On Saturday we decided to take a half a day trip to Camden, Maine. It is a lovely seaside town we haven't been back to in a long time..
We didn't make it. What happened was...
On our way there we had to drive through Belfast, and as I was reading about different short walks in Camden, I read about Moose Pond State Park in Searsport - next to Belfast, and we decided to stop there. Very convenient, as three out of the four of us needed to use the bathroom. I pictured us walking the trail, enjoying the fresh air, and continuing on to Camden.
But this little park totally surprised us! As out of state peeps, we did have to spend $9 in entrance fees, but we decided that was totally worth it.
We took the Big Spruce Trail out to the point, hang out for a couple of hours (goodbye Camden!), and then took the Moose Trail back. Perfect for little 3-year old legs, she walked almost the entire way.
The girls loved exploring the tide pools, found different shells, pretty rocks and one feisty crab. After a few more minutes at the playground, we decided to find a place for dinner and call it a day.
Tripadvisor didn't disappoint - we found Young's Lobster Shore Pound, and had a super yummy dinner there. One plate of scallops and a cup of clam chowder, one lobster roll, one lobster stew and one hot dog plate. (Can you guess who's?)
The K Family - Day In The Life
The K Family
The K family in Florida were my very first Day In The Life family. I'm not sure who was more nervous, them or me! When mom A met me at the door in her bathrobe, I realized she really did get the whole idea of a documentary family shoot. And it didn't take long for us all to feel more comfortable. This was like going over to a friend's house to hang out for the day!
The K's are a homeschooling family with four girls and one boy, all under the age of 8 - a busy family, for sure. Yet, as I arrived early in the morning, their morning was so calm and beautiful. Mom and dad usually have tea on the porch before dad heads out to work.
I loved documenting their usual routines.
Half way through the day, baby C started showing signs of being sick, and we actually ended up doing half a way shoot that day, and I came back for the other half a week later.
These are calls we can make together. Should we carry on and shoot through a sick day, as those sure come to every family, too, or do we reschedule so we can document a day when the usual outings can happen. I'm flexible, and in this case we did it in two days. Maybe being my very first Day In The Life session, doing it in two parts was a good thing, too.
Both half days were so much fun, and I was (and still am!) in awe of mom A and dad D. They are wonderful parents, and their affectionate family was a perfect first Day In The Life family for me.
I am so happy we were able to create a visual story of their life right now with all their precious little ones.
The L Family - Day In The Life
Last week my little girls and I were in Virginia, and I was finally able to photograph a Day In The Life session for my sister's family. It wasn't a typical day for them, as my girls were there, too, and my sister didn't homeschool that day. We had just come back from an intense photography workshop, and both my sister and I were exhausted. Also, her husband didn't know about the shoot until he got home, and a camera recorded the homecoming!!
My sister has five children, ages 9, 8, 6, 3 and 1. You'll see my 10 and 3-year olds in a few photos, too. They are a military homeschooling family.
I made a slideshow with music of our smaller gallery for them. Each Day In The Life Family has two galleries of photos, a smaller one of approximately one hundred photos, and a larger one than has 300-500 images from the full day.
Enjoy!
What Is a Day In The Life Photo Session?
Day In The Life Documentary Sessions tell the story of you and your everyday life by capturing one day in pictures. It is a way to freeze time and document what life is like, right now, for your family.
Your documentary family photographer will come to your house early in the morning, preferably before your children are up, and stay all day, until your children go to bed, and document with photos what this one day was like. He or she becomes almost like a family member for the day.
It is candid, real life storytelling photography with no posing.
If your family goes on errands, or any outings, your documentary photographer will join you, and keep taking pictures of you and your family.
You might think your family is boring, or that there is nothing to photograph, but that is not so. Especially if you have children, you can count on them to provide lots of material for your session. Children are known to do weird things, and your documentary photographer will likely catch those on camera!
Even if your children don't end up doing anything strange, these is so much beauty in the mundane. Your documentary photographer will record special moments and connections between your family members that will be beautiful reminders for your family for generations.
All the little things moms and dads do, every day, for their family are rarely captured in pictures. Every day life can become so routine we don't see the beauty in our regular days. We take pictures of birthday parties and graduations, but real life is really lived in all the times in between.
Day In The Life Photo sessions record the beautiful mess of our every day life.
Some families might be concerned about the chaos of their homes. Inviting a photographer to record their life can be intimidating when you have a house full of little people making messes every day. But for Day In The Life Documentary that is really not an issue. The photos will focus on the love and connections of family members, not on clutter or messes.
And if you do see any chaos in the images - that is real life right now, and that is what you want to remember.
There is nothing better than real life. Beautiful, raw, messy real life.