People told me that having kids really changes your life.  I guess I believed it when I heard it but you just can’t really imagine.  I would say if I were to look at the changes from the outside I would honestly think “Why?”  And to be honest, yes there are times that it would be great to have some of the freedom to do the things we once were able to do, but in the end having my little girl is the best!  When I have a bad day, all I have to do is see her flash that smile at me the first time she sees me and everything is all okay.

Life is funny, as an example of how things have changed.  Just days before the birth of our daughter Diana and I had dinner at Chez Panisse, Alice Waters’ famous upscale restaurant in Berkeley, to celebrate Valentines.  Now our big treat is to go to King Wah in Chinatown.  Although, you can’t beat King Wah, it is this old school Cantonese Style place, where you can get 3 different dishes, rice, and house soup for just $13.  I don’t even know if you can make it and clean up for that price.

Well as to be expected our weekends are a bit tamer these days.  Our big outings are often going out and walking around someplace.  One of the side benefits is that I can carry my camera around and get a few shots here and there.  Here are a few shots from some of our recent outings.

Okay, I don’t think I could walk this thing like I was out walking a dog.

I won’t say what they were feeding these things.

This glade was not there when I went to Cal.  This area was filled with these ugly T Buildings.

Of course we had to introduce C to one of our routine things back in college.  Scott and I used to always get some Yogurt Park and hang out in Dwinelle Plaza.  Needless to say someone really likes it!

Sunday was a special day as a couple of friends dedicated their children.  Child dedication is different than baptism, which I believe more people are familiar with. When you dedicate your child, what you are doing is making a covenant, saying that you will do your best to raise your child in a manner that is in accordance to God’s teachings.  This is also significant to each person in the church since we all take on a bit of the responsibility to help the parents raise their children in this manner as well.  I like this last part since it is nice to feel that you have a community that is there to be like aunties and uncles to your child.  Okay, in the end as parents most of the task of raising our children falls to us, but it is nice to have some others there to help watch, teach, and guide our kids from time to time. 

Added on top of this was the fact that it was my friend Deb’s birthday. So it was a double celebration as they were able to dedicated Noah on her birthday.  So congrats to Noah and Macie, and Happy Birthday Deb!

Here is a visitor who came by to see her nephew.  Can you figure out who it is?

 In my endeavor to become a better photographer I have been volunteering to shoot more stuff around my church.  I really feel like I was being called to do this for a couple of reasons.  Of course on the selfish side it gives me more opportunities to shoot, but on the flip side I think that we as a society tend to isolate ourselves.  We become oblivious to the things around us that don’t directly come into our direct sphere of existence.  I think this happens at church as well.  I often hear people comment that there is not much going on.  The funny thing is there are always a number of things going on; the problem is that it is easy to dismiss and forget about events and happenings if we don’t see it ourselves.  As a direct result I have felt that if I can take more pictures, hopefully others can see some of the things they are missing or are unaware of.

Our Children’s Ministry Director asked me if I could try and take more photos of the kids for a project she is working on.  It is a lot of fun getting to see the kids learning in class and just doing their thing.  One of the drawback though is they rarely sit still and are not always the most cooperative.  Although, I must say I think some of the girls have caught on and seem to almost pose for me when they see me shooting.  Boys on the other hand sort of do the opposite.  Hummm…is there a gender character statement in this?  =P  Regardless, it is great to see their innocence and pure joy.  No wonder God wants us to come with hearts of children. 

Well here are a few images of the ones God loves most!

Okay, for anyone that was not in the Scott Robert workshop with me the other week, you might be wondering what all the talk about crane style is.  I know, I know, you are tired about hearing what a great time I had there, but hey I did have a great time!  Anywhoo…Scott was telling us that we needed to develop a style that was distinctive and helped to set us apart.  Well I kept not having a step ladder or anything to stand on and wanted to get a higher angle while shooting so I was always holding my camera up over my head to try and shoot a few shots here and there.  So of course with all the wisenheimers in attendance, suddenly someone was saying “Hey that is Eric’s signature style…the Crane Style.”  I was thinking “Great…” but I guess on the bright side at least I am known for something.  Whether that is a good something is another story.

Well thanks to Roger for the photo, here is the crane in full flight.  No, I do not really shoot that way I sort of exaggerated a bit here.  So now you all are in the know…and probably all the dumber for it.  Hope you are at least amused.    

Aside from just learning a ton of stuff from Scott’s workshop, the whole experiece was just incredible in terms of how much fun we all had.  I really value what Scott taught but I believe that equally if perhaps even more valuable in the whole scheme of life are the people we met and the memories we made.  Here are an assortment of photos of some of the folks in the workshop, as well as some of the sights we saw, and then some other shots I got but can’t take credit for the set-up as they were done by either Scott, Bandele, Christina, or Tauran.  Thanks for a truly life altering experience. 

Here are some of the things we saw along our journey.

Here are some of the behind the scenes and shots.

  The glamour of being a model for a Scott Robert Workshop.  Chelsie waiting around in Scott’s Bathroom.

One of the nice things about having attended the SRL workshop the other week was meeting and connecting with other photographers.  The inspiration and support is a great motivation in learning more and pushing to be better.  One of the people in the class was StudioFong.  I have actually known Cindy since high school, I won’t say how long ago that was, but let’s just say awhile ago.  Cindy is the sister of one of my best friends and this past weekend she was supposed to take some family portraits for them.  As you may have read on her blog, her daughter Cam was sick so she did not get a chance to do the session.  So in the mean time I’ve got her back.  Here are a couple shots I got of her nephew, Noah, while we were at church on Sunday. I am sure that when she finally gets a chance to shoot the session they will be great but hopefully these will do in the mean time.

For this shot I was right next to them but had my 70-200mm F4L IS on the camera, so the only way I could get this was using a modified low crane style. Those of you who were at the workshop will know what I am talking about.  For the rest of you, just settle for seeing Noah playing with his Dad.

Just for the record I am still riding a high from attending Scott Robert’s Workshop the other week.  Armed with the knowledge that I gained and a new network of fellow photographers who share the same passion for photography, I am determined to push forward and improve my craft.  During the workshop Scott advised us to practice the skills we learned and continue to refine our abilities. 

So of course I came back and worked with my favorite model. Don’t get me wrong Alexis, Chelsie, and Johanna were great the other week in the workshop, but I have a bias for my model…of course that is because she is my little 13 month old daughter.  =)  If you can’t guess I totally love her and she already has me wrapped around her little chubby fingers.  People have asked what was the most surprising thing about becoming a parent. What surprised me was the fact that I really did totally love her the second I first saw her.  I aways used to hear people say that and think “Yeah, right, what a bunch of bologna!”  But it was really true and let me tell you that was a tall order since I have to say, when she first came out she was slimmy, strange colored, and had GIGANTIC lips.  Have you ever seen that old Don Knots movie the Incredible Mr. Limpet?  Well if not, Don Knots character falls into the ocean and becomes a fish.  But this fish has huge lips!  So honestly that was one of my first thoughts when I saw her.  What a relief when within a few minutes they were normal. 

In any case here are a few shots that I took of her while best trying to practice what Scott was teaching us.  Of course the hard part is she does as she wants and I must just hope to be in the right place. 

So one of the jokes of our workshop is that my signature style of shooting is the “Crane Style”  Well check it out, this stuff runs in the family.  Her Tiger Gung Fu is better than yours….ha ha

Last week I finally was able to attend one of my friend Scott’s photography workshops.  It is funny, since I have known Scott since we were up at Berkeley together and now he is this big shot awesome wedding photographer.  I remember that his work was good when he first started his photography career but as time has passed, his stuff has just become amazing.  It always surprises me how his images capture some sort of emotion and I find myself feeling something inside even though I usually don’t even know his clients. 

Well I’ve tried to make it to a couple of his other workshops but something always came up.  Then there are all those great workshop locations all over the world but with a little baby girl, it seems unlikely for now that I would get to one of those.  So I had to resort to helping him organize one locally so I could make it.  So how was it?  Well first off I will share that Scott has always wanted to be a teacher since I first met him and I would have to say after being in the workshop that it is one of his callings. He is as good a teacher as he is a photographer.  So I would say if anyone has a desire to learn more, taking one of Scott’s workshops is an experience you will want to have.

On top of all this I got to meet and hang out with some other very cool photographers.  We were all at different places in terms of our abilities, but everyone had this passion to learn more and push ourselves to the “Next Level”.  Huge props to our models, Johanna, Chelsie, and Alexis.  Thanks for putting up with all our craziness and demands, all while looking fantastic and suffering through walking everywhere in heels and freezing in the cold weather.

Here are a few shots from the workshop. 

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