Wednesday, November 5, 2008

in mom's hands


in mom's hands, originally uploaded by pr9000.

There is something precious about the trust in which babies place adults. It's almost sounds ridiculous, because that's what babies do -- they can't help themselves. And yet, you take it for granted until you're face to face with it ... and you realize (in my case, at least) that you're a big, big man with large feet and little depth perception when you've got two Nikons around your neck.

Such were my thoughts as I was photographing Claire, not quite two months old, one morning between feedings and bath. Her mom was quite the pro, and if she was nervous to have all this equipment and attention around Claire, she (mom) didn't show it.

The session went rather well, though I'm always reminded that baby sessions are as much sitting around as they are taking photos. Babies seem to last about 15 minutes between please-provide-the-necessary-basics panic attacks. Thus I saw Claire fed, then changed, then fed again, then given a bath, and finally put to sleep.

After all that, I was ready for the exact same sequence of events, but my lovely wife had work to do, so I had to make my own lunch when I got home.

Enjoy a few other photos of Claire. She was a joy to work with, and I look forward to repeating the process for her when she's a bit older.




baby toes, originally uploaded by pr9000.

Boys Will Be Boys!

Ah, glorious Fall Saturdays ...



I had a session scheduled for November 1, which happened to be Dia De Los Muertos, at gorgeous Cheekwood Botanical Garden in Nashville. It was an incredible morning, because the gardens were looking fantastic, thanks to Mother Nature's decision to finally let the leaves start to change color ... Cheekwood was a mix of greens, browns, reds and yellows. It's really a treasure, and I'm pleased that we chose it for the session.

Brittany has a large brood -- three boys, from middle school to age 2, and a beautiful dog, Lexie. We bundled out of the car in the parking lot, and the race was on -- Jackson, Anderson and Charlie were a mass of boyish energy, and it was all I could do to keep up with them. We had a wonderful time, and I think the photos show it.

Funny thing -- I kept worrying about the boys getting dirty. It's not easy to Photoshop away dirt and grass stains, and in my eager, naive way, I thought I could keep the boys clean. It didn't work very well, as it seems that boys are genetically attracted to dirt ... or at least to the chance to get dirty by jumping over rocks, fountains, benches, even blades of grass.

But we all came through unscathed, and now the hard part -- picking my favorites from the session -- begins. I just hope Lexie approves. :)