birth :: noah graham

in

sometimes babies are made sooner than planned. that doesn't make it less of a gift, once the shock wears off (hehe). i photographed amy and darren's first birth in April 2014, so when she contacted me in April 2015 about photographing the birth of baby #2 in December, it was a (joyful) surprise! they would be my first "repeat client" for birth story photography. and what an amazing family to do this with a second time! i was in awe of them as they brought ellison into the world, and i knew i was in for a real treat in witnessing the birth of their next little one. 

we planned for me to meet them at their house when amy was in mid-labor, so as to get some photos of them laboring at home, which they wanted to do as long as possible before heading out to the hospital. but then i got a text from them that said simply, "go to hospital." "now?," i replied. "yes," they typed. knowing that her last birth progressed very quickly once she arrived at the hospital, i set out immediately, meeting them and their doula, brenda, at admitting, and parking their car for them while darren helped amy into a wheelchair and through the doors to the hospital. 

in admitting, amy was "only 5 cm" but we all knew that, given her history, that gave NO guarantees that it would be long before she was ready to give birth. we were brought up to labor and delivery after a wait that felt uncomfortably long for amy, though it was brief in the grand scheme of things. once in their room, brenda got to work creating ambiance with candles, essential oils, and positive affirmations posted around the space, while amy got into the tub as soon as the nurse felt comfortable letting her do so. she labored only a short while in the tub before her waters broke and she rose to her feet, announcing that the baby was coming. brenda rushed into the hall and shouted to the nurses that it was time. a scramble commenced, with the midwife (also named brenda) coming in to usher amy to the bedside just in the knick of time to help ease the baby's head out! 

my favorite moment was the one where the midwife passed the baby up to amy, who brought him up to her chest, then laid down on the bed, holding him close, with relief and love washed over her face. so much powerful emotion there (and now one of my favorite birth photos ever). 

the gender was a surprise, so there was also an amazing moment when they declared, "it's a boy!" very shortly after his birth, before he was even weighed and measured, amy's parents came, bringing along ellison. these moments of introduction between a baby and his sibling(s) and grandparents are absolutely awesome. 

and can we just say how amazing darren is?! he's a rock, and he also cannot keep his overwhelming love and joy from showing all over his face! 

after my job was done, i got back out to my car to find my car battery had died. but i didn't even care, as I was just on a high from witnessing this remarkable birth. :)

happy winter (an open letter)

in ,

hello friends, 

happy new year and happy winter to you. i hope your christmas time was sweet, and that it included lots of snuggling, love, and quality time with your people. i hope that in the middle of chaos and messes that there was great beauty and connection. 

our little family spent two weeks of december battling strep throat without antibiotics (and kicking it's butt); first me and then my husband. graciously, none of our children were afflicted. during this time we also had a friend staying with us as part of her year-long travel project. she saw us at a low point, for sure. we recovered just in the knick of time to enjoy christmas with our extended families, traveling to three cities in two states to attend four christmas gatherings, not including that which we celebrated on our own christmas eve and christmas morning at our own home (phew! what a ride!). we returned home on new year's eve, just in time to attend the funeral of a very good man, whose daughter is my dear friend, then to attend a reunion-party for past and preset interns in our ministry. gosh, it's a busy time of year. 

the new year rolls around, and with it all the reflecting backward and projecting forward, forming intentions and resolve around who we want to be and where we want to invest the limited hours and energy we have available to spend. then the return to normalcy, the detoxing from rich holiday foods, and the hunkering down to survive another michigan winter. for me, this new year is starting off strong, and i'm feeling focused and fresh. what a gift that is. 

but my camera has not been getting a lot of attention. i photographed all the christmases on my iPhone because i couldn't be bothered to pick up the real deal. i'm in a bit of a creative slump, to tell you the truth. i've been zentangling and coloring in an adult coloring book, as well as rearranging and nesting some and reading good books while fasting from social media. but when it comes to photography, i've been taking a breather. 

i've been around this block enough times now so as to not be alarmed by the slump. i'm confident that in a few weeks i'll come back around to it. i don't even need to force it. this love affair with the art of painting with light and telling real stories that can be cherished for decades has already endured fifteen years at least; we're not breaking up now. ;)

so wherever you on this cold mid-winter day, friends, i hope you can give yourself permission to be there. in sickness or health, in inspiration or burn out, in transition or stability. you are where you are supposed to be, and each thing has it's season. this too, shall pass. 

and as you look forward into the coming months of this fresh year with hopes of documenting the stories of your own small and wonderful life, please reach out. i'll be ready for you. i'm booking spring sessions now, and will be taking only 2 or 3 each month. 

here's what i have to offer this year:

and now, i invite you to witness our whirlwind christmas, in only iphoneography. (someone wise once said, after all, that the best camera is the one you have with you. amen).

also, in the midst of the aforementioned creative slump, i attended a remarkable birth in december and i'll be blogging that here soon. (insert emoji with heart eyes). and in spite of said creative slump, the images are something i'm proud of. can't wait to show you.

personal :: day in the [messy] life

in ,

waking up before my kids is an elusive ideal. i know the day will go better when i can manage it; i will be alert, caffeinated, showered, dressed, and filled with the Words of Truth. but when the baby wakes me 4 times in one night for a week straight, and then wakes me once a night and fusses for an hour before falling back asleep... well, i turn off the alarm. i've been feeling so worn down by the sleeplessness, and so scattered from the lack of morning time to center myself for the day. 

this morning as my husband left for his weekly early tuesday morning meeting, i was sitting in bed in the dark, listening to the children's voices coming from down the hall. they were already awake, the sun still below the horizon. i nearly cried. but while they were playing relatively happily, i snuck in a quick shower and while in the shower i had the idea to use my camera as therapy. so much for perfect, i thought. why even try today? i'm putting on the baggy, fraying blue jeans and crappy fitting t-shirts. i'm saying yes to the mess today. and i'm going to capture that mess. i'm going to capture it with a sense of humor, and perhaps even with some affection. 

so what lies below is the result of me doing that from about 9 am to 2:30 pm. this is our perfect imperfection. i'm offering it up as a little gift to say to you, mamas, that though my house cleans up nicely it rarely cleans up at all. i may make photographs that look idyllic, but sometimes that's because i know how to leave things out of the frame in such a way that you can't guess at the mess surrounding a spot of beauty or harmony. you can see my mess. 

first, a note about the cast of characters, so that these photos can speak without you getting confused along the way. the characters are my three kids, Hazel (4.5), Gus (2.5) and Walt (8 months), my husband Tim, my housemate (Mark), and my friend Bethany and her two little ones (ages 2.5 and 14 months) who came over for a playdate this morning and just fell right into the chaos with grace and humor. there's also a cameo appearance from one of our ministry's interns (our interns live in our ministry house across the ally), who had stopped by with Tim for a minute.

as i did this, my mood shifted from exhausted and defeated, to patient and wondering (because i was trying to document everything, even/especially the naughtiness, i had to wait and observe non-judgmentally before i reactively jumped in to stop anything), and eventually to gratitude and affection. it truly did. by the time we had seen hazel off to school and gotten the boys down for naps, i remembered again how much i love them, and love this crazy life we're living.

this is family photojournalism in it's purest form. there was no wardrobe premeditation, no house-sprucing, not attempts at good behavior. and you know what? that felt SO RIGHT, so freeing... and so stinking beautiful in the end. 

can i do this for you?

geeky photographer notes for those who are interested: i shot with my 24mm lens all day. the wide angle made it nearly impossible to leave out all the messy contexts, which is what i was shooting for today. a wide lens tells a bigger story oftentimes, though i'm often too shy to use it much in shoots for clients; it's a risky lens. i also shot in aperture-priority mode with the aperture wide open (f/2.8 for this lens), as well as auto-ISO mode (capped at 5000). i made this choice because by refusing to engage in the perfectionistic detail work of shooting in manual, i was more able to just roll with the punches, picking up my camera to take a shot when a moment was happening, while still participating in my family life fully. i needed that flexibility today.

 

fresh 48 :: samuel mark

in

december opened up with the birth of my newest nephew on the 2nd. i was there for his sunny-side-up birth, and was their birth photographer, holding back tears and grinning like a fool as this little boy (! -- his gender was a surprise) on whom i will have the honor of doting for many many years appeared through his courageous and long-laboring mama. 

i also came back several hours after he was born. Mama and baby had been moved to their rest and recovery room, had been cleaned up and changed into clean clothes, and my brother was bringing their daughters, aged 6 and 3, to meet their baby brother for the first time. both the grandmas were also there (having also been at the birth).

this is essentially what we call a Fresh48 session, and many of you may not realize that i offer these. which is why i'm going to show you what one might look like. Also click here to read more about them. 

As you can see, Fresh48 sessions are photojournalistic (as is everything i do), focused on a very narrow span of time and in a very specific place. it aims to capture in an unscripted way the vulnerability and tenderness of those first miraculous days with a new baby. For those who don't think they are up for full on birth photography, or who have smaller budgets, this can be an amazing option. please reach out, and we'll talk about what this might look like for you.

now leave a little love in the comments for this beautiful family. 

family photojournalism :: the melville family

in

janna and jeff, after living in other cities during college, put down roots in their neighborhood nearly a decade ago. they love it just as much now as ever, and all that affection and settledness is evident in the home they've made together, into which they welcomed their sweet son Oliver this spring. 

you're invited to come take a peek at an evening at home with them. there's nothing spectacularly unique going on here, and yet it is absolutely, authentically and only THIS family's story: blocks, books, and the doggie always nearby, kisses and baby seats, bath time and meal time, cooking while wine-sipping, nursing and bedtime, grown-ups relaxing after baby is sleeping. this is the good stuff. 

and on a shallower note, i'm a bit enamored with the way they decorate! oliver's nursery is amazing and features the best wallpaper ever! and their kitchen cabinets!? bold and delicious. :)

thanks for visiting, friends. leave a little love for this family in the comments!

belly :: charis

in

this woman is very dear to me. and these photos are not part of any official session. in fact, they were taken in a stolen moment between filming clips for our end-of-year ministry video on a sunday afternoon. the light was lovely and so is she (always). i couldn't resist snapping a few. 

and that little girl in her belly i cannot wait to meet. that i get to be at her birth, documenting it visually and also just supporting my friend, is sincerely one of the more exciting events of my 2016. 

After this impromptu session, Charis' husband Jordan watched our kids for a little bit. When we returned, I found him like this: cuddling baby Walter and reading my Baby Led Weaning book. I think he's gearing up for fatherhood. ;) 

They're going to be amazing parents.