Meadows and pretty girls #countrykids
I have driven past this meadow field so many times, its in one of those awkward places where its difficult to stop and there is never enough time and im not really sure whats there and whether its just going to be dog poo all over the place and…and..and..
loads of reason where i have avoided it but every time i drive past it, i think how pretty is it and how lovely pictures would be amongst this meadowy grasses.
This morning i grabbed the girls, the dog and a couple of bits of snackage and headed off to the field for a bit of a play to see if actually it was worth that visit that i wanted to do for so long.
So see what you think…
#365 #silentsunday #photooftheweek #socialpix
BritmumsLive #motivationalmonday #themondayclub
This last weekend i went to Britmumslive along with 500 other bloggers. Mostly women but a few very notable men. It is conference organised by and for the mummy bloggers of this country who regularly put ourselves out there to own our little corner of the internet. My little corner was nominated, short listed and made a finalist in the Brilliance in Blogging awards. I didn’t win in my category. Which is okay. But the awards ceremony bit made me feel ill. I hadn’t thought about it through most of Friday and then suddenly remembered! had to almost sit on my hands to stop me chewing them down to the nubs.
But i didn’t win, it was okay. SIGH. huge relief and then on with games.
Friday was a bit of a strange day for seminars, we formed a little secure pack and gravitated towards the ones that we all jointly thought we would like. Safety in numbers. The seminars were maybe aimed at people new to blogging or with a greater attention span than a mother of 5, freed for the weekend into London! .
These ladies (3childrenandit, the 40year old domestic goddess, hello wall and a strong coffee) were my homies for the day and we chuckled and messed around like naughty school kids. One of my friends noted how wonderful it was to see people realise that the complete stranger standing before them was actually someone who they have a pretty in-depth relationship online. Putting a face to the avatar…that moment was awesome, arms flung wide and hugging each other like the friends we knew we already were. Although inevitably it took a lot of staring at name badges, trying to discreetly peer at women’s chests is not a talent i have and again, like last year you got to the end of the weekend and pretty much gave up doing it. Its far to stressful and awkward and little bit odd. 😉
My highlights of the weekend were:
A lovely hotel room (by myself) squuueeeeee….i didnt have enough time to enjoy it really but it was lovely having space that was mine and no-one elses..just for a little bit.
Listening to Kirsty Allsopp talk about dog poo and vomit and thinking actually i quite like her…
Some lovely ladies having my back at the awards when i was feeling nervous
The wine
Laughing….and laughing…and laughing
Hanging out in the bar at the end of the day, WAAAY past bed time with the lovely daddy bloggers
Listening to the amazing Katie Piper and being inspired by her strength and her faith.
Stumbling into a seminar on videography and being inspired by a brilliant and knowledgeable teacher and nice guy who was willing to help
Talking cameras.
Getting my blog name on a bottle of diet coke and marvelling at the genius behind the marketing campaign with one of their PR bods, only to find out it started in Australia a few years ago! We are clearly behind the times here!
The keynotes. Last year these were one of my favourite parts, it was like grown up jackanory 😉 Listening to the stories of motherhood told by mothers who are so very gifted at giving their words a voice. It was again, one of my favourite parts of the weekend. Especially as i was thrilled to see online buddy and writer extraordinaire reading a post which i had read on her blog and been transported into her world, hearing her read it was like listening to a movie script. Do go and check her out. Oldermum
The dedication to a very special baby whose shares a name with one of my own babies and who i will never forget
Singing and dancing at the top of my voice to firework by Katy Perry to remember a mummy blogger who last year i chatted with over coffee and who sadly is no longer with us
Laughter through tears
Hugging the incredible Edspire. what a brave, brave lady she is.
For me, it was the people who made this weekend. I could have easily done without the seminars, or maybe actually it is more about the fact that my attention span is so short, so easily distracted that as i sat staring blankly into space while someone was talking..i found myself wondering why i was sitting here and not going out and doing some of those things that i always said i would love to do when i didnt have my kids with me. Beacause here i was, without my kids, and i wasn’t doing any of those things.
maybe we just need to organise a Britmums night out, or weekend away?
Anyway i chatted to many lovely folk this weekend, including Alex from Madagascar..who, okay is a lion..but having seen all of the Madagascar movies a MILLION times i feel like i know him.
But some of the folk that just rocked by little world this weekend where….as they say on the X factor, in no particular order…
The 40 year old Domestic goddess
and a bit of a special mention to theboyandme who i have been badgering about the joys of prime lenses for so long and so convinced was i that she would love it that it toted my own 50mm lens to London so she could try it and i think after using it she might have seen my point!! 😉
This week there isnt a giveaway but you can carry on going for the LUSH box and supporting my friends at onepercent. Rafflecopter below. The winner of the Hotel Chocolat goodies will be announced on my facebook page so be sure to go and like it. Thanks lots!!
Newborn photography at home. part one. #Mamarazzi #photography101
If you have ever happened across my photography page, there is a wee little link thing down there to the right then you would notice that I have a whole area of my site dedicated to photographing babies. Since i work with newborns and have done ( as a neonatal nurse) for 12 years now, it has seemed like a natural step to newborn photography.
Its sort of a niche area of photography. It is a pleasure to do but can take a long time (which i guess is why so many photographers avoid it!) and i love meeting these little miracles and getting to know another little person.
I often get asked about how to get lovely images of babies when they are so new. So i thought i would do a few posts with some hints and tips to getting some lovely images of your newborn baby. Easy things that you can do at home.
So part one, i thought i would explain a little about the environment that would be a good place to start if you have a newborn and you want to try and get some cute shots.
- Newborns have just come out of a very warm environment in the womb. Its very warm in there, about 38degrees. So if you are thinking cute naked baby shots then you need to have your environment warm. Babies cannot regulate their temperature when they are born so its important to make sure you do that for them. My general rule is if you are uncomfortably hot then the baby will be happy 🙂
- Choose a time when your baby is usually most settled. Often babies are sleepy in the morning and start to crank up the grumps towards the evening. Not always the way, you know your baby the best.
- When a baby is in utero it is NOISY! Lots of noises! Anyone who has a newborn will marvel at the fact that their new baby will nod off next to the washing machine on full spin. So its a really useful tip to download a white noise phone app and have it playing near your baby. Or you can use a womb noise teddy things you can get to soothe newborns to sleep.
- Look for signs that indicate when your baby is relaxed and settled. Babies have a way of communicating….honestly! It isnt always all crying.
Signs that they may not be in the best place for being a model…
- Stretching their hands towards you and up towards their face or splaying their fingers apart in front of the their face, yawning, hiccuping and sneezing excessively, arching their back or moving their arms and legs frantically.
Signs that they are ready to play model…
- well fed or just fed, wrapping them up in a blanket or other loose item to feed them and settle them. One thing that will for sure wake your baby up is fumbling a onesie over its head when its asleep.
- Rock your baby back and forth to imitate the movements that would have settled them in the womb. how many mothers always say that their babies were still as could be when they were on the go and then woke up to party when they lay down. A slow rocking motion copies this and will help lull your baby to sleep.
- Once they are asleep you can gently pop them on the beanbag or pillow that you want to use to photograph them on.
….and how you go about setting that up will be in my next newborn mamarazzi post!!
