pascale wowak photoblog

Cooper Mattias

Oh how I love love love LOVE newborns!!!  I always go home with my womb aching for more babies after every single newborn shoot.  I am thankfully greeted by a bunch of incredibly loud, highly verbal and extremely demanding little ones of my own which immediately squashes all those intense maternal feelings! Phew! :)

Little Cooper was such a great little dude.  He totally let me manipulate him and pose him here and there and this way and that way.  Such a trooper!  I had alot of fun playing around with the wonderful props mom had on hand (baskets, fuzzy blankets etc...) and even went home and immediately ordered two different colored sets of his white blanket that we used because it was so incredibly soft, big, fluffy and cozy and Cooper was just in heaven with that blanket so I knew I'd need some for all my future newborn shoots!

Can I just mention that his bedroom was INCREDIBLE!  It had this vintage airplane theme and just totally rocked!  He is so gonna love his room.  It was too dark to get any pictures in there but maybe next time we can manage some. :)

As always, it was a major struggle to limit myself to posting only 30 images from the shoot but I finally settled on some of my favorites.   If people know that they will be ordering a DVD slideshow from me then I will take the extra time to put one together with ALL the images and post the slideshow on the blog but it's just so incredibly time consuming to put those together that I don't do them anymore unless a client has pre-ordered it.

I should mention that, as in the past, I used ONLY natural light and absolutely NO studio or artificial lighting whatsoever.  And it was a pretty dark and dreary day!  But we managed quite nicely thanks to some big windows. 

The last two images I posted were to honor the fact that Mister Cooper was born right before Christmas and so I did a little holiday "Christmas basket" delivery theme.  I had fun with those and making the colors really pop to highlight the red of the basket against the stark white door.  I love using color vibrantly when the photograph allows you to do so artistically without it looking like a picture was just overly saturated or something. It has to FEEL right rather than overdone.    I'm just gaga about all these photos and hope Sarah and Chris will be too!!

CONGRATULATIONS you two!! :)

This last one I used an old school vintage toning to make the red look antique and his jeans really dark.

Christmas Photos

Been a busy "week off" here but I did get a couple cute shots of my kids while letting them run around at the park near my mom's house on the day after Christmas.  Thought I'd share them to illustrate how just simply having your camera handy without any specific agenda in mind can help garner some great images.  Just have your general settings preset based on your lighting conditions, have it ready and around your neck and engage your little ones just like you normally would.  Guaranteed that at some point they will do something funny or give you a genuine smile, the kind that melts your heart.  Then act quickly!!  Also, I know I throw in pointers from time to time but if you are looking for a more in depth course I HIGHLY recommend my photography workshop.  The January class is full but I have THREE slots left for my February 10th class.  Email me if you want to sign up!

This first image is funny because I was watching my daughter run around this big tree and then suddenly she just stopped and struck this pose.  I continued watching her as she continued to stand still... Anyone who knows Ellie knows that she is usually just a flash of perpetual motion and that any stillness is usually the result of yet another self inflicted injury from one of her dearing-do acrobatic feats... So I watch her all the while increasingly perplexed as she does not appear to be all that particularly happy, (no smiles, no giggles) and she is not talking (another first!) and then after a VERY long time (ok, maybe just 30 seconds but for her that's like an eternity) I ask her what she is doing....  She says:  "I'm being a tree!"  So cute! And definitely some more premonitions as to her very natural "actress" tendencies which quite frankly frighten me... her amazingly intuitive ability to "get in the role", any role she chooses at any given moment, at such a young age... Watch out Hollywood!

Then here she is doing her quite dramatic "I'm cold!" act which she knows always makes me laugh... such a little comedienne that kid!

And Gavin (even though he is anti camera these days I still manage to squeeze some in if I engage him just the right way at just the right time and if the stars and the moon are all aligned properly and it's exactly 68 degrees outside and it's a tuesday and well, you get the idea...) with his dazzling smile that I will never ever get enough of.

He makes me swoon that little charmer and he's such a mama's boy too.  I hope that lasts forever!  A last one of the little tree, smiling this time.

I had an absolutely delightful newborn shoot yesterday that I hope I can finish the editing process and post images tomorrow night so check back in for those, they turned out just beautifully! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

First of all: Merry Christmas!  I hope this day is full of fun and laughter and the "magic" inherent in watching their eyes light up!  Mine, at 5 and 3 yrs of age, are in that really wonderful place where they understand Christmas, they still believe in Santa, and they say and do the funniest, cutest, most endearing things as they open up their presents.  It was a delightful and hilarious morning for me, I hope yours was equally entertaining!

Secondly:  I am not beyond making a fool of myself, as I do it UNintentionally quite frequently, so I thought I would provide some humor today in case some of you are spending the day with extended family members with whom you'd rather...well, let's just say you may need a stiff drink or a good laugh at the end of the day... so I'm happy to oblige.

I *tried* to get some pictures of my little ones together a couple days ago for a project I'm working on.  I actually dread doing this even more than they dread participating in it!  It just seems that lately it's been increasingly difficult to get any cooperation whatsoever from my two little photographic muses...especially together. 

I was met with the standard initial resistance ("we're too busy playing!") to actual revolt ("I'm NOT doing it!) to scoffing at my attempts at bribery ("Santa's coming tomorrow, I can wait") to finally succumbing to the nastiness of maternal guilt trips ("Sigh.  Ok, geesh, you don't have to look so sad mom, we'll sit for TWO pictures, ok?)

The following few minutes comprised of goofy faces (NOT what I wanted this time), outright pouts, looking away, looking down, looking up, looking everywhere but at me, big cheesy grins which I hate, complete silliness and a total refusal to stop moving insomuch that only one set of eyes could be in focus at any given time!  So, it's not just you!  It's nearly impossible to get pictures of your kids together, especially as the mom, it doesn't matter if you are a professional photographer, your kids don't care about that!  They will still act out and do as they please and engage in all levels and degrees of non cooperation.

So, to prove that I do not have some golden touch but am perfectly and infallibly human, here are some outtakes from my 5 mn photo shoot attempting to get a decent close up picture of my two rugrats...  I don't (generally) share outtake images from my professional shoots seeing as the families would really rather see the photos that end up on the CD's rather than those that don't make the cut so this is a good opportunity to show you that yes, many many images go straight to the "recycling" bin.

Here were my initial attempts, which failed miserably, to produce a nice yet genuine portrait of the two of them... When Ellie smiles really cheesy she ends up with one eye closed...No idea why, it just happens every time!

Gavin insisted on wearing his "treasure bag" (NOT a purse - that's for dad's benefit...) that I knitted him.   I really didn't want it in the photo but had to let go of photographer mode and just let it happen...

Ellie refusing to look at me.

and more looking away but this one I'm keeping:

So, I did manage a few keepers despite the resounding failure of this mini shoot!

Here are the "keepers" and I have yet to decide which one will be the "final" one (if any of these)... I welcome ANY suggestions, you can number them from top to bottom 1 through 5 and leave comments telling me your favorite, it's going to be for a photo jewelry necklace.  I can have the necklace in either square or rectangle format so I cropped them accordingly based on the composition of the shot.  I am tempted to try again for something better but for now this is what I've got to work with...

The Nutcracker

It's only been a few days since my official holiday break started but I am REALLY enjoying this time with my kids and getting caught up on life and my never ending to do list.  Life gets totally put on hold between the months of September through December for me as it's my busiest time of the year workwise.   I feel like I neglect everything during those months, including quality time iwth my little ones so it was a real treat to have a very special mommy/daughter outing today to go see the (shorter for kids version) Nutcracker in San Jose.  I went with my good friend Michelle and her daughter Zoe.  Both girls are 3 yrs old and it was their first time to go see a ballet.  It turned out to be quite the comdey in errors outing (quite a few setbacks to say the least!) but in all, we had the most lovely time and I really hope this becomes an annual tradition for us!  We bought the girls matching Mervyn's outfits for this event and I was abl eto grab a small handful of shots on Michelle's staircase of the two girls before we left.  They granted me a whopping 35 seconds to take pictures before they shouted "no more pictures!", got up, and ran away from me laughing hysterically... So, I basically held my finger down on the shutter for half a minute and grabbed what I could!  The ISO setting had to be 640 due to the indoor lighting and a slow shutter speed of 1/80 handheld so I'm amazed that they turned out as sharp as they did with those settings.  There is some digital noise in the images due to the elevated ISO but I'll take images with noise versus no images at all!

Zoe is quite possibly the most photogenic child whereas my daughter a) won't sit still b) won't look at me c) if she looks at me will give me a goofy look, stick out her tongue or make a scowl... you get the idea.  Still, those two in their matching outfits and giddy 3 yr old excitement were too cute for words.  They argued the whole way there too! Like siblings!  "I'm bigger than you."  "No, I am!"   "No you're not!"   "Yes I am!" etc...  Those two have such similar mischievous personalities that they bicker nonstop everytime they are together and yet they constantly ask to play with each other!  Love-hate thing... :) 

The show was perfect and we had a blast!  I even got a nice photo of Ellie in the car ride with the happiest of grins!  Oh, and the photos of them with their arms in the air is when I got all excited and said: "we're gonna go see REAL ballerinas!!! YIPPEEE!" and they got wrapped up in my excitement and yelled "yippeeee!" with their arms in the air at the same time.  Now, really, how cute are little girls?!

Luci

I took photos of Luci's parents when she was still in utero and we had such a fun photo shoot!  Luke has a quirky sense of humor that I fully appreciate and we had a blast!  Then I got to meet little Luci when she was just a few days old.  Such a precious, sweet little thing.  She was unbelievably in tune with her parents and, even at just a mere couple days old, was turning her head towards the sound of their voices (and only theirs) everytime they spoke.  I was amazed by her alertness and their connection.  I have had the pleasure to keep taking pictures of her and this shoot is one of my all time favorites.  There were just too many good pictures and I had to restrict myself to 30 images!  I posted a series of images with the legs to show that simply using a different style of toning can make a series of similar images feel so different. 

The last image I posted is one that I will personally cherish forever.  I feel like I really captured the loving relationships in this family.  And I don't know if it means so much to me because I've watched them grow as a family from pregnancy to this point and have gotten to know them and really bear witness to their love for each other.  But when I get a shot that melts MY heart, that feels magical to ME (and especially when it's not a photo of my own child) that really speaks to me.  And it's those images that keep inspiring me and motivating me to keep practicing, keep getting better, keep learning more about this wonderful artistic medium that allows you to capture a plethora of thoughts, feelings and emotions in just a fleeting moment.  I could honestly go on and on about my passion for my work and how much it means to me and how much I enjoy it but I sincerely believe that when you look at these images all of that is clear.   I really do pour my heart and soul into each shoot.  Perhaps this is why I'm so wiped out right now after doing so many photo shoots this season.   I put everything I've got and am hugely emotionally invested in each and every one.   I really do hope that shines through.   Kathy and Luke: Enjoy your images!

   

Samara

For starters the story behind this adorable little girl's name is enough to give you goose bumps, it's such a GREAT story!  Samara is such an alert, aware and confident little baby.  It was fun watching her personality really come out over the duration of the shoot.  At first she just stared me down (which most babies this age look away due to stranger anxiety) and then, even though she was having the standard separation frmo mom anxiety that peaks around 10 months, she still managed to do really well throughout the whole shoot.  Mom just kinda sorta had to be *right* there. :)

As you'll be able to see she was a big fan of me doing peekaboo with her and responded quite well to daddy's goofiness.  The silhouettes at the end are so vibrant.  The quality of a silhouette shot depends entirely on the position and intensity of the sun.  I have found that the summertime silhouettes are kinda blah and the wintertime silhouettes are WOW!  Something about the positioning of the sun is what I've been told.  Same technique, totally different results all depending on the season. Pretty interesting if you ask me!

It was a pleasure meeting you folks and I hope you enjoy your images!!!

 

Zoe and Eli

Well, my Saturday shoot got cancelled due to a last minute injury (poor thing!) and as I was making my way down my long waiting list to fill the slot my husband called and informed me that he was being ordered to stay at work on forced Overtime (staffing issues) in between his regular shifts and previous overtime shift so he's been gone for four days now...(ah, the life of a firefighter's wife...) I'm glad he called me before I had given away the slot, so it fortunately all worked out in the end.  Due to this sudden change though, I had an unexpected couple days and was able to put together a Holiday newsletter, work on my photography workshop book, update my neglected personal blog, start sorting through my own kids' photos and decide which ones to put into their also quite neglected baby albums...  Phew!  And yes, between playing outside and doing art projects, my kids watched a lot of videos this weekend...  How do you think I get anything done!? :)

In the meantime, while waiting for my next shoot's images, here are a handful I took last week of my friend Michelle's little girl Zoe.  Zoe and my daughter Ellie are good friends and have similar personalities.  I took Zoe alone for a few minutes and got some fantastic images of her during that time.  Then when mom came out, naturally, everything fell apart, as tends to happen at this age!  I know this all too well with my own...  But I did get a couple cute ones of Eli, the big brother, and the last one posted here is my all time favorite sibling shot ever.  I would pay good money to have a shot like this of my own kids but, of course, my OWN kids won't cooperate with me!  All attempts to get this shot with them has failed miserably, cause it's me, MOM, taking the photo... Sigh...  So, at least being able to capture this for someone else was rewarding in and of itself! :)

Cole

This little dude was soooooo cute!  He had me in stitches because during almost the entire shoot he kept giving me either the "Perplexed"  look (actually more of a concentration look and I'll keep that as an inside joke...!) or the "open mouth fly trap" look.  And although I was totally amused by both of them, I think mom and dad were ready for some variety in the repertoire, so we had some fun swinging him and voila, the most contagious grin ever.  Love that little guy.   The feet and swinging shots are my absolute favorites.  I had not done that version of the foot shot in a long time and I'm so glad I remembered it, it was a great solution for a baby that can't quite sit up on his own yet and just needs a little support.  This family is so incredibly photogenic that it was nearly impossible to take a bad shot.  See for yourself and pay particularly close attention to the first image as you will see that look on Cole again...and again... and again!  I dare you not to laugh out loud.  And there's plenty more on the CD :)  It was a pleasure meeting you all, hope everything "came out" ok... yeah, another inside joke...

Kyra and Riley

So, I have a feeling that when mom looks at these photo she's either going to laugh or cry (or both!).  You see, our shoot was fraught with one setback after another. From the ominous rain clouds surrounding us, to the ridiculously frigid temperatures and everything in between including a minor head injury that put the cabash on everything and a toddler that was kinda sorta not interested in having any pictures taken whatsoever.  Like, at all.   I actually drove home feeling a little depressed that I had not managed to accomplish my usual goal of stellar photos.   To say I was surprised by the fact that I managed to get ANY photos at all is an understatement, much less THESE photos.  I hope mom is as pleasantly surprised as I was, especially considering the "working conditions" we encountered! :)

The good news is dad was a world class champion reflector holder (!) and you can totally see the brilliant light he managed to get me on these photos.  It made a huge difference in the results especially with the light situation we had.  I hope Kyra's little forehead is doing better today!