Desert Light

Driving back from Mammoth after the holidays I insisted we pull the car over when I saw the sun setting over the desert.  With those wispy perfect clouds and dust flying around, I knew what I wanted…jumping photos.  My sister Emily was the perfect jumper until I asked for the 20th time.  But the shot I love the most is above: just Emily (probably whining about jumping 18 times) walking off-kilter in the sand with the sun setting behind her.  The jumping shots below are pretty great too…it was the perfect end to our chaotic family weekend.

 I love this head on shot.  She looks so exuberant.  

 desert sunset

This one I actually set up on the ground and had my sister click so I could jump….I have to practice what I preach, right?

Jumping Traditions: Sound of Music

So, as I've blogged about before, jumping in my family has been a staple in our photos since I was little and my silly mother got her hands on a Philippe Halsman Jump book in the 90s.  So, it has slowly leaked into the photo culture in my group of friends.  My good friend, Jaymi, who is a super talented photographer has been documenting the joy of the jump lately too - and I think her photos tell it all - pure joy, silliness, and fabulous fun!

These shots are so fun, because my friends were in town and we were touring the gorgeous Disney Music Center and as soon as I put the camera on the ground, they said "Oh!  Jumping time?", which made me laugh like a hyena.  It was perfect.  Here are a few of the successful (and silly) shots - we definitely missed the timer more than a few times.  And yes - I'm in them - so it made for an even more difficult shot.  It's all timer and camera placement…which is easy to screw up when you're running into the shot! Too much fun on a Sunday….

First try and we all made it up in the air!

 Not up, but all so ready to jump

 Ugh!  Moved my camera!  Kind of a fun angle though...

my favorite

I love that Sasha is jumping straight, Mason is a bit curved and I look like I'm in a wind tunnel!

For Philippe's book, click here to buy online

Family Traditions

While I'm sure it's not the average American family's Christmas tradition to eat dim sum and wander the streets of Chinatown, it is most certainly what my family looks forward to every year. We enjoy a fabulous traditional Christmas Day with turkey and mulled wine, but every year we gather together in downtown LA and eat cha siu bao until we think our stomachs will explode. This year that blessed event happened today. I figure if you are reading my blog and as it is Christmas, you might as well get a taste of my family since that's what this holiday is all about.

The best part left to mention is that after we stuff ourselves, we head over to the "wishing well" on Broadway, throw pennies, and then….we jump. I honestly can't remember how this tradition started, but this year we were a ridiculous spectacle. I refused to let any kind passerby take the photos when they offered and instead I rigged my camera to a bench and used the timer to start the madness. There are about 20 photos of us laughing as we miss the flash and correct timer. I will save you from the all the rejects but one. We joked about putting out a hat to collect money seeing as we had a large crowd by the time we got one decent shot.

So, here is a very fun way to end the holiday and laugh at some people that are NOT your family:

as close as we got to the money shot…

Want to start your own family tradition in China town? Our favorite restaurant is Empress Pavilion. http://www.empresspavilion.com/

And you can get to the wishing well where these photos were taken by walking around the corner to here:

Wishing well location