Perspective

If you’re an adult, and you fall down and skin your knee, that is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING that will happen to you that day. Maybe that whole week. You’ll be embarrassed initially. Eventually, you’ll tell your friends and coworkers. You may call your mom. If you have a visible injury like a scratch, or a scab, EVERYONE will ask you about it. Really, falling down one time will be the most important thing that happens to you that week.
My son will fall down 104 times today.

Circa 1992

Today is a friend of mine’s child’s picture day at school. Hearing this reminded the group of people I sit with how cool the free plastic combs were on picture day. I remember standing in line at Jefferson Elementary School in Parkersburg, WV, waiting for my teacher to walk down the single-file line and give us each our very own plastic comb. There was nothing better than slicking back your hair and slamming that comb in the back pocket of your corduroys.

As I tried to find a picture of a black plastic comb, I found this hilarious post that shows the other end perspective of the dreaded grooming device: The Desperate Housemommy. The article is a little long, but it’s really funny. Ha-ha funny, not bad hair funny.

Arriba!

Did you know that burrito translates to, “Little Donkey?” Proof.

The name burrito possibly derives from the appearance of a rolled up wheat tortilla, which vaguely resembles the ear of its namesake animal, or from bedrolls and packs that donkeys carried. – Wikipedia

Due to accidental mishap, I was forced to shop for a new lens for my camera. I dropped my 18 – 55mm “kit” lens that came with my Canon XSi. It was a great little lens that met it’s maker too soon. To replace the lens I started on amazon.com and b&h.com but didn’t see anything in my price range. Fortunately, I found a nice lady on Craigslist who was selling her gently used Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras. This is a super convenient “walking around lens” giving both zoom and wide-angle possibilities.

She also sold me a nice Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens which is great for “available light” photos and very clear shots (it doesn’t zoom so the lens is much simpler).

My wife and I also took advantage of the nice weather to take my my son to the park nearby. Yesterday was one of the first days since mid-december that it has been warm enough to go outside and play. Here are some of the photos from the park. You can see the whole set here.

Parker is very close to walking. Here is him on the track pushing his new car he got for Christmas.

We (me included) crawled all over the field playing soccer and taking pictures

We also got to play with sand. The first time since Parker was very small.

Thanks to the folks at work, Amanda, Parker and I went to see the local Minor League Baseball team, the Charleston Riverdogs. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Charleston, South Carolina. They play in the class A South Atlantic League and are an affiliate of the New York Yankees. Their home stadium is at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The majority owner is Marvin Goldklang who also owns a stake in five other minor league baseball teams throughout the country (Fort Myers Miracle, Sioux Falls Pheasants, Hudson Valley Renegades, Brockton Rox, and St. Paul Saints).

Our seats were one row from the backstop on the Visitor’s side. There really isn’t a bad seat in the Joe, but these were exceptionally good seats.

I was amazed how much Parker stayed awake and seemed to be watching the game. There were a few times that loud music or the cracking of the bat even seemed to startle him. He’s two months old, and already a sports fan.

If you get a chance to come to Charleston and catch a Riverdog’s game, it’s a good deal of fun. We even saw local resident Bill Murray in attendance. I got a paparazzi style photo below.

Mom and Parker watching the Riverdogs

Batter Up!

Watching the Riverdogs

Charlie T. Riverdog

Matt and Sarah

Bill Murray at the Riverdogs

Here are some photos of my family from Easter Sunday in Parkersburg, WV.

Parker waiting on his Easter basket

Lily and Peepaw looking for Easter Eggs

Lily looking for that last egg

Picture time with Uncle Doug

What a crew on Easter (pick which one of us needs a tan)

The video below came out of an impromptu photo op when Parker was super awake, and super ready to play. This is my first attempt at a “video” using iMovie. There is music, so make sure you have on your speakers or headphones.

Mommy and Bubbie from John Wilson on Vimeo.

Today it was pretty cloudy, and I got a late start, so I didn’t want to venture too far from home. I shot these at the Charles Pickney National Park on Long Point Road. I didn’t have much sunlight, and I have a bad habit of blowing out the skies when I shoot near dusk. Once I get better, I think this would be a great place to shoot spooky photos.

Here are some of my favorites. If you’d like to see the whole set, visit it at Flickr. You can see all of my pictures by visiting my Flickr site.

I got a new camera for Christmas, and as I was learning about improving my photography skills I ran on a group of photographers who have challenged themselves to take at least one walk per week with the intention of taking pictures. My goal is to do as many of these weeks as possible, post them on my Flickr site, as well as putting the highlights here.

This set was taken down in Battery Park in Charleston, SC. You can see the whole set here.

Here are a few of my favorites: