I found this little gem on my Lumix point and shoot. I remember when I shot it. We were at Shoreline Grill eating dinner and the boys were running around on the beach chasing their new companion, Ryan. The sun starting going down and all of a sudden they just stopped and, like Rob (Ryan's Dad) and I, relaxed for a moment and enjoyed the view.

I know, I know...it's not Monday. Let's just call this a wednesday lesson then.  The holiday season is in full swing here at the studio and it's getting busy here!

On monday I had a basic photography class at my studio for the members of the Bellaire Young Mothers organization. One of the things that I talked about was how, when we grab our cameras and go to take some pictures of our kids, we often meddle with and stop the very activity that they are doing that inspired us to photograph them. We start directing them and asking them to do this and move over here and look up. They get annoyed, give us that cheesy grin to make us go away and we end up frustrated. Ever been there?

I would like to challenge you to try something different. The next time you look over and see the kids playing or doing something cute, go secret agent style with your camera. Grab the camera and use your zoom lens to get close to them (but stay back) and photograph them as they are without direction. If you can be really sneaky, grab the camera and sit down with them and play a little while you shoot them doing whatever they are doing. The big key here is minimal direction and interference!

When we were on vacation this past summer, the house that we rented has a little garden in the front and it was full of snails. One of the kid's favorite activities was collecting the snails and making a "snail home" as they called it. One afternoon I heard them chit chatting away out there and peeked out. The sky was overcast (a great time to shoot by the way) and they were playing happily together (not always the case). So, I grabbed my camera and went outside and just watched them and photographed them playing. The only direction that I gave them was, at one point, I said "Cool! Show me your snail, hold it up so I can see!". I didn't move them or ask them get closer or "look up and smile!" or anything like that.

We all want the image of our kids looking straight at the camera and smiling. We want the picture of all 3 or both of them (or however many you have) together and looking up and smiling. Keep chasing that shot but, while you're at it, try this too. Your kids will appreciate less meddling and you will get some nice candid shots. I would love to hear how you do with it.

And this is the snail home that they made...

Now it's your turn...think stealth, spy-like, unobtrusive, a journalist! Have fun and I'd love to hear how it goes.

They have an entire area devoted to jellyfish, awesome!

the boys, awed by the jellies...

This aquarium was incredible, it was 2 stories! And...it had sharks so Finnian was psyched!

This was the lower story of that same tank. I love that image of Finnian on the right. This tank and the one where you got to touch everything were his favorites.

The aquarium had a special seahorse exhibit while we were there. Sayer knows what my favorite sea creature is. I was standing next to one exhibit when Sayer came running up to me. He was so excited, "Close your eyes Mommy! Close your eyes!". He led me through the crowd to this...he said, "Your favorite!". It was so sweet.

I love these little guys. For me, this is a perfect example of how incredible our world is. I could have watched him swim around forever. When they are carrying eggs, you can see them all clustered on the outside of their bellies. I would not classify myself as religious but this creature is my version of God. This is our natural world in all of it's amazing glory.

There is your little taste. If you haven't been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, put it on your bucket list. It's an incredible place!

and made a few wishes

and made tiny discoveries.

Next up, we found a little beach along the 17-mile drive that had beautiful bright white sand, barking seals, and amazing tide pools. Inside all the little nooks and crannies of the rocks you had an incredible variety of marine life. The world is such an amazing place.

We spent hours exploring this little beach and practically had to drag them away. This is my favorite thing about traveling - you never know what you might find. We never planned this excursion and it ended up being one of the kid's favorite things that we did. Do you have any little finds like this? Some amazing little gem that you found on one of your journeys? I'd love to hear about them.

When you are standing here there is no guard rail or fence...just you one step away from a sheer drop. This is the same view as the above image but without Steven and Sayer.