Zara is really finding her voice ( video of the #wolfcatcubs )
Won’t be long before I am saying sit down and shut up….
Entries Tagged as 'cubs'
FAB the #wolfcatcubs are go…
The Wolfcatcubs in their Jolly Jumper’s
This pic is Erin in her Jolly Jumper. I must say I am a big fan of the Jolly Jumpers, it also helps that the Cubs are as well. The one tip I would give anyway is always put a rug underneath the child. If it isn’t vomit from bouncing there will be litres of drool that soak into the floor.
The advantage of twins is that you can put them both in the jumpers they do amuse each other. This gives parents 30 min or so to run around and get some chores done. An added bonus it that they are still where you left them and at the same time wears them out (ready for a nap) like nothing else yet.
Oh yeah and they are cute too boot as well.
My Top 10 Images that I took in 2011
These are my top 10 images from 2011. Some are shots that are for sale, others are stories and events.
I’d like to thank all those that encourage my photography over the last 12 months from those that purchased prints, to the countless who RT’d my tweets and left comments here and on Flickr. And thanks for putting up with all the #wolfcatcubs photos as well.
Hopefully next year I will be able to get out some more… but I doubt it.
Wolf.
In reverse order of date taken.
Now that is a bolt of lightning
Finally got a nice clear bolt of lightning… now if only I had a clear view of the sky…..
Monstering Melbourne
Over 20,000 views makes this my most popular image on flickr.
and all the details on when and how this shot was taken are in my Missing from the EXIF blog post
And for sale at Redbubble
Simplicity
This has a Japanese feel to it for me. Shot from the End of North Road, at 500mm.
And for sale at Redbubble
Dancer
Something about this shot sings to me. The simplicity, the story and the power.
And for sale at Redbubble
Mum and Zara
Choosing one shot of the #wolfcatcubs was hard, this one for me says it all.
Red and White – Moomba Fireworks
The first time I actually went to Moomba.
And for sale at Redbubble
The Belly of The Beast
After a number of trips to Avalon, I finally got lucky. Not only did I have the right gear, (Nikon D7000 + Sigma 150-500mm Lens) but I got to see this aircraft fly.
Contemplating the day that was
One of the first shots taken with my Sigma 150-500mm. A lens that 12 months later I am still in love with.
Step by Step, showing the Lightroom processing for the the shot here
And for sale at Redbubble
Keep your Cool
(from one of the only out of the city photo trips I did all year)
And for sale at Redbubble
The long shot… North Road Jetty #nyemelb
Details and Background about this shot here
And for sale at Redbubble
While the #wolfcatcubs are Langoliers, they do make up for it…
For those that don’t remember Langoliers are creatures that eat time.
The Cubs are certainly that. The last 3 months have both flown by and dragged by at the same time. But now, they both are starting to find their own voice, and follow you around the room with their eyes. So they are starting to be real people as well.
We have also decided that Erin is a south paw, just like her old man and Zara is right handed just like her mum.
But we take solace from the fact that their blood group is a rating system on how we did in creating them… Yes we got an A+.
So here are a couple of shots from the weekend….
Hey dad, I like you….
each of the #wolfcatcubs are only half evil… but together….
a #wolfcatcub doing hard time already
And I am finally getting the hang of doing portrait photos… but still so much to learn about using a proper flash. If only I had some time left over….
Holy crap the #wolfcatcubs are growing
They say a picture is worth a thousand words…
Well this one is what feels like a thousand nappies.
The first shot is from the day we brought the Wolfcat Cubs home…
The second is from Sunday 2 Oct 2011.
As Mrs Wolfcat and I were just saying the other day it doesn’t feel like three months… it feels so so so so much longer.
Before we know it they will be out getting high paid jobs looking after their ageing parents ( well that is the plan ).
The other thing is, that given their current growth rate of at least 250grams per week, I estimate they will be 100kg by the time the are 8 years old. Or even more scary, is they have doubled in the last 3 months, which could mean they will be 10kg by 6 months and 20kg at 9 months and 40kg by their first birthday. ( Note: Maths is not my strong point, nor is a detailed understanding of human growth curves )
A Rated C+ Video of a #wolfcatcub… C for Cute
Nappies from just this side of the Gates of Hades and lack of sleep all get forgotten when they do things like this….
Shooting Day Zero – A Guide to taking photos of your new baby.
As you may be aware and the large bags under my eyes from lack of sleep attest to I have just become a father to twins. Now being a keen photographer as well, I wanted to make sure I captured their first moments in this world. I thought whilst I still had a touch of sanity in my brain left I’d write down some pointers for taking photos, and tech..I’ll leave all the machines that go ping to the hospital of course.
You’ll need to do a bit of planning, but given that you get one moment to experience, well in my case two, you do kind of want to get it right.
Firstly, work out with the one doing all the work what she is comfortable with. This will stop arguments down the track before you start sharing photos that she and possibly the rest of the world doesn’t want to be seen. As a friend on Twitter told me..“What has been seen, can’t be unseen”.
Whilst the best photo you always get is the one with the camera you have on you at the time, there are still a few things to make life easier. You will want to check that you can take photos to begin with. Some places get a bit funny about it and you certainly don’t need to be having an argument with the doctors at that time
Next, don’t take all your gear, you won’t need it. In my case I took a D7000, and 178-105mm lens and a 50mm f/1.8 and my SB700… Not even using the 50mm lens till much later in the day. Then make sure it is all charged, days in advance. If you have a real flash, take a spare set of batteries, and spare cards for the camera as well. If you wanted to use a friends camera make sure you are familiar with it, even in automode before hand.
Double check the timestamp on your camera is accurate. You will want that to be correct in the years to come.
So, we have the gear, we have permission, and everything is charged. Don’t forget the camera. I know of cases where this has happened. If you have a checklist for hospital, put the camera etc on that list. Moreover, if you don’t have a checklist for hospital, make one.
<drum roll>The big day…. </drum roll>
Unless you are a professional photographer who can work under intense emotional pressure, put the camera on automode. You don’t want to be stuffing around with settings at the time. Make sure if you are shooting on a DSLR, shoot RAW, at the maximum resolution your camera shoots at.. This gives you the option later to tweak white balance etc with no impact on the images.
Most important at this point, pay attention to the moment. Sure having the photos is great, but missing the moment for a photo, I think not. I didn’t get some photos because I was in awe at what was happening, so should you be.
Then, we you get the chance, take LOTS of photos. Babies move a lot, at least with a real flash on the camera, which of course you can bounce behind you in a white room nicely you will get some keepers. Try not to use the onboard flash, it creates nasty shadows and points into very delicate little eyes. Another option is to shoot at a higher ISO and in shutter priority mode at 125 or higher.
A few other tips for photos, you can act as a sense of scale. You’ll soon forget how small they were, putting a little hand next to yours will give you that. Shoot the little details as well. The hands, feet, ears and nose. People look at these for family resemblance.
If your camera is in fully automode you can hand the camera to the nurses or staff to get a photo of you as well. You will want shots of you with them as well as them.
I did my 50mm shots of the girls about 4 hours after they were born once things had calmed down a little. Then I did the uploading of the images. I took my EEPC Slate, which let me deal with the RAW files in lightroom, but onboard processing will do just fine as well for those first shots.
Black and white photos of babies are done for a reason. It evens out skin tones. A new born babies skin can be anything from yellow to bright red. Shooting RAW gives you more flexibility to process these post the event.
Then make a backup of all the images. There are going to be images that if you lose, you will never get back. That night I then made offsite backups of the RAW files as well. You can never have too many backups.
So that covers your photos, but a few other things you are going to need. If you have a laptop, take the charger for your smart phone as well. It will run out of charge, you will be making a lot of calls. Get a cheap Bluetooth headset or a mic for your phone as well. That way you can have a coffee and make all the calls you need to on the day without fretting about running out of charge and still having a hand free.
Finally at this point breath, relax and enjoy those memories of sleep.
Now the #wolfcatcubs are here… I need to say sorry to them for a few things…
Now that you are here… I guess there are a few things I need to say sorry for… in no particular order:
Sorry that I took so long to getting around to making you. I thought I was trying to wait till I was ready, it was never going to be long enough, I’m still not ready.
Sorry I laughed at you when you fell over and didn’t really hurt yourself. It will be light relief for me for all those nights I stay up with worry when you are ill.
Sorry that your sibling is better at something than you are. But there will always be people better at something even if you are really good at it, but I’ll still encourage you.
Sorry you didn’t achieve something the first time. Like everything you will find that practice does make things better, but maybe not always perfect.
Sorry you lost. You are a winner in my eyes, but losing, in a game or in a race is something that happens to us all.
Sorry when your beloved pet died. Life does end, and it is a lesson you will need to learn, but hopefully not too much.
Sorry for when you lost the mystery of Christmas and the Tooth Fairy. But as you grow up the mysteries that still exist in science can open your eyes to even more amazing things.
Sorry that you walked in when Mum and Dad were having a special hug. But nowhere near as sorry as I will be when you grow up if I walk in.
Sorry I didn’t get you a pony, that doll, or any other expensive toy you had your heart set on. I’m not the richest parent, but I will give you lots of love for free.
Sorry that people will say you can’t do something because of your gender. . As your father I won’t be one of those people.
Sorry, but music was better in my day, its a rule of being a parent..
Sorry for telling you off for doing the bad things that I did growing up. And no, I’m not telling you what they were.
Sorry also that the “original” song or film are way better than the remake you have grown up with.
Sorry that school sucks. If you are lucky you will get some teachers to make learning fun, and to open your eyes to the amazing universe around us.
Sorry for those long car trips where you get carsick. One day you will hopefully look back and remember the amazing places we have seen together.
Sorry that I make you ask why so many times. It is the most important question you can ask. And is much better than “are we there yet”
Sorry I smacked you on the hand when you were young. But you were going for something dangerous and haven’t yet learned what going to your room means.
Sorry for the pain that you get from a few jabs as your growing up. The pain from a preventable disease however is worth the small inconvenience.
Sorry you heart will get broken a few times. One or more of those times as your father I might even be relieved, not that I will ever tell you that.
Sorry that your first job is going to be shuffling burgers or trolleys or some such task. You won’t be the CEO to begin with. You can be in the future, with hard work, education and discipline.
Sorry if you choose a career based on love and not money. You’ll do it much harder in most cases, but it will be so much easier to live with yourself if you do.
Sorry that I wasn’t there when you did so many things for the first or even last time. Even if I miss these I will always be there for you.
Sorry that the world around you has lost its way in a race to the bottom. I hope when you are old enough to vote that politics does mean something once more.
Sorry that everyone just thinks of themselves, and this is increasing. I’ll do my best to teach you empathy and understanding.
But even with these sorrows, there is something I am not sorry for and that is for having you. Welcome to world, it is an amazing place
#wolfcatcubs – One week on…
For those that don’t follow the noise that is my Twitter stream I thought I would update the blog with the latest on the Cubs…
Holy crap… the cubs are 7 days old already….
Seven days on, Mrs Wolfcat is finally home. She got to come home yesterday and so has a few days rest before the cubs arrive home. Which is a big question that people keep asking. Latest thinking is “late” this week. When they come home is dependent on them. Certainly we aren’t going to rush this.
Zara’s feeding tube came out on Thursday last week, Erin’s just yesterday. But that means that they are suck feeding which is a great sign. However, the issue with Erin is that weird heart rate thing that was noticed In utero hadn’t gone away. It is very intermittent and the doc has got her on drugs. They are confident that she will grow out of it in the next year anyway and it doesn’t seem to be upsetting her.
So we are doing feeding runs for the girls for the rest of the week whilst we run around trying to get a few more things organised at home.
I’d like to thank a few people as well. The staff at the Jessie Mac Hospital, and the staff Monash Children’s have been amazing. Our OB Danielle Wilkins has been wonderful as well. I’d also like to thank my boss and co-workers for being amazingly supportive and flexible during this time as well.
The girls are doing really well and I am still ten kinds of terrified especially holding something so small and vulnerable in my hands.
Lots more photos on Flickr as well….
#wolfcatcubs have arrived
14 years in development (with plenty of practice) the collaborative Wolfcat installation project of 2011 was successfully completed this morning.
Wolf and Cat are pleased to announce the Wolfcatcubs are finally at large.
Please join us in welcoming into the world, the latest members of the Dale/Cocklin Clan, our beautiful new twin baby daughters
alphabetically
Erin Amelia Dale Cocklin
and
Zara Augusta Dale Cocklin
35 weeks 5 days gestation
delivered by caesarean section
8:38am Monday 4thJuly 2011
Jessie McPherson Private Hospital, Melbourne.
Erin weight: 2.750 kg (6.06 pounds) length: 48cm ( 18.89inches )
Zara weight: 2.560 kg (5.64 pounds ) length: 48cm ( 18.89inches )
~ All involved are doing well ~
(though at least one of us has been scarred for life by the experience)
Further details as they become available, together with perhaps far too many photographs to be found at… bit.ly/wolfcatcubs
(Erin with the Red Cap, Zara without a cap, Mum with the blue cap )
for good luck, please feel free to wet the babies heads
or even smoke that fine cigar (twitter says a cigar for each baby is in order apparently)
(I know we will be indulging – guess who is looking forward to which the most)
Erin:
Zara:
… One stunned mullet…
and if you look at the big version of this image you will see that I am actually giving the #wolfcatcubs their first feed, not just standing around.
Erin:
Zara:
