Livvy & Maddy: Christmas Redux

I finished the roll of Tri-X in my F3 on Sunday. Hey, 36 exposures can take awhile. I developed and scanned the film the other day. I have a few good ones to share. This week it’s Livvy and Maddy again.

This photo was taken on Christmas Eve at Sue’s home where we had a lovely family gathering. As you can see, Livvy (on the right) and Maddy certainly enjoyed themselves.

Tracy and I visited Sue and the twins on Christmas morning (Sara and Julia were with their dad). Maddy (on the left) and Livvy seem deep in thought here. I don’t remember what Maddy was doing or looking at, but I think Livvy was watching the TV.

Both images were taken with my F3HP and 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor lens. The film was Tri-X rated at 1250 ISO and developed in Diafine. I love my 50mm lenses. I think 50mm is an ideal focal length for making images of kids, at least I’ve had good results with this focal length over the years.

Read Full Post »

Conducting the School Band

You might do a double take when you see the first photograph. Are you looking in a mirror or are the girls twins?

Say hello to Maddy and Livvy, our three year old twin granddaughters. The occasion was a Christmas concert at the local grade school. Two of our older granddaughters, Sara and Emily are in the school choir. They were scheduled next. Maddy, in the background, standing on her chair, conducts the school band. Her performance was stellar. Livvy was only standing for a minute, probably because Maddy was standing.

Here’s a shot of the band for context. These kids were pretty good too.

The photos were shot with my Bessaflex and 50mm Takumar screw mount lens. The film was Tri-X @ ISO 1,250 — no flash.

Read Full Post »

A Merry Christmas from John, The Aware Writer

Wishing all of you, my friends who come to visit (and your families), a Christmas season filled with peace and love. Thank you all for your kind words, for enriching my life and for the opportunity to share our passions for photography, writing and life itself with each other. You’re the best.

Merry Christmas from John

This photo was taken in 1947. The kid in the short pants sitting by the Christmas tree is me when I was a wee lad of three. I scanned this image from an old B&W photo about a month ago. I restored it, cropping it a bit to get rid of the worst damage around the edges and cleaning up the rest. Then I adjusted the tones (using curves) and gave it a sepia tint to warm it up and inject a touch of nostalgia along with the magic of a child’s Christmas. Kudos to the family photographer, whoever it was.

——————————————————————————-

New Section —  Photo Books – where you can download a free copy of Saigon 1966: Volume One – Black & White, the ebook version (pdf).

Read Full Post »

Christmas Care Package: Saigon 1966

Two good things about my Christmas spent in Vietnam in 1966: When any of us received a care package from home we shared and I didn’t have to shovel snow. Phila., my home town, had a massive snowstorm on Christmas Eve that year. We, on the other hand worried about sunburn (among other things).

Merry Christmas from Vietnam 1966

Here’s a shot of three of the guys in our outfit digging into a Christmas care package someone received from home. Did I mention that we always shared? I converted this scan from an old color slide because I prefer the B&W version.

Merry Christmas to all and please share. Speaking of sharing,  I added a new tab to the Aware Writer this evening – Photo Books –  where you can download a free copy of Saigon 1966: Volume One – Black & White, the ebook version (pdf).

Read Full Post »

Reflections: Christmas Lights

Once again, I scoured my archives for old images that reflected the spirit of the Christmas season. Today’s photos were taken on Christmas Eve, ten years ago with my now obsolete 2 megapixel Olympus digicam.

Nearly everyone in the neighborhood participated. We all lined our driveways and walks with candles inside white paper bags and lit them at an agreed upon time on Christmas Eve back in 2001. It made a lovely scene. Here’s a shot of our home that I made from the sidewalk.

Here’s another, closer view of the same subject. I probably used the zoom lens on the camera to move closer. I remember using a tripod and the EXIF data confirms my memory. The shutter speed was two full seconds.

I couldn’t decide which of these images I liked best so I offer both.

Read Full Post »