{nano cam}

I couldn't resist sharing this little Pentax camera with you -- a real working camera, onto which you can build your own designs with Nanoblocks. Only from Japan, of course, but surely they'll make it over to the rest of the world one day?

My Dad brought one home from a recent business trip, and it went off with my sister, Alice, to her first year of university last weekend. You can bet that that camera will see a lot of good times!

We saw Alice off to her new life, and then made the long trip back home, where we're slowly remembering what 'real' life is like!

{nikon junior}

What better way to distract Tilly from our new camera than making a version just for her? Please welcome the T90 -- a stuffed felt copy of ours, for little fingers.

Nice bright buttons to control all of her settings, stitched and glued on as I have a feeling Tilly might still think of buttons as a tasty treat.

And, on the back, her very own screen for viewing her shots! With a plastic cover, the photos are protected from being scrunched and dribbled onto.

The screen is open along one side to allow you to change out the photos and keep it interesting.

I flipped through a couple of magazines to find pictures of dogs to add. Tilly loves these. I imagine, if she had a real camera, she would only use it to photograph dogs!

It turns out this cheeky little Westie, from a dog food advert, is her favourite!

The flash on top serves as a little handle, so Tilly can happily carry her camera around. Perfectly lightweight for little hands!

If you've got a camera-grabbing little one, too, and are interested in making your own version, I've put together a kit, including all the felt, stuffing, buttons and instructions you need to whip one up in no time. You can find it over at my shop.

Now, Tilly and I are loading our pockets with dog treats and heading off to search the neighbourhood for friendly dogs to snap!

{a new lens on the world}

Yesterday, our new camera arrived. Tilly and I were so excited, tracking it every hour, and we vowed not to leave the house until it came, for fear of missing the UPS man. We waited and waited and waited, afraid even to go in the back garden, in case we didn't hear the knock. We weeded the front garden, though, and read every single book we own at least twice. And went a little crazy.

And then, at 4.45pm, when we'd just about given up hope, our little D90 came. We raced to get it charged and formatted and all put together, and then hurried out for a walk before the sun disappeared (we needn't have rushed -- around here, it gets dark at about 9pm these days!)

How velvety Bella's ears look now!

What fun to experiment with depth of field and blur.

It seems even heavy-duty machinery and tarmac look soft through a 50mm lens!

We are thoroughly enjoying learning how to work the camera, and have thankfully passed through the initial stage of not being able to get anything in focus! Now, to see what all these little buttons do...

{inspiration: snap happy}

Tilly loves my camera. Every other photo I take these days is half obscured by her little hand reaching out for the lens, and she'll stop at nothing to see herself on the little screen. In fact, she loves cameras so much that we decided to plan her a "Say Cheese!" birthday party. (Which also fits with her love of cheddar -- perfect!)

These are a few things that have been inspiring me while planning her little celebration. 

Girliepains' printable box cameras could add a lovely colourful touch.

OneLateNight's custom plush camera looks nice and chew-proof, and might stand up to a houseful of one-year-olds.



Hine's camera case has the added bonus of buttons for little fingers to play with.

Girliepains printable Polaroids give a touch of retro, and come with mini-Polaroid photos!

LittleSaplingToys' organic camera takes indestructable to a new level.



Bobo Choses' camera pajamas look very cosy to snuggle up in after a long day of cake eating.

AmyTangerine's handstitched camera onesie is very cute. Perhaps we need one in a Justin size too, as he's usually doing the hard work behind the shot, i.e. making farm animal noises at the top of his voice. Yes, really. (Moo works best, we've found)

In other camera news, please stand by for an increase in the quality of photos around here. More on that later...

A Camera Family

Today was Tilly's first proper bath in her bathtub, not just a wipe down with a wash cloth. And, much to my surprise, she loved it straight away. Perhaps it was the lovely warm water, or the little hammock that fits into the tub, or the fact that she was the centre of two people's attention... she just lay back and enjoyed looking out of the window.

And what I realised today, as I scrambled to find my camera, is that photos have come to be the biggest symbol of family for me. As the little battery symbol flashed "low" and I hurriedly dried my hands enough to use the camera, my heart was literally racing... what if I couldn't capture this moment on film? What if I couldn't send it to my family and share the joy of the moment with them? What if , when Tilly turns twenty-five and asks to see photos of her first bath, I have nothing to show her? Luckily, the battery held out just long enough, but it got me thinking about cameras and what they mean to me.

Ever since we started our 365 photo-a-day project back in February, I've felt so much more connected to my family. We remember to share things... the big things (goodness only knows how many people were waiting for the first photo of Tilly!), but also the little every day things: my Mum walking the dog, my Dad en route on a business trip, my brother making lasagne, my aunt's new table cloth. And I'm so grateful for that. You'd think that a family spread so widely around the globe --England, Texas, China-- would undoubtedly lose touch a little. But I really feel that the distance has inspired us to find ways to be connected, in a way that we probably wouldn't have been if we'd lived closer.

You should have seen us when my parents and sister were here visiting a few weeks ago... there must have been ten different cameras lying around between the phones, the digitals, and Alice's Polaroid and antique film camera! And on the last day, as they were leaving, the car suddenly stopped, and all three Duffies jumped out, cameras in their hands, and each of them took several photos of Justin, Tilly and me in the doorway...

... and it made us feel loved. And if I hadn't had a Tilly to hold, I'd have been taking a photo of them driving off!

We take photos of times and people and places we want to remember, and I want Tilly to be able to look back all the way to her first day of life and say, "People love me. People have always loved me. People have wanted to remember how I look every day of my life."

So, I'll be stocking up on batteries, and making sure there's a camera on hand for every moment.