the fugate family | 20 year anniversary

I met Brandi one day when I peeled into our local Mexican food joint, saw her…thought she looked wholesome and safe….and promptly asked her to watch my babies in the care while I got take out. By the time I got back we figured out we had a mutual mentor in common (Joy Prouty) and a friendship was born.

This family has been in existence for 20 years, a new member added every few totaling 7 new members. There have been many years of hard and many years of glory. It was so fitting to photograph them all together on this special anniversary year. We shot the photos on the land on which the hand of marriage had been asked oh so long ago and the whole session was draped in gratefulness.

Photographing 7 children is not for the faint of heart, but these guys were champs and within minutes I already had all of “the shots” without even having to act a fool. That gave us plenty of time for the shots I love. The tender embraces, the baby lips, the gathered flowers. There is something to be said about having that one shot of everyone looking and there is also something to be said for the other photos that often come in second. Down the years, when boys have grown to men and the baby can’t fit in your hands anymore these photos will prick hearts and pour love over aches.

Thank you to this family for trusting me.

the birth of maisie

I’ll never forget the day Maisie was born into this world. She followed the brilliant sunrise over the Blue Ridge Mountains and stole the show. Her mamas and I had spent such special time on the porch sipping mocktails and dreaming of how her birth would be, what she would look like, and what they would name her after seeing her for the first time.

I got the call in the middle of the night that it was time to join them at the hospital. It was Christina’s first baby and so I knew we could be in for a long day or even days. I arrived and saw immediately that she was in the ZONE. Wendy had already done such a good job of getting her as comfortable as possible. The lights were low except for the glow of the monitors, and the room was filled with the muffled heartbeat of the baby. Wendy and I worked squeezing hips and rubbing her back. We were all in a trance. I only stepped away for seconds to capture some shots. I thought we had more time. I was waiting for the sun to flood the room for the rest of her labor. But like I said, the sun rose and then it was time for this baby to be born.

She came fast for a first time birth and burst into the room and into our hearts. I was sobbing. It was my first birth in a tightly fitted n95 mask and my eyes were filled with happy tears. I’m surprised I could get any shots at all! Wendy’s reaction to seeing her baby girl born is one of my favorite series of birth photos ever. And then it was just sweet and calm and sacred and they named her Maisie.

I love these three girls so much and I was so honored to watch their family grow.

craving connection