Last Week According to @toliveanddiaper: Week 3

From top left (clockwise):

- A small sampling of the Biltmore Estate's Gardens. My suggestion, if you have kids who are older (7 and up), the Biltmore is a must see. If they are younger than 7, don't waste your money. Their is too much to do and too much to see, and an hour or two isn't worth your money or your time.

- We got the boys custom superhero capes, as you can see here, even superheros need a break.

- Baloo the wonder-dog, you may remember him from such films as Up. He really enjoyed the beach, i think he may still miss San Diego.

- Some of the delicious beers of Asheville, aka Beer City.

- The Lucky Strike water tower in Durham, NC.

- The Monkey (aka the Taz) loves swings more than any one I know. The Little Man will get up and swing for 5 seconds and is done, but not the Monkey, he could do this all day. Assuming you will push him all day.

- The Little Man just had his 4-year old birthday party and one of the favorite gifts was this firefighters water pack with hose. We drew burning building and burning robots on the driveway for him to "extinguish". Needless to say he was pretty pleased with himself.

- Sunrise on the Blue Ridge Parkway just outside of Asheville. 

- This is one of my no-no pictures from the Biltmore. They have strict rules about taking pictures of any kind inside the home. I was able to get this picture and one other, the other was my favorite, but somehow I deleted it while eating barbecue...don't ask. But this here is the 1700# wrought iron chandelier hanging in the grand staircase...all suspended by ONE bolt. If you ever make it to the Biltmore Estate, take the Architects tour for an additional $17 (though I hear their is a 2-hour super tour that gives you access to just about everything, all to the tune of $150 per person).

Cheers!

Last Week (and a half) according to @toliveanddiaper: Week 3

Clockwise, in order from top left:

1. The Little Man earned another medal at Rookie Sports @ the Y.
2. A long overdue night out with the Mrs at the Koka Booth Ampitheatre to see the Band Together Charity Concert with Lyle Lovett.
3. The Taz crossing the bridge.
4. Taz and Little Man's ghosts enjoying some sand time and the sand cranes.
5. Little Man aka Tony Starks aka Iron Man
6. Umstead hiking with the SAHD group.
7. Taz is now a Jedi master since we bought him a lightsaber at the Bulls game, we did.
8. A morning trail run in good ol'Umstead.
9. Green Flash Hop Odyssey Black IPA 7.5% ABV and 85 IBU...tasty!



...and as always, if you are on Instagram and want to follow me, you can find me @toliveanddiaper...

Last Week According To @toliveanddiaper: Week 2

From the top left (clockwise):

1. Little Man going green.

2. Taz and Little Man riding the Pullen Park train.

3. Taz. In. Space.

4. View from the top of Hanging Rock State Park

5. At the Bulls ball game with Mr. Ball.

6. Morning run to school.

7. The Taz and I just hanging out.

8. No exhaust on this old mower, though I don't plan to keep this when we can afford a larger yard.

9. Architectural instagram...it's like they knew.

And by the way, I entered this great contest at Snapknot to win either a D800 or 5D Mark III. I almost waited to buy the D800 when I bought my D700 last year, thanks to a certain someone (ahem...Jason Kirby at therightlightphotography.com) I held off. I know that entering these contests is sort of dumb, like playing the lottery, but I'd be stoked to win. Papa needs a better back up camera than the ol'D80!

Big thanks to the SnapKnot wedding photography directory for offering this great camera giveaway!

If you feel the urge to help me get a few referral submissions, that would be cool too. Just click here: http://bit.ly/15gjCEc

Last Week According To @toliveanddiaper

(clockwise from top left)
- The Little Man proving his ropin' skills
- Taz behind bars, hopefully not tell tale of things to come.
- Me and Maddie, if you didn't know her or @thiswildidea, now you do and I got to meet her and Theron during their book tour. Such good people and creative inspiration.
- When the oatmeal chocolate granola bar wins.
- When big brother is out for nap time, Taz sleeps in his bed.
- Taz being Taz
- Camp To Live And Diaper is open
- Little Man and Taz chilling with Wool E. Bull
- Spring has arrived (center)

*follow me on Instagram, @toliveanddiaper

A Charlestongram

Charleston

by Henry Timrod (1828-1867)

source: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/244864

Calm as that second summer which precedes

       The first fall of the snow,

In the broad sunlight of heroic deeds,

       The City bides the foe.

 

As yet, behind their ramparts stern and proud,

       Her bolted thunders sleep—

Dark Sumter, like a battlemented cloud,

       Looms o’er the solemn deep.

 

No Calpe frowns from lofty cliff or scar

       To guard the holy strand;

But Moultrie holds in leash her dogs of war

       Above the level sand.

 

And down the dunes a thousand guns lie couched,

       Unseen, beside the flood—

Like tigers in some Orient jungle crouched

        That wait and watch for blood.

 

Meanwhile, through streets still echoing with trade,

       Walk grave and thoughtful men,

Whose hands may one day wield the patriot’s blade

       As lightly as the pen.

 

And maidens, with such eyes as would grow dim

       Over a bleeding hound,

Seem each one to have caught the strength of him

       Whose sword she sadly bound.

 

Thus girt without and garrisoned at home,

       Day patient following day,

Old Charleston looks from roof, and spire, and dome,

       Across her tranquil bay.

 

Ships, through a hundred foes, from Saxon lands

       And spicy Indian ports,

Bring Saxon steel and iron to her hands,

       And summer to her courts.

 

But still, along you dim Atlantic line,

       The only hostile smoke

Creeps like a harmless mist above the brine,

       From some frail, floating oak.

 

Shall the spring dawn, and she still clad in smiles,

       And with an unscathed brow,

Rest in the strong arms of her palm-crowned isles,

       As fair and free as now?

 

We know not; in the temple of the Fates

       God has inscribed her doom;

And, all untroubled in her faith, she waits

       The triumph or the tomb.

Insta-late

I make fun of the Mrs for always being late to the party. Not in the literal sense, as for actual parties she has this knack for making sure we are first, and not just first but sometimes awkwardly early. No, what she is late for is anything to do with popular culture outside of what's in her gossip mags, Dlisted or Gawker. Just this past Sunday, we were having a family funday Sunday at a super family friendly brewery, Fullsteam. Someone had started playing Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run" and the Mrs turns to me and asks "is this new? 'Cause I like it." I think you get my point. Not that I am on the cutting edge of things by any means, though I like to think I'm plugged in a little deeper than the Mrs. But for the first time in a long while, I am getting on the bandwagon that has been going strong for a few years now, Instagram.

I was an admitted hater. I thought: "what kind of photos could be so amazing when captured on your iPhone or Android? Get a real camera, you hippies!" I had tried Hipstamatic a few years ago and took about ten pictures before I threw it to the curb. Then I noticed some photographers starting to edit their DSLR shots with the same funky filters that you'd see on Instagram or Hipstamatic. This made me hate it even more. Why would you ruin a perfectly good shot with that? It's not that I am photo purist by any extent. I have an unhealthy love affair with sometimes over saturating my photos and bumping the contrast up to higher levels than most people. I call it "pop", others have mentioned it can sometimes be distracting. Meh, who asked you?

In December, I met up with an old high school friend of mine who has been a pro photographer for years. He was telling me how his shoots for fashion week were being instantly shot to Instagram. No crazy filters, just his shots. This is the same friend who got me into photography in the first place, and so I thought maybe it deserved a fair shake.

Three weeks later, I was hooked.

The quality of some of these photos are amazing. People have really figured out how to get all they can out of their phone's camera through tons of practice, a few great apps (yup, they got those) and some extra equipment (i.e. tripods/gorillapods). A few of the Instagrammers I started following were creating pictures I was sure were made with DSLRs. There was no way they could achieve the balance in the photos the way they were. Simply no way. But after listening to Cory Staudacher (@withhearts) podcast on The Cultcast, I realized that it was possible to get such amazing quality with such a small tool (with a little practice and some sick apps). The phone has simply become an extension of my photo tools, and like getting a new prime lens, it has been challenging to work within the boundaries of what the phone can do, but that has made it all the more interesting.

So yeah, I'm late to the party. Really late, even. But then again, what else is new? And if you're on Instagram, I hope you'll follow me, @toliveanddiaper.