibility of a good soaking!”
“Monochrome is an enduring passion of mine, and I have always favoured the stronger contrast look.”
Water-splash action ‘solidified’ with a fast shutter speed!
And another group composition to finish off…
Childhood is so fleeting, and truly “the days are long, but the years are short”…! Let’s get talking to capture your kids childhood unplugged and freeze your own special moments in time…
Thank you for taking the time to visit my Blog. If you enjoy my work, your Likes, Comments and Shares are ALWAYS welcome and very much appreciated! Don’t forget to check out more of my work on Instagram, my Facebook Page and my Pinterest Boards… And you can even follow me on Twitter!
Hello, my name is Victoria and I am a lifestyle family photographer based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. For me, photography is an essential way to preserve priceless memories and freeze moments in life. Time is all too fleeting and before we know it, the years pass by and we look back and wonder where the time went. We can’t stop time, but maybe – if I had a super power – that is what I’d wish for. Our best chance is to document our lives so we have a window into our past that we can visit whenever we like. I find so much joy in using my skills to create priceless memories for others. It challenges my mind and breathes energy into my soul. I celebrate freezing those moments to capture not only the big picture, but also the beautiful details and time-capsule minutiae, to celebrate the love and connections within family and kinship.
