Matt was using a Nikon D90 with his 35mm f1.8, and myself the D300 with the Sigma 24-60mm f2.8. Different lenses not withstanding of course, the flash settings and DSLR modes we used were roughly similar but the results turned out rather differently.
Mine’s the first set below:
And Matt’s:
And just for fun: of Matt shooting Hannah.:)
Every other day there’ll be photographic events organized and posted up on Clubsnap, with the subjects of photography in one room at least typically young female models, and not always fully clothed but in lingerie and bikinis. I remembered these amateur model photoshoots were actually reported in The Straits Times a couple of months ago, and there was some bad publicity surrounding some of these photo shoots with some persons I think asking aloud if some of these amateur photographers participating in these events had sleazy intentions. While Matt was in Labrador Park last week, he encountered one such event with a young female model being followed by seven photographers around the park, and texted me asking what was going on haha.:)
Anyway, we decided to pull our own TFCD (LOL) ‘model’ shoot at The Rivervale stunt, just for fun. The model? None other than our very own Hannah! Here’re the third-person behind-the-scenes pictures taken by Ling on that little Panasonic LZ8 compact.:)
Hannah gamely took up the challenge of posing for Matt and myself, and didn’t seem in the least perturbed by the three flashes constantly going off. I’ll put up the pictures tomorrow in a different post.
In the mean time, the whole experience was just outright hilarious, and Hannah’s mood willing, we’ll do this again very soon.:)
We’ve been bringing Hannah for the occasional dip into the pool. The last time round we did this Hannah while could adjust to the use of her neck float, couldn’t quite float by keeping her body vertical. So, it was thrilling to see her able to do that this afternoon. Pictures.:)
Of the about 135 pictures taken over the 15 minutes using the Sigma 18-250mm, most of them turned out delightfully, though some color temperature adjustments were necessary with the SB600 flashlight alternating between TTL and TTL-BL modes throughout.
Two more pictures below: at the start of the swim (you can see that Hannah’s hair is still dry), and towards the end in Hannah’s Jedi-esque swim-robe but looking pretty tired:
As soon as we got back home and changed her back to her normal clothes, Hannah zonked right out into sleep! :)
Ling wasn’t kidding when she wrote here last month that Hannah bursts into tears whenever our baby sees Ling coming to pick her up from infant care! Semester break started for me a week ago, so I’ve been taking a day of leave here and there – and this afternoon I saw exactly just that.
Hannah was on the far side of the room at the infant care center playing with toys, while Ling had to crouch and hide behind an ankle-height obstacle just so that Hannah wouldn’t spot her LOL! Too funny for words. As soon as Hannah spotted me on the other side of the room (about 5 metres away), she broke into a huge grin and started scrambling on all fours to me. I’d brought along the Sigma 18-250mm so managed a few pictures of Hannah on the move crawling towards me, though the uneven lighting in the room messed up exposure metering.
When Hannah was on my side of the room, she spotted Ling – and immediately started crying haha.:)
…standing on the promises of God my Saviour…” this song was reverberating in my head during one of our play times together.
I was deliberating whether to buy a play yard (see example) for Hannah so that she could play in a safe, enclosed area on the floor while I attend to other chores in the house. The only nagging thought I had was whether Hannah would want to play in it. What if it lasts only a day? Sell as a preloved item lor. Hmmm….?
Hannah has been exploring the things around her in the little space I created in front of our TV console. I thought this was great as she was learning more about the actual settings of her home. The only downside to this type of ‘play zone’ is that someone must keep a close watch on her at all times. She could scratch or bang herself against sharp objects.
May be I’d just give the play yard a shot. In any case, here’s a little video of Hannah doing her latest feat, i.e. standing up using supporting structures around her. :)
It’s extremely rare for Ling to show any interest in the lenses I use when it comes to taking pictures. So it came as surprise to me when she took a look at some pictures I took of Hannah yesterday evening, expressed surprise at how amazing the shots looked and asked what lens was used:
The lens belongs to Matt, and is the Nikon 35mm f1.8G DX and for cropped sensors a fairly recent release from Nikon actually. Prior to coming to Singapore and earlier this year, Matt actually asked if I’d to buy a copy of the lens too for him to bring here too but I declined then. While I don’t have a lens capable of shooting at 35mm @ f1.8, I thought the Sigma 24-60mm f2.8 I normally use for indoor and Hannah’s pictures would cover any intended use of the 35mm.
Well, I got to eat my words now: the lens is simply superb! Even Ling was bowled over at its color reproduction and how much detail the lens could resolve (“Wah… can see the detail in the cushion cover!!”). And when I told her it was a lens the lens costs about USD200, she said “buy buy buy!!”, and even suggested buying it from Matt haha!
And on the following evening after getting home from an Owen Seafood dinner event with Matt and family, she was chewing on the edges of her pillows.:)
Sunday evening
I must get pictures of her chewing on my fingers soon – just for the record of course.:)
Even at 9 months 1 day, Hannah’s still in that phase of her life where she’ll happily chew on everything she can get her hands on: whether it’s her pram toy, lace on her bed linen, one of our fingers, or the edges of pillows and cushions. Here’s evidence on two separate occasions: one set yesterday and the other just now.:)
Saturday evening:
Yep she looks like she’s just been caught red-handed in a felonious act.:)
Hannah today is exactly 9 months old! It’s been quite the journey as first time parents. There’s been plenty of lows points for certain. There’s been that dramatic change from being in a two person family and having to worry only about your wife, to having to worry about your baby girl and your wife now, and it pretty much pervades every decision you make – like what time you wake up, what time you leave the house, what time both of you have your meals, and that new toy you always wanted to buy has to be put aside i.e. financial prudence.
And just like this morning, Hannah did something she’d rarely done – wake the both of us up well before her usual wake-up time! She did a huge din at about 6:15 AM – we’d turn in late last night watching Watchmen on blu-ray – that was loud enough to wake even Matt up, two closed doors between her vocal chords and him.
But there’re so many more high-points in comparison: that toothless grin, her giggles and laughs when you rest your head on her tummy, her slow break into an angelic smile and chuckle when you make direct eye-contact with her, and the way her eyes dart noticing things around her and reflecting her alertness of both new and old environments. Each new day brings about new things we’re learning about her.
And there’s also that I think the both of us have become better individuals too: better discipline in spending, more efficient in what we do (at least for me anyway haha!), and better planners! And when Hannah’s carried by either of us, we just can’t resist planting kisses on those chubby cheeks of hers, and there’s that indescribable and absolutely incredible feelings of paternal affection and protection over our baby girl.
Three more months to one.:)
There’s a particular sentence that whenever I hear Ling say somewhere in the house, I’ll cringe in fear. And the sentence goes like this:
“Dear, can you come over here?
It usually only means one thing: because Ling can’t physically come over in person e.g. to the work room where I’m at, it’s probably something to do with Hannah, and it’s likely to be another baby-esque accident. One such happened again on Thursday when Hannah did a massive carpet bomb of her diaper. Even Ling was surprised at the volume of, er, ‘output’ possible from a small tot. It seemed that Hannah’s intestinal tracts must had been working on overdrive!
In any case, a furious body cleanup, a third baby bath for of the day and diaper and clothes change late, there was no trace evidence of the massive bombing that’d just occur. So we set Hannah down to play on our bed with a Nike Dri-Fit shirt I’ve got, but which Hannah hasn’t played with before. It’s terrifically fun to see her interact with new toys and items.:)
Taken on the usual Sigma 24-60mm.:)
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