I’ve been so very busy for the last few months, I have really neglected the blog. You’ll find several new posts below.   Christmas mini sessions (here and here), engagement photos, a vow renewal, and some of my personal pictures from our Christmas vacation to Puerto Rico.  There will be more Puerto Rico pictures coming soon. Check ‘em out!

What is PCS you ask? Every photographer with children knows PCS and must deal with this illness from time to time. For the non-photographer, PCS stands for Photographer’s Child Syndrome. The condition usually makes it first appearance around the age of 2, give or take a few months. The condition primarily shows its signs when the mother or father photographer attempts to photograph their child. Symptoms begin with a lack of eye contact, or limited eye contract present only with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow. As the disease progresses, the child becomes more agitated and vocal about their resistance to having their picture taken. They run from the camera, yelling vulgarities such as “nnoooooo mommmmyyyyy! no camera! no pictures!”. At its worst, the disease is characterized by full on tantrums, plenty of alligator tears, and occasional violence against camera equipment. The only real cure for the disease is to stop taking the child’s picture and allow them ample time to recover. For some lucky photographers, the condition only lasts a few months. For others, it can last years. PCS is generally found in children under the age of 4, but can also make a reappearance in the teenage years.

Ethan’s PCS first appeared just a few months before his second birthday. At first it was minor and manageable. He didn’t really want to look at the camera every day, but as long as I gave him a few days of rest, he would cooperate to a degree. As the months went by, his condition worsened. It reached its peak in December. The following photos are not for the faint of heart and display a pretty good representation of a child in the throws of a PCS induced tantrum.

Do you see the intense look of pleading and desperation in his eyes? This session ended a few seconds later with Ethan attempted to violently knock the camera from my hands. I’m glad this phase has passed. We have put Ethan through an intense course of rest from the camera, and he has made some improvements. Generally he still refuses to look and he will make verbal protests “noooooo peek-shure! no mommy cam-rah!”. Sometimes he will even cover his face or attempt to push the camera away. But I do have lucky days where he willingly cooperates. Mornings are generally best. I’ll take any cooperation, even if I only get a look like this:

A few shots from our trek through the rain forest on Christmas Day 2009.

For all of you photographers out there, most of these were shot during the middle of the day in broad daylight, yet required an ISO over 2000. That is how incredibly dark the rain forest is. Amazing!

Prior to our trip, I debated purchasing a new point and shoot. Our P&S was about 6 (or maybe more!) years old and its main function was a toy camera for Ethan or maybe a paperweight. So I set out to purchase a new P&S for our trip. I knew that I would want something waterproof because I certainly didn’t want to bring the D700 to the beach or out on the water. Aaron and I went through several reviews of waterproof cameras and just as we decided to purchase one, I had second thoughts. I wasn’t really impressed with the image quality from any of the waterproof P&S cameras on the market. Why spend $300 and be unhappy with the quality of the images? If I’m going to buy a new camera, I want it to be used often, not just for underwater shots. I did some more research on P&S cameras and ended up decided on the Canon Powershot SD780IS along with the Canon WP-DC31 Waterproof Case that fits the camera. I’m so glad that I went with that option over the waterproof camera. All of the pictures from our day at Culebra were taken with the P&S with the waterproof housing. And of course, I wouldn’t have these awesome reef photos if I didn’t have the waterproof housing.

We spent an entire day at Playa Flamenco, an outstanding beach on the island of Culebra. Culebra is one of Puerto Rico’s minor outlying islands, located off the Northeast coast of the main island. Geographically, it is part of the island chain known as the Virgin Islands, but politically, it is part of Puerto Rico. Playa Flamenco is rated by beachgoers to be the 2nd most beautiful beach in the world. I don’t dispute that at all. I just wonder which beach could possibly be more beautiful and perfect than Playa Flamenco. Next time we visit Puerto Rico, we’ll spend an entire week on Culebra instead of just a day. You have to take a 90 minute ferry ride to get to Culebra, but don’t let that stop you. Playa Flamenco is nearly deserted compared to the beaches on the main island, and 10 times as gorgeous.

Ethan agrees with the critics – this is definitely the best beach he’s ever been to!