Does being a professional photographer has an influence on the way that I document my life? It certainly does. I noticed that I don’t make that much pictures anymore of our daily life. Big events like birthdays are still being photographed but the small daily thing are often forgotten these days.

This has mainly to do with the fact that I don’t want to be running around with heavy pro gear all night after a day of shooting for clients. Lugging that stuff around doesn’t always mix well with managing 3 small kids either.

On my last day in Valencia I had to get by without any sophisticated geard. The borrowed Canon Ixus made me realise that these compact camera’s improved a great deal since the time of my old Powershot S50. These small camera’s are full of limitations in one way but because they are so small, they also offer lots of possibilities. I tend to look with another photographic eye when holding an compact instead of a DSLR. In Valencia I really started appreciating the Ixus so much, so I bought an Ixus 860 IS (called the powershot SD870 IS in the US) .

I did take a heavy bag with a DSLR and some lenses to Austria. But it was tucked away in the trunk. The compact on the other hand was always ready for a snapshot. That way, I could capture this nice sunrise near the German border.

Another advantage of a compact camera (well, maybe not an advantage to you) is that I get to be in a picture too once in a while. If you look at our family pics it’s like my kids grow up without a father. My wife is pretty good with a DSLR but she forgets to use it.

Our family has been skiing (or a pathetic imitation thereof) for years in Alpendorf, Austria. The cosy home of ‘Frau Burgi’ has always been our headquarters. My parents came too for a week of fun in the snow.

During our drive to Austria it was really windy but dry and sunny but on the first day we were supposed to ski, it was raining cats and dogs. The fog was also very thick so we decided not to go skiïng. On the next day, the weather cleared and we left the green valley in search for the snow on top of the mountain.

But first, we had a good breakfast.

Noa demonstrated her flying bun act.

For Kobe it was his second time on ski’s, and he got the hang of it pretty quick. For Maya it was the first time but she managed to stay upright most of the time. After 2 hours of ski lessons, a plate of French Fries provided some new energy.

After half a day of skiing, Kobe and Maya  had some fun in the snow without those clumsy ski’s.

The next morning we woke up to see some fresh snow.

Too bad that there was also a lot of fog.

The very limited visibility made us return to our headquarters a bit earlier that usual. By the time we got back the snow had turned the valley into a fluffy white place.

Part 2 of the pictures with the compact cam will follow soon.