Eight Months Old

 

  Eight Months 3 by Jay Scott on 500px

If you can believe it, Fiona was eight months old last Monday. She has grown like a little weed, is so very tall and eating so very well. I entirely support Angie's decision to try self-feeding. No purées for us. Her pincer grip has developed beautifully and today she ate a whole bunch of steamed frozen peas like it was nothing. She would've put her father to shame, were it a race. :-) Tonight she enjoyed a lot of chicken, vegetables and rice, combined with some pretty spicy green curry and coconut milk sauce. It made my nose run, but she wasn't complaining. I'm so thrilled at how much she enjoys those strong flavors at this point. I understand that it could change but for now I'm glad that she is more open-minded than I would've been as a kid.

 

  Eight Months 1 by Jay Scott on 500px

When she first figured out the concept of sitting up about four weeks ago I thought she was going to be crawling within a few days. I was wrong. She had the strength but just hadn't quite figured it out. Well, a few days ago she got it and when she is enticed by something like Kiwi's green monkey or daddy's shoelaces, look out. She can really move now. She hasn't entirely figured out the coordination of one hand than one leg but she sure can lurch forward with two hands and a hop her legs forward to get where she's going like a little bunny rabbit.

Thankfully one of the teeth that she has been working on has come through and the other three do not seem to be bothering her quite so bad. For about six days she was a fairly unhappy and shrieking little girl. Who could blame her? It certainly is good to have gotten a few smiles out of her and she sat like a little model in the laundry basket so that we could make her photo and daddy could try out his new backdrop that arrived just in time for her eight-month photo.

Today was her third swimming lesson and she was absolutely happy during the entire time. The previous week she cried through most of it but today she was in the mood and making friends left, right, and center. I'm very glad that I took my girls and had a chance to watch. There was even a dad there with a DSLR so maybe next week I will bring mine and try to get at least one really good photo. For now, here's what I got today.

What a delight it was to watch them swim and how badly I want to get in the water with them. It was pretty adorable watching so many little babies enjoying swimming with their parents and to watch the expression on the parents' faces was equally as enjoyable.

 

  Eight Months 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

The First 2015 CPA Photo Excursion - Model Shots

 

  CPA SK Photo Walk 1 - Cerulean Beauty by Jay Scott on 500px

Last Saturday was our first, of what I hope to be many, photo excursions based around The Canadian Paraplegic Association. There were more of us that were able-bodied and disabled, but the point was simply to have some fun and make a very casual opportunity for anybody to come out and make some photos.

This was also the first time that I had an opportunity to photograph a professional model. Colleen A Shalley of Masala Model and Talent volunteered herself and her time for us. It was a very good experience for me to have much of the pressure of posing someone removed. I have so much to learn about that and watching her choices and decisions made for a lot of education on my part.

 

  CPA SK Photo Walk 1 - Guardian of the Grove 2 by Jay Scott on 500px

Watching someone who knows their best side and poses slide into a situation as if she had done it numerous times before certainly makes for some lovely photos very early on. A lot of the first portion of a session with the talent getting comfortable being in front of the camera was removed. She had never met us before but that didn't seem to matter, much. Before long we were all joking, laughing and taking full advantage of her talents. There is so much more I would've liked to have done but I already felt like I spent more time making photographs and less time leading the excursion than I meant to.

 

  CPA SK Photo Walk 1 - Classic Thorvalson by Jay Scott on 500px

I had planned to spend more time helping those people that are learning to use their camera, be it a full-size DSLR or just a cell phone. I also did not want to pass up this opportunity to shoot. I would like to consider alternating planned dates between lessons and excursions. It can be difficult to teach on-the-fly but it can also become boring to sit around photographing something inanimate while you try to teach people how their piece of technology works.

 

  CPA SK Photo Walk 1 - Guardian of the Grove by Jay Scott on 500px

As I said, it's open to anyone. As much as I don't care for Facebook it is the best platform to organize an event. Our next excursion will be on May 30 at 1 PM starting at Rutherford Rink at the U of S campus. After that we will try going some different places but, for now, I wanted to make the events somewhere with the safety of indoors, in case of bad weather, as well as assured accessibility. If you are not on Facebook but would like to participate please contact me by e-mail at jayscottphotography AT gmail.com and I will make certain that any additions or changes to the plans are delivered to you. If you are looking for the event on Facebook just search within Facebook for CPA Photo Excursion. The relevant events will show up and I'm thinking about maybe making a group so that there is more room to post photos and have ongoing conversations.

I will get to my snapshots that were not photos of Colleen in a little while. Hope you like interested in joining us on our next outing and keep an eye on Facebook for potential additional opportunities before May 30.

Mommy and Me

 

  My Girls at Easter by Jay Scott on 500px

It took me way, way, too long to make a portrait of my two girls. Together, that is. I know that Angie wanted to feel that she was looking good on the day that I made the photo. We all know that Fiona always looks good. :-) At least for the five minutes that I have her attention and then it starts to drift. That's okay. As long as I'm set up and ready to get her during her best times following eating when she is just full of smiles.

This wasn't her best time and I missed focus on the best smiles because she so consistently wiggly but it's alright. I love her smiles but a little more serious face is good, also. Angie has her giggling up a storm in the living room right now. She didn't have the best nap this afternoon and that's always when it's easiest to get her giggling. For that matter, Angie and I laugh at our own silly jokes the hardest when we are very tired, before bed.

And, what would a photo session be without a nice outtake that shows her mid-laugh with those two cute little teeth showing in the bottom? I think she is working on a few more. She has been eating like a little horse, enjoying all of her milk as well as the feast she enjoyed at Easter dinner. She also had a very generous portion of the spicy pasta sauce we made the other night. I hope she continues to enjoy eating all of those delicious and adventurous things that Angie and I enjoy so much. I'm prepared to cook differently, if necessary, but it would be nice if she stayed interested in the intense flavors that Angie and I typically enjoy.