242/365 – New Term

New uniforms arrived today. Guess we’re doing a red wash.

241/365 – Family Photo

I am in the fortunate position of getting on really well with my in-laws.  They’re lovely, all of them.

The husb, the kids and I are in the extremely fortunate position of being able to go on holiday once a year with the husb’s parents, his brother and his brother’s wife (Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle P and Aunty D for my regular readers – all three of you).

We’ve started a bit of a tradition of getting a picture of all of us at some point in the holiday.  

It usually ends with me feeling slightly flustered, firstly because I’ve offered to do it (possibly strong armed the rest into it, I’m never sure) and feel like I’m not really a good enough photographer to carry it off and secondly because I’m usually setting up a timed shot so have to leg it back to the group before the shutter releases.

This year, however, I was armed with a wireless remote control and the sure knowledge that Rachel’s (un)workshop* had given me the knowledge that I needed to set up the shot, both in terms of using light and posing people.

I  got just as flustered as usual, for the same initial reason, and ended up handing the remote over to the husband.

I guess it’s not as easy to build up my photographic confidence as I thought it would be.  

I like this shot.  Not the formal family portrait (which is never that formal, to be fair), but the milling around beforehand while the husb (roped in by me at this point every year, and so much better at it) made sure the settings and angle of the camera were ok.

Maybe I should get someone else to do it next year so I don’t end up looking so strained in the yearly family shot!

*usually at this point I would put links in but wordpress is playing up tonight and I can’t get it to work.  Grrrr.  If I remember, I’ll try again tomorrow.  Remind me, would you?

240/365 – Two Minds

With but a single thought

“MOTH“

239/365 – Sunflower

The girl had great fun this afternoon, digging the seeds out of one of our dead sunflower heads.

We’ll be drying them and hoping to plant some of them next year.  Anything else I should do to them before we store them?

238/365 – Dear Grandpa

Having raided your garden earlier, we’d like to know what variety of strawberry you’re growing.

We’re most impressed.

237/365 – Possibly the Worst Picture of Stonehenge Ever

But I have no other picture for you today.

236/365 – Me

Taken by the girl.

235/365 – Set In Stone

The streets of Plymouth.

234/365 – One Year

Seems odd that the last time I took pictures of them doing this, he was still in nappies.

233/365 – Startled

Today has been a very, very long day.  A good one, but a long one.

We travelled around the locality by car, on a bus, a ferry, a steam train, an open topped bus, a river boat, another bus and finally back to our cottage (via Sainsbury’s) by car.

On a slightly different but soon to be related note, ever since I attended Rachel‘s fabulous (un)workshop I have been obsessed with taking pictures of my children with (a) light in their eyes and (b) both of their eyes in focus.

Ta-daaaaa

On the river boat I found myself with a very tired but suddenly compliant child and some rather good light.  I asked her to stop pulling faces and open her eyes a bit and this is the result.  Now all I need to do is get that effect without the comically wide eyes and possibly also without the hat.