Two very different photos from last weekend.

I set up a gray backdrop with some LED continuous lights in my office for making videos. Kaori and Louie happened to stroll in and I took some snaps with the lights.

Earlier in the day we drove to a pumpkin farm to get a pumpkin for Halloween. Kaori wanted some pics of Louie’s first pumpkin patch trip and we tried to sit him up among the pumpkins, but that didn’t go well. At least we got him to smile.

We took Louie for his Hatsumairi ceremony at the San Francisco Sokoji Mission today. Hatsumairi is a traditional baby blessing that Japanese babies have before they are three months old. The blessing is performed by a priest.

Here are the first couple of photos. More to come.

They were tough conditions. Not much time, low light so I was using 1600 ISO, and strong backlight.

Our not yet three-month baby now fits perfectly into baby clothes for 3–6 month olds. He’s extra, extra long and barely fits in his napping bed anymore.

What with the new baby and Sakura getting an ear infection that required greasy ear drops, our dog is a little scruffy at the moment. She still loves running around off leash at a nearby park area though.

What with the new baby and Sakura getting an ear infection that required greasy ear drops, our dog is a little scruffy at the moment. She still loves running around off leash at a nearby park area though.

Sakura also loves it when we go out for breakfast at our local shopping area. She can come with us because there’s lots of outside seating and always other dogs to meet and greet.

It was 9pm and our youngster was looking very cute. I propped him up on the couch and discovered that he can kinda stay sitting if propped up. His head has got a lot stronger. So I said to Kaori, I want to take a quick portrait. I grabbed my lights and she changed his clothes. Before long, I was taking photos. He wasn’t in the best mood but I got a few that I like.

Here’s my favorite.

(With hindsight, I can see I overprocessed this image, but that’s part of the learning experience.)