After much procrastinating and even more harassment from my sister and new business partner (Jo), I am boarding the blog bus. Jody is clearly loving blogging, but she is a little more chatty (and maybe witty) than I am, so we’ll see how I do…
Well, what better way to initiate myself into the world of blogdom than to tell everyone about a recent photoshoot (well, three weeks ago is recent enough, isn’t it?) with my longtime friend, Jacquie, her husband, Todd and their six-week old son, Luke.
Jacquie and I have been friends since kindergarten. We have stayed close throughout the years, sometimes traveling long distances to see one another. If it was a competition (which it isn’t), I think my solo Greyhound bus ride from Winnipeg to Thunder Bay to visit her was far more arduous a journey than her flight from Winnipeg to Halifax to visit me. Jacquie and I have that awesome kind of friendship where you can go weeks, sometimes months without talking to one another. We are then able to just pick up where we left off without guilt trips, regardless of whose “turn” it was to call or visit. Maybe our personalities really click; maybe it has to do with the duration of our friendship (after all, thirty years is a pretty long time!); or, maybe it’s a little bit of both.
While I have only recently joined Better Together Photography (after leaving my career as a lawyer to stay home with my amazing kids: Willem, 3, and Edie, 14 months- more on that later…), I have had the pleasure of photographing Jacquie and Todd on two prior occasions.
In June of 2008, I photographed their wedding (in lieu of a wedding gift). I took all of their couple shots before the wedding, most of which were taken at their home where they got ready together. While they had a little bit of the pre-wedding jitters, they eventually relaxed (probably taking pity on my lame attempts to get them to laugh) and we got some great shots. Jacquie’s husband Todd is a great guy who loves to entertain. Guaranteed, he will bring out his guitar and sing an eclectic mix of music when we all get together. As you can see, Todd wasn’t afraid to ham it up for the camera that day. I did however have to persuade him to smoke the cigar in their house. I also had to take the blame when Jacquie came around the corner and gave him the “What the hell…” look. Jacquie and Todd didn’t have a wedding party and there was no one else at the house before the wedding, so in addition to taking their wedding photographs, I really got some face time with the bride and groom that day.
This past October, I photographed Jacquie’s baby bump. Jacquie and Todd had just sold their house and were preparing for a post-baby move to their newly built home. As I took photos of them walking down the path near their home, where I had just taken photos of them not 17 months prior (though Jacquie was a tad slimmer then), I thought that it would have been nice to take a photo a year from now of them walking with their toddler down that same path. Maybe we can go back for that shot.
I first photographed Luke six days after he was born, skin peeling off his newbie feet and all. It was a joy to watch Jacquie with Luke that day -a real natural, so in love, and SO much calmer than I was as a first time mom (now that I’ve opened that can of worms, I’m sure Jody will tell you a story or two about that). I’ve got to tell you, it’s been a privilege to have watched so many of the significant moments of their lives through the lens of my camera. I hope to be there for many more.
Now, onto Luke’s first actual photoshoot. As you can see, he is a real cutie – he has his mom’s pretty little mouth, chin, and porcelain skin, and the rest I am told is all dad. He was awake for the first half of the shoot, got a little overtired, then fell asleep in his oh-so-cozy blanket. While I will miss the little path near their old house, the natural light in their beautiful new home more than makes up for it – a photographer’s dream. I do love my 1947 home, but I also caught myself lusting over their home’s abundant closet space, level floors, lack of draughts … the list goes on.
Apart from the natural light in their new home, I also love Jacquie and Todd’s new cream coloured couch and love-seat. You read that right – cream coloured! Good luck with keeping that clean once Luke hits toddler-hood! On the way out, I chuckled as I observed Todd cleaning all the greasy hand marks off the walls from visitors over the holidays. Todd likes a tidy space, so it’ll be interesting to watch his progression over the next few years – he’ll learn to let go a little or lose his sanity – just ask my (tidy) husband. What will be much more interesting though will be watching little Luke grow up.
better together photography 