i am going to admit something…i get nervous before every session. it’s the truth. i wonder about all the pieces of the puzzle that make up a session and how many ‘uncontrollables’ (as i like to say) there are. i’m a good listener. i listen carefully to what my clients want and i know, by now, that the requests i get are 99% in line with how i like to portray what i see…as in, what you see on my website and blog is the kind of style you can pretty much expect.
{side bar… this is really 101…put out what you like and the the like will find you. i never understood why it is so hard for people to do just that. no matter what kind of thing you do. if you do what you love in a way that genuinely represents it and yourself, how can you go wrong.
easy, right? i know we can look around and see the anti-example of this all over the place. the ‘this is what i think i should be doing’ thing. anyway, i can’t say i’ve never done it, but when i was a little girl my father told me…just do what you love, your natural gift, do it well, and the rest will come.
i’ve always held close to that}
ok then. so why do i get so nervous if i’m doing what what i love? well. i simply want to give each of you the very best, most memorable, make you cry and laugh and never forget the day experience that i can in a way that is unique to you and no one else. it’s a tall order. i’m a pleaser. i hate to let anyone down.
so, on my way to you, i clear my head of everything except opening every inch of me to be there with you and watch for that magic. it is the same whether i know you or am just meeting you for the first time.
i know for a fact i am so not alone with this. why i felt that letting this out here and now was necessary…it just came out while i was thinking about this family and their session. i was nervous, yes, but as soon as irene walked up to me and i could see her face and eyes and see how happy she was to be doing this, it all melted away. there is a huge difference when someone values something. this is not about snapping a few pictures that will end up in a drawer. when i know that there is a mutual respect and true appreciation for this kind of experience and what it means, all the rest melts away and i can just do the thing that i love.
irene’s family let me do just that. it was a treat to spend the afternoon with the four of them catching little snippets of the open love they have each other. father, son. mother, son. father, daughter…a very tight family unit, no doubt.
another thing i must share about irene and gary…when they looked at each other, there was no one else in the world but the two of them. their magnetism was amazing!
so, now let me share a little of what they let me do and what i saw that day.
there has been some pretty standby things missing from our family’s routine for…since,
uhm, well… i’ve delved deep into kiwi street studios.
you’ve heard a few groans from me here and there. no time for gardening, baking, reading and unfortunately…
cooking consistent nutritious meals for my family.
it’s the sad truth. i’m not even going to try to sugar coat it ~ plus my family would call me out.
on top of that, it’s always the first question from my mom…what are you cooking today?
mind you, this is first thing in the morning. every morning.
if it’s not the right answer, i get…moree, you’re starving them. they’re all skin and bones.
sophia told me you don’t cook anymore…and so on.
we’re greek (on my mom’s side) and food is a big deal. healthy, tasty, something always cooking or baking.
i grew up with that way ~ although it was mostly my yia yia (greek grandmother)
who did most of the cooking and baking.
(and, for the record, i am a greek who does not care for lamb. nope.)
we all love to cook (some more than others) and we know what good food is all about.
when the kids come home and they smell something cooking, i know they feel
like all is good in their world. that’s how i felt.
it inspires security and it’s nurturing. mom is home and she’s cooking something for us.
maybe it’s old school or old world, but it’s what i came from and what i believe in.
i want them to have as many of those home, good, secure, warm, family memories as i can squeeze in.
somehow when there’s something cooking in the kitchen, it’s the place to be.
we talk, share, nibble, laugh…there’s a reason it’s called the heart of the home.
it’s not a traditional greek dish, but here’s one from last week (thank you ever present iphone):
chicken soup (new one)
stock made from scratch with extra rosemary and thyme
cut up chicken roasted in olive oil with shallots, rosemary, thyme, whole lemon and the lemon zest,
onions and a bit of white wine and two heads of garlic
cut into big chunky pieces with all the sweet garlic paste and a little of the caramelized pan juices
added this to strained stock
spinach and chive fettuccine, fresh peas, sauteed leeks, cracked pepper
homemade croutons
fresh dill
add some tuscan boule with olive oil, sea salt and cracked pepper
red wine
buon appetito
another kiwi street mini session… a little late, i admit, but i’m on a roll and how can i not post these beauties?
mathew and jackson are two sweet boys as well as brothers. mathew is the big brother and as laid back as he was, he didn’t hold back on his expressions.
and those eye lashes!!!
mathew
you now, some days are just harder than other days. little brother jackson was having one of those days. but, we still got some pretty cute looks out of him. thank goodness for a very patient daddy and lots and lots of goldfish crackers!
still, i couldn’t help but include a few of these below in his gallery. i believe in…right here, right now, on this day. well, this is how he felt part of this day but he was still so cute. i couldn’t help myself. a few of my fav’s.
a storyboard i put together for karen (mom)
brothers
i have three daughters and well, i think god gave me what i was supposed to have. i luv little girls.
not that i don’t love little boys.
i love my nephews and i adore my new son (in law) but
the truth is, i am a girlie mom.
from their girlie pink rooms, tutu’s, and all things little girls,
we’ve moved on to blackboard walls, buddhas, more jeans and shoes and bags than i have,
to ‘mom, it’s my room, my look, my hair, i’m not a baby anymore’…and so on.
i love seeing them all grow into their own with their own unique talents and interests.
selfishly…i am even more excited that each of my daughters have shown an interest in, among other things i love,
photography.
i’m not even going to hide how happy that makes me.
they get art. all art. they know when they see something that speaks to them.
they appreciate and look for it. this makes my heart sing.
starting with alex (lexi) who has expanded her photography business from muddy paw photography
to include seniors, couples and models in her newly launched site
lexi vornberg photography
it’s unbelievable what she has accomplished in less than a year. her eye is sharp and thoughtful.
she completely inspires me to keep pushing the limits.
then there is gabriella who is taking a photography class at walnut this year.
film, darkroom, the works. this thrills me to no end.
i think that i was more excited when she showed me her first test strip and talked about loading film in the dark.
we have quit a few film cameras for her to use and her father thought the konica…what!…
would be a good one for her to start with at school and then my canon ae1 at home.
i admit, i only wanted her to shoot with my canon as it was the first camera my father placed
in my hands and i had always planned to do the same with my children.
well, she’s shooting with both, which i suppose is fine…the best part is that she’s doing it.
and now sophia who asked to go out with gabriella and i yesterday for a photo shoot
revolving around a class assignment.
this time, however, she didn’t want to be in the shoot, she wanted to shoot with us. oh yeah!
so to my camera bag i went and set her up with my canon
{digital ~ easier for her to see what she’s getting immediately}
the only caveat i told her was that if she was going to shoot with us, she had to shoot manually.
she asked what that was. i told her she had to choose all your settings herself…m.
it took me all of 10 minutes to explain the basics and show her. she got it right away. a fast learner, that one.
so off we went into the late afternoon.
gabriella with her konica and my canon. me with my canon and holga. sophia with her canon.
it’s killing me to not post some of sophia’s images, but she wants to do a little editing in ps first. yeah, she said that.
as for gabriella’s, i’ll have to wait until she’s processed her film and we scan them in.
and my holga images will have to wait as well.
so, for this post, a few things that i saw with my 5d.
the sun was pretty amazing this evening
my girls at work…
joy.
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by gina weathersby
Thea - wow-I feel them, especially the ones at the end. Totally love!
Pascale - What an absolutely LOVELY session! You can tell how close they all are through your imagery. And I totally agree with everything you said in your narrative, as I do the same thing and feel exactly the same way. Wonderful work as always Gina!