Farm Animal Fun

I love to be able to give my son different experiences. A short while ago we went to Golden Ridge Animal Farm in Dural. He loved seeing lots of different animals, feeding them and running off ahead of me as he went off to investigate.

All of the animals we saw were very interested in us. They came over to the fences and tried to get as close to us as they could.We were able to give them some food and they were all very eager to have their share.

There were some animals that were not in paddocks as well. It was lovely to see this and be able to walk around with them.

As well as capturing images of lots of different animals, I also loved to capture close-ups of some of their details that are usually over-looked.

A walk in the rain

Although it had rained in the morning, when the rain stopped I decided to go for a walk to see if I could get any more photos. I went for a walk to the nearby park and was able to catch a few nice shots near the river. 

The above photo of the ducks near the river is my favourite from the day. I love how I was able to catch a photo of the group of ducks spread out near the river. I especially like the duck in the foreground. Unfortunately I was unable to catch him front on, but i like how you can see the colours in his feathers in this picture.

A Rainy Day

Yesterday it was raining... but I decided that this was not going to stop me from taking some more photos. I took quite a few lovely images of trees and flowers that i could see out my windows. I like the way they look it the rain. The colours are more vibrant and the leaves appear to shimmer with the water running over them. My son also loved to be out on our balcony, running up and down as the rain came down.

  

Thomas Play

Before I begin this blog, for those of you who have been wondering what the last two photographs were of, at the end of my previous blog 'A visit to Elizabeth Farm' here are the answers... The first photo was of a door bell. You would pull out the centre button and the bell could be heard in the different rooms throughout the house.  The second photo was of a water purifier. The water would collect in the top and drip down through the stone and get collected in the bowl underneath. Did you guess them correctly?

Today I decided to share some pictures of my son playing. As I'm sure, just like many other little boys, my son LOVES Thomas the tank engine! He plays with his trains everyday and I love to capture his play and see his expressions.

A visit to Elizabeth Farm

A few weeks ago I went to Elizabeth Farm in Rosehill with my son. I love to try and go to different locations to get a variety of images. I especially loved the history and the large gardens they have there that are filled with many beautiful flowers and trees.

The small green plant on the left was actually growing off a larger tree, it looked so interesting because it looks like was growing on the ground.

There were so many beautiful plants and trees that were all intriguing, so I tried to get some pictures from different angles. The photograph below is of some cactus. I took the image this way so I could show the length of the spikes.

There was also a small 'forest' of giant bamboo in the gardens and my son loved to venture in, but only a little way. I think maybe they were a little bit too big for him!

I took these next two pictures at Elizabeth Farm too and thought I would ask you what you thought they might be. I will let you know what they are in my next blog :) 

Play time in the yard

My son, like many other toddlers, loves to play outside. He enjoys getting dirty and taking his little bucket, and filling it up with all of the little treasures he finds in the backyard. I love to watch him as he runs around finding things he thinks are special to place in his bucket for safe keeping.  

When I'm taking photos, I love to take them from different angles and to get a different perspective of the situation. To me, this makes for more interesting photos. It also allows you to see the world from a different point of view, for example a bird's eye view, looking down from above, or a child's view, by getting down to their eye level to see what they see.

In this next image, I love how the foreground and background aren't entirely in focus, so as all your attention is focused on Riley and what he is doing. It almost gives us a glimpse into his world and makes us wonder;b what is in the bucket? and what is he going to do with it? Children are not small for long, so I love it when I can capture his expressions, his concentration and the way he use his hands as he carries on during his play.

An outing to the beach

I love taking photos at the beach as there are so many interesting things to photograph. My family and I recently went to The Basin, opposite Palm Beach and had a wonderful time. My son loved running around, splashing in the water and playing in the sand. We don't often take him to the beach, so I loved seeing him sit and play, making little hills, and just exploring all that he could.

The photos of my son where he was in the water are my favourite as you can see his shadow in the water, and I especially love the ripples moving away from his as jumps and moves.

I love the look children get when they are looking at something, and you just know they are thinking very hard, or trying to figure something out. This next photo shows my son pulling a cart and looking up at a huge tree. To me it seems like he is trying to figure out how he can get to the top, or maybe he is wondering what he would find if he could climb up there.

I find that capturing people's expressions is important as it can help to tell a story or just brighten up someone's day. This next photo is another of my favourites of our day at the beach. It is my son and his grandpa on the boat ride. They both love playing and chatting to each other. A very special moment to capture.

Child's Play

As a mother of a little boy, I am aware of his very short attention span. I also understand that he can find many situations fascinating, even if we as adults may not because we have seen it or experienced it many, many times before. As I watch my child at play I enjoy joining in, as well as just quietly watching him play alone. I love watching him as he creates his own stories in play, as well as discovering new things for the first time, and seeing the wonder, excitement or even the look of concentration on his face as he plays. As adults, I'm sure that we find it hard, or even frustrating that sometimes our children find seemingly easy tasks difficult, but if we try, we can see how our children are figuring things out, right in front of our eyes.

I love to take photos of my child playing, from different angles. The same photo from different angles can show how children see their world differently to us. As his play and concentration may not last very long, I love how the photos I take can be a way that I can return to that moment and remember how he was as he grows. My son also enjoys looking at the photos with me and points to them as if to say, 'that's me' or even 'I remember that'.

If you would like me to take similar photos like this of your child, or even at their birthday party, please email me at penny_85@live.com.au

Also please feel free to comment on any photos from my blog, so I can have opinions from different people.

First Photos

Recently, we went to see the hot air balloons at Parramatta Park on Australia Day. Whilst there I found this to be a great opportunity to capture some wonderful photos to record the occasion.

Some of the balloons where wonderfully coloured.

Riley had so much fun chasing after the bubbles.