His First Holy Communion

My son's first reception of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is cause for celebration and of course, formal pictures. Along with many Catholic 2nd graders with their excited parents, the hunt for proper attire began with frantic visits to the children section at local department stores. After repeated attempts at multiple locations for the correct garment size, the online heavens parted and blessed us with convenient delivery to our home. This is truly a Blessed Sacrament.



Reconciliation finished. Sacrament of the Altar completed. This communicant is well on his way for his rite of passage until his future confirmation. Assigned seating in the third row gave me an opportune view for this unobstructed perfect shot at ISO 3200 with my trusty Canon EOS Rebel SL1/100D. Divine Intervention strikes again!



If you look closely at paintings of the Last Supper in Filipino households, you can see a succulent whole roasted Lechon pig with crispy skin on the table with Jesus and his Apostles. The Lord's Supper and my son's First Communion Reception are not complete without the national dish of suckling swine of the Philippines and Puerto Rico.



Unlike this one, many rites of passage are not a true and straight path. There will be many obstacles sight unseen in your future. Doubt will be cast and certainly authority questioned until you are well past an adult. It will all make sense later.



Your journey will not be alone. This much photographed family will guide you like your gracious unleavened host on this perfect happy day. Like all similes, please don't eat us.



No fancy studio lights and digital cameras here in my First Holy Communion photo shoot, just a Polaroid Instamatic Land Camera with harsh flash bulb lighting. Check out my over sized lapels on my brown leisure suit ! I was "Stylin" in my day !

Happy Mother's Day

Consider Mother's Day a victory for all mankind. Despite the commercial greeting card bombardment of the modern age, Mother's Day can still be called an official holiday. Call it a celebration of maternal bonds between mother and child. You can also call it a last minute gift scramble for your number one fan. How does an adorable 14 month old praise her mom? Simple...rare moments of photogenic smiles for Daddy's camera in the studio.



Watch out Hallmark! Quilling is not for the birds and aristocrats anymore. This decorative paper art form makes full use of your shredded sensitive documents or you could just order a fancy colored set from Amazon, just like my wife did. Nothing says Mother's Day like curled strips of paper from the shredder.



Like mother like daughter, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. The creative juices are flowing with my oldest daughter. From Kids Arts Fair at school to contemporary Quilling at home, my daughter became mommy's new art assistant. Truly a Mother's Day gift of heart and free child labor.



Like father like son, the apples are eaten before they even hit the ground. For my son, this motherly holiday is an exercise of strong will and hapless determination. Difficult describes the gifted effort for my son this honored day. His inner "Christmas everyday" soul is challenged with the phrase "giving is better than receiving." Of course with the help of his first grade teacher, this Mother's Day came with barely a smile wrapped in a homemade frame with a loving card. Priceless!



You can view more adorable smiles and quilling delights in my Mother's Day 2012 Gallery shot with the new Canon EOS 5D Mark III full frame DSLR.



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Epic

Bigger than life itself. No fabled heroes on this New Year's Day but only humbled eyes capturing a chronicle of events called my family. Year 2011 has passed and the dauntless task of 2012 seems as bright as the New Year's Eve firework's display at LEGOLAND Florida.



Cousins forever. Just like Dick Clark's Times Square Ball Drop for New Year's Eve, the countdown is ticking for priceless childhood moments. School winter break converged masses upon central Florida with several theme parks closing its doors due to over capacity. We braved the traffic and crowds and hit LEGOLAND Florida with a vengeful bite of Granny Apple Fries with delightful whip cream.



Enamored by bombs bursting in air like my wife, my almost 10 month old daughter shares the same fondness for elaborate firework displays. Armed with store bought 500 gram gunpowder cakes, my brother in law illuminates the neighborhood with theme park quality fireworks. The little ones duck and cover while the adults and the local County Sheriff gaze with mouths agape.



A thousand points of light shine bright upon the best Christmas of my lifetime. "The best Christmas" may sound cliche to my kid's gift filled eyes but it is an epic truth to me.



My oldest niece meets the youngest of the Soriano family only for the second time this year. Despite this gap, my baby daughter stares deep into her oldest cousin's eyes with a lifetime of familiarity...Epic.



You can view more photos in my New Year's Eve for 2012 Gallery shot with the Canon EOS Rebel T3i paired with the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens.

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A Pumpkin Patch of Plenty

Call it Thanksgiving in October. The early settlers of North America celebrated the final harvest of their crops with a feast. Harvest festivals around the world rejoice with merriment and song. The Soriano family gives humble thanks for the ultimate gift with pumpkin patch jubilation.



In preparation for Halloween, the family departed to the local pumpkin patch for some prime pickings of Jack O Lanterns and some adorable harvest time pics. Pumpkins of every size imaginable for the choosing but that special one catches my wife's eye for the carving.



A good rule of thumb is to wait until "Golden Hour" to shoot pumpkin patch photos for fabulous results. Another good rule of thumb is to purchase pumpkins you can easily lift and carry without angina. A pumpkin you cannot budge is a good pumpkin to sit on.



When big pumpkins are not your fancy, my daughter thinks small ones are cute. Easy to carry and very cute like her smile. We had to limit her purchase to three.



My almost 8 month old daughter Serena chose this pumpkin. After much debate and drool, she was convinced with one lick this larger than life gourd would make a good teether and a hollowed out playpen. Who does not love pumpkin pie?



We submitted to temptation. The gratuitous "Harvest Festival" staged family portrait flowed through my Canon EOS 1D Mark IV paired with the EF 35mm f/1.4L prime lens. Obviously, my unsmiling baby daughter Serena did not like the location either.



With every click I give thanks for the baby horn of plenty. Serena with her older siblings give me abundance and nourishment. The "Cornucopia" of family makes it all worthwhile in the pumpkin patch of plenty.



You can view more plentiful pick'ins in my A Pumpkin Patch of Plenty 2011 Gallery shot with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV paired with the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L lens.



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Serena on the Fourth of July

The Stars and Stripes are big and bright. My newborn daughter is four months old on this very Independence Day. A celebration of a nation and the many milestones of Serena. The laughing, giggling, smiling and rolling over on her tummy runs deep in the hearts of her mom and dad.



Only if milestones could explode and cause pyrotechnic havoc, my son would pay more attention to more sentimental occasions. This is the extent of my firework photography. Grilling ten pounds of meat and conducting the explosive celebration was not conducive to image making.



There is no doubt Serena looks like her mom and her big sister. My oldest daughter loves her baby sister with all her heart. The uncanny resemblance is unmistakeable. Check it out yourself.



Every month from now we will see Serena grow and her family glow with anticipation. I could very well see an Apple i-device in her future, pink of course.



Serena is poised to crawl east on Hillsborough Avenue towards her favorite restaurant. Just follow the trail of slobber and spit-up.

You can view more pictures shot with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II in my Serena on the Fourth of July 2011 Gallery.

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