family photojournalism :: the frazee family

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It was just over a year ago that I witnessed Campbell's entrance into the world through the remarkable vessel of her mama. It was a moving and amazing birth for an amazing little girl. Now that she's one, her parents called me in to their home for an extended family photojournalism session, with the goal of bottling up all the goodness of this stage. Campbell is poised between babyhood and toddler, and that's such a sweet liminal space.

In the extended time frame we had to work with, we were able to capture so many facets of their daily life together, and I'm so happy with the collection of images that resulted. From morning snuggles in bed with daddy, to snacks at the kitchen island while daddy made chicken stock, playtime and a walk to the bridge over the water where her mama and daddy wished her intro existence, to lunch outside on the deck, bath time, book-reading, and being nursed down for a nap... all the good stuff. 

This family is so centered and present, choosing a life that is filled with what they love and find life in. Even though I was technically working, I left my time with them feeling peaceful and rested. What a gift. 

PS: the Joseph Campbell quote over their mantel below is significant in large part because it is from that admired mythologist that their daughter got her name. :)

milk time at Simply Born Birth House

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I'm considering changing the name of Milk Time to Oxytocin Feast because SERIOUSLY: It's like gathering a group of women and babies together to all get simultaneously high on that amazing hormone. 

This Milk Time, which was hosted in the most perfectly appropriate and beautiful venue ever -- Simply Born Birth House -- included 16 mamas, 16 babies, a handful of toddlers, and even one daddy. We also had La Leche League leader Raquel Knack present to do on-the-spot consultations, which proved to be invaluable!

Whether each mama's baby latched on for 2 seconds or 10 minutes or not at all during their session, whatever way(s) she fed her baby, however many babies/toddlers she feeds at once, whether her baby was cheerful or fussy today, and whatever the story behind how her baby came to her, or how she came to accomplish a beautiful breast-feeding relationship... These women are beautiful in their diversity! And these babies are all SO CLEARLY LOVED. 

Enjoy the oxytocin hit. ;)

life with a newborn :: ezra grant

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Marrying into a big family means I also get to have lots of nieces and nephews and sibling-friends. My husband's brother, Dan and his wife Jess, along with their boys are so dear to my heart, such easy friends. So after Ezra was born, Tim let me travel alone to Milwaukee to spend a couple of days with them, being helpful as much as I could be while Jess continued her postpartum rest period, basking in their company, and of course cuddling my newest nephew, Ezra! Newborn cuddles on one's own very pregnant belly are a special kind of awesome. 

Ezra is boy #5. He and his family live in a beautiful old farm house on a wee bit of land surrounded by trees changing colors with the autumn winds. Dan works from his home office during the days and Jess fits sewing for her blog into her life as much as she can manage in between homeschooling and managing the household. The boys -- every single one of them-- are OBSESSED with Star Wars, and also love art, reading, and playing outside. 

Though Jess never wants me to "work" while I'm visiting them, I insisted in bringing along my cameras, which I picked up and used periodically across the 24 hours I spent in their home. The result is a collection of photos that's like a stretched-out and incredibly candid Life With A Newborn session. I know other documentary photographers who routinely offer these 24-hour in-home sessions, and though I know they shoot more continuously during such a session than I did during this very informal one, it was a fun taste of what's possible when you really move in with a family and become a natural part of the landscape instead of a stranger-guest who pops in for a couple of hours.

I'm pretty in love with the results, just as I'm in love with this family. 

family photojournalism :: the schmid family

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It's a rainy Sunday morning and this family is spending it cozy indoors with no agenda except for making and eating a dutch pancake with pears and bacon for breakfast, some play and some reading and some cuddles in bed.

This is the good stuff, isn't it? These are the morning we think back to in moments when we desire comfort and simplicity, the sorts of days we want to go back to and re-create over and over again. <3

family photojournalism :: the merck family

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On Friday afternoon I met Brigette and Michael at their home, just minutes before their son Max was due to arrive home from school. They were waiting for him with cinnamon rolls and milk, espresso for themselves. They debriefed one another on their day -- in German -- while they ate. Next there was piano practice, reading, scouring the internet for lego pieces Max is desirous of, and kicking the ball around. This, they explained, is a typical Friday afternoon, an entry-way into the weekend that lies ahead. They explained how such rhythms of connection and pause over food are deeply ingrained in them from their home-country culture, leaving me feeling inspired to build this more seriously value into my own family life as well. 

A short story is short, and yet it can still encompass quite a lot of the flavor of family. :)