One of the questions that I get most often is what equipment I use when I photograph my kids on vacation. I keep it super simple...the key thing here is "vacation". I don't want to miss the experience of the moment in an effort to document it. For this trip I brought my Lumix point-and-shoot (and never used it) and my Canon 5D Mark II with one lens (Canon's 24-70mm F2.8). I did not bring a flash. My choice of equipment (no flash and no point and shoot) did mean a few lost opportunities but I enjoyed having a little time to myself without worrying about the perfect shot. You'll have to visit my Facebook page to see the iphone shots of my Princess Leia costume though. I meant to bring the P&S but forgot (and regretted it actually because our costumes were awesome!).

A few liner notes on the shots...
1. The shot of the castle through the trees is from the top of the treehouse at the Magic Kingdom in case you were curious.
2. The dark shot with the lasers in the background is from the Buzz LIghtyear ride. That was the girl behind us.
3. There are tons of shots from our character breakfast with Winnie the Pooh. Finnian was beside himself he was so thrilled. You'll see how he was just perched on his seat waiting for them to come to him and then he would pounce and hug!
4. Finnian loves the Cinderella story so we waited in line to meet her but he was so shy he wouldn't even look at her! He told me later that she was just too pretty.
5. The last two shots are from our balcony at The Polynesian.
6. The amazing tree is called The Tree of Life and is at Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's an incredible piece of work. I asked one of the Disney employees how long it took to build it. He said "well, trees take many, many years to grow and that one was no exception".

A few words of advice...
1. It was hot, bring a backpack to haul your camera stuff in so you don't start to hate lugging it around. I carried mine in a little purse/backpack and it was easy.
2. If you plan to get on the water rides, ditch the big camera and bring a point-and-shoot and a ziploc.
3. The fireworks shows are amazing! Crank up the ISO on your camera and turn off your flash for the best shots. 

Anyway, here are some of my favorite images from our trip. Hope you enjoy them!

This past July we took our summer vacation to Santa Barbara. If you read this blog regularly then you probably saw my July posts from our misc. California adventures. We stay away for a month so, as you can imagine, when I return home it is a whirlwind of activity. So, I am playing catch up with some images that I haven't blogged from our trip. Anyone want to virtually visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium this afternoon?

Finn, appreciating some sand dollars

This was a cool spot. It was a clear glass ceiling and a wave crashed over you into a tank on the outside deck. Sayer loved it but, as you can see, Finn was less sure about the whole thing.

Here is the outside part of that big wave aquarium.

I have so much to blog! Since my last entry we're actually back home but, before that, we went to the aquarium, explored Carmel, hiked, seen the best sunrise EVER and more. I need to catch up so I'll start with some exploring in Carmel. After seeing the Monterrey Bay Aquarium (which is a whole other post for later) we set out down the 17-mile drive through Pebble Beach. It's a beautiful drive with dramatic coastal views and cool forests too. We've stopped by the side of the road and did a little hiking...

A few days ago we set off on a road trip from Santa Barbara to Carmel and saw some amazing sights...like crazy, amazing, blow your mind vistas, colors and landscapes. The pictures don't do it justice though. You lose the enormity of it all.

If you have a chance, take this amazing drive. Here's a sampling of what you can see if you take the pacific coast highway route from San Simeon up to Carmel.

One of the first stops would be to see The Hearst Castle in San Simeon. We had done that once before so we opted out for this day but it is a pretty amazing tour. After that, you can pull off the highway to watch a colony of Elephant Seals.

A little bit beyond the seals, the trees and hills get bigger and the views become more and more incredible by the mile.


There were so many places that I wanted to stop and photograph but with 2 kids in the car it makes it a little tricky. The area has tons of campsites and places to stay (hotels, inns, etc. if you are not a camper). However you do it, put this drive on your bucket list. You'll be glad that you did.

Today is Monday and I know that some of you are expecting a Monday photography lesson. I really should be working more and staying on top of things but I can't. I am completely and totally on vacation. Sure, I check email and sometimes my phone messages but when it comes to actually working, I just can't bring myself to do it.

I'm not sure if this will make sense but I feel so happy at times that it makes me actually sad. When I think about going back to the grind my heart just aches a little. I don't want to wake up way too early and race to get everyone to school on time. I don't want to get back into the hot car. I don't want to send the kids off to school all day. I want it to stay very much like it is right now.

My heart is here right now...At least three of the days each week I have sand in between my toes. I might put some makeup on if I think about it, which I usually don't. I am living in flip flops. Everyday I am greeted by the Pacific Ocean and each day it gives you something a little different to see. I pull on a sweater when the sun goes down. I wake up every morning with at least one of my kids in my bed with me. The windows are open all day and the ocean breeze fills the house.

We've been drinking a lot of chocolate milkshakes and watching the sun go down while we play on the beach.

We have been exploring...and finding.

We have been snuggling...a LOT. We've been picking our own vegetables at local farms and spending a lot of time at the farmer's markets (which happen here 6 days a week). I ate corn on the cob the other day that was so good that I literally gasped.

 We picnic at the foot of the Santa Barbara Mission in the Rose Garden.