Niko's 1st Birthday

A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend Niko's 1st birthday party.  He's Maria and Brent's firstborn son, and they graciously invited me to celebrate this special occassion.  It was hosted at Tobang, a favorite among our group of friends, but it was also the first time I witnessed a Korean baby's first birthday.  Similar to most cultures, there's always the first big celebration for the baby, and this was it.  The highlight of the event (minus the food) was when the baby gets to choose between three items.  Depending on what he picks among the three items, it's supposed to determine what he'll be when he grows up.

Unlike the previous shoot (Zachery's baptism) where I had my pick of equipment, I felt a bit naked going into this event.  I recently sold my T2i and was waiting for the 7d to come, so I had to resort to using my good ol' XTi.  Also the filter for my 70-200 didn't arrive yet, so I didn't feel comfortable taking that lens out with just bare glass.  So I shot mainly with the 17-85 lens with my attached 430ex flash to help with the lighting situation.  I was so glad I packed the flash even though I originally didn't think I would need it, but when shooting kids speed is the key since it's almost impossible to ask them to stay still.

Thanks Brent and Maria for inviting me, hopefully you guys enjoy the pictures!