DSAGSL at the Magic House

A number of weeks ago the Magic House opened its doors just for the members of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis.  I can't tell you how fun it was.  The place was not at all crowded and I knew most of the people who were there.   Olivia and Mia had an absolute blast running, playing and trying everything they could. Of course there were a number of good photographs to be made, a select few are below.

Jackson Park School JamBearee

The annual Jackson Park School picnic is the JamBearee.  While I am not really sure where the name originated, considering the mascot is a lion.  None the less, it is a fun time for the kids to run around playing carnival games and for the parents to relax, listen to some music and enjoy each other's the company.

Mother’s Day at the Boathouse

Being that it is Mother’s Day, we started with breakfast in bed, specially made for a real mom.  But once that was over, we had to decide how to spend the rest of the day.  After photographing in Forest Park last Friday evening, the idea came to us to go on a paddle boat ride in Forest Park.

The timing was great and we walked right up and got on a boat in no time at all.  With ducks keeping us company, we paddled though the small lake and waterways, under bridges until we made it to the Grand Basin of Forest Park with its large fountains and view of the Art Museum.

It was a really great time and Jennifer repeatedly said she was so happy and could not think of a better way to spend her special day.  I am pretty sure Olivia and Mia enjoyed themselves as well.  After peddling back to the dock, we ate at the Boathouse restaurant, on the edge of the lake.  Really a great day.  I cannot believe we have this wonderful park only a few minutes from our home, and we rarely do anything more than stop by the zoo.  If you ever get the chance to take a paddle boat ride, take it.

NOTE:  Once again, all of these photos were made with the camera on my Blackberry and adjusted in Lightroom.  I chose this style of post processing because the history of Forest Park, just calls for this look.  See more images on my Flickr page in the Mother’s Day in Forest Park set.

St. Patrick's Day is about t-shirts

I am not sure what other families do to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but apparently we wear t-shirts.

Jackson Park Chili Cook off

The boy scouts of Jackson Park School, held their annual chili cook off and I was there with my camera.  Mostly I was playing with the Pentax 16-50mm f/2.8 lens that I rented and wanted to see how it worked in the low light.  It did a good job, but trying to add a little fill light with just the camera’s built in flash caused a nasty round shadow at the bottom of the image.  Typical for a large lens with lens hood on.

Olivia’s brownie troop was there selling desserts that really hit the spot after trying to taste 20 different chili recipes.

I was then asked by Mr. Barnes to get some photos of the award winners.  He sure does appear to have fun being the emcee.

All the photos from the evening are available at jeffreyphoto.com in Events.