Pictures of Charlie is a tribute to a boy aptly named Charlie. He's an amazing kid really. But I would say that. I'm his uncle, the guy with the camera. He's no ordinary kid, something every proud parent or uncle always chirps. But in his case its true, really. He's wicked cute, for sure: big brown eyes, pudgy cheeks and flowing amber and golden hair. But more importantly he loves to play. The playful games we'd invent together would often trigger his infectious brand of belly laughs. It was these moments I was trying to capture on film. How could you go wrong?

Taking good photos of kids , it turns out, is surprisingly difficult. A cute kid is no guarantee of success. The problem is most parents aren't so discerning. I'm certainly no child portrait specialist, but I've learned a few things along the way. Such as rule one: always shoot from their level. If you're standing above them, the photos rarely connect with any impact. It also becomes much harder to get a good shot after the age, which comes regrettably young, when kids learn to flash that fake smile whenver the camera is pointed at them.

While most of the captions are about Charlie, I share some of what I learned in my efforts to take better pictures of kids. You'll find scattered among the captions various comments on what works, what doesn't, and what I was trying to accomplish with each shot. The tecnical comments are something of a bonus to keep people going, because when its not your kid, pictures of kids can get really, really boring!

Enjoy and stay tuned! Many more images to come I'm sure. With several more visits back to my hometown scheduled in the next few months. I will cull down this gallery to a manageable size, the best of the best. At the moment, what you see mostly are from my recent visit, armed with a digital camera. There are several more gems in film form.