Meet Squish

For the sake of privacy, and because I think it's cute...and because it drives my kids nuts, I don't use their real names online.  All their nicknames refer to their birth stories...it's a "Mom" thing.

This is my oldest child, who I call "Squish" because he got stuck on his way into the world.  We also call him "The Professor" because the kid is a walking encyclopedia when it comes to science (thank you Mythbusters).

Squish is entering into that wonderfully horrible stage of life that we refer to as adolescence...already the massive growth spurts, moodiness, and back-talking have started...to where I am starting to think that eye-rolling needs to be an Olympic sport.  He's a good kid though and still lets me kiss him good-bye at the bus stop in the mornings...for now...and only when I haven't walked out there in my ratty bathrobe.

It was at the bus stop this morning that I realized how soon we're going to have to close the door on Squish's childhood years and embark into young-adulthood.  I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and bumped into the back of his head...with my mouth.  After the "ouch" moment and making sure I hadn't hurt him it dawned on me, my child comes up to my mouth now.  My little boy is now only about five inches shorter than me.  When did this happen?

This picture was taken last Spring, when he was about three inches shorter than his current height (seriously, do they put Miracle Gro in the school lunches?).  As a rule he hates having his picture taken and the only way I even got this smirk was to pop up from behind my camera and make a goofy face.  Really he just wanted to get it over with because he was convinced one of his sisters was messing up whatever video game he'd been playing, but I'm glad I got it nonetheless.

I need to hurry up and take some more of him before it requires a step ladder.

At The Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday I hauled my menagerie of children to Middletown, Maryland for a visit to Jumbo's Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze.  Aside from losing the three-year-old temporarily in the corn maze it was a fairly stress-free day.

Autumn is my favorite time for photo-shoots, the cloudy days diffuse light perfectly, and all the colors in the landscape can make for stunning backdrops.  I snapped this picture of my youngest right before we went searching for our pumpkins.

When scheduling photo-shoots at this time of year don't forget to consider your local farms as location possibilities.  Many offer free admission and have fun displays to use for posing.  Or, if you prefer, natural settings like the one in this photo are usually in abundance.  Just be sure to head to the farms early in the day before the crowds are out in-force.

Photography Is In My Blood

Growing up in the early '80's I spent a lot of time over the summer visiting my grandparents. My grandfather was a serious amateur photographer and my older sister and I, as well as other family members and neighborhood kids were some of his favorite subjects. My grandparents' living room was decorated with portraits he'd taken of all of us hunting Easter eggs, playing in the piles of raked leaves, or playing in the creek that used to run by their house.

The top image is a photo he snapped of me at about age 3. My grandparents had come to visit us for the afternoon and I had gone outside to pick the buttercups that grew in abundance in our yard. This picture still hangs in my grandmother's living room to this day, in a place of honor above Pop-pop's ancient Lay-Z-Boy recliner, which has sat vacant since his passing in 1987. I would call his portrait style photo-journalistic, since his photos were rarely posed. It is a style that I have also embraced and prefer for my own work, as I am not a fan of the super-posed cookie-cutter style that hangs on the walls of mainstream photography studios.

The bottom image is a photo I took of my daughter napping on our living room couch this morning. She is now about the same age as I was in the buttercup photo, and I love looking at the two pictures side by side. Aside from the obvious genetic link, I also like how both pictures are similar in style, albeit very different in pose and composition.

These two portraits also make a very strong statement in regards to trends and fads. Photo-journalistic portrait photography is an investment. These are photos that you will still love in 25+ years and will still want to have them hanging on your walls. This style is not only about capturing an image of a face or family, but about capturing a moment...a memory. They can be elaborate or simplistic, completely candid or semi-posed, but they convey so much more than a sterile studio shot. That is why I love what I do...they are your moments, I just help you remember them.

I have to wonder if, 30 years from now, will my daughter be snapping a picture of her own child and comparing it to these two?