the (extra)ordinary
"Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, savor you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow." - Mary Jean Irion
For many years now, I have been trying to show my photography clients the value of the everyday. Posed photos can be beautiful, but there is something to be said for those real moments.....the real memories. The sometimes imperfect, sometimes messy, sometimes chaotic glimpses into our life as it is when we are not putting our best face on for facebook. You may love the perfectly posed, neatly dressed, smiling faces of your children in your holiday card pictures for years to come, but they are never the images that are going to pull you right back to that time in their lives. They are not the images that are going to grab your heart, bring the lump to your throat, or have you smiling through tears. Those are the kinds of images that I would like to work with families to preserve. I have been lax in taking those images for my own children a lot of the time, and it breaks my heart that I can't have a do over. Kids grow up so fast. The cute little things that your son does as he falls asleep will be gone before you know it. When they make up your daily life, you think you will remember them forever. But, having an almost 17 year old (!!!!!) has shown me that you don't. Some things, sure. But not enough. So, I managed to convince a few families that I have worked with over the years to let me join them on an average day to let me photograph them doing the things they do. I have done a couple of these types of sessions, and have more to come. My goal is to show how important this type of documentation is. You don't have to hire me to photograph it, although I would love to do that for you.....but make sure you do it. And make sure YOU are in some. Someday, your kids will be sitting and looking through these pictures, and you will realize the gift that you have given them and generations to follow.
I haven't finished the editing on all of the images yet, but I wanted to put up a little series of images from the last session that I did. It was bath time, after the water park, and before nap time. They just moved into a new house, and this was the first time in mom and dad's big tub. :)
