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Seattle/Tacoma
Photographer
Filmmaker
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SEATTLE/Tacoma
Photographer
Filmmaker
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I have photographed Shelley and her girls since each of them were bumps in their mama’s belly. This was my absolute favorite session I’ve done with them. We just played, and snuggled, and let the girls wander a little. But not too far since we came across a few ant hills. The snuggles that were captured between sister’s made me long for a sister for Louisa. Thanks for the fun girlies!
Arms. All I want to do is photography arms right now. Highlight them, focus on them. I want arms to tell the story but I don’t know why. So then I wondered, what do arms do? What is their purpose? They hug, they hold, they embrace. Arms reach out, they carry, they are giving and receiving. They are not like hands. Hands can grab. Hands are still an arms reach apart. When you give your arms you give your whole body. It’s a willingness and openness to being vulnerable with someone else. It’s putting yourself out there even when your not sure if you will be accepted.
Why am I noticing this? I fear and yet I do put myself out there, but maybe not enough. I’m hesitant, for fear of rejection or disappointment. It’s scary putting your whole self into some or something.
And yet it’s important for all of us to do so. Look how beautiful it is, how comforting, how safe. So instead of sticking our hands out and keeping each other at an arms reach, let’s open our arms and leave space for one another to be vulnerable in our fears, in our sadness and angst. Let’s open our arms and then hold on tight.
Overgrown sun kissed hair, bug collecting, tree climbing, frequent ice cream truck stops, my last baby, dirty faces, sticky hands, Gilbert’s sweet voice, and bare feet. I think each summer comes with it’s own set of memories. My kids have their own little personalities that has always stayed the same. But with each year of their development, especially while they are so little, there are brief phases and quirks that just don’t last. And all I want so much, is to preserve the quirks, grasp them tightly in my fist, buried in my pocket never to leave my memory. This film captures some of those memories I’m grasping on to, this summer I don’t want to forget before I send my oldest of to kindergarten.
At the beginning of the summer I committed to doing a personal project of 100 Days of Summer. I quit four days in. I just didn’t have it in me. I’ve been sharing photos over on instagram, but I thought I might share these with you and mainly my mom (since she doesn’t have instagram).
I know summer isn’t over, but summer is starting to wear on me and I thought this would be the best time of any to share some of our highlights. The boys finished preschool at the end of May so we have been doing summer for two months already. It’s a bit a lot tiring being with three kiddos 24/7 for two months straight. I really want to enjoy this summer since it’s the last before Benjamin goes to kindergarten, but I’ve hit a wall and I’m ready for school to start. Thankfully we’ll be on vacation next week, so we can break from these long days at home and I can hopefully appreciate the last days of summer when we get home. But for now I have one more day until my husband is home for vacation and I am going to hang on and scroll through these photos.
My friends Ashley and Brady invited me to attend the birth of their baby boy, as their doula and photographer. First of all I have to say, it is so humbling and such an honor to be invited to anyone’s birth, but when it’s your college roommate and you’ve gotten to witness their relationship from the beginning, it’s knock you on your feet humbling.
I have never done the doula and photographer thing at the same time. It’s always been one or the other, so figuring out my role was tricky. As a photographer you want to stay out of the way and remain a fly on the wall. As a doula, you have to be on your toes ready to help and support. It was different but I think it changed how I saw the birth through my camera lens, and I have to say I really liked it.
Since their first baby was 11 days early, we were all a litle more on edge thinking this baby may come early. But Ashley’s due date came and he was still holding on. But EARLY the next morning, at 2am Ashley texted me to say she had been having cramps the last hour. I assumed we had lots of time, so when I asked how far apart her contractions were and she said 2-4 minutes I was shocked. So I told her to sit down and drink some water. But when she said it hurt too much to sit I was like, “yea, I think it’s time for the hospital.”
I quickly got ready, since I had an hour drive. I arrived at the hospital at 4:30am. But I missed all the action, because she was getting her epidural when I came to the room. But from what I here it was pretty intense and Zeke was in a hurry to make an entrance.
Their last birth, to say the least, was very stressful, so they were so relieved to have some calm and catch their breath before things picked up and Zeke arrived. Ashley was able to relax while her body kept working. They had the sweetest nurse and she hung around to chat for awhile. When she left, Brady ran to get something to drink and we turned the lights out. Not even one minute after they walked out, Ashley sat up and said, “somethings happen-” and before she could finish her sentence we heard this loud splash like a water balloon popping and her water broke.
We were getting really close. Everyone started getting things ready. I quickly disappeared to pump and then we just had to wait for the doctor who was still at home. Once everyone was there, they let Ashley start pushing. She was awesome, within 8 minutes Zeke was out arriving at 7:19. Ashley was amazing, Brady was great, and Zeke was so sweet all squished, covered in vernix and happy to be on his mama’s chest.
I stuck around for two hours so we could capture some photos of big sister Ruby meeting her baby brother. She was sweet as can me and ready to take him home right then.
Thank you so much Ashley and Brady for inviting me to be apart of your special day.
