One more from the Lawrenson Shoot Wed. May 14, 2008 my life
You may have seen this photo already if you made your way over to Nathan's Blog, but I realized that I forgot to post this one of me holding Gwyneth! We were at the hospital and I was shooting, when all of a sudden Nathan asked if I wanted to hold her! I totally did, but I never would have asked, so that was very exciting. I felt very honored to literally be touching a miracle like her. She must have known I was a little nervous because she actually got really quiet and happy, even though she was hungry!
One other thing about the shoot--and this was REALLY cool. We had gone back and forth a few times about which day and time to shoot because Gwyneth would be leaving soon and they had a lot going on, but we eventually settled on Monday, the last day I was in town. When I woke up that morning at my mom's house in Apex, it was cloudy and overcast, but I figured, hey, we'd use umbrellas. I was a bit sad though that I would have no glorious backlight for the photos of Nathan and Tricia.
I started driving out towards Durham and saw a TINY clearing miles away, but I wasn't even hoping for sun at that point, just no rain would have been fine. I arrived about half an hour early, and it was still very gloomy. When Nathan and Tricia pulled into the parking lot though, the second Tricia got out of the car (and I am NOT EVEN KIDDING about this), the sun came out of nowhere and it stayed sunny for the whole shoot, about 40 minutes. Then it got cloudy again and stayed that way for the rest of the day.
The Lawrenson Family: portrait experience Wed. May 14, 2008 people
**I have been getting a lot of emails today from people visiting here from Nathan's blog asking about what I'm doing to the photos to "make them look like that". I am using: TOTALLY RAD actions and Kevin Kubota actions. The Boutwells ones I use for a lot of the actual processing (antique tone, the grain on the very last "family photo", and the Kubota ones I use for the desaturated photos as well as sharpening. Hope this helps and I'm sorry I can't respond to all of your emails right now!**
I know I'm a bit behind on the blogging, but ya'll seemed to enjoy Luke & Alisha's photos, so I figured I was okay to take a few days off! After NYC, I flew down to North Carolina on Friday morning to visit with my mom & some other family for Mother's Day weekend. While I was there, I had the opportunity to shoot something very very special. It was so special that I didn't want to just throw up a few photos without really explaining the story--please bear with me and read this!!
About six months ago, I came across the blog of Nathan Lawrenson, called the CF Husband Blog. The blog is written entirely by Nathan to chronicle the journey of his wife, Tricia, and also now his daughter, Gwyneth.
The story is amazing because of all that is happening right now, and also because of the faith that Nathan and Tricia have had throughout their journey. Tricia has Cystic Fibrosis, a genetically inherited disease that causes the body to secrete a thick mucus. Because of this, there are a lot of complications that can happen like infections and other things. By clicking either Nathan or Tricia's blog above, you can find out WAY more about the details of that if you are interested.
Anyway, because of this disease, Tricia and Nathan knew that she would probably eventually have a double lung transplant, but Tricia had always secretly prayed to have a baby before this happened. No pregnancy happened though, and as Tricia's health started to decline, they began the initial transplant process. It was at this time that Tricia unexpectedly learned that she was pregnant! Because of their faith, they made the decision to keep their miracle baby, knowing that both Tricia's and the unborn baby's life were at a severe risk. They knew that the decision might be somewhat controversial to some people, but knowing that this was probably their only chance to have a baby, and also knowing that their faith in God played a big part in their lives, that is what they decided to do.
The baby came four months early, when Tricia's body could no longer handle the pregnancy. Their beautiful baby, Gwyneth Rose was born at under two pounds, and Tricia went into a coma and to the top of the transplant list. Over the next several weeks, Gwyneth did very well, eventually reaching her current weight of almost five pounds! During this time, Tricia received donor lungs and is recovering from her surgery AMAZINGLY well. It truly is a miracle that both mother and daughter survived such overwhelmingly negative odds to have the successful recoveries they are having. By the way, wish Tricia a happy birthday--Tuesday was her day!!!
Now where I come in. I realized through reading the blog that Tricia was at Duke Hospital which is actually where my mom works! I also noticed that Nathan has a photography hobby, so he and I communicated a bit about that. I asked him if when I came home for a visit, I might be able to do a shoot with his family, to which he immediately agreed! I was really inspired by their whole story, and figured that after four months of living in the hospital and having a relationship under a magnifying glass, it might be nice for them to have some photos together as a regular couple out having fun! One of the best unexpected benefits of this blog has been that it has given me the credibility and freedom to email or call and meet people that I find interesting and get to know them. That was certainly the case with Tricia and Nathan, who are incredible people that I have been blessed to meet.
If you decide to start reading the Lawrenson's story, you should **READ THIS FIRST**. Its the short version of the story that Nathan posted, so you can get up to speed and find out what he's all about.
It would mean a lot to Tricia and Nathan that if you are touched by their story, please make a donation, however small, to the CF foundation. They want to meet their team goal of $20,000, but I think we should show them what the readers of this blog can REALLY DO!! **CLICK HERE TO DONATE, EVEN $1 HELPS!!** Honestly, I can't believe they haven't met this goal twice over already, and I would love for them to make it due to this blog.
We spent the morning out in Durham, shooting a bit, talking, having breakfast, and visiting with Gwyneth. It was incredible--this couple is so unassuming and genuine. They have a positive attitude about life, faith, and the world in general. I am so excited for them that they will be taking their baby home soon, and that Tricia continues to do so well. She has such a quiet grace, and Nathan has so much strength--it's just beautiful to watch.
Check out the slideshow:
I wanted to pull a few favorites and show them to you also:
I love this moment:
There is SO much love between this couple. The bond they have is really something to witness:
This little series is my favorite:
I wanted to focus on Tricia for a couple:
This might be my favorite shot of the day--love the red nails!
After the shoot in the morning, we went to the hospital to see Gwyneth. She is gorgeous and adorable!! I even got to hold her, which both of us enjoyed :)
Tricia is already such a natural mother:
Look how tiny her hand is! It doesn't fit all the way around his finger:
Gwyneth throwing a peace sign:
Sleeping like a baby:
A family portrait:
Us!
Nathan shot this of Tricia and I and I love it,:
Nathan, Tricia, and Gwyneth--thank you for allowing me to share a morning in your lives. It was a privilege to meet you and get to know you, and I hope nothing but the best for you.
First of all, I have exciting news of my own--I am now an official guest blogger on The Pioneer Woman!! I just love Ree's blog, her "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" love story, and everything about this blog! Go over there and click "photography"--you'll see my first post. Another one will be coming soon!
A couple of days ago when I was in NYC, I had the opportunity to shoot a VERY cool engagement session for a couple of friends! Well, technically it started out as just a session, but towards the end it was another story...
My friend and fellow photographer Luke Walker had called me a few months ago to let me in on a little secret: that he was planning on proposing to his girlfriend, also my friend and photographer, Alisha Clark! I was excited for him, of course, but even more excited when he said that he wanted me to be in on the surprise and to capture the moment for the two of them. Before I even had a chance to freak out at the pressure, I immediately said yes and told him that I would let him know when I had solid plans for coming to NYC to visit my dad and take care of some Shootsac business. It wasn't long before the plan came together, and the three of us had plans to meet up for some food and maybe a little "headshot" session. Alisha had wanted to get some photos of she and Luke together anyway, so it was a perfect plan!
We met up that day and when I saw how adorable Luke and Alisha looked, I thought for sure that she had found out what happened, but nope! We decided to do a little shooting around the neighborhood before going to eat (and before anything else happened). Here is some of what we shot first:
Can you believe we found a studio to shoot in right in the middle of the meatpacking district? ;)
Watch out Alisha, he bites!
But he can be sweet too:
A fun one:
Luke and I had worked out how I would let him know that we were in a great spot for the big moment, and when I saw this area, I knew we hit pay dirt. It was cool without being too gross, somewhat private, and had a little patch of backlighting back behind where this was shot:
I said to Luke, "This is a KILLER location", which was code for, get down on your knee Luke, this is perfect! It took him a good several minutes to get his butt moving, but he finally mustered up his courage. Watch the slideshow below:
It was truly an amazing moment! The rest of the shoot, the newly engaged couple was absolutely ecstatic. I love that their engagement photos are actually ENGAGEMENT photos, and the expressions and shots we got were absolutely priceless.
Here are a couple faves from the actual proposal:
Check out Alisha's bling!! Nice work Luke:
We did not stop the shooting though, no, no, no!
Engagement rings look good in pictures:
It's so cute how little Alisha is!
The mood of these last ones just gets me:
My favorite:
Hey! We ran into photography super star Carlos, so of course we needed to grab a drink with him. Good luck with your adventure Carlos!
Luke and Alisha, I am so happy for you guys, and I'm so honored you chose me to be there with you. I know I've got some stiff competition for the wedding, but I'm willing to fight for it--you are amazing!!
Ami & Scott: Chicago Edition Wed. May 7, 2008 will you
You might remember Ami and Scott from a session we did down in Laguna Beach earlier in the year! I am shooting their 10 year vow renewal at the very end of this year, and since they didn't have the opportunity to plan something fantastic when they actually got married, they are making up for lost time! When Ami found out that I would be in their current city of Chicago, she asked if I would be able to shoot with them again, this time in their native land. Of course I was happy to oblige--I love shooting in new places!
A few notes about this shoot for all of you out there:
2. There is AT LEAST one Boutwell action on every single image also. I think "warm it up kris" is actually on all the color images as well. Sometimes shooting in open shade like I do causes images to look a bit too blue, and that action is a perfect quick fix for that. **Get yourself some TOTALLY RAD actions here**
3. Ami has an awesome wedding planning blog herself, which you can check out **HERE**
That said, on to the photos!
Ami and Scott asked if they could bring a friend with them--their baby Charlie! Charlie is a very sweet dog who is definitely the baby of the family:
I thought he needed a few shots of his own:
He does tricks! He can slap a high-five when Ami says, "go Braves"!!
But Ami and Scott deserved a few photos of them together also:
One of my faves:
Chicago has some nice light! I am pretty sure I brought it with me from California though:
A detail:
We ducked into this cool looking restaurant for a second:
We also stopped to get poor Charlie some water (he prefers Fiji water, thank you very much):
Then he was ready to go again!
I saw this green door--hello beautiful!
Saw this little spot on the way back:
I wanted to get a few closer in shots also:
Chicago has great looking houses and old buildings:
My favorite:
Ami & Scott, thank you for including me into your lives! I can't wait to see you again in Atlanta!
The Soundtrack of your life Tue. May 6, 2008 my life
Did you ever notice that hearing a certain song can bring you back to a particular time in your life so quickly and realistically that it feels like you're actually there? I have many different songs like that for different times in my life
When I was in college my sophomore year, my roommate and I somehow picked up an obsession for a little known band called The Sundays. I think we probably listened to their version of Wild Horses about a hundred billion times. If you would like to listen to it and/or buy it on itunes, it's here:
WILD HORSES
If you want to hear their best album though, the one I listened too most at that time, it is called Blind
BLIND
I heard it somewhere the other day and it was literally like I was back in my dorm room, 19 years old again. This July, I will turn the big 2-9. I wonder what music will bring me back to this point a decade later when I hear it?
What is the soundtrack of your life? What are the songs that make you think of other times and places you've been?
my life
