1-2-3...Jump!

I really enjoy the one on one posing of senior photos, but the true joy in these sessions is exploring why each child has chosen their path and then capturing it.

This past week I photographed Zach, a high school senior heading to college next year to dive. Of course I was intrigued by why he had chosen to become a diver. His answer, "I watched the Olympics, thought is looked fun and signed up." Quite the open minded, ready to literally jump, type of kid. I was able to capture some fun angles of him diving which were achieved by climbing to the top of the platform and hanging over the edge to watch Zach on platforms below. I was very happy to climb down the ladder after completing my task rather than jumping into the pool 10 meters below.

I left this session feeling invigorated and inspired to continue the quest to help my boys' find their passion. Life has so many unique twists and turns and sometimes in order to find what you are passionate about you have to look outside of the box and JUMP!

Celebrating new life at the center of it all...HOME.

This week I met Nathaniel. I've been photographing his sisters, Reagan and Charlotte, for years now, but this was his very first session with me. At just 2 weeks old and 7 lbs he was a little precious peanut. We decided to have the session at the family's home. First of all it is easy for mom who now has three kids to tote with all that newborn stuff, plus we were able to capture photos of the backyard where the girls have grown up. This included their wonderful playhouse that dad built and at three years old Reagan painted beautiful flowers on the posts.

You might think your home is not photo ready, not many people do, but I promise you there is always somewhere perfect for photos. Why not kill two birds with one stone and not only capture your kids, but also the place where you laid down their roots.

I love this one. Poor Nathaniel was so good the entire session and then we try and stuff him in a box. He clearly said enough is enough!

Back to the beginning

Recently a lot has happened that has given reasons to reflect. I've learned that our brains function like a sophisticated storage system. With all the hustle and bustle of busy life, we push the past aside to make room for the new. Like the Cloud, these past moments are stored safely for a later date. Just when needed the most, we can download the most wonderful memories.

My first years out of college were spent as a graphic artist and then I moved over to photography a few years after my first son was born so that I could work from home. To get started I knew that to have people trust me as their photographer, I had to prove my art.

At the time we lived on a street with so many wonderful young kids. This was before I had kids of my own so they were my little playmates. This situation was perfect for me because when I needed subjects to photograph they were all willing to help. I was able to gather an army of kids to practice with and created a portfolio so that I could go out into the big bad world to sell myself as a professional photographer.

I want to give a special thank you to three sisters to whom I watched grow from little bitty girls to amazingly beautiful and talented women and teens. When you see these photos you'll see why these girls were on the top of my list to use as portfolio subjects. My criteria was not only beautiful, but also siblings that had close connection that would be obvious in the photography. These girls had it all!

When I am flooded with those wonderful memories from the past, the kids I played with on our street come to front and center of my brain. Special moments and memories that are with me forever.

Now what lessons have I recently learned?
Life is so fast! Smell the roses and take LOTS of photos!