The Harrison’s
I can’t believe little Natalie is already 6 months…Â Love this little gal!
Megan, Dylan and Baby Owen
If there were a strong case for me to continue shooting weddings, it would be to cross paths and form friendships with people like Megan and Dylan. I have been so fortunate over the last 12 years to make so many friends and meet some incredible people through that gig. But Megan and Dylan are the rare, once in a million kind of couple who came into my life at a time that must have been divined.
When Megan reached out and told me that they were expecting, I just smiled and nodded. Yes. If anybody should bring a baby into this world, it should be Megan and Dylan. What wonderful parents they are and are going to continue to be. Owen will always be surrounded by love and warmth and fun–not to mention good music and (when he’s 21) good beer. (Dylan has started brewing his own beer which is pretty freaking incredible).
I hope to spend many evenings this summer listening to live music and drinking good brews with Megan and Dylan while our babies rumble on a blanket. And we will just take it all in together–this journey called parenthood–the transitions, the growing pains, the peace and the abounding love that our little ones have brought to the table. While weddings were once where I was in my life, I am now enjoying documenting the next chapter in my client’s lives and am intoxicated with the sweet, simple moments that come with being a parent. I am so happy that I have found people like Megan and Dylan who get to travel down this road with me.
Megan and Dylan, I love you guys and am so blessed to be able to call you my friends and fellow parents. Owen–you are one lucky little dude. P.S. I want to eat your cheeks.
The Woodruffs on their farm
This is the second shoot of a series of three of this sweet little family. Bill contacted me about 18 months ago asking me to come document life with his little girls, Olivia and Sophia. No sit and say cheese–just honest, real captures of life in the day of the Woodruff’s. This shoot was done with both film and digital. You can see the difference. Can you tell which medium I love most?
Arlo Oak’s Journey
Oh my heart….This little family means so so much to me. I don’t even know where to begin…
I’ve been working with Katie and Peter since before they were even engaged. I got to photograph their engagement portraits, their wedding, some beautiful nudes of Katie… etc. It has been so incredible and they have become some of my favorite people over the years. But nothing has been as spectacular and meaningful to me as getting to be a part of Arlo’s birth.  I was so extremely honored and humbled to be present at this occasion. There are no words… I will say this– Katie is forever my hero and I think she is superhuman. She rocked an all natural 24 hour plus labor and did it all with a smile (in between contractions). I also have the utmost respect for Peter for being the most amazing birth coach, EVER. Wow. He literally held Katie up for 8 of the 10 hours they were at the birth center and was just a rock–physically and emotionally. And the way that Katie and Peter looked at each other during the entire process was nothing short of a display of pure love and respect. I mean, this birth was so much more than a birth. It was one of the highlights of my life and career and has changed the way I see partnership.
On a more personal note, this birth was healing for me because I, too was supposed to deliver my first baby at the Mountain Midwifery. I had all these grand ideas and visions of how my birth plan would go and it all ended with every intervention that I didn’t want and ultimately a cesarean birth at a nearby hospital. People say, “Well all that really matters is that your baby is here and healthy”, and yes. This is true. But it doesn’t erase all the heartbreak of an experience that you dreamed of that went awry. I can only compare it to rain on a wedding day. Yes–at the end of the day you’re married, and that is what it is all about. But it can be such a loss when all those little details and all the fantasies leading up to the big day were drowned (quite literally). And It is strange, because 75 percent of all the other mamas I know who had the same intentions as I did to deliver at the Mountain Midwifery, ended up with a story much like mine–even most of them ending in cesarean births. I was starting to think that perhaps it was the Mountain Midwifery to blame, or that in fact maybe women’s bodies weren’t cut out for an all-natural home or center birth (at least not with their first delivery). I was starting to see this trend of hospital transfer, pitocin, epidural, cesarean birth, etc as the norm. But on December 5th, I got to watch my dream birth with my dream midwife, in the room of my choice at the Mountain Midwifery all unfold vicariously through my dear friends, Katie and Peter and their precious, Arlo Oak. It was truly restorative in my faith of the female body as well as the Mountain midwifery. And it was all so, so beautiful.
Thank you, Katie and Peter. From the bottom of my heart.   Welcome to parenthood…
The Bryson’s
One of my favorite family sessions, EVER…
Denver Family Maternity
There is something about being pregnant while having children that just tugs at your heartstrings. When I was pregnant with Sylvie, I was flooded with different emotions and wondered how I could possibly bring forth a new life into what seemed an already perfect little family. I struggled with guilt. How could I possibly love Sylvie as much as I loved Ramona and would Ramona still know I love her when Sylvie came? Of course now I know that these things just happen organically. I love Sylvie just as much as Ramona and Ramona does know that I love her as I always have. But things do change. And guilt is still there–all the time. I think that’s part of being a mama. I loved this shoot because I loved the connection that unfolded in front of my camera between Stacie and her daughter. It made my heart throb a little.
The Quinns–featuring the expected “Kiki-Money”
I am so grateful that Aubrey and Kirk called me about 4 years ago asking me to photograph their pregnancy with baby, Jones. I fell in love with them instantly and have since then added this family to my list of very close friends. Aubrey and Kirk are my hero parents. The way they parent Jones, and still manage to get in a dozen concerts a year (sometimes with Jones) and throw back beers regularly… they make parenting look so fun. And there is never a dull moment with this family, so I’m not surprised that Jones has come up with the name “Kiki Money” for his new baby sister who will be arriving in March. Georgia will be her proper name, but I have a feeling Kiki Money may stick.
It isn’t work shooting families like these. I’m just so lucky to have clients like the Quinns who make my work feel like a mere extension of my breath.
Seraphina
There are no words to describe how awesome childbirth is. Going through it or even witnessing it has to be the closest we can get to God as living mortals. I am officially a birth junkie. Thank you, Melissa and Ray for allowing me to be at the birth of Seraphina. It was such an honor… and my goodness, Mama—you were amazing!
The Solot’s at Chautauqua Park in Boulder
There are some clients that I just “click” with. No pun intended. I just show up, maybe throw them together on a couch or on a picnic table, etc and then I just watch it all unfold and click away. I don’t have to jump up and down or wave my arms. I don’t have to pull tricks out of my sleeve to get a smile. The Solot’s are this family. They are chaotic harmony, if you will–playful, vivacious, like a litter of puppies each with his/her very own unique and strong personality. Put them together and they simply make the perfect picture, without me having to do a thing. I love these clients. I love these shoots.
Comments.