Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Click!

One of the best gifts I received as a kid was a Kodak/Fisher-Price camera. It used film, of course (which reminds me that I'm not that young anymore..) and a flip-flash: you inserted a stick with ten bulbs on top of the camera and they would burn one by one with each snap. I took my first photos at the Holidays On Ice show with my aunt and my grandmother and then I proceed to immortalize family, friends and teachers. A lot of my early work shows people without a head. Some pictures where good though and I still have them collected in an album. 

Here it is, pure eighties nostalgia material:

 

I think I must have been around six or seven when I got my first camera, but obviously I couldn't wait that long to give my son his own, especially if you consider how much easier - and don't forget cheaper - it is to have fun with a digital camera. I am surprised I managed to hold on until now, but I waited for Appu to spontaneously show some interest, which of course he did soon enough. I wanted to get him the modern version of what I had, a digital kids camera, but after a little thought I realized that I didn't really like the options there. Plus, they tend to always include videogames in children cameras, as I recently discovered, and that seems quite beside the point. In conclusion, I started reading reviews of basic point-and-shoot cameras, looking for the cheapest one that would meet all my requirements.

I found it right away and I showed Rajiv a picture of his new camera from a website. I told him we would order it online and t would arrive in a box in a few days. The next day we came back from work to find that he had made this picture:


Meaghan helped him with the word, but he made the drawing himself. He didn't quite get the part about the camera arriving in a few days, because he immediately asked where was the box. 
Let me skip the part where we learned that I had of course selected a model that was being discontinued and therefore impossible to get - so the box would not come at all. After a frantic search and much frustration, we settled on a different model and went to pick it up ourselves together with our little Appu.

And here is the happy photographer.




By the way, you will not be surprised to know that Rohan wasn't happy to be denied access to the new toy. We allowed him to hold papa's camera for a little bit and here he is, in a photo taken by his brother. Unfortunately papa's camera didn't live to tell the tale, but that's another story.





As you might have already noticed, a new link has appeared on the sidebar. It points to a slideshow of Rajiv's best work. I will try to keep it updated. I think his photos are a great way to document our family life and for a change mamma is in there too.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Bach

Long plane trips can do strange things. We just came back and my older son decided to put some music on. He picked a CD (at random I'd say, but who knows) and seemed to struggled with the player, so I helped him. When the music started he said "Ah, a violin!" and very satisfied he brought a book to the couch to "read" while listening to the music. After fifteen minutes, he is still there.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Design change - again

On a second thought, the earlier one was too dark. But I think we are almost there now :)

Saturday, March 19, 2011

By the way...

... I hope you like the new design. Featuring original artwork by mamma, no less :)

Friday, March 18, 2011

Trip to the Vandalur zoo

Last Sunday we went to the zoo. It's not too far from home, actually, and it is a pleasant drive, for a change. The kids, of course, loved it.

We decided to take one of the zoo's vehicles to do a full tour. Here is little monkey #1, waiting patiently for our ride.

"Can I get any cuter?"
"And can I go inside with the geese?"
I wish we had walked instead, because with the tour we were allowed only a few minutes to see each animal, but at least we did get a glimpse of most of the place. It was a good advertisement and it convinced us that we should come back to see more.
 
 
"It's a leopard cub!" Uhm, not really...

















We did walk around a little at the end. We spent some time looking at various kinds of monkeys and we waited for the giraffes to a little closer to the gate so I could take a decent shot (above). Little monkey #2 was very happy and wanted to join the giraffes.
Nothing can stop the determined explorer!


Some family photos:


Rohan reaches unnoticed inside mamma's bag
"Mango juice!"
Taking rest and playing with papa'.
And they are all looking at the camera AT THE SAME TIME!!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Archaeology for beginners

Last week we went to Mahabalipuram for a little field trip. I wasn't sure how the kids would behave, but it turned out to be quite a nice outing for them. Rohan was a little suspicious and preferred to be carried most of the time, but Rajiv behaved like a little explorer, climbed here and there and was really sad when he realized that we were heading back home.

The Five Rathas:







Arjuna's Penance carvings and the balancing rock:




The lemonade is almost over - time to go home?
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