Just because…

When you’re on vacation and you’ve got some extra time on your hands this can easily happen.

This little slice of magic is called putting your camera on the self-timer setting just to see what you can capture.  The camera takes a new picture approximately every second or two so you really don’t have a whole lotta time to worry about your pose…you just do something.  Clearly.

Isn’t vacation just the best?  You don’t even have to shower to be a part of the fun.  On a completely unrelated note, my nephew is such a doll and such a great sport.  Aawwww…..

There really is a method to all this madness.  To celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary (yeah for marriage!), I wanted to take a full family photograph that I could then gift to them later.  And in order to have a fighting chance at a keeper (after all, we do have four children age 7 and under in this family), I needed to ensure a couple of things before I had everyone sit down to give this a whirl.

#1. I had to make sure that the self-timer was set to give us a maximum number of photo opportunities in the shortest amount of time because I knew once I got up to reset that camera I was going to lose some people.  I’m looking at you Beaut.two!  I’m looking at you!

#2.  Since I don’t have a tripod (yet!) I needed to get the the height right to fit everyone in.  A fair number of magazines and books stacked on a kitchen stool did the trick.  There really is no stopping my will to MacGyver my way through photography.

I had no idea that this ‘practice time’ would turn out to be so fun.

The camera caught action shots (my favorite)…

…and more posed shots (only because I made them).

And that’s enough of that whole posing thing, friends!  My models were fearless and natural and took direction well.

I mean what photo shoot is truly complete without the sprinkler?  I dare say none.  None!

All the giggles were priceless and their commitment to the work unmatched.  After each mini-session, they nearly tackled me to check out their photos and then would use what they saw to better themselves.  It was a thing of beauty really.

And then I made my brother get in on the action.  He thought it would be hilarious to close his eyes…the WHOLE time!

But have no fear…Beaut.one used Uncle A’s closed-eye-pose as inspiration.

And gave it a whirl herself.  And she totally made it her own by adding the gaping mouth move.  I am fairly certain this pose will make its way to a Vanity Fair cover soon.

So all of that…yielded this!  And I’m so very glad it did.  The only thing I would change?  Planting another large tree or two in the middle of the lake to block that light pouring in between my brother and my dad’s heads.  Or constructing a completely new sliding glass door opening so I could set the bench up in a different place.  Now I think of it!

But if we’re being completely honest here…this is the one I will always treasure.

If you have some free time on your hands, get out that camera and let your loved ones go nuts.  You will never wish you had fewer photos of the ones you love.

Have a lovely weekend,

Stacey

P.S. Much more on our vacation in Northern Wisconsin to come later!