Archive | Musings from a Designer Dad

Last year I made the conscious decision to volunteer to make a fundraiser video for my kids’ school. In general, I’m not able to contribute much during the year because of my schedule. This was an opportunity for me to actually volunteer to do something I’m good at and enjoy doing.

The result was pretty unexpected. Not only was it a smashing success, but had a blast working with the kids, the parents, and the PTSA committee. Everyone was friendly, accommodating and genuinely excited to help. I’ve received a lot of great feedback, compliments and encouragement for THIS year’s video.

In turn, I made sure to clear my off-hours schedule to allow myself the chance to match last year’s impact. Big shoes to fill, certainly, and I aim to achieve as much. Sacrificing a little sleep is a small price to pay for pure enjoyment I see on everyone’s face after watching it. These kids are special. The school is special.

I find it difficult to return to work after editing all night. There’s something so natural about these kids, dancing in slow motion, the music, the school… as if I’ve tapped into something bigger but haven’t quite grasped it. Until I do, please enjoy last year’s video. I’m nearly complete with this year’s, and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Lincoln School’s 2015 BASH Fundraiser Video:

NOTE: This excerpt was taking from an earlier post on facebook.

“Daddy, can you show me how to play the piano EVERY night?”

I’ve been hoping to hear these words from one of my daughters. As a musician, it has always been more important to me to nurture the love of making music than to play only what is to be practiced and learned.

I know many many great musicians start well before Xana, but I also know I was burnt out by the time I was 12 yrs old. Classical music and the forcing to play every night just pushed me away…

Until Jimmy Page turned me back onto music through the guitar.

When it comes to the arts, I firmly believe everyone can gain joy through the act of creating irregardless of natural ‘talent’. Be it art, music, or dance, we HAVE to encourage our kids–Ourselves even–to keep at it and stay positive while reinforcing the EFFORT.

This will create a lifelong pleasure in the arts, nurture self determination, confidence, curiosity and improvisational thinking.

Let them enjoy it. Who cares what it sounds like… Or looks like? Let them have their creativity.

We will be a better society if everyone could have a better relationship with the arts.

And yes, Xana, we absolutely can play music every night.

What started as a means to keep Grandma ‘in-the-loop’ (living a thousand miles away from her Grandchildren) has grown to become the best means of chronicling the growth of my daughters. It’s also a way for me to discover a new creativity through photography. Historically, I’ve used the camera to capture a base for my paintings… But it’s been over 10 years since I’ve used a brush. Instead, I’m now exploring filmmaking, and with it, the wonderful technical possibilities of this new medium.

In this section, I hope to post my discoveries, opinions and methods of my trial and errors in child photography. Unless you’re a professional photographer, it can be a challenge to not only capture an image of a moving child, but to capture one that you can feel good about. A photo to send to the Grandfolks. Perhaps even submit to a contest. Regardless of your motivation, I hope to have something you can glean from these ramblings. Where some have attempted the 365 Day challenge, I’ve been shooting my girls daily for almost 5 years.

This blog has become not only great place to post pics of my girls, but a great family album. It’s my sketch book. It’s a means of showcasing what I love about being a Dad. It’s a place of enjoyment for my friends and family and it’s a journey of discovery for Xana, Beatrix and myself.

So check back periodically, as I hope to post about the technical stuff. If you like any of these pics then you might benefit from my experiences with cameras, lenses, lighting, settings and strategies. Feel free to ask “what’s in the bag, Dad?” as I did during my first Daddy Boot Camp. It helped me and I hope it helps you.

Thanks for reading.
:b