Happy 7th Birthday Jude !

Where have the years gone by? My son turns seven years old this May and in reality it feels like twelve. The shyness and self doubt of a toddler are replaced with a sociable and confident grown boy. The "real" questions of life are asked of unsuspecting parents while my son tackles monstrous and complicated thousand piece LEGO building sets in record time. Time flies when you have three kids, so make sure to cherish the moment.



The seventh birthday celebration begins with a long weekend trip to Orlando, Florida with non stop aquatic fun. The family spent more time poolside than inside our Hilton Orlando Resort Hotel room. Who could blame us? Slide, lazy river, shallow pool, warm weather and never ending patio dining makes a happy family.



We come in peace. The people of earth have nothing to fear from the little green visitors to Hollywood Drive In Golf at Universal City Walk. My children bring the latest Apple mobile devices and the ultimate armageddon deterrents, dirty diapers and projectile vomiting. Even aliens from the far end of the galaxy fear the true weapons of mass destruction.



A double milestone celebration occurred this past weekend. The day my son turned seven is the day my youngest baby daughter took her first real steps to walking. I captured the spontaneous bouts of walking with my Canon 5D Mark III. Call it the "Cinema Verite" of baby steps.



First it was two steps, then five steps and then she kept on going and going. The family bear witness the evolution from crawling infant to walking toddler poolside. The family can now add one more walking menace to the group.



Little green men ran out of green body paint. The Blue Man Group performance at the Aquos theater in Universal CityWalk gave an outer body multimedia experience.



The creative Blue Man fusion of very loud music, bright technical displays and slapstick comedy honestly gave me a headache for a late Friday night. As for the short attention spans of my kids, the vibrant Blue Man Group celebration of art, technology and music illustrated with enormous "Gi-Pads" made it worthwhile.



The baby days are over. We welcomed you seven years ago into a world of LEGO's, Apple mobile devices, Call of Duty: MW3 and complicated adults. You are a true blessing made simple to this family.



Happy 7th Birthday, Jude! You are growing faster than I can snap pictures, process the RAW files, transcode to AppleProRes 422 and render my Final Cut Pro timeline with my 2006 MacBook Pro. No worries, there will always be more Carvel Ice Cream Cake with chocolate crunchies to celebrate future milestones.



You can view more milestones in my Happy 7th Birthday Jude 2012 Gallery shot with the Canon 5D Mark III paired with the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS, EF 70-200mm f/4L IS and EF 35mm f/1.4L lenses.



Even large scary alien robots fear soiled diapers. Be courageous and Become a Fan on my Facebook Fan Page and follow me on Twitter!

Happy Birthday Olivia !

My beloved niece celebrated her 14th birthday with chaotic glee. Her cousins from Georgia visited during their theme park road trip to Florida for their summer break. All of her cousins look up to her for the latest trends and whereabouts of Justin Bieber.



What would a fourteen year old want for her birthday? Do it yourself Ceramic Pottery...The cousins had a blast making a mess for a small fee.



It has been a while since the cousins visited from Georgia. It was a welcome surprise for Olivia and the entire family.



I really do not know what the kids were painting or what their artistic projects will be used for. The important thing is the kids are together having fun and spending time with each other.



The ceramic pottery may look vaguely familiar to my PhotoBlog followers. In my Canon EOS Rebel T2i Verdict, I featured another ceramic pottery establishment with a T2i Video Test.



I featured the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV with the Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L prime lens at Pottery Patch in Valrico, FL.

Happy Birthday Madeline !

At exactly 3:35pm my life changed into something I could never have imagined. Only 6 months prior to this defining moment of my daughter's arrival, I could merely see shadows and outlines.



Happy Birthday Madeline! Special could only describe the overwhelming feeling of seeing your smile for the first time. Your constant beaming from birth until this very day shines with your forever kindness and good will.



Fairy Tales do come true and my Princess has arrived to my Kingdom wearing a jeweled crown and a pink gown. You are forever mine.



Best of friends illustrates your bond with your younger brother. He desires your knowledge on how to manipulate Mommy and Daddy for wanton tasks.



You have matured into a beautiful young girl with a gorgeous smile and an affable personality. I am blessed to be your Father and to have you as the daughter of our family.



Your Mom unconditionally loves you with all her heart and will do her best to guide you in the most motherly way.



You are the sojourner of everything pink, manicured nails and Yummy House Noodles.



Your family wishes you a very Happy Birthday!



This is a blast from the past! A standard definition 4:3 video shot with the Sony PD150 and edited with Final Cut Pro 4. It was the dawn of affordable 3 CCD video cameras and professional grade non linear editing software for aspiring film makers. We just love everything Hawaii!



And everything Italian! Of course, this video is shot with the Canon EOS Rebel T2i and 5D Mark II in High Definition 1080p quality and edited with Final Cut Pro 6.

When In Rome, Have A McItaly Burger !

My family traveled over five thousand miles to visit the epicenter of art, culture, fashion and cuisine. Destinations like the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Tower of Pisa, the Pantheon and McDonalds filled our Italian travel itinerary.



The steps of the Pantheon withstood the fall of the Roman Empire and centuries of blight, but the McDonald's Happy Meal invaded with a McItaly hamburger, fries and an Italian themed toy.



Divine Intervention stopped our Western culinary influence and lured my family to the center of Catholicism. A quick taxi ride to the Vatican City, we waited patiently in the Disney World-like line for over thirty minutes to enter St. Peter's Basilica. It was worth the wait.



I could not stop photographing. Every corner of the Cathedral is draped with ornate decoration and breathtaking sculptures. Every devout Catholic in the entire world comes to St. Peter's Cathedral to pay homage and this includes my wife. She waited in another line inside the church with the kids to attend holy mass.



Excitement filled my daughter because she will receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion in the holiest place on earth. As an official Holy Communicant, my daughter's memories of her First Holy Communion was still fresh in her mind.



My name is Maximus Aurelius. I wanted to say that when I entered this colossus Colosseum. Other than the hordes of tourists and predatory souvenir merchants and guides, the stone amphitheater towered over the skyline of Rome.



Just like Walmart invading suburbs across America and now China, Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii and its people in a two day long catastrophic eruption. Only a short trip from Rome, we journeyed in our Ford Fiesta to even more ruins and misshapen rocks.



Walking the entire archaeological site on cobblestone roads did not fare well with the family especially in the direct sunlight of a summer day. The poor souls of Pompeii fared worse with toxic air and hot volcanic lava. I guess this guy has not met my brother in-law yet!



I promised myself I would not "pose" in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa for any amount of money. Okay, I lied. Maybe for a Las Vegas style Prime Rib Buffet I would consider the tacky proposition. Well, my family insisted and captured the cheesy moment.



I highly suggest when traveling to Italy bring plenty of memory cards and your appetite for a McDonald's McItaly Burger.



You can view more photos and videos in my Rome, Italy Canon 5D Mark II Gallery.

I hauled two HD DSLRS on my shoulders to compare the cameras for photo and video quality. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II was paired with Canon EF 24-105 f/4 L, EF 17-40 f/4 L and EF 70-200 f/4 IS L glass. The Canon EOS Rebel T2i was exclusively mated to the Canon EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS lens.

You can also view photos and videos in my Rome, Italy Canon Rebel T2i/550D Gallery.



This Rebel T2i and 5D Mark II video above is my fifth and final sights and sounds of Italy post. You can read my previous Italian PhotoBlog posts by entering "Italy" in the search bar on the top left of the website.

You can view all photos and videos in my Italy 2010 Gallery.

Happy Birthday Auntie !

My daughter's favorite Auntie had her Birthday party today at The Wine Exchange in Hyde Park Village. Not my usual fare (No Fried Chicken), but I got my fill of Steak and Fries. I was actually looking forward to my family's Chinese Mecca, Yummy House, but my sister in law's boyfriend made secret plans to skirt my Yummy House appetite.

Yes, this is my mini-clone. My son rarely strikes a pose unless there is some type of bribe in the form of soda, ice cream or his iPhone App privileges suspended for more than a minute. So you ask what prompted this handsome gesture? I asked him to smile for the camera or the iPhone disappears. This is a sad comment on Apple's strangle hold on today's preschoolers. What happened to Nintendo DSi?



My PhotoBlog Post would not be complete if I did not include a Canon EOS Rebel T2i Video Test #2 of our Birthday adventures. After lunch, the whole family went to a paint it yourself ceramic studio called ColorMeMine. I did not understand the concept of buying items to paint yourself, but my wife and kids enjoyed it. I just smiled and shot pictures and video for my next test gallery.

I will not hold back any longer. The Canon Rebel T2i outperformed my expectations again and again. See for yourself in the updated T2i Gallery and in the new video below.