When I was born I was so surprised I couldn’t talk for a year and a half.
-Gracie Allen
I think we all forget how much we forget… about how much work it is getting used to being here.. and how surprising the environment change must be.
By the time Kane reached the studio.. he had been on the outside for 15 days.. 12 hours. He already had 9 months of yoga instruction and had been in one wedding.. and thats just the stuff I know about.. and I’m just his photographer.
When Kane arrived he was asleep.. a deep sleep. I hoped he might just stay asleep for the first hour and we could get some nice baby sleeping shots.. But that didn’t happen. You would not know it for looking at the images we captured.. but he was a little irritated by the whole flashing lights, waking him up – thing. And he had every right.
He arrived deep in sleep……
.. as soon as we were done he returned to his seat and left as he came. In a deep sleep.
“COOKIES!!! UMM-NUM-NUM-NUM-NUM!!!”
-Cookie Monster
It was last year right about this time…. I got off an airplane and drove straight to a golf course to meet Rylan and family. It was his one year birthday shoot. His dad Joe was raised on golf and so it was Rylan’s birthday party theme last year. I mostly remember him trying to eat the golf balls. :)
It was a year before that I met Joe, Nikki, Dallas and Rylan. Rylan was a brand-spankin new model.. still had that new baby smell :)
I digress – I do that :)
Rylan is now two. This year his birthday party theme will be… you guessed it.. Cookie Monster. And can I just say.. I think that’s awesome! (Cookie Monster was always my favorite growing up watching Sesame Street.. I could always identify with him.. he makes no bones about who he is.. and he doesn’t mess around when it comes to eating cookies!)
This is his mom’s vision. I love sharing in someone elses vision and having a hand in bringing it to life.. So without further delay.. Rylan and his sister Dallas, a blue paint splattered backdrop.. and … COOKIES!!! UMM-NUM-NUM-NUM-NUM!!!…
be well
There are no words to describe… the feeling.. the spark.. The connection you get when a baby looks right at you. It is the hardest thing to achieve sometimes.. it takes patience.. a sense of humor… you really just have to have a love for what you’re doing.
When I saw this image today – while cleaning and sorting an ever growing collection of images… it stopped me in my tracks. This is why I am a photographer. To capture the briefest moment.. to make contact.
From December of 2010 – forever ago.. Malia
The only thing better than working with a happy family during a photo shoot is… getting to work with them more than once! In this case I am on the verge of losing track of how many shoots I have done for the Brown family. This was a all studio shoot on a totally miserable late November day. We had planned some outdoor shots as well.. but.. the weather simply does not get less photo friendly!
I was reminded of the stark difference between studio and outdoor shoots ( I say “I was reminded” because I clearly had forgotten). You have to build every set, things are much more contrived.. starting out can be a little awkward.. but after a few shots you find a groove .. I believe everyone in the room feels it.. and it shows – in the images.
After saving up for a long time I finally purchased a set of Pocket Wizard Mini TT’s. I have a full array of indoor studio lights but Maddie and I used this new setup to start building our new indoor studio in our home. Using ourselves as models (and I use that term loosely on myself).. here are some of the take aways from the shoot. For me, what I see is infinite possibilities..
