*click to view full size*

focal length: 50 mm
shutter speed: 1/30
aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 200
flash: none

I’d been hearing about this Mama Focus photo contest for a while now but I always thought it was over already and today I realized the closing date is tomorrow! So I quickly searched through the photo directory in my head and thought of the photo I’d like to enter.

This is my mama, or as I call her, Umma. She got married, immigrated to a foreign country where she didn’t speak the language, continued to work until she had 4 kids. As soon as the oldest kid could take care of the youngest kid, back to work she went, finding whatever job she could find and eventually owned three little restaurants of her own. To this day, she is still working… 12 hour days, 6 days a week. Through all this time, she has been dedicated to her family doing whatever she could without even breaking a sweat. Or so we thought. We grew up thinking we had everything when really we didn’t have much. Her smile is so reassuring as is her courage and strong spirit. All she has to do is say, “Everything’s okay” and everything IS okay. I can only strive to become a mother like her to my own daughter. Thank you Umma for being you.

*click to view full size*

focal length: 50 mm
shutter speed: 1/40
aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 200
flash: none

Both photos above were taken at my brother’s wedding two years ago. My beautiful mother glowed through her tears of joy and love when each of her three eldest kids got married, one by one. I am proud to be her daughter.

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

focal length: 50 mm
shutter speed: 1/400
aperture: f/6.3
ISO: 200
flash: none

Flowering is the theme for today at The Land Of K.A. and I finally got a chance to use this computer where my images are. I took this last week or so when the sky was crisp and blue. I chose to use a smaller aperture so most of the lilac bunch would be in focus.  As I was not using my flash, I had to bump up the fill flash slider in post processing to bring the lilacs out of the shadows.

Who knew we had so many flowering plants in our yard?  One look at it and you’d think it was a war zone.  Seriously, one of our trees split right down the middle and we have no idea how that happened.

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

focal length: 62 mm
shutter speed: 1/100
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 320
flash: none

On a trip to a Japanese Garden last weekend, I spotted these plants with leaves shaped like… you guessed it, hearts! Ever since participating in Love Thursdays at Shutter Sisters, I’ve been on the lookout for shapes of love occurring in nature. These leaves are smaller than the palm of my hand, so I had to crouch down low to get the shot. Next time, I think I will use a smaller aperture so the little white flowers will also be in focus. It is a little distracting that they are not in the plane of focus, however, my intended focal points were the heart-shaped leaves. So, I’ll forgive myself. *smile*

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

*click to enlarge*

focal length: 27 mm
shutter speed: 1/50
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 200
flash: none

Shutter Sisters is hosting a photo contest here. There are just so many ways to capture a “fitting” picture but I chose this one taken a few minutes ago. My silly daughter loves to try on my shoes and she’s only 14 months old! It reminds me of myself when I was a little girl and I would convince myself that even though something was not my size, and if I loved it, then by golly it fit!

Sophie was happy as a clam just standing there, wearing my sandals and staring out the window.

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.

focal length: 28 mm
shutter speed: 1/250
aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 200
flash: none

As much as I like photos where the subject is not looking straight into the camera, I do like to have some shots of those endearing eyes looking right at me. While I don’t make her say “cheese!” I try to get her attention by calling her name or making some kind of noise. And during the 2 seconds she looks up at me, I take a few shots. If you’re prone to doing that, the continuous burst mode may be of value to you. I can take up to 6 frames per second (fps) with my current camera. I know this feature will become extremely handy while my child is running about when she is older. Why don’t you try out your continuous shooting mode and capture some action shots of your children? Just don’t go crazy with it or you’ll soon run out of memory on your cards and on your computer.

I really shouldn’t distract her while she’s so focussed on something but sometimes I can’t help it. I guess I still have the “Honey, look at the camera!” syndrome.

Laura is a Vancouver wedding and portrait photographer. Visit laurahana.com.