Ten Years Of Gratitude + Claire's Communion

I find it incredibly fortuitous that I wrapped up edits on a shoot commemorating an important milestone in the lives of a family who have been devoted friends for plus 10 years, and loyal clients for the better part of the last 10...on the eve of the day that marks year 10 I officially cut the chord from the corporate world, stood at the edge of this cliff, said a small prayer, took a deep breath, and jumped.

And one hundred times over...knowing what I know now...I would jump again. Because despite the insecurity that inevitably comes with running your own business, and an intensely competitive and creative one at that, I wake up every.single.day hungry for more...the driving desire to capture more moments as well as the insatiable desire for more learning. I'm not sure I will ever feel like I've "arrived" as a photographer and I'm completely ok with that.

So not only do I want to give a massive thank you to my dear friends here who have supported me in this work from day one, but to every single one of my clients over the last 3,650 days who have believed in me, shared their lives with me, and inspired me to do better every time I pick up my camera. There aren't enough words in the English language to describe the immense sense of gratitude I have for this path I'm on and the people sharing it with me.

Croad Family

The universe conspired to put this beautiful family in my path and I couldn't be more grateful. We met at a cross country meet last fall and I discovered this family of Kiwis now residing in Portland, had previously lived in my small and relatively unknown hometown in Northern Virginia. Small world connections like that never cease to amaze me. But when we met up for their family shoot, that connection got infinitely smaller...not only had they lived in my hometown, but they had been neighbors and close friends with my tenth grade English teacher, a woman who helped inspire and nurture my love of storytelling, and is likely unaware of the massive role she played in helping to set the course for my college studies (and with whom I'm reconnected to thanks to Facebook).

I'm still in awe of this chance meeting. And with the time I shared with them in their own private slice of heaven, complete with real waterfalls. As well as the most delicious lamb shepherds pie they fed me after.

Simone

Playing the catch up game on this blog of mine and I can think of no better place to start. I photographed her ma and pa's a-mazing wedding at ClarkLewis a few years back and Simone is the stunning and soulful result of that union. As you can see, poor Pedey, their first {dog} child, is suffering immensely under this new hierarchy.

Elle

Photographer. Dragonboat rower. Co-Pilot for her pop. Possibly Canada bound. She is a Renaissance girl through and through and the world is indeed an open book yet to be written for her.

India

It's been far too long since I've shared work that is ever present and ever fulfilling.  But that's a post for another time.

For now I give you India. Creative. Singer. Musician. And about to launch so confidently and beautifully into this big, big world with the endearing love of her equally beautiful tribe of people. As we toured the neighborhood in search of light, textures and color, she was approached by a man who picked up on what we were up to, and offered words of encouragement that could not have been more well timed "You just be you.  You do you."

I think we can all be reminded of that every once in a while.

Finn

It's a pretty magical thing watching a long time friend evolve in the blink of an eye from kickass athlete and driven career woman, to Super Mom...and to do it with such immense grace and tenderness.

Finn, some day you'll know what a complete and life changing gift you are. 

Boy Oh Boy

Boys of a certain age are typically *not big fans of spending an hour or two on a Saturday afternoon having their photos taken. Or really any other day of the week for that matter.  But if you're fast enough, you can catch really amazing-but-fleeting quiet moments between the wrestling, chasing, and rock kicking that shows they are so much more than that stereotype.

As an aside, I thought it fitting that my first blog post of this newly minted site include not only my first family photoshoot of 2016, but also of a family who has seen this business grow from day one, and subsequently, whose boys I've known since day one.  Thank you so very much Bayne family for being a part of this journey.

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