Thank you for our fathers

On the eve of Father's day here in Australia, let's pray for those men who are lost, for those who cause grief and pain to our world, so that they may find sanity and once again become human.
Let's pray for our young men, growing up the midst of war, poverty and abuse. May they heal and bring about change in their worlds.

Let's give thanks for all the men in our families and around the globe for they complete our family circles and work hard to support their partners and children. Lastly, let's give thanks for those who have gone beyond this world, for they are in our hearts, immortalised in future generations.

Frijolito - part II

Introducing Leonardo Antonio!

I was lucky to capture the following images of Sofia and Benjamin's little frijolito.
He was a wonderful model and was alert throughout the whole shoot. Wishing them all the best in raising this wonderful gift from God.

My first Sue Bryce inspired photoshoot

I set up the room as follows: using the backlight coming from the glass double doors, the wall on the left of the image and the cube/ couch for a staggered pose.
I softened the light with a sheer curtain, using pegs to hold it together as we are yet to furnish this room.
The ladder in the background came in handy, and I think I will need to carry one if I ever go on-site :P

I was quite nervous when we first started, my mind seemed to shut down my creative side, even though I had already planned the session. It is the feeling you have when you are going to a job interview!
But once the girls arrived and we got started, it became easier and I was able to create quite nice images, that my clients and I were very happy with.
I was also happy with the fact that I was able to create these photographs in just this space!

I shot with my only camera body which is Canon 550D, and Canon 50mm 1.8. I don't have any big reflectors, so I bounced the light off the ceiling using a Metz 44 AF-1.

Happy Birthday to you

On this day, today, the man I love was born.

As a child, I dreamt of him, in the wrong place,

Saw him in the wrong people.

But I searched, and without expecting,

as these things often happen,

Found him.

Today I am grateful for having him in my life,

For being the father of my child.

For walking alongside me,

Sharing, crying, laughing.

He knows all this,

I remind him how much he’s loved.

But I had planned to write this post,

Wishing him a very Happy Birthday!

Tribute

Two weeks ago, we learnt of the passing of a dear friend of ours, Padre Ricardo Grenat.

Like us, he arrived in Australia in 1991, and just like us, he had to adjust to everything in this new land.

Back in El Salvador we were very active in the Catholic church. As a family it was all we knew, and most of the friends we left behind were those we met through the church.

We had a synergy with Father Ricardo from the first day we attended mass. Being a South American Jesuit, he was passionate about social justice, not just in the Americas, but around the world.

He was in tune with the social issues here in Australia; every homily was special; there was always something new to learn and to practice outside the church. He encouraged us to be active and be more 'human'.

He admired the people of El Salvador, for having Monseñor Romero as our patron. The theology of liberation is something we all became familiar with after leaving Latin America. While living in El Salvador, during the civil war, it was not easy to know all the facts, let alone speak about it. The Catholic church, however, via many priests, did speak out and defended the poor to the death. Father Ricardo was of this pedigree.

He left in 1999 for Venezuela and remained there until he passed. Australia was perhaps not challenging enough: he was a doer, and as a missionary, he probably would rather be in amongst the most needy. He officiated at my sister's wedding - it was his last mass in this country. It was a happy and sad day, because he had to leave the next day. We knew we would not meet anyone like him again.

Hasta siempre Padre Ricardo.

When dreams collide by Ian Ruhter

When Dreams Collide from Ian Ruhter : Alchemist on Vimeo.

Watched this video via chasejarvisLive. I had heard of Ian, but it was a great experience to watch him on CJLive and followed by his video above.
Their dedication and humility is admirable and it's the way we should nurture our lives, at home and at work.

I hope one day I get the opportunity to purchase one of Ian's prints.

Mum+Dad = me

I was listening to the radio on my way home one day. The discussion was about the time in your life when you realize you are turning into your Mum or Dad. This happened to me after our baby was born.

My Mum's side of the family is very musical and I've been lucky enough to have inherited some musical genes. When I was little I remember listening to my mum go about her domestic chores, singing or humming. Nowadays I do the same.
Something I am yet to master is her cooking though (picture of one of her dishes above). She turns anything into a delicious treat. The tastiest dishes I remember were from our time in El Salvador; I remember watching her choose the meat or veggies at the local market (and sometimes the supermarket) and later on prepare these ingredients for a meal. My favourite meal is our traditional Bean soup, which normally takes about an hour to cook depending on the density of the bean. My mum would start preparing this and tell me it would soon be ready even though she might have just started preparing it; somehow this shortened the time I had to wait!

Physically I am the female version of my Dad. He likes to whistle, and I think he whistles when he's worried or working on something manual. He used to have a reward system to encourage us to do well at school; so we did, most of the time anyway! I've adopted this system and I believe it works well; it's not perfect, but it drives you towards the realisation that you should do what's good for its own sake and because it benefits all.
My Dad has that 'I've got nothing to lose' attitude and it was this attitude that helped us get here (Australia). I hope his persistence has rubbed off on me.