Last weekend three incredible families braved downtown St. Paul traffic (on a busy Farmer’s Market morning) to come to my first ever studio mini sessions. The outcome (and the experience) was absolutely wonderful. I cannot wait to do it again. Here are a few of my favorites from that beautiful morning:...
time was not passing, it was turning in a circle | morning coffee
I have this friend, and she lives too far away, you see. It’s only a few hours, but with life and work and spouses and family time fills quickly, and the spaces left for each other are few, as it is with most things these days. But her and I, she and me, when we do find the time to connect it’s real. It’s whole and wonderful and complete. And it’s as if time really is simply turning in a circle. Friendships like this are rare, and space that can be filled with easy quiet or raucous laughter interchangeably, is even more so. I could sit forever in silence with this gem of a lady and still feel as though I’ve shared my soul (though I thoroughly enjoy our conversation, and the laugh-until-your-face-hurts-and-your-muscles-give-out humor that comes with it). I wholeheartedly treasure her presence in my life, and every single fleeting...
life is a fleeting, miraculous wonder | a birth story
When Cortney and Trent asked if I would be able to document the impending birth of their baby – I jumped and squealed at the opportunity. I absolutely adore birth photography – and moreso, I’m am a photographer because I am wholeheartedly addicted to the amazing experience that is making images and telling stories for people. The only catch, I explained, was that I had a wedding on April 6th, and that would be the only day I’d be unavailable to be on call. Cortney and Trent more than understood and, with a hand placed on her growing abdomen, Cortney solemnly swore that her baby would stay incubated safely in her womb until after April 6th. Shortly after midnight on April 7th, minutes after her oath had expired, Cortney texted to let me know that her water had broke and they were headed to the hospital. A few hours later,...
great stories give life to greater stories | the don’t give up project
“A good storyteller speaks something into nothing. Where there is an absence of story, or perhaps a bad story, a good storyteller walks in and changes reality. A good storyteller doesn’t just tell a better story, though. He invites other people into the story with him, giving them a better story, too.” ~Donald Miller | A Million Miles in a Thousand Years I read Donald Miller’s book months ago, and the moment I put it down I began composing a blog post about it in my head. But this page sat blank. Empty. Story less. I didn’t know how I was ever going to put into words exactly how the book changed my life – exactly what it meant to me. What it still means. I still don’t know how to put it into words other than to ask you to read it for yourself. Because some things can’t be...