Waiting

These days it seems like my life is on hold, while the world keeps spinning around me. For 8 months I have been keenly focused on getting to the finish line with a healthy baby. My day to day activities tend to be foggy lately, but I am always fully aware of this tiny person growing inside me. I know that our whole life is going to change and I am feeling very ready for the transition into motherhood. We are overjoyed to add a new member to our family.

But all I can do is wait...and wonder. Boy or girl? When will the baby decide to come? What will he or she look like? In any case, my camera will be ready to capture this time in our lives and the new addition to our family.

Are you waiting for anything these days?

Looking for light

At this time two years ago, I was one month pregnant and overjoyed with our luck. We had just moved to Nebraska and I couldn't believe that our plan to start a family was working out so perfectly. I remember the vibrant fall colors and the golden evening light falling over the rolling hills that October. I took a lot of pictures during that time, partly because I was exploring my new surroundings and partly to keep myself busy as we anxiously waited for that first pre-natal appointment.

During the ultrasound the doctor was cheerful and casual at first, but her mood suddenly turned serious as she tried desperately to find the heartbeat. The baby had died at 8 weeks, just a day or two before the appointment. It was devastating, heartbreaking and cruel. But we had hope. We had conceived once, and we would do it again.

But two years later, multiple blood tests, doctors and procedures it gets harder and harder to find the positive aspects of our not-so-unique situation. We seem to be in a constant battle between hope and despair, with one of us often helping the other find the light on dark days.

This year as I take pictures of my fall surroundings, I find that the colors are just as vibrant, the light just as beautiful as it was two years ago. But now the beauty of this season somehow cuts into my heart and brings me a certain sadness. I can't explain why exactly. It could be my whacked out hormones or my current fragile mental state. Maybe it reminds me of our loss two years ago. Either way, I'll continue to capture the bittersweet fall beauty with my camera because it makes me feel something.

So today show us a photo that makes you really feel something, anything.

What Unites Us

I knew there would be differences – the color of our skin, the food we eat, the place we call home, the way we greet each other, our language, the way we bathe, how we travel, the sounds we hear at night... Traveling to Africa opened my eyes in a beautiful way. It made me appreciate our differences, but spending time with my new friends and listening to their stories reminded me that in more ways than not – at the core - we are essentially the same.

As I scanned through some of my photographs taken in the past several months for a little inspiration, the universal nature of this moment struck me. Birth. A miracle each of us has experienced. Love. A gift each of us has the capacity to give and receive. Peace. A sense of calm we all cherish.

Today, please share a moment in time or a collection of words to celebrate our sameness.

the gift of change

I had no idea how much my children would change my life. Of course, I knew things were going to be different but what surprised me is how deeply and profoundly I have been changed. The “old me” is still here. She is just much brighter, stronger and more generous than she ever was before.

Life changing experiences happen to everyone in all different ways, not just having children. Kids were the perfect change for me though. I was always pretty self-sufficient (translation: a little stoic and protected). What my children did for me was to show me how vulnerable I could really be. They forced me out of myself and that vulnerability opened me up in so many other ways. One of the surprising ways was with my photography.

I started taking photographs when I was in the tenth grade. It was love at first click I guess you could say. I never really photographed people though until I turned my lens onto my babies. That little turn of the lens completely changed the path of my life.

Now I photograph babies, families and bellies everyday. I get to witness the change that I experienced over and over again as it happens to the families that I photograph. Not only that, I sing out loud to my kids and have become adept at making all sorts of silly noises. I get teary at lots of little things and I reserve judgment just a little more. My heart is softer all the way around.

The short of it...I see spirit so much more clearly now. I see mine, as well as others, and it has been the greatest gift that I have ever been given.

What have you seen through your lens that has changed your heart? I hope that you will share some images from your heart and of your gifts with us today.

Picture and words courtesy of Guest Blogger / Honorary Sister, Houston based photographer extraordinaire Farrah Braniff. 

belly up

When Melisa asked me if I had any tips on shooting great pregnant belly shots, I jumped at the chance to share. As you all know, I do like sharing. A lot. And although it seems as if many of my clients have passed the pregnancy stage, big, round robust bellies still remain one of my most favorite subjects.

When I was pregnant the first time around I had only been wielding a camera for a year or so. And believe me when I tell you, hip and cool pregnancy portraits had not yet made an appearance onto the scene. It wasn’t really until Demi Moore hit newsstands that people began rethinking the pregnant body. I don’t have to tell you that amazing photographs of mothers-to-be are everywhere now days. It’s amazing and inspiring to see that we now openly celebrate the planetary curves that carry the future of the world. Even artsy little me viewed my first pregnancy with a shrouded lens (and body). Looking back I am disappointed at how few photos I took or had taken of my largest self. Thankfully, I took off my lens cap (so to speak) when I was pregnant with my second daughter. I had almost 6 more years of experience as a photographer and the world, and my body were entirely new planets. Seemingly literally.

Being stretched to capacity by what feels like an alien—and I mean that in an endearing way of course—doesn’t  happen every day. I clicked the shot above in the mirror of my bathroom less than 24 hours before I went into labor. Yowza. Now, that’s a belly. I’m just glad I had the permission and pride to let it all hang, er, pop out and the gumption and guts to get it on film.

Melisa’s post should be up later today at the new Pregnancy Buzz blog at CaféMom so be sure to check it out later, if it’s not up already. Hopefully you will come away with a few helpful hints if you are so inclined to shoot big beautfiul belly portraits. Please feel free to link to anything you may have that captures an orb-like experience. And if you’ve got any tips on the subject, you can post them at Melisa’s too. Enlighten us!