Stories Untold

Nobody warns you, when you first begin to create art, that at times it will consume you. Nobody tells you that you will be drawn, sometimes inexplicably, to people and objects and places. Nobody teaches you how to make peace with the pull, with the untold stories inside of you...and so art is born.  

 

 

 How can I explain this shoot, other than to tell you that I saw these pictures inside my mind before I captured them with my camera? I had to tell the story. 

 

 

 

I knew where and when the story took place, and I knew who played the lead. I laughed at myself for attempting to explain "longing" and "vacancy" to eleven year old Sadie Grace, but she got it. As soon as I began to shoot, she fell into character...vulnerable, lonesome and introspective.  She knew the story too.  

 



 

 

I feel certain that these images, my story, will mean something different to everyone.  Some will see sadness, or innocence, perhaps a glimmer of hope, a subtle strength.  What do they make you feel/imagine/create/see?

 

What's your story?



Johanna and Chris

When Johanna asked me to photograph she and Chris' wedding I was equal parts flattered and scared out of my mind.  I never intended to be a wedding photographer, but Johanna is a friend, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to challenge myself.  As it turns out, this was a perfect first wedding for me...a perfect first bride...a perfect first couple.

The love between them is so apparent. 



A Very Large Extended Family

 

It's often said that friends are the family that we choose.  I believe the same to be true about my clients...there are some who simply make their way into my heart and stay put.  I may not see them but once or twice a year, but when I do, we pick up exactly where we left off.  To be completely honest, I miss them from season to season.  I look forward to our shoots...to the occasional chaos, to the whining, to the attitudes, to the smiles, the closeness, to the love.  I'm so very grateful for a job that allows me to grow with each one of these families...every stage, every milestone, every season, every year. 

 

 

 

It's a Boy! Welcome Drew Burton Belsky!

On Wednesday evening I had the priveledge of becoming an honorary member of the Belsky family.  When I opened the door to Kelly's room just four hours after Drew was born, I heard, "Hi Nadia!"  I recognized Carter's voice even before I saw her smiling face.  She led me over to her new baby brother and beamed up at me.  Wrapped up tightly in his blanket was Andy and Kelly's fourth child and only son.  There was a tangible glow of happiness floating through the room.  I took a deep breath, just hoping that I could capture even a fraction of the feelings that were written across the faces of this family.

"I'm already so in love with him," Kelly whispered as I snapped my first picture.  I could see why.  Surrounded by her beautiful daughters, and the overwhelming support of her husband and parents...Kelly couldn't help but see the newness, the difference, the unique experience of this little boy.   

Unmoved by the flash of my camera, the disturbance of having his (just too big) hat being removed and replaced, his sisters taking turns holding him carefully in their laps, his blanket being unwound from his little body, Drew peered up with sweet eyes and became a part of his first photo shoot.  Before I left for the evening, I showed Kelly a few of the moments that I captured. True to her personality, all she could say was, "STOP IT!" The moment was surreal - - - she was looking at pictures, at proof, that she had just given birth to their son.

I left that evening feeling like I had been a part of something sacred.  I had been invited to witness the most miraculous experience - the first moments of a newborn child becoming a part of his family.  I kissed Drew on his forehead and silently thanked him for bringing me such joy.  I hugged every member of the Belsky clan and when I got to Kelly she sincerely thanked me for being a part of this time in her life.  What she doesn't realize is that I was the one who had reason to be grateful.

Imposing Beauty

I've never been so nervous for a shoot before. I didn't want to let her down. What if I wasn't creative enough? What if the lighting was bad? What if we didn't connect? What if I couldn't convey to others what I see for myself every day?  What if I couldn't make them understand that, to me, Leigh Sterrett is so much more than muscular...she's strength. There is beauty in her dedication, her discipline, her stoic demeanor. If you take the time to see it, behind her quiet eyes...you'll know too.

Beauty is all around us. If you don't see it, you're not looking...not paying attention...not living with your eyes open. Beauty is a sunrise, ocean waves, a midday rainbow.  Beauty is a child's sly grin, the sparkle of an eye, a loving touch.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beauty is skin deep. Sometimes beauty is captured...in a jar, in a vase, through a lens. Beauty is all consuming, overwhelming, awe inspiring.

Beauty is fragile; beauty is pure; beauty is strong.

I asked her to let her guard down, to let me in...not an easy task when you're hanging off of railroad tracks in a sports bra.  I snapped pictures while she stood, crunched, sat perfectly still, held poses, climbed a rope, walked along a brick wall and ran sprints.  She smiled, didn't smile, glanced, turned her head, laughed, looked down, looked up, looked away.  At the end of the shoot she had changed clothes five times, put her hair up, and down and then up again...she was covered in tar, covered in lipstick, covered in a fine layer of sweat and dust. 

She was still beautiful.  I know, because I was there.  I was looking.  I did see it.  I was paying attention.  I was lucky to capture it.

Reflections

This is Addison... 

She is me, or rather I was her...about 20 years ago. From start to finish this session was chock full of sarcasm, quick wit and endearing complications. All I could do was laugh, because I'm certain that if I asked my mom to describe what I was like at twelve years old, she would have told a story of a precocious young lady much like the one I was photographing. "I can't get dressed yet - - my clothes are still wet! I have to go to the bathroom...I didn't have to go when we were at the house! There are bugs here...oh my gosh is that a snake!? I don't want to go there...why do we have to go there!?"  Secretly she was enjoying being the star, and it shows.  From sly grins to eye rolls, her personality shines through in every shot. 

There's a good chance that she will look back one day and remember being a child who was so eager to be a "grown up."  She may remember feeling defiant, pushing the boundaries, knowing it all...being stuck in that age where you're neither a child or an adult.  I remember that time.  Spending the afternoon with Addison brought those memories back to me like a flood.  I sat back behind the camera watching her, and seeing myself.  I felt like I should call my mom and thank her, share a laugh, apologize?  Instead I looked over at Addison's mom Mandy, and promised her that there was hope for her sweet, smart, clever, overwhelming pre-teen.  After all, look how well I turned out. ;)

Little Miss Madelyn

Meet Madelyn, the youngest of three beautiful little girls.  She loves singing, picking flowers, purple jelly beans, butterflies, hide and go seek, playing in the dirt, feeling the grass between her toes, following after her sisters, and she absolutely LOVES having her picture taken.

 

"Bees!" she shouted, with equal parts fear and intrigue.  She stood her ground until they buzzed away.  "Come Nadia," she commanded as we headed off toward the barn.  Once we got there she peered through every hole, shuffled through the dusty dirt piles, and glanced back every now and then to make sure that I was still snapping photos.  

 

After all of the clover and buttercups, fence climbing, itsy bitsy spider, counting behind trees, and rolling in the grass, I had made a new friend.  By the end of our session, she was full of snacks and exhausted from being the center of attention.  She cuddled up with mom, kissed her belly (there's a baby boy in there) and dropped her head down on her shoulder.  Being a star is hard work :)