Sunday Snapshot (Thankful)

As I write this November is 2/3 over and Thanksgiving
is nearly here.
I realize that I almost got through this month without doing another blog post
but decided to get this one in.
It's been a busy month for me for various reasons, but not too busy to reflect a little bit about
what I'm thankful for...

I'm thankful that Will is a happy person and that he surprises me almost everyday. 
The things he knows and asks about, the things he thinks about and does - always make me smile
 and wonder how we got him. 
I'm thankful that Will is smart and kind - it will make his road a little easier.  I'm thankful that he has a strong belief in God - it will give him strength through hard times.  I'm thankful that Will loves his family - it makes our Wisconsin winters a bit warmer.
And finally I'm thankful that I get to be his mom.

 

Happy Chinese New Year!

 

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Wishing you health, prosperity and happiness in this year of the snake!

 

 

 

Since Grace was a teeny tiny girl, we have made it a tradition to celebrate

and welcome Chinese New Year (also known as the Spring festival).

I have snapshots of her with her travel group sisters at age 17 mos.

Photos of her at age 3 in a restaurant in Chicago next to a lion dancer.

She was a little bit afraid of that big lion head, as I remember.

 

 

 

 After we moved from the Chicago area up to Wisconsin
we've found more ways to welcome Chinese New Year.

 

 

 This weekend we spent much of our Saturday with
our local Madison FCC group at their Chinese New Year celebration.
We enjoyed singing performances by Madison's International School,
Kung Fu (Grace and Will's favorite), and watched several Chinese dance groups.

We ended the day with dinner at our favorite restaurant and
spent time with the owners...
Will's unofficial Chinese 'Grandparents' who
come from the same city and province (Fuzhou in Fujian Province)
that Will was born.
They adore our little boy and give him little gifts and big
hugs everytime they see him.
It's wonderful for Will to have this connection.
Grace too...they always include her.
 

 

 Will was not so much for individual photos so I was lucky to get this one of him
with Grace.

July - Sunday Snapshot

{Summer sky}

"Like painted kites, those days and nights
They went flying by
The world was new beneath the blue
umbrella sky..."

 Excerpt from "The Summer Wind", lyrics by Johnny Mercer

I have quite a few photographers that I admire and one of my favorites
is Audrey Woulard.
I just finished re-reading her book,
Natural Enlightenment Photography.

I consider Audrey a master of light and color.
And secretly I like that she shoots with the same camera as me. ;)
I don't claim to be any Audrey Woulard and it was fun to put my own spin on some of the things she uses
with her photography style.

For these photos I did what Ms. Woulard does with her clients as far as I styled Grace minimally
with clothing and props.
Less was definitely more here as the setting of the blue- green water, the weathered pier
and endless blue sky spoke volumes.

These were taken in pretty much full sun at 11am a few days ago.
The pier and water worked as natural reflectors.
With the first image, I was facing West...hence the brilliant blue sky.
 I deliberately wanted to capture that color.
It was one of those perfectly clear days
without a cloud.


In the first image Grace was looking back at a family of ducks
swimming toward the pier.

Nikon d700
35mm 1.4 lens
f/2.5
ISO 250
1/5000 sec.

Edited in Lightroom and  then Photoshop with Florabella's
Classic Bright action on a low opacity.


See many more images at Ni Hao Y'all's Sunday Snapshot!





(Grace's dress and hair clips are from JCrew).

Sunday Snapshot - my youngest son

He has a big name for such a little boy, our 

"William Michael Yousheng."

At age 6 years - 4 months, he is 42 lbs.

of fun, feisty and activity.

Pretty much from the moment we met Will in China, it was obvious he was a gifted child.

He's very intelligent but he's also a deep thinker. Will understands the concept of time travel, 

comprehends death and the implications of it, knows directions (North, South, East and West), 

and grasps the days of the week and time passing. 

Many of these things have become apparent when he asks us questions
about specific topics

and we had no idea he even knew about them.

(I love his strong hands).

He's gifted physically as well...he loves anything that's physically challenging.
(Dance and gymnastics for him...so far. He'd like to try karate next).
He reads (far above his grade level) and writes (more legibly than Dan).
I don't have any idea what he'll become when he grows up but his
outgoing, friendly and compassionate nature could lead him into
many careers.
I would love it if he became a doctor or a person who helps people.
Mostly I just want him to be happy.

Four years ago we found Will on our adoption agency's special need's list.
His special need was a repaired cleft lip and palate.
This superficial physical anomaly has been beautifully repaired and by the time
he's an adult it will only be a vague memory.
However, Will's real special need wasn't his cleft. His real special need
is related to an emotional disability and chemical imbalance in his brain.

And now as we hear words like "low levels of norepinephrine and dopamine " and "neurotransmitters".
They're words that have meaning to me because of my nursing background, but
now those words have additional meaning because they explain some things.
For the entire time we've had Will we've been learning more about him and
learning from him - attempting to understand and help this complex child.
He has sensory issues, problems with anger and defiance, and difficulty
attending and focusing in school.
We have a long road ahead, with no easy answers or a quick fix to any of this.
But we'll do whatever it takes to help Will cope with life and school a bit better.
Will has such a dear sweet heart and caring nature;
we want the world to see who he really is and not label him.

I am a photographer but that's just a part of who I am.
My most important role is that as a mom and right now my son needs me.
I couldn't possibly love this child anymore than I do right now.

The black and white of Will was taken about 30 minutes before sunset

and composed in camera using

the rule of thirds. 

Nikon d700

85mm 1.4 lens

f- 2.2

1/250 sec.

ISO 320

Love is in the air

Only from the heart can you touch the sky.

~ Rumi

A hundred hearts would be too few
To carry all my love for you.

~ unknown

kisses are a better fate
than wisdom.

~ e.e. cummings

Happy Hearts Day...

xo

(Sunday Snapshot) - Xin Nian Kuai Le!

{Chinese New Year Portraits}

 

Chinese New Year started a little early for us.

Saturday was our Madison FCC celebration.

I took advantage of the fact that Grace and Will

were dressed in their Chinese silks and took some portraits.

It's fun to see how much they have grown in a year.

8 years ago we celebrated Chinese New Year 

for the first time

with Grace's travel group.

Grace was 17 mos. old.

Every year we try to do something.

Xin Nian Kuai Le!
(Happy New Year!)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!
(Congratulations and Be Prosperous!)

Wishing you a healthy, blessed and prosperous Year of the Dragon!!

I Heart Faces - Best Face Photo of 2011

Grace (age 8) - Summer 2011.

It wasn't hard for me to choose a photo for I Heart Face's Best Face of 2011.

Taken on July 2, 2011, Grace and I had spent part of the morning at a local botanical park 

for a photo assignment for a class I was taking.

We were almost ready to leave and stopped near the gate to sit down.

She looked up at me and I think I love this so much

 because it's such a natural expression for her.

Check out more at i heart faces.

Favorite photo Friday - Looking back

As the end of 2011 rapidly approaches, I thought I'd choose 12 of my best photos.
Really  'favorite' would be a better word to use.
As I went through hundreds of pictures, I had a couple of thoughts...
these two have grown like crazy and we had quite a year!

Taken just about a year ago in their Chinese clothing to celebrate Chinese New Year,
these two made me smile.
You can see so much of their personalities.
I'm making a note to self to get out that backdrop out and do it again
in January.


January 2011.

Grace in contemplative moment.


 Late March 2011.

Easter Sunday, playing and jumping on the stones
outside the restaurant we were at for brunch.
I love this candid.

April 2011.

Swan Lake.
Grace's first Spring recital, she's in the background if you look closely.

May 2011.

Will with shades on, swinging.
Our sweet Molly looks on, she lives in heaven now.


June 2011.

Door County, WI vacation.
I bought 2 little vintage Kodak Instamatic cameras off e-bay for the kids to play with.
They were a huge hit!
This series was one of my favorites and I use this image
on my thank you notes
for clients.

August 2011.

Will holding a yellow leaf.
You can see so much of his personality in this one with his sparkly eyes.
He's a mischievous one. ;)


October 2011

 

Portrait of Grace that was used for our Christmas card.
I love the light and her expression here.
It was an extremely windy Fall weekend and cold.
My camera was acting up and I went with what I got that weekend.
Grace's hair was flying everywhere in almost every image-
like straight up in the air.
Some cloning was done.

October 2011

Playing at the dog park, one of my favorite candids.
It's real life and my 2 little loves.

November 2011.

Grace before we left for the Nutcracker, about two weeks ago.

December 2011.

And finally, Will on Christmas Day (which is also his Birthday).
While doing a little photo session, he spun around
and gave me this look, (this is so him).

December 2011.

Well, another year has come and gone.

Wishing you blessings, health, and lots and lots of  love and laughter
in the New Year.

xo
Gail

Merry Christmas!

Behind all the commercial-ism of the season
is the simple story about a family trying to get through difficult times.
And a baby born in a manger.

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

~ Luke 2:10-11

Merry Christmas!

 May you find the blessings of Christmas - peace, love and hope...today and always.