Easter Swag (aka. photo dump)

During the winter months, it's hard for me to stay motivated, creatively speaking, with photography. It's cold out, and the majority of the scenery here is drab (I can hear my western friends laughing since NC is known for its "green"... but to me, it's still dull). It doesn't snow often, if ever, so getting inspired with that is out as well.

But once that warm breeze begins to move in and the grass starts growing, I suddenly have a hard time putting the camera down. I see everything through a "lens", even though I'm not shooting anything. As I sat on my grandparents' back patio Sunday, talking to my relatives, I'd catch a glimpse of my aunt as she talked with enthusiasm about her neighbors' kids... and the way her face lit up made me wish I was snapping pictures instead. My grandmother laughing at a funny story, and the way the corners of her eyes crinkled, had me fighting the urge to grab my camera and turn it into an impromptu photoshoot. Albeit, a very unprofessional one. But I knew them, and they'd feel awkward if I had a lens all up in their face.

Anyway, I regretted not taking official Easter pictures of Noah last year. So this year, I was determined to get them done. We drove around a gorgeous local college campus, scouting for a great spot. Disappointed by the lack of shade (it was the middle of the day), I headed for our favorite nearby park.

I should probably mention here how incredibly difficult Noah is to take pictures of. His eye contact isn't great, so you can imagine how much harder it is to get him to look and smile at the camera. He's constantly moving... running, jumping, finding the worst possible scenery spots to play in.
Well, somehow the stars all aligned and the angels sang yesterday, because Noah actually cooperated. I took over 250 photos, and only a tiny percentage were crap. Which made me super excited. :) The ones where he's staring off? I asked him if he heard a train, or a truck, or some other mechanical thing with an engine that he likes just to get him to look up instead of down.
I had a hard time deciding which ones to share. But here they are.

Noah's Easter pictures...