pascale wowak photoblog

whirlwind

The past month has been a total whirlwind.  Just complete chaos really.  And not the good kind either.  Because there really is good chaos.  Really!  But not this time.  So, the blog has been put on the backburner as I've been putting out fires left and right and managing a bunch of really challenging situations, including having my poor puppy (actually, he's a massive, muscular 100 lb, 18 month old puppy, so not the little tiny furball you might be envisioning when I say the word 'puppy') need two urgent surgeries under general anesthesia just in the past week alone....  It's been pretty awful.  The worst part is that after the first surgery he developed a terrible bacterial infection due to what we think was a latex allergy from all the latex adhesive tape they used to bandage up his head... so now he is on 2 weeks antibiotics and needs to have his wounds cleaned out every day and his bandages changed every day and wear a cone for another 2-3 weeks MINIMUM.   And this is a HIGH energy dog who is used to running with me every morning, enjoying long romps on the beach and doggie play-dates with equally rambunctious doggie friends.   OY VEY.   Tack onto that the kind of month where everything that COULD go wrong, DOES go wrong.... we all know those days and weeks and months....  Let's just say 2011 started off on the wrong side of the bed!  Geesh.

So, I really apologize for the total lack of updates and new material.  I'm usually SO much more active and on top of things when it comes to my business and my blog.   Life just kinda took over there.  And now, I am going to be out of town for 10 days.   My 6 year old daughter and I are leaving on the trip of a lifetime, which I've been saving up for for the past 6 years, since I was pregnant with her!  We are going back to France (where I was born and am originally from) to visit friends and family.  I'm leaving behind my son and puppy.  And trying not to think about how much I'm going to miss them.  I've arranged all kinds of fun stuff for my boy so I know he is going to have a blast.  But still.... I've never been away from either of my kids (or dog) for more than 3 nights.   So, a little anxiety there.    Having said that, I have been looking forward to this trip for ages and I just can barely contain myself thinking about it.  Just a few more days and I'll be back "home"....  :)

So, I thought I'd do a couple things here.  I want to leave you with a recipe for a super duper yummy vegetarian quiche I make.  In honor of my Paris trip of course!  And also, since many of you are new fans from the Rock That OCF giveaway I just did for my friend Ali, I will leave you with a discount coupon code for my Nitty Gritty E Book for $24 off the regular price.    The code is:  rockthatocf

I promise to share pictures of my Paris adventure here upon my return but I'm not planning on taking the big camera out with me every day.  Since I speak french, I kinda just want to blend in with my daughter and get the non-tourist experience some days and just wander fancy-free without any set plan or anything.   I haven't been back to Paris in almost a decade and it's going to be wonderful to re-visit my favorite spots with my daughter and see them fresh through her little 6 year old eyes and my old memories intermingled therein.   I've also got a ton of shoots in May so there will be plenty of new content here, I promise!  :)

Thanks for your patience everyone!

Oh, and also, I came across this link with some fun FREE activities to plan for during summer break with your kids.  I know it seems far away but it isn't (gasp!) and if you are anything like me, summer break means working from home with kids underfoot going bonkers because they are seeing too much of each other and outside of their normal scheduled day is NOT the idyllic summer for THE MOM!  Egad! :)  Hope this helps stave off the boredom that can lead to craziness!

CLICK HERE FOR LINK

And now, the recipe!

LEEK, GRUYERE, MUSHROOM, ONION QUICHE:

(this makes 2 quiches)

2 tbsp flour

6 eggs

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup half and half

4 cups shredded chees (I use either shredded gruyere or Trader Joe's Quattro blend)

2 large leeks, chopped

1 cup chopped white onion

lots of garlic

a couple cups of sliced crimini mushrooms

A bunch of really skinny asparagus.

And then I used premade dough because I just DO NOT have the time for that.  So, I had the dough pre-bake in the quiche pans for 15 mn while I tended to the rest.

In one pan, I sauteed the mushrooms with the garlic.  In another, I sauteed the leeks and onions.   In a bowl I whisked the eggs and flour along with the whipping cream and the half and half and then added the cheese to this egg mixture and stirred some more.

Once the dough was ready, I split the mushrooms into two servings and spread each into the bottom of each quiche pan over the baked dough.  Then I spread the onion/leek mixture (split again) on top of that.  And then I doled out the egg/cheese mixture on top of all that.  I topped it all off with the asparagus, (see picture).   Oven to 350 degrees for 30-45 mn (or so, depends entirely on your oven, just make sure egg mixture is firm) and VOILA.   My house smells soooo good and it was soooo yummy!

Oh and here is my poor pup Kooper right after his FIRST surgery.  He had to have another one just 5 days later.  He is still miserable...  :(

One eared wonder.  We love him so.

The D. Family

I love meeting and photographing new families.   Because my beloved, loyal, "regulars" book nearly all my slots practically a year in advance, I only have a handful of free slots for "fresh blood" (hahahahaha!) every given year.  So, while I absolutely cherish the familiarity, joy and comfort of photographing clients I have known and watched evolve over the past 6+ years, I also like the surprise of the unexpected while meeting new clients.  And this family definitely did not disappoint in the "excitement" department!   Nathan and Jacob are two HIGH energy boys and total BOYS with a capital B!

I joked with Jennifer that Jacob tricked me because when we met in the parking lot, he jumped out of the car and came running up to me and quite literally threw himself into my arms giving me the BEST bear hug on the planet.  I looked at Jennifer and said "is he for real!?"  After all, he'd never met me and this is how he greets me!?  What an angel, I thought!  She tried to warn me about his mischievous personality... but it was too late.  I was completely and totally smitten.    Well, needless to say, mom was right.  He has a BIG personality in that little 5 yr old body and is quite the character.  Both boys kept me on my feet.  Literally.  Chasing them.  Trying to convince them to stop their bodies for a nanosecond.  To not cause injury to each other if within a foot of each other... ha!  But throughout it all, they had fun and I had fun and we all laughed at their crazy antics.  I can imagine that there is never a dull moment in that household!

So, thank you D. family for bringing some spice to my lazy Sunday afternoon!   ENJOY your images!

out of my cold, dead hands....

My Iphone.  Yup, my Iphone.  They'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands,  :)

As a professional photographer, I tend to get too perfectionistic, too clinical, too much of a purist when it comes to taking pictures.  Even just "casual" pictures of my own kids.  It's hard to just "grab" random shots without getting sucked into the vortex of analyzing, looking for light, feeling the vibe, watching the backdrop, checking the white balance, assigning the  focal point, looking for shadows, controlling the composition, etc....  

I just sometimes feel like I get too enmeshed (or stunted?) with the *details* instead of just letting loose and non-chalantly grabbing "snapshots"...  It's like "snapshots" is a dirty word for me or something.  I almost feel as though I should be creating art with every image I take, whether it is for a client or for myself.  And the self imposed pressure of that means I don't take out my "real" camera with my own kids nearly as often as I should.  And that's just plain silly.  

This is where my beloved Iphone comes into play.  As a piddly CAMERA PHONE, there is NO unrealistic expectation involved.  The only expectation is that, truly, you're gonna end up with a small res camera phone snapshot.  And that's exactly the point.  With all the options and considerations taken out of the equation, I can just mindlessly grab and snap with total freedom and peace of mind.  I KNOW I'm just gonna get a crappy snapshot.  And I'm OK with that because there is no other choice!

The whole point with my Iphone is that it is with me at all times, always at the ready and always available to grab those little moments and memories without having to put any thought whatsoever into the process of capturing that memory.   And that's the beauty of it.   And because of this, I take pictures of the kids with my iphone EVERY SINGLE DAY.  Pictures (and short videos) of practically every cute little thing imaginable.  I call them "snippets" of our life together.  I am in love with these "snippets".  They represent our true, authentic, day to day life.  Messy bedhead, jammies, dirty house, etc... just REAL life.  And if there's one thing I treasure it's authenticity.   My iphone allows me the freedom and ease to just grab and shoot at any given moment in time, no matter where we are or what we are doing.  It's practically an extension of my hand at this point.   

We've had some pretty stressful challenges over the past few months and I'm been very absent over here on the blog while focusing my attention on my kids and trying to keep myself in a good "space" so I can continue to meet everyone's needs.  I've been spending the free time that I have with my kids and going on long walks on the beach with my dog.  Staying centered and balanced as a mom is so critical in order to be the multi-tasking superwomen that we are.  I simply cannot be an effective mom, business owner, maid, cook, etc... if I'm not taking the time to slow down and BREATHE and rid myself of any negativity that threatens to swallow me up.  The past couple months were my normal "downtime" with regard to my business and is usually my recoup time to gear up for the coming busy season.  Due to personal exigencies, I was not able to get that much needed downtime, but I did force myself to get out and get fresh air every day and I am so grateful I did.

I also think that all the "snippets" I took over the past few months contributed to me being able to manage all the stress by helping me maintain a sense of perspective throughout my personal trials.  It helped remind me of my many blessings and focus on the wonderful, positive things I have in my life.   I have always believed that maintaining a healthy sense of perspective in one's life is truly the only way to experience happiness.  Having a grateful heart is a surefire way have joy in one's life.  I'm going to share a handful of these "snippets" just from the past week to show you that even "crappy iphone shots" can serve a purpose.  When I look at my (hundreds of) "snippets", they invariably bring a smile to my face.  I am easily able to look past the clear technical inadequacies of such a device and instead focus on the MOMENT that was captured and the memory of what was going on at that moment.  All of these snippets are small, seemingly insignificant, moments I would never have taken the trouble, time or effort to document with my "real" camera and yet, I am so happy I have them now.  All this to say, basically, there's never a "good" time or the "right" time to take pictures.  ANY time, ANY way and with ANY device works, because the purpose is to help freeze your own memory.  The mere act of TAKING the image freezes it in your psyche and leaves you with a tangible reminder with which you can share with your children one day.  It cements it, so to speak.  And therein lies the greatest gift of all when it comes to my snazzy little Iphone.  

I want to thank everyone for being so patient with my neglect here on this blog.  I'm ready to refocus my attention on it and get back into the swing of things!   I have shoots coming up this week and all the school spring portraits are done.  Back on track!

HAPPY SPRING!

Gavin knows I love all things "owl" and so he spent days working on this elaborate and intricate "secret owl" design which is an owl with billions of little people living in it and even a baby owl hidden within the mama owl... I just love it.  I especially loved the time he put into it.  So I grabbed a shot when he handed it to me.  Good thing I did because he has since misplaced it and we can't find it anywhere....

 

Ellie still loves to draw on her Magna Doodle in the car, this was a picture of her and Gavin, which I quickly grabbed a picture of at a red light before she erased it to start on a new drawing.

 At grandma's yesterday.

Kooper's paw prints in the sand always make me smile.

Ellie was having a hard time understanding the various characters, functions and point system in Angry Birds so Gavin drew up this cheat sheet to help her.  I thought that was so sweet of him!

 

My kids, inexplicably, like to play Legos in our tiny, cramped, bathroom...at the sink...while singing A Cappella.  We're weird, what can I say?  But it's so stinking cute that I grabbed a video last night with my Iphone since it was so handy... I know I'll look back fondly on this. :)     The password for the video is: iwannabe

 

Personal Penguin from pascale wowak on Vimeo.