Day at the Park

A couple of weeks ago, I took the girls to the park.  It was a lovely spring day and I happened to have my camera with me.  I figured it would be a good time to practice all that I have been learning.   

Here is what I learned that day:

1. Kids move.  Fast.
2. Noon-time sun is not so flattering in photographs.  Clouds were a welcome relief.
3. Playgrounds force you to photograph from different perspectives.

And finally, I need to practice MORE!  Camera settings have not become second nature to me yet.  Right now, I have to think too much about where my ISO, shutter speed and aperture need to be at and end up missing the shot I was hoping to get.  I know that this will all come with time and more practice.  

I’ve been spending a lot of time shooting on Program mode (the P option on your camera dial) until I get the hang of recognizing the proper ISO setting for a given environment.  However, after this day at the park, I may try shooting in the shutter speed priority mode (the S option on your camera) when trying to photograph my girls! 

Hey  - have you been practicing too??  We’d love to see your photos!  Post them to our facebook page and feel free to ask us any questions.  We love helping other parents capture their kids in photos! 

Have a great weekend!

~sarah

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Last Library Event

Wink Photography is all about preserving family memories.  That is why we are delighted to be working with the Minnesota Historical Society and Hennepin county libraries to bring you “Portraits of Us”, an event to celebrate family, heritage, and community. 

Our last Hennepin County library event will be this Saturday at Hopkins Library.   Minnesota Historical Society will have a preservation expert on hand to offer help and advice on preserving family heirlooms and/or a family tree craft activity will be available. 

Wink Photography will be shooting professional portraits of families with on-the-spot printing. Families and patrons can bring one print home and one print will remain at the library for a community album.  This is a free event, so stop on by. We’d love to see you and photograph your family!

Portrait of Us
Saturday, April 28th, 1-4pm

Hopkins Library

22 11th Avenue North

Hopkins, MN 55343

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Isaac

Steph and her family became our first family to participate in our Inspiration Sessions!  During March, we were looking for an adorable child about to turn one to celebrate in our studio with balloons, props and a full-sized birthday cake! 

I can’t tell you how much fun we had photographing Isaac.  He was so well behaved and playful.  The much anticipated cake smashing was a riot to watch.  He was very cautious and relatively clean when exploring the frosting.  The messiest he got was when he spotted something across the room and crawled OVER the cake! 

Isaac was having his birthday party the next day with his family and friends and was able to take home his mostly intact cake and all the birthday balloons home with him.

What a fun, fun session!  Thanks Steph for sharing your family with us! 

Happy 1^st Birthday Isaac!

 

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May Model Search

Mother’s Day Photo/Video Session 

The Ultimate Mother’s Day gift! This is a secret session in which Dad brings the children in for a photo/video session to surprise mom this Mother’s Day. We will conduct a simultaneous photography and videography session.

The final product of this session will be group and individual images of each child and a professionally shot and edited two minute video, containing video footage, short interviews, and still photos. The client will receive a complimentary copy of the video and a 5x7 print of their choice to present to Mom this Mother’s Day. 

Models:  We are looking for a family with 2-4 children, ages 3-10 years old. 

Dates:  Session must occur between April 1st-27^th.

Details:  Session will take place at our studio in NE Minneapolis.  All participants must sign model releases giving Wink Photography rights to all videography and photography created.

Cost: $100.  This includes session fee and complimentary video and 5 x 7 print.  (Price subject to tax.)

Contact: Send us an email at info@winkphotomn.com  for more details or to sign up.

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Sunshine ahead!

Even on days when it doesn’t look so pleasant outside, the girls and I need to get out of the house and get some fresh air.  We make fun, no matter the weather.  One day it may be climbing trees, coloring the sidewalk or riding bikes.  On this particular day it was hiding under umbrellas as rain drizzled around us.  

Although it was a dark, dreary, wet day, there was still vibrancy and color to be had.  And isn’t that true about life in general?  Even at our lowest and darkest, there will always be joy and laughter to be found.  

Brighter and warmer days ahead.  Did I hear 80 degrees expected this weekend?  Enjoy it!

~sarah 

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Resolution

I’ve lost some motivation.  Or have I?  Maybe it was just misplaced.  No, that’s not it either.  It’s just that life has been getting in the way of my creativity.  

Between my husband and I, there are, what seems like, more than a dozen jobs to report to.  On top of which, there are all the household chores.  Oh, and we have two young children we are raising.  Yes, life is busy.

But, at the beginning of March, my family suffered a blow.  

My grandma, who was just returning home from Florida with my grandpa, stumbled in the airport.  The medics were called as a precautionary measure.  Her blood pressure was too high and so she was sent to a St. Paul hospital.   Of course, my grandmother, who refuses all medical advice, couldn’t understand why she needed to be rushed off in an ambulance when she felt “fine”. 

The next morning I decided to visit her and bring her a crossword puzzle book and a magazine.  Lord knows she would be dying to get out of that room!  But, when I arrived, I found her slurring, confused, and without strength in the left side of her body.  

I was stunned at her condition.  

Over the next couple of days, I visited the hospital 2-3 times a day, often dragging the girls along with me, so that I could spend as much time with my grandma as possible.  It was during the drives to and from the hospital (a good 20 minute ride) that I reflected on my grandmother’s life, and well, life in general.  

My thoughts ran the gamut.  Things that sounded like New Year’s resolutions “I should exercise more” and “I need to stop and smell the roses”.  Things that sounded like a scrapbook “My grandmother taught me how to bake” and “I will never forget that camping trip with Grandma”.  Political stuff too, “Nobody shouldn be denied care because they can’t afford it” and “The medical community needs to incorporate other natural and holistic practices.”  (It has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster in my head.)

In the end, this was my final, prevailing thought: “I need to take more photographs and more videos.”  

I want the legacy of my family to live on for decades.   I want future generations to be able to see and know their ancestors.  I want my children to know where they get their stubbornness, the shape of their eyes, their interest in the outdoors, the love of peanut butter.  

I have these grandiose plans of recording my grandparents’ stories and then creating this beautiful DVD for my family, but I never feel like I have the time, the organization, or the motivation to start.   However, now I feel like I have ever more reason, and a shorter deadline, to make this happen.

Our lives are precious and I want my family to understand how precious their lives are to me.  

~sarah

During my grandmother’s stay at the hospital, and after many, many tests, it was discovered that she had some “tight” arteries in her brain and some of the blood vessels in her brain were inflamed.  She has since been moved to a Duluth hospital’s rehab unit and undergoes physical and occupational therapy for multiple hours a day.  She has been working hard and has made some progress, but still has a ways to go.  I am so grateful to all my friends and family who have showed their support through prayers, thoughts, kind words and babysitting.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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