personal :: the community pool

we don't have a community pool in our  neighborhood. in fact, we don't really even have a park. the only one we DO have just lost all its playground equipment and now consists of just lots of woodchips and approximately 4 trees. 

but we DO have this large sunken area in the parking lot of the hispanic church. it fills with water after rainy days, and becomes a popular place for some neighborhood children to play. 

it also just so happens that this "pool" is adjacent to the driveway where the neighborhood taco cart is positioned. 

this is a story in which my daughter hazel and her grown-up friend michelle join the big kids at the community pool (aka giant parking lot puddle), where they "swim" and play games...

have a little story you'd like me to tell for you? get in touch!

birth photography :: rosie

mitch and lauren found me rather last-minute. that's because it took them a while to realize that they wanted a birth photographer. it was seeing mitch's sisters photos, and hearing her brother-in-law say that they probably were even more valuable than their wedding photos, that finally led them to do a google search for "grand rapids birth photographer," a search which, happily, led them to me. when they contacted me, they said it was the "bonus" part of my birth photography package that was the clincher: namely, that i pray while i shoot. :)

later, sitting across from one another in my living room, they told me what they were envisioning. i wouldn't actually be in the room during the birth; instead, i'd be in the waiting room, along with 12-20 of their friends and family, documenting the story of their eager anticipation, and the moment when mitch would walk into the room and announce the birth and gender and name. this is a moment that they KNEW would get incredible reactions from their families. and they were right! after six hours in a waiting room with them, i came to realize that these are passionate, expressive, deeply loving and devoted people. 

when lauren's labor took an unexpected turn and seemed to be stalling, mitch came out to the waiting room, not to announce the birth but to ask for prayers. and that mighty army of loved ones joined hands in a circle and interceded for lauren and for the baby. and when a c-section was deemed necessary, the parents went into the L&D room, laid hands on lauren, and prayed again. finally, after rosie was born, mitch got his triumphant moment of announcement. and it was totally worth waiting for. 

rosie was totally worth waiting for. 

i'm so impressed by the incredible community of loving support mitch and lauren have built around themselves, a community which rosie is blessed to be born into as her inheritance. 

here's some images from her story.

I look forward to growing with your family over the years, mitch and lauren. here's to many more beautiful photographs of your beautiful selves. 

and, if you liked this post, you might also like ellison's birth story.

personal :: the neighborhood taco cart

through this blog entry, you get to see some of my personal life. not the home/family life part (though that's also intertwined), but the part that is an urban missionary and pastor's wife. it is, therefore, more explicitly Christian than most of what i share in this space, but the photos tell a lovely story, whether you want to read the bits about the Kingdom of God or not. :)

i once heard it said that though your choice of a zip code does not have moral consequences, it does have consequences. and this i firmly believe: that in seeking first the Kingdom of God, where we choose to live matters, and that there is a mighty difference between living amongst the ones you are called to love versus dropping in to serve them for a few hours a week. which is why we own property here, and why we don't have a 5 year plan to move out. 

it is a slow, steady work. and much of it doesn't feel like work, it's just life. it's raising kids and taking walks and tending to the lawn and greeting neighbors and sitting on the front porch at dusk. there aren't magnificently transformative encounters on a daily basis, but you don't expect a miracle every day. instead, you trust that the cumulative effect of your presence will be life. you keep yourself attached to the one true vine, you hunker down amongst a people and a place that the Father shows you, and -- without looking back -- you just let your life unfold there, openly. 

it's the ministry of presence. 

and slowly, over years, this place becomes no longer "other," it becomes yours. 

in the place where we've hunkered down, there is this taco cart, run by the exclusively spanish-speaking and remarkably talented cocinera (cook) Maria, and her son Oscar. and this taco cart is now our taco cart. it's a mere block and a half from our house, in the driveway of Maria. it's open only on weekend nights, and only during the warm weather season. tacos are $1.75 each, and they are to die for. it's a weekend tradition from may through september. i am weirdly proud of this place, and a little protective.

but i want to show you this favorite spot of mine, nestled in the middle of our run-down neighborhood. and if you want to know how to find it, send me a private message. :)

here is the story in which my family -- along with our foster kids and a couple friends -- make a saturday evening visit to Maria's taco cart... 

birth photography :: ellison

what i wish our culture afforded us is more honest portrayals of birth. something other than the stereotypical sitcom scene: water breaks at the store, rush to the hospital, scream in pain and say terrible things to your partner, huff and puff, push baby out...all while laying flat on your back and all within about an hour. it's absolutely misleading. 

truth is that birth is intense and arduous work, but it normally doesn't make you hate your partner, nor say nasty things. truth is, birth may take 30 minutes or 72 hours, but either is normal. truth is, birth can be and often is serene, even without pain medication. truth is, there can be peace like a thick blanket laying across the entire space, even when there is groaning and other vocalizations. truth is that women normally move around a lot when they labor, unless they cannot (epidurals, monitors). truth is that women are powerful and in command of themselves, even as they are surrendering to something even more powerful than themselves. 

so when my clients allow you, dear blog followers, to see snippets of their birth stories, you are being given a great gift! you're being allowed to see how birth really is, or really can be. as we witness these stories, we can begin to let go of and live outside of the media stereotypes and to move past our own fears about birth. 

now, onto amy and darren. this couple, from the moment i met them, were obviously uber prepared for birth. they studied, they trained, and they lined up appropriate support (stacy beene of serenity holistic health was their doula, and she was awesome). when i joined them in triage at the hospital, amy was in the zone. so focused, steady, rhythmic. she was putting into practice all that she learned from hypnobabies, as well as utilizing the second-nature movements she gained as a dancer. and throughout her labor, as she paced, rolled on the birth ball, hung on the squat bar, and swiveled her hips, her breathing and humming were a constant, quiet soundtrack. at transition, she expressed the classic "i can't do this anymore" statement. but her loving support people knew what to do, and after saying just two carefully chosen sentences of encouragement, amy was back in the game. it wasn't long after that that her sweet babe was born. a girl. 

and you should have seen her daddy's face! 

thank you so very much, amy and darren, for the honor of being a witness to your birth story. can't wait to see you soon for ellison's newborn session. 

personal :: a breakfast story

this month i decided to invest a bit in my own growth as a photographer. so i enrolled in molly flanagan's visual storytelling class at the define school. i knew that in some ways it wouldn't be revolutionary, since the art of family photojournalism is one i've been practicing for a while, and offering to clients. but molly is tremendous, and under her teaching i've been happily stretched by her perspective, her wit, her humility, and the way that she clarifies the art of telling a story with pictures. the homework assignments have been invitations to slow down and really examine my process, what i'm doing and why. i'm learning to be more careful, more sparing in the number of shutter clicks, more intentional in how i compose an image so that each has purpose.

for my week 4 homework assignment, i had to tell as story in 20 images or less. so... 

this is the story of our weekly breakfast with [some of] the stockbridge boiler room core leadership team and vision course student, in which we eat pancakes, drink coffee, worship jesus, and are happily interrupted a million times by our kids. 

thanks for listening to my story. i'd be delighted if you'd allow me to tell one of YOUR stories in 50-75 images. :)

artist portrait :: emilie tromp of lief design

emilie and i live lives that brush up very close to one another -- mutual friends, shared spaces -- but rarely intersect. each time that they do intersect, i'm inspired and moved by her, both her quality of person, and the beauty of what she creates. she's in inevitable artist, an unavoidable creative, and also a genuine lover of people. 

her company, lief design, specializes in hand-lettering and stationary pieces, using letterpress and screen-printing. she utilizes textured materials like linen and wood paper, and bases her color palette in whites and natural tones, with muted colors adding accent.

emilie the talent behind my simple and sweet logo. it fits so naturally on my website and with my images, and i believe that's because she was able to see the essence of my work and build something that would match it. 

today, i finally got to return her favor. i went to her studio to photograph her work for her website portfolio and shop (the images i took aren't up there yet). but i asked her if i could also to make an environmental portrait of her in the space where she does her creative work. thankfully, she agreed. and we chatted about creative process and life in general as i peeked around at all the intricacies of her studio, snapping as i went. there's so much going on in the space, yet every object seems purposeful in its placement, chosen because it inspires. it was absolutely inspiring to just walk around in that room. and then to get a small glimpse at some of her creative process, after enjoying the end results of it for so long, felt like a real privilege. 

so, here it is : emilie at work.