the beginning
the beginning of something real
How it all began
You wouldn’t look at me and think I loved to take photos wayback when but if you look in the details the small little moments you’ll see that it was there. I was always trying to freeze the moments in time as if maybe time would slow down. I might not of had the skill 14 years ago but I had an idea of what I wanted to see in those moments so I could steal them and put them in a box as if they would never go away. I always had a love for pictures even if I didn’t know it until three years ago when we decided hey let’s give this thing a go. It’s definitely been interesting and we’ve learned a lot along the way and we still have a lot more to learn but those moments are still the reason i my pick up a camera.
I love the stories behind the photos, the ones you don’t know unless you spend time with the people and get to know a little of their world. To some people they are just pictures some photographer just snapped at a park. To our clients they are cherished memories of something they thought they couldn’t have or didn’t think was possible. I want to tell those stories. The whole reason I picked up a camera was to tell a story through pictures.
It’s been a whirlwind starting a business “pre-pandemic” we were really just starting to ramp up our business and then 2020 hit like a brick wall. Not only were we non-essential workers I was pregnant and with all the unknown we weren’t doing much of anything. I took a lot, I mean a lot of pictures of my kids. Probably too many but they are some of my favorites to this day. The time we spent as a family unit in those first 6 months were some serious bonding time. We grew closer and got to see our girls grow up in front of our eyes when normally it’s something their daddy would have missed. We also got to see them grow accustomed to things we never could have thought possible. It’s heart wrenching watching your kids be so cautious about wearing a mask when they have a sniffle but very amazing to see the empathy they can have at such a young age.
That time gave us time to practice our gift, test out our skills and grow as photographers. We slowed down because of the pandemic but in a good way. We ended up only taking on a few clients once we were allowed to start shooting again. We spent time with them, got to know them, and helped capture something so precious for them. At a time when things were so uncertain we were able to help document these peoples lives and our own. This has a feeling of the Great Depression, people will be talking about this for years to come and it’s going to be another major event in the worlds history. These photos, these moments will help tell the story of the ones who survived and came out better on the other side.
In addition to the pandemic, we had a baby in 2020 and that took our structured well oiled routined family of four and through us into chaos. We were now outnumbered and their daddy was severely outnumbered. Even our dogs are girls. Adjusting to life with three kids is difficult for anyone, throw a pandemic and owning your own business into the mix and you enter survival mode. Finding childcare for 2 toddlers is much easier than 3 kids and one being a newborn. So business was slow and we only took on what we thought we could handle. Still we learned and met awesome clients along the way. Still absorbing their stories and being allowed entrance into their world.
Yes, we are rounding a corner. We’re doing some volunteer work at church and getting to use our camera almost every week. Blessing people with our gift. The baby is 6 months old, we have a routine, let’s really put ourselves out there and get busier than we’ve ever been…and yet another curveball thrown our way. There is one thing I love to do more than take photos, play soccer. I grew up playing since I was 3 years old and still was playing in a women’s league. Bam a girl kicked through my calf as I’m about to sprint away with the ball and my whole world was shattered. I was sure it was just a bad Charlie horse but then I tried to stand up and my foot didn’t feel like it was attached anymore…fully ruptured Achilles in my left leg…a year and a half recovery. You have two options: 1. Let it heal on your own and 2: Have surgery to repair it. You mean to tell me I have to stay off my feet for 10 weeks with a 9 month old, 3 yr old and 5 1/2 yr old? We were just getting into a rhythm and life changed course real fast. Mom couldn’t be mom or the mom they were used to. We stopped marketing our services because I couldn’t walk and we weren’t sure when I’d be ready to get back to work.
Thank goodness for our church and wonderful people who kept asking us to take photos and volunteer because it gave us such an appreciation for community and our gift. We do make a difference and the work we are doing matters.
Fast forward to today, 6 months post op. I can walk and even have started running again. We have done engagement shoots, newborns, family, Christmas, and a wedding. Life is good, still not back to normal but who liked normal anyway. I’m looking forward to what the year 2022 brings us and how we can get better than ever. Stay tuned for what we have in store for the future and how many more lives we can make a difference in by being their photographer.