Our First Father-Son Adventure

My son is becoming such a little boy; his desire to move and explore is not even slightly hindered by fear or caution.  In understanding this, and against his mother’s advice, I hoisted him on my shoulders yesterday.  I was glad that Bri got to see his huge smile as he realized that his new perch made him the tallest cat in the room (no doubt a big deal for a baby only 2 feet tall!).  However, seeing as how I was doing the work that prompted the smile, I thought it a bit unfair that I wasn’t able to see, so, I decided that this shoulder-hoist would also involve a journey.  I grabbed Cooper’s hands (to prevent him from grabbing my hair and attempt to “steer” me “Ratatouille style”) and off we went.  I made sure to duck beneath any door frames, lest our adventure land us in the emergency room (or the dog house).  Cooper was having a blast and was smiling from ear to ear (technically, this is an assumption, seeing that I couldn’t actually see his face).

Our journey ended in the bathroom, where a giant mirror revealed exactly what I expected to see: a smiling little boy.  As I looked at him through the mirror I began talking too him and slowly bouncing up and down.  This resulted in not only bigger smiles, but also laughter, first him, then me.  We then traveled into the bedroom to show mom our new fun “trick.”  I took a picture, but not with my camera.  A part of me is sorry that I only have words for you, but a bigger part of me is glad I get to keep this picture all to myself.

The Thinkin’ Bench

Sometimes, you just need some time.  Time to sit and think…reflect…process. I don’t really have much of this time;  you see, as most of you know, I am a talker- and when I’m alone, I’m a listener (to music, of course- which almost always leads to me also being a singer).  However, rarely do I ever just sit and think.  When spring comes along I will hope to spend several hours a week on my road bike- this used to be good thinkin’ time, until I started putting 1 earbud in my left ear (non-traffic side, mom- don’t worry).  The music was a welcome addition to my rides as it provided not only distraction, but also motivation and pacing. That said, despite my yearning for thinkin’ time, the earbud is staying in, and thus my need for thinkin’ time is still present.

When I look at this photo, my eyes  follow  the planks and I want so badly just  to sit on the bench (although, I don’t really want to sit on that bench- it was wet and flimsy, trust me- all I would be able to think about was how I hoped it didn’t break) and stare out into the blanket of fog and….think.  What would I think about?  Lots of things.  Like my first 6 months of being a father.  I would think about our plans for the future.  I need to spend some time processing how blessed I truly am and what that really means.  No, I wouldn’t think about biking, photography, or just how stinking great my son is- I probably think about those three things too much as it is…..Ok, so maybe one or two thoughts about biking,  photography, Cooper- I mean, I can’t just turn it off, you know?  But seriously, there is so much to think about and seemingly so little time to do it.

I resolve to do more of this kind of “thinkin” this year (some of you are hoping I’ll do more of several kinds of “thinkin” this year); and hopefully, I will be a better man for having done it.

Shifting Gears

The two most important people in my life are about to be able to spend even more time with each other.  No, I’m not talking about my road and mountain bikes (not this time, anyway),  I’m talking about my wife and son.  As of 5pm this evening, Breezy is hanging up her professional cloak and donning the cloaks of a full-time mom.  This is a decision that she and I have labored over for the past few months- we are both so excited and thankful that God has blessed us with this opportunity.  We are confident that this will allow our family more flexibility and less stress- two things that seem hard to find this day and age.

Bri- I couldn’t be more proud of you and for you.  You are a wonderful mother to Cooper and a wonderful wife to me.  I can’t wait to witness and experience the adventures, both big and small, that you, Cooper and I will have in the coming months and years.  I love you so very much and I am delighted that today has arrived.

Tomatoes

Taken in San Francisco in one of the markets at the Ferry Building.

Just Plain Funny

Sometimes, the emotion of a photograph overrides composition, lighting, and even focus. for me, this is one of those photos.  I ran across it last night.  It makes me laugh.

Jesus

This was taken in Baja, Mexico, just outside Ensenada.  Isn’t it interesting how we all visualize Jesus as a white man?

Blue window

Another shot from Mooresville, AL.

Lines

I shot this over Christmas break with the 60mm macro lens I had rented to take baby Kyleigh’s pictures with (by the way, I have concluded that although I loved the 105mm macro for portraits, I felt that my trusty 50mm f1.8 was just as effective v. the 60mm macro for portrait work- if not a little better).  This is a close-up of a used  up roll of label backing (my father-in-law has a label printing business).  Though normally the spent spool is nothing but unremarkable trash, I thought the lines in the close-up made for a pretty cool shot.

Feet…and dirt.

This is a great photo.  I love this photo.

What did you say?  “Trey, why does this photo of some dirty legs, black funny-looking, dirty shoes, and dirt have you giddy like a thirty-something mother of two at a Twilight movie premier (don’t get mad at me, you said it, not me!).”

Well, I’ll tell you.  Because this is a photo of (surprise!), my legs and feet standing on one of my favorite places on earth, Tsali, North Carolina, right after a great mountain bike ride (those goody shoes are my mountain biking shoes- and they are awesome, trust me).  Why post now?  Because Tsali 2010 (I just named it that) is in the works and its gonna be amazing. And I am, what did you call it? Giddy? …Yes, I am giddy.

Note: please excuse all the parenthetical references, I tend to overuse when I get excited (its an effort to be witty)

Baby girl

Here are the shots from my first newborn shoot. Like I said in a previous post, little Kyleigh was really easy to work with. I was amazed at how little she was! It is crazy that my little one was that size just 5 months ago!