OUR COMMON HOURS

Kelli Ann Wilson May 16, 2014

20 // 52

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia: This week I was feeling sad about a few things, and you were such a great comfort to me. I am so amazed by your empathy and your nurturing spirit. It doesn’t show all the time (you are a kid, after all), but you feel deeply the distress of others and you try your best to alleviate it. You have a lot of wisdom, too, for such a young person. So, thank you, Lillia, for supporting me and for giving me the opportunity to see my trials and tribulations in another light.

Zane: On our walk yesterday you met one of our neighbors who gave you two very cool rocks for your “rockry coweckshun” (rock collection): one was a rounded stone that came from the bank of the Connecticut River (it looked like an egg!); the other was a fire agate that came from his friend’s mine in Arizona. People are very drawn to you, probably because you are adorable, but also because you really enjoy engaging with others. You are the very definition of friendly!

Kelli Ann Wilson May 12, 2014

baby turtle

Our house abuts a conservation area that mostly consists of a largely manmade, yet long out-of-use, body of water called the Mill Pond. Every Spring the mama turtles come up from the water and lay eggs, which hatch sometime near the end of summer. I was so surprised to see a baby painted turtle this past weekend, since it seemed to be the wrong time of year. It turns out, some painted turtles overwinter in their nests after they hatch, and then make their journey back to the water in the Spring! I can’t believe this little one survived the winter we had this year — it was so brutally cold and long. But, here he or she is, against the odds!

Kelli Ann Wilson May 8, 2014

lakebreeze village

Last weekend my daughter, Lillia, and my mom built a little fairy village in our backyard. Strategically placed just beyond the fence (possibly to keep little brothers out?), it sits atop an embankment that provides a lovely vista over the Mill Pond. Aptly named “Lakebreeze Village,” it is a gloriously colorful and bustling fairy haven. It is also very tiny, which gave me an excellent opportunity to do some practicing with my new 105mm macro lens. I love how the little plastic characters actually seem to come alive when you see them larger than life. Let’s meet some of them, shall we?

P.S. I still believe in fairies, do you?

Kelli Ann Wilson May 8, 2014

19 // 52

“A portrait of my children once a week, every week, in 2014.”

Lillia: This week at school was riddled with drama — mean girls and mean teachers. You are so hard on yourself when you cry at school, but your big heart is one of your best qualities. I know this situation well, as I was once the little girl who cried a lot at school (now I’m the adult who still cries more than most other adults, but I’m okay with it). The good news is that most people are unlikely to remember much of anything about their elementary years, let alone whether or not you happened to cry often. It will get easier to contain as you get older, but you’ll probably always have very strong feelings, and that’s not a bad thing. The world needs compassion and empathy more than it needs anything else.

Zane: This week you got to come with me to the car dealership to have my car inspected. That was a pretty exciting adventure for someone who loves anything that has a motor. We got to see a tow truck really close-up and you were surprised to learn that they weren’t moving a car, but a very big tool box! When you’re a little bigger, I bet your uncle (who works there) will let you come and look around the shop.

Kelli Ann Wilson May 8, 2014

playing with tilt-shift

I’m not a huge fan of photography gimmicks. If an image can’t stand on its own without tons of Photoshopping & weird filters, then it’s probably not a great photo. I used to use a lot of filters to cover up the fact that my photos just weren’t very good. I’m still learning, and I wouldn’t say my photos are awesome yet. But, I am MUCH more confident in my skills and I find that, aside from tweaking white balance and exposure or making them black & white, I don’t have to do much to make my photos look the way I want. That having been said, I think that it’s really important to play with my photos sometimes.

I recently discovered that Adobe CS6 has a built in filter called “tilt-shift”, which is often applied in the world of photography in such a way that it makes buildings and landscapes look miniaturized. I also downloaded a tilt-shift action for Photoshop from AJ Troxell. While none of my scenes really look “miniature,” I do think that the tilt-shift effect (when applied sparingly) can actually make a photo look more dynamic and interesting. The first photo I used the CS6 filter, and for the others I used the action. The action made my photos super-saturated, but I toned it down quite a bit because I’m just not a huge fan of that look.