Check It Out: Flying Peas

Besides photographing just babies and pregnant bellies... I would sometimes get a request to do product shots. I recently did a couple of products shots for Flying Peas, a really awesome online kids store. Hip stuff for cool kids is exactly what they sell. Their site recently did a complete makeover and it looks great. It's a great place to finish off your christmas shopping late at night when the kids are in bed. One of our product shot made it to the frontpage of their site too, check it out.

Towel Origami

When I was child, I used to entertain myself with napkins at the restaurant. I would fold all kinds of stuff with it... a bunny, a boat, a bra (yes, I said bra)... it keeps me busy while we wait for the food.

Then, the other day as I was reading my Parents magazine, I came across this cute little section on "How to fold a towel elephant". Now that's one thing I haven't tried folding. The instructions seems simple and it looks so cute.

Mommy Tip:
Learn it Moms! This little towel elephant might be a good little trick you can use to entertain your kids at the restaurant while you wait for the food to come. Or at least keep them quiet for 6 more minutes perhaps.

Here's a photo video, frame by frame to show you how to fold it step-by-step. Learn something new today.

Penguins Takes Pictures

On every Tuesday, my Aidan visits the library at school and comes home with a new book. Usually, it's a book about Star Wars and then the next week... more Star Wars.... and occasionally a fun book about animals and such.

This week, he came home with a really fun book that I actually really enjoyed reading.... um, maybe 'cause its about TAKING PICTURES! A story about some Penguins who found a camera on the ground as they walk around and take pictures with it, until the owner of the camera comes back to claim her camera and see strange little photos of Penguins.

It's a really cute book and I highly recommend it to all Kindergarten kids.

Amazon sells it: Penguins by Liz Pichon

Going Green with Baby

I recently met a new friend, Amy, she's a mother of one little girl and also a Baby Planner for Itsabelly in San Francisco. Amy and I will be working together as partners to provide quality services for expecting parents and new parents who are both excited and anxious at the same time as they step into this whole new world of "Parenthood".

What is a Baby Planner you ask? Well, its sort of like a 'Wedding Planner' but... for Babies! She can help guide you through your journey towards parenthood as smooth as you can possibly imagine. And she can help with any baby related things you can think of ... such as help to build that fairy tale nursery, or finding the right people to help plan that dream baby shower or just simply finding that perfect stroller for your lifestyle.

The rapid changes a woman goes through in just 40 weeks can make any sane woman... well, insane. And by the 3rd trimester, I'm pretty sure any pregnant mama would really appreciate some help from someone, such as a baby planner. And with some help from an eco-friendly mind and baby planning expert, we can all learn a little bit more on how to raise a 'greener baby', and help create a much greener planet for our little one's future.



Who is she: Amy Kux
Where did you find her: ItsaBelly
Occupation: Baby Planner

1. I got started as a Baby Planner because... I wanted to use my knowledge of "mom tested" products and eco-friendly baby solutions with others. I chose to be part of Itsabelly Baby Planner because it was a team of moms and experts, thus I feel confident that the advice and expertise that I provide is tested by moms. I also want to be able to share my finance and accounting skills to help build a realistic budget for families. Starting right with a baby budget allows room for the occasional splurge.

2. One thing I'm most passionate about with my Baby Planning service is.... the ability to show moms, families and friends of the family the great ways to provide our new generation with the best products and services so we can ensure a healthy sustainable world.

3. When I was pregnant, I did not hire a Baby Planner because.... I had no clue that this was an available service. I spend days researching product after product. I would go to stores, read reviews online, reach out to other mothers on on-line mom-centric communities. There are so many products out there, and even more opinions. I couldn't tell what was a trend and what was really needed.

4. On my free time, I like to... spend as much time with my family. Maya has just started to walk around (with a little help) and I am in awe that we created such a perfect being.

5. 3 Things on your night stand are.... books (one business and one fiction) and my night light. I cannot fall asleep without reading.

6. I stay green everyday by .... eating healthy and as local as possible. I have been a vegan for over 16 years and each Sunday, we take a trip to the Marin Farmer’s market for our local produce.

7. I wish others around me can be more green with our planet by .... being aware of our surroundings. Being green doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Just try to support our local vendors and walk around when possible.

8. If I wasn't a mommy today I would be a ... complete workaholic.

9. The latest baby gear I've been eyeing on is.... all of it. I tend to watch mothers and talk with them whenever I see something new. I think it is essential to learn what is working and not. I just did this and found a way to make my carrier work better.

10. My favorite part of the job is.... teaching and learning from other women daily.

Photojojo

Photography fan? I bet you'll like some of these fun photo gadgets from this site.

Check it out: Photojojo Store

My favorite one is the Spy Lens


*Cough* ...my birthday is in October *Cough*

Coming soon: Tot Trends Weekly Magazine

About a week ago, I received some goods news from Tot Trends Weekly - it is a weekly online kids magazine - anyone can sign up for free. It has great kids products and resources. I highly recommend it.

They wrote to tell me that one of my photograph will be featured in their upcoming Mother's Day section. Wow, I'm SO excited and I can't wait till May now. It'll be in their Mother's Day Week issue - it'll be out on May 2nd. Don't forget to come to check it out then.

PhotoFunia

Look, it's my 3 babies... yeh... my 2 boys ON my car...I got so obsessed with them I had my car wrapped, fancy eh?

Ok, ok, I'm just kidding... but isn't that funky? I created that from this new site online that makes fun images with your own photo. Go check it out yourself - PhotoFunia - www.photofunia.com

Here's another one for your enjoyment .... a museum piece... um, yeh. (no, that is not my kid)

DIY: Pinhole Cameras

Ever wanted to make your own Pinhole Camera? or just learn how it works?

Well, here's a great site that lets you download the template and build your own. So fun.... and so much time wasted too (Ha!)

Corbis Readymech Cameras



And if that didn't keep you busy enough... you can also download this PDF here that shows you a much more heavy duty type of Pinhole camera.

Have fun and please share a photo if you do happen to take the time to build one of these on your own.

(Thanks to my friend, Adea for sharing these great links with me) :o)

Origami Camera

I can't remember where I found this photo but I loved it. I would give credit to this origami artist if I knew who it was. Now if I can only know how to do this myself....

My New Obsession: Camera Things

Recently I've been obsessed with finding things that is camera related.... you know, camera t-shirts, antique cameras, camera pendants.... especially Hello Kitty Photographer items .... well, just practically anything CAMERA related. I love any products that has a camera on it, especially vintage cameras. And as I was browsing through the web, I came across Urban Outfitter's site... they have this whole section on fun camera stuff.... from pinhole cameras to mini Leica cameras.... it's so cute, even if you're not there to buy anything, its just fun to window shop.

Urban Outfitters : Photography

This one is my favorite one... so tiny, so cute, so delicate. It's a Rolleiflex Mini Digital Camera.

Celebrate the Magic

Doing some more catching up with my blog here. I really need to get better at this thing, don't I?

A few weeks back, I was busy working on a coffee table book for my son's school for a big fundraising event. Every classroom had make a class project that is will be donated and sold to the public for an auction. It was one of the biggest fundraising event that happens throughout the year for the school - its called "Celebrate the Magic".

I brainstormed a bit and came up with this fun idea of doing a coffee table book with all the students. My idea was to have every student participate in this, drawing, a quote and their beautiful faces inside this book.

A book that every children lover would enjoy. A book titled "I Wonder". The kids from the classroom answered the ultimate question - "What do you wonder?".... and we documented their answers and had them draw an artwork that described their answer.

I volunteered my time and did a pro bono photo shoot for their classroom, it took about 2 days to complete the shoot as some kids were out sick and the weather wasn't cooperating.

In this book are photographs of each student, along with their quote and their beautiful artwork. I hoped for the parents in this classroom to fight for this book so that more money will go towards the school. My plan worked wonderfully and I can't be more proud to see the outcome of this.

The starting bid for this book at the online auction was $40. And after a 10 day auction online, my book sold for ... $330 with 27 bids! Can you believe that? I was so excited and couldn't be more happy to know that all that money will help towards this school.

And of course, I had to document all this great news....



Here is a graphic mockup of the book ....

Bells & Whistles

This photo shoot lasted much longer than usual.... but it was all worth it at the end when I came home to edit my photos. I don't usually share so many sneak peeks... but I had too many favorites this time, I can't hide them on my computer without sharing.

Meet baby Bell. She is 3.5 weeks young. And if you know about newborn photo shoots, she's considered to be one of my "older" babies.... so it definitely took a bit more effort and patience to get this little one to fall asleep for us. But after our long battle, we managed to get her to doze off, on and off for us.

My favorite shot from this session has to be the first one below. Bell's mommy told me that the "angels" (tattoo) on her back are her guardian angels looking over her shoulder, they represent her parents who have passed. And baby Bell is her living angel smiling right besides them on her shoulder. Tell me your heart didn't just melt hearing that?

Check out Bell's mommy, isn't she a HOT mama or what? She's the funny mama who owns the famous hip online kids shop called FlyingPeas. Check out her online shop at www.flyingpeas.com I loooove all the cute products she sells on her site....its like RAD.... go see for yourself. And did you see her cute twin boys? They're really famous too and they've got the most entertaining blog ever - you can see it here.

Thanks for having me over for a playdate guys... I had alot of fun...you guys reminded me how much I still love my job.

My favorite shot from this session


Talk about natural beauty... this girl is Au Natural.... well, actually ....both of them ....


Baby Bell is going to have SO much fun growing up with her twin brothers....


I didn't pose her footsie that way... she did that herself....really.


In Daddy's arms... I love how Daddy is wearing his wedding ring here ....


She had fabulous lips....I wanted to bite them


Check out that awesome purple wall.... so vivid.


I cherish my own "Daddy and me" shot when I was young... and I hope Bell will too when she grows up and see this one.

Keep Me, Protect Me, Share Me.

I came across an extremely powerful commercial online. A very moving piece that touched my heart deeply. I can't imagine anyone not loving this commercial because we can all relate to this.

This is also a wonderful reminder for how grateful I am to be able to do what I truly love. As a photographer, I love how I can touch many people's lives in a special way...whether its the photograph I took for a family... or the experience they had with me during our photo shoot. The memories of their family together with their newborn... or with their baby... along with their grandma...those memories I've captured for them... will be kept forever. Photographs that will be kept for years to come... or even generations.

The camera is one of the best invention in this world... a very powerful tool for us ... allowing us to capture those memories we have... some of those memories that might have slipped our mind... are reminded as we look at that photograph again.

I am so grateful for all of you who have trust in me, to have hired me and welcomed me into your home, allowing me to capture your beautiful family, your fresh newborn, your baby... thanks for giving me the opportunity to capture your memories for you. I love to know that I can make a difference in your life, for your family for what I do, this is why I love my job so much.

Sit back and enjoy this beautiful video.



Keep me, protect me, share me ... and I will live forever.

Brilliant

What a great way to keep a photographer caffeinated, eh? I love this.




* I take no credit for this photograph above. Image as seen from Gizmodo

Yearbook Yourself...

If you're looking for something to pass time online, I've got the perfect site to introduce you to.

Check out www.yearbookyourself.com It's the best place to waste your time online. And guess what? It's photo related too.

Upload a photo of yourself to this interactive flash site, then you can choose your yearbook hairstyle from different years back...from year 1954 to 2000 . Look how much time I wasted online the other night - I had lots of fun as you can see so I had to share.

My favorite is the 1968 Omega style. I remember seeing a photo of my mom with a hairstyle just like that. My mama would be so proud if I can do that to my real own hair right now.

I know you can't wait to try this out, so have fun, go Yearbook Yourself now!

One True Artist.

Being in the creative field, it is really nice to have friends in the same industry who are extremely talented. Meet one of my very good friend, Kelly, she's one of my designer friends who's is a Fine Arts major. She is one true artist and I want to share her talent here with all my mommy friends and clients here.

Miss K has a set of 4 year old twin boys who have been sleeping with her and her husband in the same room since infant age. Well, it's time for the boys to move into their own room and Kelly thought of this wonderful idea to encourage them to transition in there smoothly. She painted this beautiful mural in their room with this underwater creatures theme! (which are the boys' favorite)

You all have see the beautiful job she did. I love it. No stencils at all. She freehanded all this with her own imagination. Two big walls - 8 hours for the first one and 5 hours for the 2nd one. Wow, I'm SO impressed and am very proud of you Auntie Kelly! Your boys are so lucky to have such a talented mommy.

We all want to hire you to come paint our bedrooms now. Can I get in line yet?

Wall #1 - In progress...(working on the Octopus)


Wall #1 - She completed this in 8 hours


Wall #2 - Sketch


See the true artist work her magic... (what a sexy mama she is, huh?)


Wall #2 - And she completed the other wall in 5 hours!

Ani-what?

Animoto its called. It's a new beta site where you can make your own slideshow with images and music altogether. The unique part of this system compared to others is that it automatically creates a unique style of transition on your slideshow. Most online slideshow allows you to create a general fade transistion but this one makes it look way more fun. I had fun checking out this new site and created my own quick slideshow here.

Sit back and enjoy the show.

BabyLegs

I've always wanted to get my baby some BabyLegs ever since I had my first baby but I never got around to it, then he got really big and it was no use. Now with baby # 2, BabyLegs are still around and I finally found some really cute ones on eBay. Cows patterns are the best! They've got plenty more on their site, its SO cute and helps protect my baby's knees, especially on hot days when he's only wearing a onesie and crawls around everywhere.

Good designs are always fashionable functional.

Oh yeh, this was the only way he would sit still for me these days.

Great Advice from Real Simple.

Today I came across a great article online that I want to share. An article from the Real Simple magazine. An article that I couldn't agree more. It is something you will never regret doing as you look back to the years behind you. So read on...

"Get Professional Photos of Your Child". Check out the article here



I love Real Simple magazine. This magazine makes me feel ZEN whenever I flip through those pages. Just looking through those pages makes me feel organized already when I'm reading it. It's just as wonderful as me walking into the Container Store. I don't even know where to start.

Oh, and I also love their photography work in this magazine. I love their clean and minimal approach in their style. Way to go Real Simple.