Oh Dang! They've Grown Again!

 

With the recent addition of client archives to my website, I've been on a bit of a walk down memory lane as I upload five years of clients' images! While uploading the files from previous shoots with Dana and Mike and their family, I noticed that with every shoot we've done together they've added one child to the mix! I thought it would be fun to bring forth some of those archived shots to show the family's growth over the past four years...

 At Washington Park Arboretum in October 2006... I had already done two shoots with Dana and Caleb prior to this one when I finally got to meet Mike!

The family in July 2007- not long after they'd brought home Matthew from a Vietnamese orphanage! At this shoot Dana divulged they were expecting another...

and at our next shoot in September 2008 I met sweet baby Kristina!

And just a few weeks ago, I joined the family at Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island and met the latest addition to the family- four-month-old baby Hudson!

Here is another from our first family shoot in October 2006... Dana assures me they have no plans of adding another to the clan but this photo has me wondering who I might meet next time I see them : )


I've created a little slideshow to share a few more photos from our most recent shoot together... please enjoy!

Celebrating One Year With Ashi!

 

It’s already been one year since our little buddy Ashenafi joined us from Ethiopia! His mama Erin asked Asher and I to join her, Christian and Ashi  for a little celebration of his special  anniversary with some yummy treats at Mallard Ice Cream. Of course we obliged…you’ll never catch us turning down an invite for Mallard’s cool creamy goodness! Never mind the fact that we both absolutely adore Ashi and would never miss an opportunity to celebrate his presence in our lives : )

  

  

  

I just looked through the first photos I took of Ashi last April and I cannot believe how much he has grown since he arrived! I get such a kick out of hearing his developing language skills and his emerging personality. He’s quite entertaining : )

Big brother Christian shows us his mad cone-eating skills

   Biggest brother Asher gets some love from Ashi : )

 

Asher had instructed me to keep him out of the pictures (hence the faux scowl) but I’m glad I didn’t oblige him because I love this picture of him and his monkey-on-the-back little bro : )

 

  

So close this time!

LOTS of love for Mama from her boys!

Congratulations on one year together… what a happy little family : )

Kind Words

I love it when clients share their thoughts with me about the photographs I’ve created for them. In fact those emails go straight to a file titled “Keepers” : ) Recently I received a message  from Steve, the father of the three kids pictured above- Autumn, Levi and their baby brother Dustin, taken three years ago during Dusty’s newborn shoot. Steve had the following to say about this photo…

I forgot to tell you again that the black and white you took of Autumn and Levi holding Dusty when he was only a couple weeks old, not smiling at the camera, just holding him at siblings, still takes my breath away three years later. It is by far my favorite picture in my life. It makes me smile and sends a tear running down my cheek.

I love this photo too. In fact, it is one of my favorite photos I’ve ever created. I’ve often referred to this photo as an example to parents of why not to get too uptight if a photo shoot seems to be going awry. You’d never guess by the sense of serenity exuded from this image, but it  was captured during a moment of total chaos. It was a hot day, the kids were sticky with sweat and none among them wanted to sit still, let alone touch each other. Somewhere in the middle of  the very vocal squirming protests and hard-core cajoling from parents, this beautiful moment happened and somehow I managed to capture it for eternity. 

For me, this photograph holds many messages. It’s a reminder that photos like this one cannot be created by force of anyone’s will – photos like this just happen. A forced photograph will always show itself for what it is, so I think it’s far better to just have fun and let the moments occur as they will : )  This photo is also a great example of why it’s really not all that important for subjects to be looking at the camera. This photograph would not be nearly as powerful if any one of the children were looking directly into the lens, let alone all three. Finally… I think the greatest message  this photo holds for me (and I suspect for Steve too)  is that even in the midst of utter chaos, a little serenity can be found and, if I’m ready, willing and able, I just might find it : )

Thank you, Steve, for your kind and thoughtful words. I’m happy to have created for a you a photo that evokes such happiness : )

One Big Sister & One Baby Brother

My friend Carolyn recently had a new baby boy and invited me over to visit last week to do his very first photo shoot for his birth announcement. Little Tristan is a bit of a fussy little guy right now, so while Mama settled him down, his big sister Blake and I entertained each other outside- climbing up & down the stairs & chasing our shadows on the sidewalk. I've worked with Blake several times since she was born and she is such a sweetie pie! The way her smile lights up her entire face is so heartwarming : )

After a bit of feeding and a little jammin' with Bob Marley, baby Tristan was ready for his turn. This guy weighed in at a whopping ten pounds, fourteen ounces at birth and is the biggest six week old I've ever worked with! I'm very excited to watch this big little guy grow and change in the months and years to come...