Bug and Bean Blog

Over the weekend we decided to take advantage of our Checkout San Francisco family pass to Zeum, a multi media arts children’s museum. The Checkout SF Family Pass allows families to visit popular attractions like Zeum, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco Zoo,  SF Moma and the Exploratorium for free. Pretty awesome, especially for large families like ours! (Plus, we LOVE the library!)

Our favorite part of our Zeum visit was the Animators Studio where we were able to create clay characters and then use those characters to create our very own stop-motion movie. Nothing feels better than creating something with your own bare hands! I cannot tell you how much the kids enjoyed this experience. You could really see each child’s personality come through with the characters they created. The end result was a true collaboration between my little budding artists!

So without further ado, the debut of The Wong Family VERY short film “Summer Adventures” We hope you enjoy it and we look forward to making the sequel. We might actually know what we are doing second time around!

cast of characters from left to right:

ketchup the dog (and his ball)-by mom, tomato the fruit/veggie? fairy-by kaia, googly eyes the muscle man-by kadin, oregano the herb fairy-by kualii, pig dog the pig dog-by kiran and dad, big belly (not pregnant mom!)-by dad

Be sure to check out the upcoming NY/SF International Children’s Film Festival!

San Francisco Film Society Fall Season
NY/SF International Children’s Film Festival
September 24–26, 2010
Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema

A three-day celebration of diverse, enlightening, inspiring and entertaining films for kids and teens ages 3–18 and their families, the NY/SF International Children’s Film Festival will bring short, feature length, animated and documentary films from around the world to the Bay Area.

The mixed media shorts program Party Mix and music documentary Sounds Like Teen Spirit open the Festival with an Opening Night party in between the screenings. Filmmakers in attendance throughout the weekend include Folimage founder and Mia & the Migoo director Jacques-Rémy Girerd, and The Secret of Kells director Tomm Moore who will lead an interactive workshop. From cyberpunk/sci-fi anime featureSummer Wars to the awe-inspiring nature film Turtle: The Incredible Journey, this fun-filled showcase has something for everyone.

For tickets and program information, visit sffs.org< http://www.sffs.org/Screenings-and-Events/Fall-Season/NY-SF-International-Childrens-Film-Festival> or call 925-866-9559.

so many mamas choosing to celebrate their baby bumps with a maternity photography session lately. makes my heart happy. hope you all enjoy the labor day weekend! :) here is a favorite from yesterdays summer belly.

I first photographed Maya at her 1st birthday celebration in 2007. Maya likes purple, princesses and her pet monkey Chongo (sp?).  We chatted about français, picked wild flowers, twirled like a ballerina, made fish faces and giggled over the fact that her name rhymes with my daughter’s name, Kaia. She has grown up to be quite the vivacious and beautiful young lady. Best of all, she is about to become a big sister!! I <3 this family. They are the kind of family that gives off that infectious happy feeling. Can’t wait to meet you baby!

image via vitra

“Eventually everything connects – people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality.”
-Charles Eames

Fascinating little creatures, aren’t they? These adorable elephants were originally designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1945 but never made it into mass production until 2007 when Vitra launched a limited edition of the Plywood Elephant in honor of the 100th birthday of Charles Eames. The following year, these beauties were put into production once again, but this time in a more affordable  polypropylene version. 4 in red, please!

To further commemorate Eames’ 100th birthday and the elephant’s release, Eames Demetrios, the grandson of Charles Eames created a stop-motion animated film featuring the elephants. My kids truly enjoy this charming film!

“A Gathering of Elephants”

Also check out this link which includes a commentary by Eames Demetrios

Vote for Bug and Bean Photography!

We’re thrilled to be nominated for a 2010 Nickelodeon Parents’ Picks Award for Best Family Photographer in San Francisco. Tomorrow (8/31) is the last day to vote, so please get your votes in and spread the word!

VOTE HERE

And don’t forget: Every time you vote, you’re entered to win $1000 in the Parents’ Picks Awards Sweepstakes.
We’re crossing our fingers!

A little preview of 7 month old Baby Julia. Isn’t she adorable? I love this age when they are able to sit up and show off their roly polies! I photographed this session studio style which was a nice change from the norm. Mom wanted to keep it simple with all the focus on Julia. I don’t blame her ! She’s a cutie pie and you can’t go wrong when you keep it classic.

Sharing a few more from the maternity and family photography session I shared last month. The family is expecting a baby girl in the fall-how exciting! They wanted to document this happy time with photographs of their San Francisco life before their move out of the city. It was a cold and foggy morning, but the fog lifted just in time for us to capture the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge in the background.  Big brother, Trevor,  was such a sweetheart with his mom. Snuggles and kisses galore! What is about boys and their moms?!

A little peek into a very special family session Mike and I photographed yesterday morning of the Soules Family. Mr. Soules has been Bug’s teacher since the 1st grade and will continue to be up until the 8th grade. As you can imagine we are very grateful for Mr. Soules and his family! Thanks for the fun morning!

Love,

The Wong Family

Oh how I love baby toes! A few from a newborn photography session I was editing over the weekend. Do you remember what it felt like to cradle baby in your arms like that? Best feeling ever! <3

Kiran’s little twin star, Taylor came to visit us today. She gave me about 5 seconds to take her picture! Good thing she is crazy cute and we were able to catch some great images. (plus I’m a ninja and gave her candy!) :) I love her giggles here! It’s one of those series of images that you could easily miss with a blink of the eye. Thanks for hanging out with us today Tay Tay. We love you!