Sidewalk chalk and skinned knees

Coming home from work, I found my daughter and wife sitting in front of the house. My son was down for a nap, and my little girl was busily decorating the otherwise undecorated swaths of concrete leading to our front door.

She ran happily to car, explained that she had a sore knee, gave me a hug and then ran back to her task.

Oh yeah, it was camera time.



I am really, really happy to take these shots. For one, I love to take pictures of my kids for my parents who live in another province, and it also gives me a chance to really work on simple snapshots and make them 'photographs'. In this case, that meant getting low, framing out the distracting dividing line between sunshine and shade while getting the highlight in her hair, getting a diagonal line between sidewalk and lawn, and then processing it in the manner that I've been enjoying for outdoor shots.

All in all, I know I would not have taken this shot six months ago. I would have taken something similar, but it would have been snap it from wherever I was and forget about it. Still, I have lots to learn, but I'm confident that I will.