and then there were two
Sometimes miracles come in pairs. ~ Richard Branson
Sometimes miracles come in pairs. ~ Richard Branson
and indeed they do and they did! despite the different personalities and meanderings - one liking to be held, one preferring to be free - they are bound together into one beautiful little bundle that moves and meanders like a happy whistling stream in the summer. fascinating and fast moving session for this family of four (+golden retriever) whom i'd met years ago at a wedding (the then best man). so it was a welcome reunion of sorts of a different kind. double the everything!
in learning a little about the day-to-day goings and comings, l learned that sunday mornings are family time on the bed - just connecting, laughing and being together - and tho tricky to obtain with two fast moving faces and a dog who was otherwise engaged, it made for a lovely portrait. in addition, we integrated a little bit of what life looks and feels like right now ... on the floor, in the high chairs, and a little outside thanks to a warmish sunday morning and honing in on the peeking, the crawling, the laughing and the movement (two girls at one year old in full exploration) ... in a word - wonderment.
a boy at two
With boys, you always know where you stand. Right in the path of a hurricane.
Erma Bombeck
With boys, you always know where you stand. Right in the path of a hurricane.
Erma Bombeck
I'm not sure hurricane so much as a whirl .... swirling in laughter and comedic chaos, the kind where the drumbeats change at the drop of a hat. This boy flies from one room to the other with an infectious curiosity. In red socks and Mickey Mouse PJs ... little hands, big eyes and a charmers heart.
These are selections from a few hours on a typical morning - with a Mom who follows and gently guides with a magical spontaneity ... an uncanny ability to bob and weave with whatever direction the wind is blowing in the form of little boy. On any given morning - activities and toys and trains and breakfast and just a tiny bit outside. These few here are those that best tell the story of the grandeur of right now. @two.
a year of clients - 2014
Confucius said "Wherever you go, go with all your heart" ... so I do. I give deeply and willingly and honestly and lovingly. Photographing for clients allows me to show them how exceptionally brilliant their life is ... the little importunate moments, the silly nothing exceptional yet magical moments and those everything in between.
As the most touching & gratifying for me, are those I get to work with year after year, I am thankful for any and all who find their way to me and am hopeful to expand and stretch my wings a little further this coming year as it's time, here's a little look back through 2014: ponds and prom and the joys of a hose on an early warm spring day; a breath and a laugh in new love, the simplicity of a chase and a typical summer morning on the porch; three little vignettes and family...
I continued on with Q & a year of life and a new first year of life - before, one week, one month, four months, seven months.
So wishing you all a Happy New Year - may it be filled with stories of life and love.
all together
As a season often marked by gatherings around a table - to eat, drink, laugh, share, remember, it's here that our memories are often born and shaped. So when I received an inquiry for holiday portraits for an extended family of four siblings with one in-law sibling & child + two cousins along with their grandparents, I had an idea to literally begin around a table with them sharing stories of holidays past.
As I try to consider ways to cultivate natural connections, this felt like a format that would help ease any awkward tension (particularly at the very beginning of a session) and allow me to slip into the background. As it was, I found myself asking questions and listening along to their stories, looking for angles which showed the details in their grandparents home and offered insights into the larger story - particularly given grandparents in their early 90s. So my belief is that this family will remember this day as one of laughter and sharing stories along with family photographs... from the youngest with tangible views of his little self and his great grandparents & their faces filled with the love and pride and gratitude that lives in their hearts to the grandchildren who can perhaps think back to other years and other times along with this fine day.
I will end by saying that I look for ways to offer an experience that extends into and beyond the photographs. While I seek the emotion that naturally surfaces when we are comfortable, I strive to offer clients an experience that is meaningful and memorable AND enjoyable. And as the idea I used here was visualized for a book - photograph on one side, a memory story on the other - it is one I'm going to offer more frequently for extended gatherings.
lifestyle photographs in color
last year at this time i spent a week in Albuquerque photographing lifestyle images for a client's website with a shot list that spanned sports (tennis/golf), entertaining, cooking, food shopping, manicures, restaurants, church, four doggies, writing, home vignettes and portraits. it was an experience that brought me into the world of another and i feel helped me create a strong portfolio of photographs that reflect her personality and spirit.
inspire by michelle collage concept for homepage
the website is inspirebymichelle.com and was created by fladdap, inc. the company i'm part of with my husband.
as photographs can tell the story in ways no words or graphic illustrations can, custom photography for professionals, lifestyle writers, fitness and healthy living coaches, hair stylists, makeup artists and others who's service can be told with a story of photographs has become a growing part of our web design business.
lifestyle session in boston
I recently spent a day with a client and good friend who'd brought me to her home in Albuquerque last summer for a week long lifestyle/documentary session, as she was in Boston with her new man - the very one she was introduced to right after I'd left last summer.
We planned a day that took us from the waterfront near the Aquarium, the North End, the water feature at Rose Kennedy Greenway, the Esplanade, Boston Common & Quincy Market,
michelle & greg | july, 2014
I mention this as lifestyle because it was documenting her time here (as if she lived here) with a specific set of images in mind as the photographs will be used in two new websites we are creating for her, and as you'll see, most of them are in color. Though our time and path was more than i'd normally suggest for most sessions, we made the most of each area we were in. and the pictures tell the story - actually they tell a few stories....and that's all i'm saying.
end of day look
while our weather didn't quite cooperate enough for this kind of day, it is right around the corner. and anyone with children know what i'm talking about.
after a long hot sunny day at the beach...running, jumping, digging, laughing....exhaustion takes hold of tangled windswept hair and sun sweat skin. for this little one, she collapsed onto her mama who rubbed her back. little girl turned and looked at me with bright tired eyes and a mass of ocean spray hair. while looking at this now i wish i'd had the sense to pull back just a little to get those little hands, it still works for me. i like her mama's soothing hands covered in sand enveloping her. i like the light in her eyes and the sheen on her face. but more than all that, it's THE moment of delicious exhaustion that somewhere within, i think we all remember.
xela | rockport, ma, 2014
cars
and then there are close up's with hardly anything at all that tell all you need to know - little hands and painted fingers tell me this is a little girl who loves her lineup of cars. i made a decision to hone in rather closely as i liked all the whites and light gray shades. i also liiked the circular composition...the arm to the hand to the cars to the other hand and out and back again...which in ways, mirrored the action going on.
playing with cars | 2013
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