Oliver Trevor Jay Connell's Photoblog » 1st time

oliver connell | day eleven hundred & twenty-seven

tcp — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:19:29 +0000

We haven’t had much snow this winter and any that has fallen, it’s pretty much disappeared before our eyes. So when New Years Eve came around and we realized there was enough snow on the ground to get out and make Oliver his first snowman, we jumped at the opportunity. In some ways, Oliver has been looking forward to this for months!

Dana and Oliver made this really cool snowman on the front lawn, and then we went to the back yard where we had a bit of a snowball fight. We were teaching Oliver to throw snowballs, probably something we will regret in the coming years…LOL!

Again, we had a fabulous day together. It’s these kinds of days that I will cherish forever and I’m so glad I’ve got the photographs to remind me of how great this day was.

Cheers!
t.

oliver connell | day eight hundred & seventy-four

tcp — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:18:03 +0000

This will be short and sweet I promise! Playing some extreme catch-up with Oliver’s Blog. I’m sorry to all the people who frequent this site (thanks Mom) as I have been slacking on getting new photos and video up here. We’re working on remedying that right now.

So, this post happened back when it was still chilly outside (remember that????) and we were teaching Oliver how to ride a tricycle. He was a little discouraged at first, mainly because his feet didn’t quite reach the pedals but as the afternoon went on, he seemed to really enjoy it. Mum and Dad sure did too!

Enjoy the photos!
t.

oliver connell | day eight hundred & forty-six

tcp — Sun, 22 May 2011 14:16:00 +0000

One of our goals for Oliver was to teach him to learn how to swim. Both Dana and I feel it’s important for a child to learn as early as possible how to swim. We like to be around water (whether it’s at the cottage or a friend’s pool) and we didn’t want our son to feel insecure around water. It’s also clearly a safety thing.

So earlier this spring we signed Oliver up for swimming lessons at the Making Waves Swim School which is a salt-water pool just up the street from where we used to live. We had hoped we weren’t too late as we have many friends who have had their kid’s in swimming lessons right from a very young age. Oliver is 2-1/2 now but he loves the water so we’d hoped this wouldn’t be an issue. And as you can see from the photos below, Oliver is enjoying his lesson’s immensely.

His instructor’s names are Colin and James and they are outstanding with the kids. Oliver is now a “sea-turtle” and already knows how to float on his back (sometimes on his own for a couple of seconds), put his face in the water, blow bubbles, and even jump in the pool! We are very proud!

Please enjoy the photos below. Dana captured these great moments at one of his first lessons!

Cheers!
t.

Video Short: Oliver Sings

tcp — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:14:54 +0000

I guess you can’t really say this is a video of much because the “video” portion of this post doesn’t really mean anything. It’s a video of a baby monitor. Meh!

But if you listen close enough, it’s the audio that you’ll find interesting. So turn your volume up and have a listen to Oliver’s startling rendition of Steam’s “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.”

Enjoy!
t.

oliver connell | day seven hundred & eighty-four

tcp — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 21:26:03 +0000

Back about a month and a half ago, I got a facebook message from a friend saying that she saw Oliver 365 on display in an indigo by where she lives. I was a little thrown off by this post because why would Oliver 365 be on display in an Indigo? How did they even get a copy of it? So the following Saturday morning, Oliver and I went out to investigate. If this was true, I had to get a picture of Oliver and I in front of the display.

When we got to the Indigo, Oliver ran straight for the Thomas the Train setup that most Chapters/Indigo’s have in their stores. Oliver LOVES to play with the Thomas the Train set.

So once he was finally done (after about 45 minutes I had to pull him away from it), we went looking for the display. And there the book was, featured right there with some other self-published books. Turns out, Indigo has struck a partnership with the company that I created and printed the book through, www.blurb.com. A little while back, Blurb contacted me to purchase the rights to Oliver 365 for their displays and promotional materials. And with the displays showing up in Indigo stores, it’s a wonderful feeling to see a book about my Son, published by me, on display for all to see. It was a very proud moment!

We thought it was great and we had an Indigo employee take a photo of us in front of it.

Later that night, to celebrate I made my first home cooked Prime Rib and Horseradish Mashed Potatoes. I think they turned out quite well and even whipped up a plate for Oliver to eat too.

As you can see, he really didn’t want any of it. His loss I guess…LOL!

I hope you enjoyed this little story!

Cheers!
t.

oliver connell | day seven hundred & seventy-seven

tcp — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 19:24:23 +0000

Being a photographer it’s important to stay up with the latest technologies. So, to be able to offer my clients a better finished product, it’s also important to upgrade equipment when newer products come available. The Canon 5D Mark II has been on my wish list for the past couple of years. Even though the camera is now three years old, it is still recognized as one of the best cameras for wedding and portrait photographers. So, I finally took the leap and picked one up. I’m very happy with the results this camera produces and look forward to using it for my client sessions this season.

As part of the testing process and getting used to the new features, I’ve shot some video and some stills of Oliver over the past couple of months. The images and video below were the first initial test shots. The quality of image in low light scenarios is astounding. The video features take a bit to get used to and as you can see below, I had a bit of some focusing troubles during this session. But I’m getting better! It’s all a learning process and who better to learn on than my son! LOL!

Anyways, enjoy the photos and the video.

Cheers!
t.

and a short video make with the new camera and iMovie ’11

oliver connell | day 721-722

tcp — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 01:39:04 +0000

November was a really hectic month around the Connell household. Dana was in full production mode for two craft shows she had in late November and early December and I was still wrapping up a ton of editing from all the photo shoots I was doing. So to give Dana a little breathing room and some much needed alone time, Oliver and I took a trip to Grandma and Papa’s house in Victoria Harbour. It was a great time to get away for a night and Grandma and Papa couldn’t have been happier to have us.

When we arrived, Papa had a surprise for Oliver: a freshly made Race Car Bed! Oliver played in it off and on throughout the day and he had no trouble sleeping in it that evening. I bet if I could have strapped the bed to the roof of my car and took it home with me, Oliver would have been indebted to me forever. But we left it at Grandma and Papa’s house and it will be a special treat every time we go up there.

We spent two days playing, laughing and eating good food. Oliver and I can’t wait to do it again!

I’ve uploaded the complete set of photos to my Flickr site. You can view them by clicking here.

Enjoy the photos below!
t.

Video Short: Oliver enjoying pancakes

tcp — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:17:38 +0000

As Oliver started to get older, he also started (and continues) to enjoy new foods. We thought he would like pancakes, but I don’t think we were prepared for HOW MUCH he would enjoy pancakes. Of course, his Daddy really loves pancakes so it shouldn’t have come as any sort of surprise. Oliver’s Daddy has been known to polish off 16 or so pancakes in any given sitting. The best ones are made by Oliver’s Papa (formerly known as Grandpaw) on the wood-burning stove at the cottage. We can’t wait for Oliver to try those next year.

The below video is of Oliver enjoying some delicious pancakes and fresh blueberries.

Cheers!
t.

oliver connell | day five hundred & fourty

tcp — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:04:25 +0000

Another wonderful afternoon in Gage Park in downtown Brampton, Oliver, Dana and I spent some time walking, running, and playing. Oliver had a couple of firsts this afternoon: (1) It was his first time going down a slide on his own (2) Subsequently, Oliver attempted for the first time to climb back up the slide and (3) It was Oliver’s first time eating weeds, specifically dandelions. Good times were had by all!

The full set can be found on my Flickr site.

Cheers!
t.

oliver connell | day five hundred & ten

tcp — Sun, 30 May 2010 16:50:21 +0000

It’s been a while since Oliver and I hung out with the camera. I mean, we took a bunch of pictures on our vacation to Haines City Florida where we visited Nana and Grand Dad and that was great! But Oliver and I used to spend some time, usually in the mornings on a weekend, taking photos. I miss that. I think that as he gets older though, he is less concerned with the camera and more excited about doing things he likes, like eating, climbing on the couch, and playing with his toy trains.

Luckily for me, I was able to capture all those things on this evening in April. Enjoy the photos below.

Cheers!
t.

The first time Oliver was able to get up onto the couch by himself!

and as you can see, he’s quite happy about it!