The Hills

When we moved up to the Burbank Hills I was excited yet I wasn't. It is nice over here, the media center is within walking distance, and my backyard is so much shadier than it was down the hill. It was even a little breezier. The thing I was most disappointed about is having to give up my walks. Well I didn't have to give them up, but walking up the hill for a nice stroll is not nearly as nice as just heading to the bike path or doing a quick stroll around the block. It really does seem like the minute we moved here I stopped walking all the time, or maybe it was just the timing due to lack of sleep and trying to find the balance between two kids. I really did struggle in the beginning.

One a rare day that all the stars align and I get out and take that walk I have two choices, to either do the easy version that is our new "around the block" walk which is quick and relatively flat, or I can head up the hill to the baseball field and give the boys a chance to run around and burn off some energy.

Here is our hill. If you see that green stuff all the way at the top of the street, that is our final destination. It is a tough hill to climb when you have over 60 lbs of boy and a wagon and a dog to pull up that hill.

Well today was just one of those days. Elliot slept in until 8:30, Erik just needed to get out of the house and since he was sick I didn't want to be one of those moms who took their sick kid to the park. What other choice did I have really, if Elliot is up I have to leave the house since these moments are so rare, but with Erik sick I didn't have very many places to go so it was up hill time. If I am being honest with myself, I need it anyways because exercise is once again a word foreign to me.

I knew I made the right decision to go. Both boys were so good during the wagon ride and didn't get up or fuss once. Elliot thinks stroller rides and wagon rides are the best thing in the whole wide world and would do it all day if given the chance. Erik didn't even have one word of complaint and didn't get out to walk to once. It was truly a good moment, well except for the fact that mama had to stop several times up the hill due to my exercise problem.

One of the things I love about this park is that it is close to the top of the Burbank hills and I can look out and see the entire valley, but I also love it because I can let Erik roam without having to worry about him getting hurt and believe me he runs all over the place. It is the perfect place for us to burn off that excess boy energy that never seems to get burned very well in our backyard.

While Erik was running around and showing Lovey both of the baseball dugouts, I do what I usually do here, take portraits of Elliot. Today I was using my new 85mm lens. I have had this lens since Christmas, but I am really struggling to use it. I have really mastered my 50mm and I really do get exactly what I want 90%  of the time with that lens. With the 85mm I am struggling because I have get farther away from my subject, and I just can't seem to get the spatial relationships right. Also since the lens is longer I always have my shutter too slow and create blur, but I really do want to get this lens down because I love images with blurry background and tack sharp people. The 85mm creates the most beautiful blur when I use it correctly. So today I was practicing on Elliot, on of my favorite subjects since he is so still right now.

Even my super still Elliot will only pose for me so long as he is 1 years old and has a mind and interest of his own right now. But my observer is still content to sit back and watch right now instead of joining right in.

But the peace of our photography is always welcomed and interrupted by a 2 year old brother who has a lot of energy and who never sits still for more than one minute at a time. I have been trying for months to get a brother portrait of these two in an outdoor setting, and tried yet again today. Although Erik wasn't really dressed for it in his sweats and big brother shirt, I got another picture of the sippy cup boys. When Erik drinks it is the only time he actually sits still.

Although today I did get to capture one sweet moment of my boys and their dog. I am not sure if they were giving Lovey some love or torturing her. I try to put a stop to all torture, but when I am photographing I am in the zone and sometimes not observant. No dogs were harmed in the filming of this moment, I swear. 

Now we are all home and boys are cozy in their bed, Elliot napping for almost 3 hours now and Erik starting on 1.5. This was probably one of the easiest naps for Erik yet, he was sick, tired and wore himself out so another fun morning and lots of fun pictures.