canon sent us their new canon SL1 camera to borrow for a few weeks and experiment with around the city. we took it with us (with our 50 mm lens) on an afternoon walk in central park to explore and see the ducks! neither josh or i claim to be great photographers, and we’re both learning as we go, but we’ve been using our own canon rebel camera the last few years to document our life together with photographs and film and it is one of our favorite things.  looking back at all our photos from over the years and being reminded of the memories we have made together as a family, it’s priceless.

readers often ask us what camera and settings we are using (you can find some of this on our FAQ page), but we have teamed up with canon to share a few tips we have learned over the past few years to share with you over the next few weeks! again, we aren’t professional photographers at all, but hopefully this will be helpful to some of you!

auto settings on dslrs are pretty great these days but learning to shoot manual a few years ago really changed our images. shooting manual allows us full control over our settings, like how much light we’re letting into the camera (the aperture) as well as control how much of the person or subject is in focus (depth of field). since it can be hard to get that perfect shot with a fast moving toddler like eleanor, it’s been helpful to really get to know our settings by heart so we can really capture the candid moment over fiddling around with the camera.

we prefer to find shade or take photos in the morning or a few hours before the sun sets to avoid the harsh midday sun and shadows.  the light is more flattering around these times of day when we aren’t in direct sunlight! during this outing in the late afternoon, we were losing light pretty quickly as the sun was setting, so we used a lower aperture setting and a faster shutter speed.  it’s also fun to really get down to the kids levels when we’re composing the shot… it’s always a whole lot more interesting to see what’s going on from their perspective.  ;)

more photos below!

^^^baby on the move!^^^

^^^in addition to ducks, we happened upon the cutest little raccoon!^^^

^^^you know, sisterly love. ;)^^^

what tips or tricks have you found helpful when taking your camera out? anything you’re willing to share? ;)

*this post is sponsored by canon. as always, thank you for reading our blog, and thanks for supporting our sponsors!

^^^chased after this cute flower girl for a bit before dinner…^^^

^^^oh eleanor, you are such a joy.^^^

^^^and being asked to wear matching dresses for the day? mama’s dream come true, really.^^^

^^^my monkeys were obsessed with climbing the little archway where the bride and groom were standing when they were married. part adorable and part oh-my-gosh-how-did-you-get-that-high-come-down-now!^^^

^^^after all the climbing, eleanor turned one side of the archway into an ice cream truck (naturally.) she even swiped credit cards of guests who didn’t have cash on them. this child!^^^

^^^so great getting to spend the week with brett! have missed him.^^^

^^^great friends and pretty flowers.^^^

^^^sarah is so good with my kiddos. eleanor keeps asking if we can go back to sarah’s house.^^^

^^^i love them.^^^

^^^juilliard ’08!^^^

^^^towards the end of the evening, josh put the littles to sleep in the stroller and we hung out inside where the music wasn’t too loud so we could talk while the babies slept. it was nice winding down together after a long day. we talked about our own wedding and marriage in general and holy cow how are we celebrating six years next month?!^^^

^^^the beautiful couple!^^^

^^^cake!^^^

congrats again to the beautiful couple! so excited to see what’s in store for you both! just don’t leave nyc. ok?!

part I of this post, HERE.

i am beyond grateful for carolyn. she is one of my dearest friends and has been since that first day of orientation at juilliard back in 2004. she’s always *always* been there for me and i certainly hope to be the kind of friend in return that she is to me.  i can’t wait to watch this next chapter unfold for her. love you, girl.

^^^getting our bride ready the morning of!^^^

^^^uh oh. eleanor discovered how to use a compact mirror.^^^

^^^flower girl.^^^

^^^while she happily kept the flower crown on her head while walking down the aisle with her flower basket (a miracle!), it came off the minute the ceremony ended. the shot on the left is the only one i have with her flower crown. haha.^^^

^^^cutest cake toppers known to man.^^^

^^^samson enjoyed taking all of the candles which lined the walkway out of their mason jars before they were lit. if anyone knows how to undo a job already done, it’s samson.^^^

^^^i think we found samson’s dream car.^^^

^^^hey, let’s try to get a good shot of the family. (this is impossible.)^^^

^^^kinda sorta…^^^

^^^this will do. (love e’s fake smile.) thank you, sarah.^^^

^^^samson and aunty chanel!^^^

^^^josh snapped this while hanging out with samson at the back of the wedding during the ceremony.^^^

^^^carolyn and her bridesmaids! ps. her mama did all these flowers. can you even believe it?!^^^

^^^all night long we kept asking to take jumping pictures. i guess that’s what happens when you get a bunch of dancers together. ;)^^^

more to come! (felt like i was scrolling for ages when they were all in one post. so part II coming at you later!)

a few of my girlfriends and i threw carolyn a little party on wednesday night in chicago to celebrate the bride to be! we ordered in thai food at a friend’s home and made key lime pie. we put together a little photobooth with streamers and stayed up terribly late catching up and reminiscing about our time together.  i’m still surprised that my babies stayed asleep upstairs once the festivities got loud. i kept running up and peeking in on them thinking they were surely awake, but i guess living on a busy and loud new york city street has taught them well. the wedding took place on saturday and it was beautiful. i don’t know how much we cried over the weekend but we were all big babies by the rehearsal dinner and couldn’t keep ourselves together while giving toasts.  carolyn’s friendship (going on ten years!) has meant so much to me. and to see her so happy and in love is something else.  can’t wait to share a few photos from the wedding here soon!

^^^my friend chanel had us all write down a few stories of memories or experiences we had with carolyn and put them into a bowl. the bride took turns reading them out loud while we all guessed who that story happened with. hilarious stories. oh, those college years. and juilliard. good old juilliard.

^^^photobooth time!^^^

^^^and a few group shots!^^^

love these people so.  congratulations carolyn!!!

one of my dearest friends from juilliard is getting married this weekend in chicago! so the littles and i have been here since tuesday to get this party started and spend time with old friends who also flew in early! we’re kind of counting it as our 5 year juilliard reunion too, because it is that time of year. ;)  we have been having the greatest time catching up and spending time together. i was a little nervous to make the trip on my own with the kiddos (josh doesn’t fly in until friday), but they have been such great sports and even slept the entire flight out.  of course it doesn’t hurt to have so many helping hands around here, people who eleanor and samson just adore. as i am growing older i am noticing how many friends tend to come and go, even friends who you once thought would always be there. makes me extra thankful to still have these good people in my life. i feel like we’re bonded in some weird way after all we’ve been through during our time at juilliard together.  i am just really proud of them and the things they are accomplishing. really good people.

^^^can’t wait to explore this city more over the weekend with josh. my parents are from here, and i was born here! but haven’t been back since i was little so there is much to see and do. can’t wait!^^^

^^^a whole bunch of beautiful faces.^^^

^^^it began as a cute game of sticking his finger into sister’s mouth and laughing really hard. it was cute and we laughed along with him until sister bit it. and can you believe it, i totally got a photo of it happening!  i don’t have a photo of the tears that followed, however. but there were many. and i know, i know, as a mama i should have seen that coming.^^^

^^^at the bean!^^^

^^^weird distorted angles and reflections at the bean.^^^

^^^samson likes the bean. and chicago. and now, wedding time! :)^^^