Like Sophia, who decided the chickens were just a little too close for comfort . . .

Sunlight and wind and the colors of drying laundry . . .
Purple, white, and yellow . . .
Chickens! Lots of chickens! Also known as “the ladies” with an occasional rooster thrown in for fun.
Owen, who’s favorite pastime is to play “cheetah” these days . . .
My mom and sister gathered eggs with Sophia.
Wellies . . .
Fine wisps of hair, chubby neck . . .
Paper airplane fun . . .
Wearing mommy’s sunglasses . . .
Sophia doesn’t “do” baby swings anymore. And you know you’ve had lots of fun when you’ve got no more sock left!
A Happy Mother’s Day was had by all! I hope those of you who are moms had a wonderful day too.

I’ve used Jerusalem Mill many times in the past, although due to the crowds–especially on weekends–I’ve been avoiding it as an option for a while. However, for a mid-week shoot it’s usually not very crowded. I love that there is a variety of background choices for photographs all within a short distance of each other.

I ended up taking everyone’s head shots and group pictures in three different parts of Jerusalem Mill: near a stone building, in a grassy area with woods behind, and near a stream. Here’s a sampling of our session. Enjoy!

The Goof-off.

First, a little background. I discovered Kelly’s blog through a mutual friend. Before Real Life, Fine Art and The Girl in the White Dress I knew Kelly through her A Restless Heart blog with it’s gorgeous pictures and her intimately shared spiritual journey. Kelly is one of the few photographers I know who truly captures emotion, and I don’t mean the emotion of her subject, but her own emotions and moods through often near abstract photography. Since that time, Kelly has started her own brand and is talented portrait and wedding photographer living in Charleston, South Carolina. I was a bit shocked to realize we’ve been following each other for over five years now!

Finding each other at Patapsco State Park proved a comedy of errors. I got there a little late, and then proceeded to find out Kelly was at another entrance 15 minutes away! I’d assumed that if we got directions using the address on the site’s main page we’d end up at the same place, but apparently not.

Kelly, however, was very laid back and obliging. I had hauled the kiddos along with me and she found a location with a playground. Josh had been out of town on business since Monday and he came into BWI from Atlanta and met us there, taking charge of the kids so we could go play with light.

Being the subject of my own session was definitely a different experience for me. I have to admit I was nervous! It was very different from our family session where I interacted with my kids and Josh. Instead, it’s just me and the camera, trying to figure out where to look and what to do with my hands. It made me consider new ways I can help my own clients comfortably interact with me during a session. Kelly and I also tried to stuff in hours of conversation in-between shots, and we left many  subjects only half explored and discussed. Skype will have to solve that problem.

Kelly, it was so awesome to meet you in person! What a unique experience to become friends through online journals and emails and then finally meet years later already feeling like we know each other so well.

One Saturday the week before Easter we visited my grandmother who had been in the hospital. I hadn’t seen her since August because she’d been in California when she’d been admitted to the hospital and only recently had come back home.

After our visit we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to find the house I’d grown up in until the age of 6 years old. This is the place where my earliest memories are set and the house we called “Woodrows.”  I’d not been back since that time and was eager to see it and show it to the kids.

It turned out to be the perfect place to take our March family picture. We set the camera on the hood of the car and propped it up with the lens cap. I also processed this picture differently than usual, deciding a gentle vintage wash complemented it.

The old driveway was overgrown. There are many pictures of me playing in mud puddles in this driveway!

I remember this birch tree very well. I liked to peel the bark from it.

The house now sits behind a development. When I was growing up it was just fields. The Susquehanna river can be seen glinting through trees. Some of the beautiful plants and flower remain, running riot: ferns, daffodils, dogwoods, bleeding hearts, and others I couldn’t identify.

The pump house was my play house and I had a little kitchen set inside of it. There are also lots of pictures of me playing in it, so it was appropriate to get a picture of me peeking out of one of the windows.

I told the boys stories of my time there, and they enjoyed them, asking for more. As we left Owen said, “Good-bye, sad house.” And Duncan assured me that “worker men” would come and fix it up for me.

Sadly, I don’t think so.

I photographed the event, along with another photographer, Jennilyn. The challenge for me in shooting this event was the lack of good lighting. However, despite this challenge, I was happy with the end result.

Below is a collage of photographs depicting various scenes from the past 22 years of church life.
Above are cards made by the children of the church displayed on hallway walls.

(Left) The founding pastor of our church, back for the special occasion. (Right) My fellow photographer, Jennilyn.
(Above and below) A most surprising moment during the morning service was a flash mob singing “God is Good.”

Parodies were sung . . .
Stories shared.
A special song was written for the occasion and sung by Steve and Vikki Cook.
(Below) A special photo book was created with letters and pictures from all the members of the church.
The service was officially closed with congregational singing led by my favorite (and the most handsome) music leader ever–my husband.
Jim and Daryl are originally natives of New Orleans, so it was appropriate that the food was New Orleans-inspired. Yum.

This guy was filled with endless energy! He was very taken with the locked doors and worked very hard to open them. Thankfully, this pause in his energy allowed me to capture his bright blue eyes and his determination.

I love the above mother/daughter moment.

Somebody want to be a drummer–just like his Daddy!

And as you can see, football is a family affair! The whole family is decked out.

Thanks for letting me capture your family at this stage in life and I hope you had fun!

After naps in the afternoon the routine is to watch a DVD and have a small snack while I start on dinner preparations. Sophia has become one of the “big kids” now. She used to hang out in the kitchen with me. Then she sat in a little blue chair with her snack for a while before going off to play. Now she likes to sit on the couch with her brothers. She likes to follow them everywhere now and do everything they do.

The day I took these she pulled the blanket down on herself and cuddled up to me for a while. She became quite serious, furrowing her little brow the way she does these days when she’s not sure of something. I wanted to capture that look and remember what she looks like in that little pink shirt.

She looks a lot like me.

I’d been hoping to capture a snow picture this winter, but there’s been such a lack of snow! We’ve barely had a dusting! With February quickly slipping away, I tried to think of a fun way to capture our family this month. The opportunity came last week. Josh, my husband, came back from a business trip from San Francisco, California. We were all tired from the long week and ready to relax as a family. So, we had a family movie night! We picked up The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from the library and settled in for a cozy time together.

I had to use what I call my “junky” lens (my kit lens) because it’s the only one I have wide enough to capture the full story. I hope to replace it with a new wide-angle this year. My kit lens always produces an image that looks grainy to me now that I have nicer glass, but I like it when I processed it into a black and white image. Reminds me a bit of black and white film.

I was inspired at the end of last year by Jamie to take 12 pictures of our whole family once a month for the year. I thought this was a great idea, considering most pictures don’t include me in them! The above image was my first attempt last month.

It was a Sunday afternoon towards the end of January and we decided to take a walk on one of our favorite trails. I planned to take the picture on the trail and brought along my camera and tripod. By the time we found a good spot to take it the kids were starting to get a bit cold and cranky. Later, the reason for this was made more clear when one of the boys woke up from his nap with a fever. So clearly they weren’t all feeling that well.

This picture doesn’t meet my perfectionist standards, but it does capture one of the things we love to do as a family, going on hikes and walks in nature. And that’s why I’m doing this little project, right?

The light was coming into the kids’ bedroom so warmly, as it does in the morning. The boys were playing with their beloved race cars on the rug that has roads printed on it. They used to be obsessed with trains. Now that seems to be waning and it has become race cars. Lightning McQueen, Mater, and gang being their favorites.

Sometimes, I can view their toys as “a mess” and “in the way.” Our house is small and they usually are playing in the main living areas: the living room or kitchen. They love to play where I am.

But I wanted to take a moment to view their toys as beloved; to remember this stage they’re in. What better way to remember my children than by taking pictures of not just of them, but of the things they love?