I had hoped to get out for some street candids this weekend, but what with the new bed and Jason's music class starting back up and needing a haircut and so on and so on, I didn't have time. So, Sunday afternoon I took about 15 minutes and tried out some lighting techniques with Jason at one of the neighborhood playgrounds. Here I was trying to both overpower the ambient light with my flash and to cross-light using the sun as a fill/rim light. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for prime time with this technique yet, but even so it seems to have worked out pretty well, which is exciting.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, TTL flash mode (+0 EV). Aperture f/8, shutter 1/500 sec, ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: a bit of retouching around his mouth; light skin smoothing over his face; curves to increase exposure and contrast; levels to brighten midtones; reduced overall brightness; brushed in Intensify Contrast adjustment on his eyes; lightly dodged over his eyes; added vignette; added sharpening.

Thoughts for improvement: Well, the expression is a little "deer in the headlights" and I wish I had thought to bring a rag to wipe the spit off of his mouth. So, as a portrait it's less than ideal. But as this was mostly a lighting experiment, I think it was pretty successful.

Another shot of Jason before his first night in his new bed. I'm staying home with him today as he's feeling a little sick, and I just put him down for a nap. It's amazing to me how easy the day has been so far. He's really starting to act like a big boy.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 18-55mm DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, TTL flash mode (+1 EV). Focal length 24mm, aperture f/8, shutter 1/125 sec, ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: cropped to 5x7; retouched a scab on the corner of his mouth; curves to increase exposure and contrast; levels to brighten midtones.

Thoughts for improvement: I really like the quality of the light here, which I got by pointing the camera almost straight down and bouncing the flash off the white ceiling. The composition is a little weak and cluttered, but overall I think it's a nice picture.

We got Jason a "big boy" bed this weekend. It was delivered on Saturday and he got to sleep in it for the first time Sunday night. I had chuckled a bit earlier in the day when Juliette had said "He's officially not a baby anymore," but actually putting him to bed was surprisingly emotional for me. Jason had his normal bedtime routine—bath, brushed his teeth, potty, pajamas, story, bed—and was very excited to get in his new bed. He fell asleep within five minutes, so obviously he was fine with it. Juliette and I, on the other hand, had to stop for a moment after we closed his door to hug each other.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Aperture-priority exposure mode (matrix metering), TTL flash mode (+1 EV). Focal length 18mm, aperture f/8, shutter 1/60 sec (+0 EV), ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: straightened horizon; Cloudy WB preset; curves to increase exposure and contrast; levels to brighten midtones and darken shadows; lightly dodged over his face; burned over the highlight on the headboard.

Thoughts for improvement: I should have gotten a little lower so as to get more of the bed and less of the space overhead. An even wider angle lens might also have been interesting.

Two things that Jason loves are movies and putting things in rows. Not that there was ever any doubt about his parentage, but if there were... I mean, come on.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, manual flash mode. Aperture f/1.8, shutter 1/500 sec, ISO 400, flash power 1/16. Post-processing in Aperture 3: auto WB picked from the white part of the Ice Age DVD cover; levels to increase exposure, brighten midtones, and increase contrast.

Thoughts for improvement: I keep needing to bring up exposures in post, so nailing it in-camera is certainly an area I can work on. I like the composition here pretty well, though the little lamp in the top left corner does detract a bit.

Jason does this thing sometimes, when he's really happy with us, when we're holding him, where he puts a hand on either side of our face and smiles. He just looks at us, looks into our eyes, all over our faces, beaming, and it's like he's drinking in the sight of the face in front of him, like he sees something there that's wonderful and amazing. It's one of the best things about being his parent.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, manual flash mode. Aperture f/1.8, shutter 1/500, ISO 400, flash power 1/16. Post-processing in Aperture 3: cropped out a bunch on top and to the left; curves to increase exposure; levels to brighten midtones.

Thoughts for improvement: The focus is quite soft, but I can't decide whether or not I like it that way. The window in the background is a little bright as well.

I think the most gratifying part of the holidays this year was seeing how much Jason loves his extended family. We spent Christmas with Juliette's family and New Year's with mine, and with both groups it was obvious how much he enjoyed being around them. He was particularly attached to Juliette's younger brother and one of my aunts, but he spent time with just about everybody and talked about all of them through the entire 11-hour drive home.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, manual flash mode. Aperture f/2.8, shutter 1/500, ISO 400, flash power 1/16. Post-processing in Aperture 3: straightened horizon; auto WB picked from Woody's vest; levels to brighten highlights and midtones; curves to darken shadows.

Thoughts for improvement: I wish I had been moved back just a bit so I could have gotten Jason's entire right leg and not cut off my aunt's knee.

I meant to post this one a week ago, but our post-Christmas travels took us away from the Internet for the duration and I didn't get the chance. I suppose it may be a bit tacky to be posting holiday snaps several days into the new year—a bit like all the people in my neighborhood who still have their Christmas lights not only up but lit. I figure, though, that the beginning of a new year is a time of anticipation and excitement, and a kid on Christmas morning has that in spades, right? That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Nikon SB-400 flash. Aperture-priority exposure mode (matrix metering), TTL flash mode (+0 EV). Aperture f/1.8, shutter 1/60 sec (+0 EV), ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: flash WB preset; crop to 5x7; curves to bring up exposure and add contrast; cloned out some spots on her face; applied skin smoothing to her face.

Thoughts for improvement: The flash here is simply bounced off the ceiling, so the shadows under their cheeks and eyebrows could be filled better. It would also be nice if I hadn't cut off her shoulder. I think it's a good capture of the moment, though, and I like the soft reflection of the Christmas tree in the background.

It's Christmas Eve, and all of us here at Sakeriver (me, that is) wish you all a safe, healthy, and happy holiday. And to say thanks for following along all this time, here's a cookie, decorated by Jason's friend L.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, manual flash mode. Aperture f/4, shutter 1/30 sec, ISO 200, flash power 1/4 (I think). Post-processing in Aperture 3: curves to brighten highlights and midtones; levels to darken shadows and brighten midtones.

Thoughts for improvement: The background is a little cluttered, so this might have been better at f/2.8 or f/1.8 to further defocus the background. I do like the little red and green bokeh highlights in the corner, though. There is also some color fringing due to chromatic aberration, but this is an artifact of my lens/camera combination—if I were more motivated I could try to remove or reduce it in Photoshop.

Jason loves babies. He loves to look at them and point them out to us whenever he sees them. And, as you can see, he loves playing with baby dolls. He doesn't have any of his own, but when he's at day care or when we go over to friends' houses, the baby dolls are among the first things he'll go for. He likes to hold them and put their bottles in.

The funny thing is, my mom always talks about how when I was a kid, I loved babies. I don't know if that extended to baby dolls, but she loves to talk about how I always wanted to hold every baby that I saw and how I liked to talk to them. She also loves to talk about how much Jason is just like me, so I reckon she'll get a kick out of this post.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (with Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode and TTL flash mode (+1 EV). Aperture f/1.8, shutter 1/30 sec, ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: cloned out a scab on his cheek; curves to increase exposure and add a bit of contrast.

Thoughts for improvement: I missed the focus a little, so the lettering on the hat is sharp while his eyes are just a touch soft.  I might have also liked to see this with an 85mm f/1.4, to get a softer background. He could also probably use a little more light on him.

On Sunday we were supposed to meet up with some friends and their daughter and go to Legoland. It rained, though, so instead we went over to their house to decorate some Christmas cookies. (Pro tip: if there's any chance whatsoever that your plans to go to Legoland might change, don't tell your toddler about it ahead of time. This turned out to be key in making our Sunday afternoon work.

Jason has known this girl since they were both just a few weeks old (Juliette and her mom met in a breastfeeding support group), and it's been neat to watch them grow up together. One of the most interesting parts of this weekend was watching them interact, because it marked the first time that they really talked and played with each other without any intermediaries. Up until now, most of their communication had had to relay through us parents, but this time they actually had some little toddler conversations. It's going to be neat to see how their friendship progresses now that they're actually able to connect with each other directly.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40 Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (with Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode and TTL flash mode (+0 EV). Aperture f/2.8, shutter 1/30 sec, ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: curves to bring up exposure; burned over the highlight on the railing; vignetting applied; edge sharpening applied.

Thoughts for improvement: The highlight on the railing is distracting, though I was able to reduce it some by burning. Other than that, though, I like the lighting a lot—the Gary Fong Lightsphere really does work well. Compositionally, this would be much better with a sparser background. There's stuff right behind both of their heads that looks weird, and the stuff like the fence and TV really don't add anything. If I were doing this in a studio, I'd like to see what it looked like with just the kids, the chairs, and the table.