Sunny, but Dangerous Photography
As if you couldn't tell from my blog, I love taking pictures. This month I've been experimenting with over/underexposure and trying to rid myself of my hatred of direct sunlight. I love natural light, but washed-out skin tones with underexposed foreground and overexposed background (thanks to direct sunlight) really annoys me. However, I think I've finally been able to have some fun with contrast and shadow thanks to my spherical nemesis. My subject for this little adventure was "danger"... wait I can come up with something better, something with alliteration and intrigue. OK, maybe not ;)
Most days I will find my boys huddled around something, still and silent, noses to the pavement, whispering to each other. This is when I know a bug is most likely involved... or something larger, but dead. Oh, happy days! Today it was a prehistoric "antpion" (my name for the ginormous ant with a scorpion-like abdomen) which I feel could have easily severed a Brennan-sized pinky with its mandibles or delivered fatal doses of malignant ooze had it been given the chance (ok, probably not lol). Thankfully, Brennan's mentors taught him to squish bugs with his shoes (while making a karate kick sound immediately followed by an "ewww"). Only the dangerous ones! All others are systematically lifted, played with, shoved in Mommy's face, and finally freed.
There are also situations that are much louder, and dangerous. I tell them more than 10 times a day (no, I'm not exaggerating) not to play in the greenhouse or by the pool. The greenhouse is old and has missing panes, broken glass everywhere, rust, gravel, panes with cracks, and holes with sharp shiny edges (tempting to baby fingers). I guess it looks more like a playhouse than a deathtrap to them.
The pool, well... it's every parent's nightmare. It's underground, no fence, and absolutely fascinating to them. So fascinating that they have to hang over the edge and stare into it, or hurl various treasures into the depths. Every day I have little Mommy heart attacks watching them be boys. I struggle with the urge to protect them vs. the urge to allow them to explore. Obviously, my explorer side wins a lot. Some days I just don't have the strength to fight their persistence.
I took a lot of videos this weekend. I got a great Tristan tantrum that I plan on uploading. It makes me laugh, but I'll admit I'm not always amused by his screaming protests. I also captured a Brennan rampage at 3:30am last night (technically this morning). We were watching the OSU game and he decided he'd had enough sleep and wanted to wrestle. We're partially to blame for encouraging his madness, but it's just so fun to watch! I think it was better than football :) It's a little dark, but still worth watching. Going to start them now!
Most days I will find my boys huddled around something, still and silent, noses to the pavement, whispering to each other. This is when I know a bug is most likely involved... or something larger, but dead. Oh, happy days! Today it was a prehistoric "antpion" (my name for the ginormous ant with a scorpion-like abdomen) which I feel could have easily severed a Brennan-sized pinky with its mandibles or delivered fatal doses of malignant ooze had it been given the chance (ok, probably not lol). Thankfully, Brennan's mentors taught him to squish bugs with his shoes (while making a karate kick sound immediately followed by an "ewww"). Only the dangerous ones! All others are systematically lifted, played with, shoved in Mommy's face, and finally freed.
There are also situations that are much louder, and dangerous. I tell them more than 10 times a day (no, I'm not exaggerating) not to play in the greenhouse or by the pool. The greenhouse is old and has missing panes, broken glass everywhere, rust, gravel, panes with cracks, and holes with sharp shiny edges (tempting to baby fingers). I guess it looks more like a playhouse than a deathtrap to them.
The pool, well... it's every parent's nightmare. It's underground, no fence, and absolutely fascinating to them. So fascinating that they have to hang over the edge and stare into it, or hurl various treasures into the depths. Every day I have little Mommy heart attacks watching them be boys. I struggle with the urge to protect them vs. the urge to allow them to explore. Obviously, my explorer side wins a lot. Some days I just don't have the strength to fight their persistence.
I took a lot of videos this weekend. I got a great Tristan tantrum that I plan on uploading. It makes me laugh, but I'll admit I'm not always amused by his screaming protests. I also captured a Brennan rampage at 3:30am last night (technically this morning). We were watching the OSU game and he decided he'd had enough sleep and wanted to wrestle. We're partially to blame for encouraging his madness, but it's just so fun to watch! I think it was better than football :) It's a little dark, but still worth watching. Going to start them now!
