What's going on?

It has been a while since anyone has posted, so I ask what's going on? We've been keeping busy since the New Year. My den remodel has consumed my every waking moment (well, not really, just every free moment my daughter gives me.) Andrew: I really appreciate all of the help getting the french doors hung, but I recently had to rip out the ceiling joists and replace them. I will post pics soon. Penny is 15.5 lbs now, rolling over belly to back and vice versa, and now sitting up for long periods of time. She is also eating a lot more food, and pooping way too much for a little 6 month old girl. Hope all is going well for everyone in the New Year!

Brace yourselves

I realize that many of you will be in danger of cardiac arrest at the sight of these photos, so please sit down and breathe deeply and slowly, in through the nose and out through the elbow. My brother and awesome sister-in-law had a 2nd-birthday party for Leila on xmas eve, and, desperately needing social contact, distraction, and cake, I attended. Within mere moments i grew tired of the in-law half of the family and settled down on a vacant couch to watch Mr Magoo's Christmas Carol with the kiddies. Leila, who freaking adores me, quietly slid off of her couch and clambered onto mine, ending up, in varying degrees of squirm-osity, draped all over me. Luckily, at a 2 year old's birthday party, just when you need a camera, there is bound to be one (or 3) around. Isn't she cute? I think she looks like me. ;-)

Boston

Unclehood freaking rules. Eli is awesome, and has a bright future as a professional arm-wrestler.



I'll probably be in Simsbury Friday night, y'all wanna party Saturday or Sunday?

Help Andrew help himself

So, I'm trying to scan all ~500 of my "best of" slides from my photography career.

It's a long process. Each one takes about 20 minutes to scan, plus up to 30 minutes of rework (because the scanner doesn't get it perfect), per image. That's a lot of work.

Because of that, I am reaching out to the community here: vote on which one you like better, and why. It will drive how I configure the automated image handling, and how I edit my work coming off the scanner.

Before someone says "Hey, different pictures, different looks!", realize that I'm taking that into account, and I'm looking for a far more nuanced opinion that these two pictures let on to.

So, without further ado:

Picture A (links to a semi-huge image):



Picture B (links to a semi-huge image):



For what it is worth, A is a little closer to the actual slide in terms of overall tonality, but B is closer in terms of the highlights. These are both raw from the scanner, except to crop out the "margins" of black from where it picks up the slide holders. These are two scans of the EXACT SAME SLIDE, versus two different slides.

Vote in the comments... help me help myself! (and save me endless hours of furious post editing)

Uncle Jeremy

Sorry for the consecutive posts, but as of 6:30 am EST I am officially an uncle. Eli Theodore Banzaert and his mother are both extremely well, if exhausted. Like the rest of my family, I am utterly thrilled.

US Tour 2007

I'll be heading stateside in December, and would be just thrilled to meet up with anyone who's available.

12/13 San Francisco
12/16 Boston
12/26 Putney
12/29 Tokyo

Most likely I'll be in Simsbury for most of the 16-26 interval, but I can take buses or whatnot as necessary. Unrelatedly, here are pictures of a praying mantis, a bean seller, and me attempting to climb up the tricky side of a large rock.

I love the holidays!

Hello everyone! I am coming away from several wonderful days with my family and I wanted to share some images with you all. Two weeks ago, Andrew and I packed up our Subaru in Ohio and drove to Connecticut. Twelve hours and two pit-stops later, we had beef stew and a bonfire with my mother and her boyfriend at their house in Granby. The next night, we drove to Bellingham, Massachusetts to have a pre-Thanksgiving turkey dinner with Andrew’s mom, his brother and sister, and their significant others. A few days later, we were driving to my father’s in Bar Harbor, Maine, making stops in Kittery and Portland to visit my aunt and uncle, then my sister. We filled our souls with meaningful family interactions the way we filled our stomachs with holiday foods—with such appetite! After months of being in Ohio, we’ve missed everyone.

Here is a picture of my father, stepmother, and little brother Mac on Sand Beach in Acadia National Park two days after Thanksgiving. In addition to hiking, eating, visiting, and enjoying the autumnal beauty of the weekend, we also went to a Roomful of Blues concert in Ellsworth. It was really rockin’!

Another piece of happy news: Andrew’s sister Meghan and her longtime boyfriend Brett are engaged! Brett took Meghan to the peak of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park the day after Thanksgiving, asked her to marry him, and she said yes! We had pizza with the happy couple that night:

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving all around! Andrew then flew to London for the week, and I went to visit my mom again in CT. My sister Sarah came down from Maine with her son Alex, and my aunt Margaret, who is recovering from surgery, was able to spend time with us as well. My nephew Alex is a 28-month-old, 3-foot-tall, red-headed bundle of sunshine and smiles. It is impossible to be in a bad mood when he is around. He has just started talking, and let me tell you, when he calls me "Auntie Jessie" in that sweet little voice, I practically swoon.
I'm just bursting with the desire to share the cuteness with you!