all the little sweeties | welcoming lawton

Oh man, picking the photos for this blog post filled me with so much longing and happiness. Longing because I got to hold Lawton last week and he is already 5 months old and so changed already from his wrinkly little newborness. This afternoon that I spent with this dear family seems like just days ago (except for the bare feet in grass part), but yet here we are in February with children growing out of pants faster than you can check off the days. Happiness because nothing makes me happier than seeing big families love each other well. And this family makes that top priority. I’ve been photographing them for 10 years and every new soul they bring in does not half or quarter the love, it doubles it.

I basically showed up and started shooting and photographed until everyone was spent. I wanted to get individuals of all the children in their **that stage** wonder. The bruised eye, the reluctant glance, the preteen attention to a just right hairdo…all of it. Not only was that newborn stage flying by so fast we could barely take it in, all of these children are growing every single day. I wanted to capture each child with each parent and got some truly tender shots.

In the end, I just wanted to gather it all up and inhale it like the most beautiful, fragrant bloom.

So immeasurably glad to know this family and to watch all their little sweeties grow.

gathering | the high desert, ca

This fall, I found myself thousands of miles away from my home in the high desert of California. A dear friend lived there with her family and I was planning to do a session with her family of 5.5. Last minute she decided she wanted to get pictures of her extended family too.

It was a hustle and bustle of getting ready, trading outfits, making food and I was there for it. I sat like the eye of a hurricane and just observed the way they all interacted: spicy, all in, and full of love for one another.

I was a little nervous about the lighting situation. I wasn’t used to it and the sun falls fast in that gold hour. Once the gold was starting I just started shooting away at all the impish faces running around, the baby toes and the proud big brother smiles. I did not stop till the sun went down and had to wait a week to get home to look at them. I really didn’t even know if I had captured it

Oh what magic simply gathering together was. So much richness, it was overwhelming. 4 generations of women, primas and primos with their best friends, a legacy. Photographing across generations is something sacred and deeply moving to me.

Thank you Caldera family for effortlessly sliding in and out of the frame and making magic with me that evening.

growing | art and bri

This was a dream:

the bare feet, the missing teeth, the way their parents arms encircled them. I loved every second of photographing this family on their little farm.

I was so taken with the care this family took with the food that they grew and in that same vein the tender care they loved their children with. Growing is such a journey. It’s not always smooth, there are mistakes, but love and sun sure do make things grow and in this home there was sun and love a plenty.
To follow this family you can watch them on their YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/ARTandBRI