the passing of time...

A photo of Maci from all the way back in February of this year when Maci, Tyler, me and Sherri took Pyper and Allister to the Sports Park playground in Greenville. I am not for sure that there are many times that I show up to anything without a camera. I guess I am afraid of missing something special. Even though most of what I capture seems to be the ordinary (such as this). That being said, I am starting to realize that the ordinary seems to become special as time passes...

out on the street...

Spent some time walking around Knox Street in Dallas yesterday. Brought my Hasselblad with me for the first time. After several images like this one, it will not be the last time...

christmas 2014 on film...

I continue to have the desire to keep film a part of my life. I have used instant film for the last three years, but I want to start using 35mm & 120mm film more often. My goal is to eventually use my Leica M6 camera to document all aspects of my life. I truly want to master this camera and a small selection of films.  Ilford Delta 3200 is one of those films.  It is very forgiving and super-flexible in all types of lighting and conditions.

 This year, I wanted to make sure and bring film back to document Christmas morning and the days after. I didn't use it as much as I would like, but after developing every roll I become more confident in using the camera and film. See the images above for a small selection of what I was able to capture...

shooting with a Hasselblad...

My first image that I scanned from my first roll of 120 film in my new-to-me Hasselblad 500 C/M.  After shooting the camera this weekend, I can definitely tell you that it is a keeper! This image is just one example of the quality of photos that this camera can produce. For the record, I love the sound of the Hasselblad when you press the shutter release to take a photo. 

The day was gloomy, but the film/lens combo still produced some great contrast. What a beautiful photo of Maci for my first post with this camera. There is nothing more rewarding to me than capturing superb images of my family and being able to share them...

lucky shot...

This is from an older roll of Kodak T-Max that was taken during a breakfast outing at Lucky's Cafe in Oak Lawn. Taken with my Leica M6 and 50mm Cron lens wide open. I love capturing these moments on film...

bonding...

It is almost as if I am viewing someone's interaction from afar. From the look of the photo, nobody else exists in this space. I love that I was able to capture this moment between Maci and Allister so early in Allister's life. The mother-daughter bond is such a powerful force...

as they exist today...

Team Tyndell as they exist on the night of 18 June 2014 

(Pyper, Maci, Tyler and Wilco).

Tomorrow, things will change...

The arrival of Allister is upon us...

tri-x test roll...

Here are a few of my favorites from last night and today. The first six photos were all shot in low light with shutter speeds of 1/15th or 1/30th. Not bad for my first roll of film through my Leica M6. This is also the first roll of film that I have developed since I was in high school. I would have to say that this camera is a dream to shoot with. I don't think that I have done it justice with these photos, but I plan on shooting the M6 regular enough to get to the point where I truly know the camera. The only way for the camera to become second nature is to shoot it often. That being said, I am already half way through my first roll of Portra 400. I plan on having it ready to send out to a lab by mid next week...

happy birthday to you...

In this image, I love how Maci is isolated in her own world enjoying Pyper having fun at her own gymnastic birthday a little over a week ago. 

I have to tell you there is nothing like the joy of a father capturing his daughter in a moment of happiness just watching her daughter have fun.  

With that being said, I am using this image & my blog as just another way to wish my beautiful daughter Maci a VERY happy birthday. Your mom and I are so very proud of the daughter, wife and mother that you have become...

making the most of it...

This photo has been sitting on my Leica camera memory card for a few weeks. Just noticed it today and downloaded it. It was like finding money in jacket that I haven't worn in a long time.

I don't get many opportunities to take photos of both of my beautiful girls together. When I do, I try and make the most of it. After seeing this image, it makes me smile a mile wide...

pyper and maci...

Stopped by Maci and Tyler's apartment after lunch to take a couple of photos of Pyper. I can't even begin to say how grown up she looks in this photo. I was so taken back when I first saw this photo on the computer. I guess you could say that Pyper is getting good at having her photo taken...

Afterwards, Maci and Pyper spent the afternoon with us at our house helping Sadi get ready for prom. They were about to leave and go home and Pyper wasn't very happy...

a mother and her daughter...

Probably one of my favorite things to photograph is family.  When I got my Leica M8 and now my Polaroid collection, I stopped taking mass quantities of pictures (relatively speaking folks).  Instead, I try and make the few photographs I take really count.  Using this method I miss alot of photographs, but how I absolutely enjoy the ones that I catch.  Saw these on my computer and noticed that I haven't posted them.  What a beautiful relationship: a mother and her daughter...

look at those eyes...

A picture of Maci that I took the other night with the Canon 5D.  I changed it to a low contrast black & white photo in Aperture.  The picture already had a shallow depth of filed because it was taken with an 85mm lens at f/1.8.  Both of these put together bring out the eyes even more.  I really love closeup/offset perspective...

in the studio with Maci and Tyler...

Took quite a few pictures this past weekend.  Makes for a great weekend!  I guilted Maci and Tyler into coming over on Sunday after lunch to let me take a few studio shots of them.  Mainly took Polaroids, that I will post later on my instant blog, but I took a few pictures with my trusted Olympus EP2.  Really would like to upgrade to the OM-D, but I keep getting winners with this one.  I only took six shots and three of them are below.

  Tyler always seems to start the shoots off by really posing and making faces.  He does this stuff and he knows that I will get the picture.  The great thing is that these are usually the ones that I want to post/print.  I really like this one because Maci was getting ready for the picture and of course she looks over and sees Tyler acting out. What a look, what a moment...

Here is a closer image where both of them have great expressions/smiles.  Square format rules!

Lastly, two different edits of a posed full-body photo.  The first one just has the minor adjustments to contrast/sharpening.  For the second one I added the Aperture vintage preset.  When I can't decide which one, I post them both...

two worlds...

Two worlds, just seconds and feet apart...  

Sitting across the table from Maci and Pyper yesterday.  Maci was reading and she looked up and smiled. Pyper had just pulled her bow out of her hair and threw it on the table and couldn't quite reach it.  I love the dynamics of family!  More than that, I love having a camera by my side to catch it all...

today at the park...

Took a couple of cameras with me to the park today.  Got a couple of instant photos and then I took these with my Leica M8.  I took the first one as a joke.  I was holding Pyper at the top of the slide and I just pointed the camera down at Sadi, Maci & Tyler and let Pyper act like she was taking the picture.  Because it is manual focus (and Pyper doesn't know how to focus yet), the image was really blurry.  When I saw it on the computer, I knew it was a keeper.  In the second one, Pyper was starting to feel bad again (her teeth are coming in).  That seems to be the only time she slows down enough for me to take a picture.  The third one is the main reason that I have spent all of this money over the years on my many cameras.  To take pictures of my two beautiful girls...

just a visit to the park...

Had a great time today getting to see Maci and Tyler take Pyper to the park.  This definitely brings back memories of Sherri and me taking Maci or Sadi to the park and playing.  We have lived in Greenville since before Maci was 1 year old.  We have a lot of memories of the parks in Greenville Texas.  I guess things such as this are what keep us here (besides the fact that I am too lazy to commute).  Right now our family and all of my fondest memories of Sherri and I growing old together are right here...

emotional pictures...

So sometimes I get these ideas in my head that I never seem to be able to replicate in the camera.  This is one of those times when I acted on it quickly and I think I succeeded.  I wanted to produce a square head shot that showed some emotion.  I love it when I have to dig deep to get the picture that I want.  I used my Olympus EP2 camera, my Nikon 50mm f/1.8 manual focus lens, two of my Alien Bee strobe lights and a small white background.  Studio shots such as this allow you to focus on the person and their facial features.  To me, these shots really show emotion.  In the top shot, Maci definitely implies that there is some joy in her life (Pyper is in the other room letting us know she is there).  In the bottom shot, Tyler is determined as a person can be and to me the shadows create by the light (or lack of light) help portray this.  Seeing these pictures just makes me want to create more.  I hope to continue this series with the rest of the family...