If you've read my previous blog post, "Photographing a Camping Adventure:  Toddlers & Nature", then you'll have a little clue about where this post is going...

Family adventures are, in my opinion, an important part of growing up.  These adventures can really be anything that gives the family an opportunity to explore new places, see new things, simply spend quality time together, and make lasting memories.

For my family, camping isn't an every month thing, but it's a something that we all enjoy doing.  For me and the wife, it's a chance to get outside, enjoy nature, and relax away from the hubbub of normal everyday life.  For our son, it's a chance to explore nature and get as dirty as possible doing it; it's also a chance for us to spend time with him, bending our bed time rules, and imparting important life lessons.

Freelensing, have you heard this term before?

Over the years, I've heard the term more than a few times. I knew what it was, but I'd never experimented with it before, that is until the other night.

Freelensing is a technique of taking photos where the lens is not firmly mounted to the camera. By not mounting the lens to the camera, focusing is accomplished by moving the lens in or out and tilting the lens until the portion of the image you want is in focus. Also, by not mounting the lens on the camera you lose the ability to control the lens's aperture, but you introduce a very cool effect and have the added benefit of achieving in camera light leaks.

So the other night I was sitting with my son as he took a bath, as I often do. He was content playing in his bubbles by himself, so I took the time to break out the camera with the hopes of catching him doing something totally silly. As I sat there with my 50mm f1.4 lens mounted on the camera, he was being mostly subdued in his bath antics and I was a little bored, so I decided on the spot to try my hand a freelensing.

Daily life can span the gamut from the mundane to the absolutely crazy, especially when you have a kid or multiple kids running around.  Too often though we forget that within our daily life, no matter how crazy, there are moments and things worth documenting and remembering.

I mean sure, as a parent we're always looking for those big milestones we "need" to document:  first steps, birthdays, first time riding a bike without training wheels, and the list goes on.  But, how many of the daily activities or shenanigans that go on do we overlook because they happen everyday?

You may not have thought about it yet, but how long do you think some of those daily activities or shenanigans are going to keep going?  Will the kiddo always be coming into the room without undies on and turning around and yelling "Tushie!!" with a big smile on their face (an almost daily occurrence in my house)?  Hopefully not, but it's not a shenanigan I want to forget.  What about, that smile my boy has as he stands on the stool admiring himself in the mirror while we brushes his teeth?  I certainly don't want to forget that, and there are countless others as well.

How do we preserve those memories if we don't photograph them?  Memory loss happens with old age, it's a fact we can't dispute, and unless your name is Benjamin Button we aren't going to ever get any younger.

Fall is most definitely upon us, even here in Southern California.  Despite the nearly 30 degree temperature changes every day the weather remains nice, sometimes too nice, but this past Sunday was an absolutely perfect day for a scenic drive, pumpkin picking, and apple pie.

Julian, California is a small town situated about 60 miles to the northeast of San Diego.  Julian is best known for the apple orchards and is home to the Julian Pie Company, but this quaint little town has a lot more to offer.  Among its other offerings, we think Julian's pumpkin patches are among some of the best in the area, so we packed up the car this past Sunday and headed out to pick some pumpkins.  Our destination, a little family owned/operated farm outside of Julian proper across from the Apple Tree Inn on the Julian Highway (State Route 79).

This is the second year in a row we've gone up to this farm for pumpkins.  Last year, we had originally ventured to Julian to pick apples, but only to find out the apple season was already done.  We stopped at the Julian Mining Company to check things out there, pan for some gemstones, and happened upon their pumpkin patch across the street.  We loved it so much we had to go back this year.

The pumpkin patch is located about 200 yards south of the Julian Mining Company's main site, and has tons of free parking.  More than just pumpkin picking the pumpkin patch offers a petting zoo with some very friendly goats, hayrides, apple cider pressing, and the opportunity to throw a tomahawk and shoot a few arrows on their archery range.