As EYE See Them... Anika and Sidney

WORDS!   I'm going to attempt to describe Anika and Sid and everything about them in single words...

Anika and I first made contact when I responded to an inquiry for a photographer for her wedding.   When I read her email the word that came to mind was ELOQUENT.  Our email exchanges were lengthy but we felt like we knew each other by the time we would meet.  When we met for brunch and I saw her for the first time, I thought RADIANT.  What a beautiful smile and sunny personality to match!  I've decided that I'm allergic to Bridezillas - there would be no worries about my allergies with Anika!   I remember thinking what a great guy Sidney must be to have such a special lady in his corner in addition to the way her face lit up when she spoke of him.

In May, I had the privelege of meeting Sidney and their children at their engagement shoot.   The next word that came to mind was PRECIOUS - the dynamic between the members of this blended family was lovingly evident.

Their journey began when they met at Sidney's older sister's engagement party, but the relationship started to really take on a life of it's own when Sidney's younger brother married Anika's younger sister (awesome, right!?!)

I love Anika and Sidney as if they were family.  You cannot possibly spend any time with them and NOT feel that way.  They've got to be the warmest, sweetest, most genuine and most loving people I've come across in a long time. 

There are so many descriptors for these two and the love they share, but the word that will stay with me - a word that Sidney used in his beautifully-written vows - is PERFECT.  I am an emotional being so yes, I cry at the very weddings that I shoot.  And I was just fine at this wedding until the reading of those vows...  whoa!

Anika and Sidney - best wishes to you in this new phase of your life journey together. 

(Now if my sinister plot to photographically take over the world is working, I'll be doing some maternity and newborn shots within the near future!  ☺)

♥

As EYE See It... Family Ties

So...  Shelia Walker, an old friend of mine from High School, contacted me about taking photos of her son and his siblings.and I JUMPED at the opportunity!  As mushy as I am and as much as I LOVE shooting weddings, I have slightly more of a love for shooting family portraiture.  Perhaps because of the relationships I have with my sons.  Maybe because my parent are no longer here, or because I have no relationship with my half-sister and don't know my half-brother.  I was raised to believe that family is the most important thing in our lives.  Our relative are our own personal VIPs.  Lord knows they're our biggest critics, but the criticism is born of love and their need for us to succeed!

The shoot took place on a particularly cold Saturday in March at WhiteBalance Studios in Brooklyn.  Can I tell you  - I would give my right arm (um...  ok, maybe someone else's arm because that's the one I shoot with!) to have a studio like that?  Decently-sized studio with beautiful wood floors and lots of windows to reveal natural light, tucked away in quaint Greenpoint Brooklyn! 

I think the kids had fun - I know I did!

My favorite photo of the day...

Shelia and her baby!

Do I have the greatest job in the world, or what?

♥

As EYE See It - Death and Life and Family

Normally, the requests I get for photography are for Weddings, Sweet 16 Parties, Maternity, Baby and Family Portraits, etc...  By most accounts, these are happy occasions - the joining of two families, or a young girl walking into womanhood or the last days before a new life enters the world, or welcoming that precious new life or capturing the connection between family members.


My heart sank when I was asked recently by an old friend who lost her mother to photograph the funeral and the events following the funeral.  I was made aware that her mother was ill and I desperately wanted to take family photos prior to her mother's passing...  my offer wasnt timely enough.   When she asked me to photograph the funeral I panicked actually, but I heavy-heartedly agreed.   I sunk into my chair and thought, having fairly recently lost my father, how I would feel with someone at my Dad's funeral having a camera all up in my face while I was grieving?  I panicked even more.  I gave alot of thought and even lost a little sleep over how to accomplish this task - capturing this event, giving my friend the memories of these moments that she needed for her own comfort, while respecting the family's need for space and privacy...

The funeral took place on a snowy day during the first week in January.  I took very few photos at the funeral home, simply because I felt that the family needed to be comfortable crying or even screaming if they wanted to without having to think in the back of their minds how they would look in a photo!


I was able to do some quiet reflecting as I followed the family to the cemetery.  The burial ceremony was brief.  The mood began to shift a bit.

The repast was held at the beautiful home of a family friend.  The overall mood shifted again and shooting became easy.  I tried to capture moments as unobtrusively as I possibly could.  What I saw was, as Stevie Wonder put it, Joy Inside their Tears.  The family was genuinely happy to just be in each other's company, celebrating the life of my friend's mother together.

Towards the end of the evening, stories and personal items were being shared, and through the veil of their tears was laughter.  I never had the privilege of meeting my friend's mother but somehow I think that celebration of her life and legacy is exactly what she would have wanted. 


Before I made my exit, I took several family photos, and those are the photos that I enjoyed the most because while the pain of their loss was obvious, the dynamic and love shared among the family was prevalent!


Plainly put, death hurts!  The pain of a loved one being gone is one that hits hard and lingers.   But the support of your family and friends helps to ease the pain and over time, what you remember most are the happiest moments shared. 


I think I will always have some level of ambivalence in shooting at a funeral, but visual memories, even of painful events, are absolutely crucial...


♥