Now not being a lover of the Victorian code has often put me offside with my friends, they can’t understand why I would ever be interested in the game of Rugby Union. But isn’t that the way with sport, what you play as a child generally follows you to your formative years, and that is what your passion ultimately becomes.

Recently Brett captured this image of Jackson with an AFL footy tucked securely under his arm, so I can see there is no hope for me to be able to convince Jackson to come over to the other side…  * sigh *

Have a great week-end everyone!

Gee the weather is just great isn’t it?

Spring is very much in the air, the sun is out, the days are so much warmer and the blossoms are in full bloom (a bit too poetic do you think?). One thing about Caulfield Park (other than it’s fantastic size and beauty) is the amazing array of flora and fauna - and with Spring the shots that Brett Jacques is now getting for the Five & Under campaign offer the perfect balance to those taken over the last few months…I love the contrast!

Here’s a perfect example of what I mean…this is Ashleigh who will appear in the book Five & Under (but probably not this picture!) the colours in Caulfield Park right now do offer some quite lovely photo opportunities…isn’t it a lovely picture?

Of course what all this means is very soon we are going to see some ducklings and some cygnets swimming in the lake (another fantastic picture opportunity), so if you haven’t been down to the park recently you better pop back with your children and have a fun time in the sun…and don’t forget to say hello to Brett if you see him or pop into the Blue Giraffe Studio & Gallery opposite Caulfield Park (corner of Inkerman and Hawthorn Roads) you know he’d love to see you!

In the course of my job I see thousands and thousands of photos and when it comes to those captured by Brett Jacques often there is more to it than just the shot itself…perhaps that is why his images are not just pictures but in fact art.

Why art? Well to me it’s like a painting you might see in an art gallery - every picture generates a different emotional response from each of us who sees it and nearly always it is the warm kind of emotion we can’t explain but the kind that makes us smile and remember a different time in our own lives perhaps not that long ago.

Rarely do I post images of parents in this blog - mainly because this site is not about adults it’s about children, but sometimes I have to share…and I’d like to share this special and almost private moment between Grady and his mum at their photography session for Five & Under…it is quite lovely, don’t you agree?

Yes it is true, pets and kids - put those two things together and I can sit for hours and watch them play. There is just something about the bond between a child and its pet, specially when it comes to dogs and children…I am not going to try and analyse it I just wanted to share a couple of pictures with you as the week-end gets underway (and a stunner it looks like it is going to be too).

The parents of both William and James brought their dogs along for their Five & Under photography session - names of each dog unknown, perhaps mums could let us know in the comments below. Now Caulfield Park is a fantastic place to walk any dog and provided they are on a lead it’s a great place to get some wonderful pictures by Brett Jacques of your child with his or her favourite dog…

Don’t you just love these two images? (Thanks Brett)

This is James and his dog

And this is William and his dog

Well we have had a couple of session postponements due to kids with colds etc - not to worry, these things happen and we’d prefer that you had a happy and healthy child appearing in the book Five & Under rather than one with puffy eyes and a long strand of gooey snot hanging from the nose (my wife is going to tell me to remove that comment as soon as she reads it, so enjoy the visual image while you can..! )

Case in point: last week-end Brett Jacques had a photography session with the now oft referred to “Latte Ladies”. Unfortunately one Mum (Samantha) couldn’t make it due to a sick child but Genal, Sam and Emma came along with children in tow, duly accepted their promised Latte’s from your truly and then spent the next couple of hours running all over Caulfield Park trying to keep up with their kids!

There were ducks and geese chase after (well little Emerson has decided geese aren’t so much fun), there were bridges to run across, steps to fall down, puddles to jump in and dirt to eat - all on a simply beautiful day in the park.

We had hoped to somehow get a picture of everyone together for this blog, but getting the price of petrol to come down now seems like a far more easier option.

But Brett did get the one picture - and so…this is Emerson and Jackson in what turned out to be a rare, quiet and apparently contemplative moment for them both.

It’s not often I get along to Brett’s photo sessions, I do love to watch him work - he really does have a special way with kids and his cameras - and I did enjoy meeting the Latte Ladies.

All in all, I think everyone had a great day…and now I hope you all have a great week-end.

David