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July 7, 2018 By John Adams 25 Comments

The forgotten photo

There I was, planning blog content for the next few weeks when I stumbled across this forgotten photograph in an obscure drive on my computer. It shows my eldest daughter Helen, taking a break from playing with some LEGO models to stare right at my camera lens.

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Helen glances up at the camera while playing with LEGO models. This image was almost lost forever.

It’s an image I took a few weeks ago while playing around with my camera on a visit to some Woodland Trust land. I think there’s a lot of humour in the picture. It’s typical of Helen, looking up, trying to out-stare the camera lens! She can be a very strong willed individual and she clearly didn’t want to smile for the camera on this occasion.

As is often the way, I had planned to post a completey different image to the blog. Despite having just moved into our new house and being very busy unpacking boxes, I have managed to go on a couple of photo walks but I found the results of my efforts to be very disappointing.

The only image I took worth sharing was the selfie you’ll find below. I took this in the early morning light. I think the early morning provides some of the best lighting conditions for photography and while I didn’t expect much of this hurriedly-shot phone picture, I liked the atmosphere of the image (although there’s no escaping its slightly self-indulgent nature!).

Despite being a selfie, it is also very real in nature, capturing me unwashed and with four day’s stubble on my face. This is not, I should add, how I usually present myself to the world, merely the way I looked after several days of unpacking, moving furniture and making numerous visits to the recycling centre!

selfie, morning sunlight, sunrise, dadbloguk, uk dad blogger, dadbloguk, school run dad, outdoors, outside, stubble, moving house,

Yes, it’s a gratuitous selfie, but I hope you’ll agree it’s a good one.

I will be adding this blog post to the #MySundayPhoto linky that’s hosted by the Photalife blog. I recommend clicking on the badge below so you can visit the linky yourself. You’ll find lots of different photographs from many different bloggers and I often get lost in it, admiring the pics people have taken.

Photalife

 

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Filed Under: Family Life & parenting, Photography Tagged With: black and white, black and white photo, Dadbloguk, Dadbloguk.com, daddy blogger, days out, days out with kids, families, family, family life, forgotten photo, forgotten photograph, Lego, location, outdoors, outside, SAHD, school run dad, stay at home dad, sunshine, uk dad blog, uk dad blogger, woodland trust

Previous Post: « The birthday party: The day my kids took matters into their own hands.
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah MumofThree World says

    July 8, 2018 at 5:32 am

    I think both of these photos were definitely worth sharing. You seem to have captured Helen perfectly there, even though you’re only showing a fraction of her.
    Good luck with the rest of your unpacking!

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:13 am

      It is quite a captivating pic of Helen isn’t it? We’re getting there with the unpacking, just a few more boxes to go.

      Reply
  2. Tara says

    July 8, 2018 at 6:19 am

    Fab photos, John. I love the b&w of Helen. Her eyes are so vivid, even without colour. I also like the one of you. I think it looks like you’re somewhere exotic and you’ve had to trek to get there. #MySundayPhoto

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:13 am

      Yeah, there’s something very vivid about that picture. I can’t remember what lens I was using, may have been my big 600mm which would explain why it came out that way. Alas, I didn’t trek anywhere exotic but it does sort-of look that way doesn’t it?

      Reply
  3. Fiona Cambouropoulos says

    July 8, 2018 at 7:16 am

    That’s photo commitment to be up there with your camera and tripod early. I am forever balancing mine on a tree or my knee and wondering why my photos are less clear! Love both photos in totally different ways.

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:11 am

      I often find myself balancing my camera on things although I much prefer using a tripod. The results are much better. Great to hear you liked both pics.

      Reply
  4. Debbie says

    July 8, 2018 at 7:22 am

    Hi John, the photo of Helen staring straight at the camera would have made a good Athena poster (remember them?). It sort of reminds me of that National Geographic photo that was taken of the girl with the ‘eyes’, although that one was on colour, the black and white in your works well… I really like your selfie, it looks like you are giving David Attenborough a run for his money and your rough and ready look suits the photo. Who has time to wash when there are more important things to be done?

    xx

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:10 am

      Oh I remember Athena and I remember that photograph as well! Great to hear my rough and ready look works well. I hadn’t paid too much attention to the lighting so when it came out I was very pleasantly surprised!

      Reply
  5. Darren Coleshill says

    July 8, 2018 at 8:14 am

    I love the artistic selfie John, I’ve a few like this.

    You should try a long exposure selfie, set the camera timer and then stand in the frame whilst it takes a long exposure. Cars whizzling with you completely still.

    Have a good Sunday and thank you for linking up to #MySundayPhoto

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:08 am

      You’re now putting ideas in my head Darren! I may have to try a selfie like that. Not this week though. Few too many visitors to the new house!

      Reply
  6. Notmyyearoff says

    July 8, 2018 at 11:24 am

    The innocence and curiosity in the first photo is just beautiful. So simple and so lovely and effective. I think its so nice when you find a hidden gem like that! 🙂

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:07 am

      Very nice comments, thank you. Yes, I see all those things coming through in that picture as well.

      Reply
  7. BeeDillyDoo says

    July 8, 2018 at 1:28 pm

    two great photos ! Thanks for sharing them

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:06 am

      My pleasure and really happy to hear you like the photos.

      Reply
  8. Tina Bailey says

    July 8, 2018 at 6:00 pm

    You should have kept the selfie part a secret – I’d have never guessed! Beautiful shot. Hope you’ve conquered the unpacking now #MySundayPhoto

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:06 am

      Next time I take a selfie, I’ll keep quiet about it! There’s more to unpack, but we are winning the battle thankfully.

      Reply
  9. Paul @ Topsy Turvy Tribe says

    July 8, 2018 at 7:53 pm

    The selfie is great; I agree you can’t beat early morning light. Helen looks pretty feisty and determined. Fab shot!

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:05 am

      Oh Helen is feisty and determined and getting more so with every passing day.

      Reply
  10. Victoria Welton says

    July 8, 2018 at 8:36 pm

    Both of these photos are fab! I love the one of Helen – and the one of you is so atmospheric and natural. Superb stuff (and thank you for your really lovely comment on my post) #MySundayPhoto

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:05 am

      Well Victoria, I do love to leave a nice comment from time to time. Glad you liked my pics. The selfie shot was a total surprise I have to say.

      Reply
  11. Emma T says

    July 8, 2018 at 8:44 pm

    Love the selfie, looks lik a posed moody magazine shot

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      July 10, 2018 at 5:04 am

      That’s not quite what I expected, but that’s definitely how it has come out!

      Reply
  12. Musings of a tired mummy...zzz... says

    July 12, 2018 at 1:40 pm

    I think the unexpected photos are sometimes the best! Very professional selfie 🙂 #mysundayphoto

    Reply
  13. Tammy says

    August 4, 2018 at 11:12 pm

    These are both lovely photos. I love the little eye staring through the LEGO.

    Reply
    • John Adams says

      August 5, 2018 at 6:15 am

      Thank you, yes Helen does kind of make the photo with her stare.

      Reply

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I’m John Adams and welcome to my award-winning blog. Since 2011 I’ve been the main carer for my two daughters and run the household while my wife has worked full-time. This blog tells our story. Follow this link to find out more about us.

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Instagram post 2197984947629147223_1418399145 Are you wearing a spangly, sparkly jumper to mark @savechildrenuk’s #ChristmasJumperDay ?? We may be part way through the day, but it’s not too late to donate or take part. I hope the following shopping list may inspire you: £1 will buy a set of pens and pencils to help a child write and learn £2 could pay for enough antibiotics for eight kids with pneumonia (one of the world’s biggest killer of children) £5 could buy a winter jacket for a child in Syria £20 could buy vital supplies for a new mother and baby.

Go take a look at the @savechildrenuk feed to find out how you can help. 
Oh, and the message this year is to re-use or decorate an old  jumper and reduce the impact on the environment. That bad-boy I’m wearing, I decorated that myself! Honest, I have witnesses from @hobbycraft who are backing the day and helped me out while I was using a glue gun!
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Question is, should I get this printed on a t-shirt???
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As a former journalist, I have always encouraged my kids to show an interest in current affairs. I’m always amazed at the opinions they express and how considered their opinions are. 
If you are still looking for a Christmas gift for a child between the age of eight and fourteen, there’s a special Christmas subscription deal available for The Week Junior. 
Visit the blog and sign up (link in bio) and you will receive 19 issues for the price of 13. 
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I’m very big on spending time outside. It’s health benefits are instantly apparent to me but over the past couple of months I’ve let myself down.

I’ve been active, using our gym equipment at home, but I’ve not been getting outside enough. Despite us having had several, glorious, sunny days, family life and work have conspired to keep me at home.

Not getting outside definitely impacts sleep quality and saps energy. I simply knew I wasn’t getting out enough.

Last week I rebelled. I took myself off on Friday to nearby woodland with my camera and did some photography. This is one of the pictures I took. It’s maybe not the best, but is was a lovely, crisp, winter’s day and I think you can see it in this landscape. 
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Don’t take my word for it though, take it from @tompalmerauthor He has, after all, just received the Ruth Rendell Award, a prestigious award given to people who have gone out of their way to promote literacy. 
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There’s a full interview with Tom over on Dadbloguk. Link is in the profile.

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