The connection that women have with one another astounds me, on a regular basis. The women in my family, we have crazy dreams. Sometimes, there the same dream on the same night. Sometimes, one of us dreams something and it happens soon after. Sometimes, we see each other in our dreams – offering encouragement, silent support, and just plain, pure Love. When I don’t dream for a while, I feel uneasy. I know things are not right, and I have a series of things I do which help me get back to my healthy, dreaming self.

Women, in my eyes, are the definition of dreaming. We are the future. We hold the keys to the universe – life, love, nurturing, patience, peace. Wisdom. Feminine Wisdom.We are not always gentle and timid – my daughter,  for example, is fierce. She is fierce about everything around her – and everything she does.  She is the kind of girl that could lead a womens revolution. Bold, fearless, brave. Yet at the end of the day, she curls up so gentle, and smiles soooo sweet. Amazing creatures, aren’t we?

This past week, I got to meet a beautful baby girl, and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have another amazing soul in this world. One of the things I love SO much about photographing newborns is seeing how they grow over time. I get to document their soul for the very first time in their life, and it only gets better as time goes on. Seeing my past clients grow and change is amazing. Meeting the new warriors, artists, nurturers of this earth is nothing short of a miracle for me. Really, I am in awe of them. I hope my photos show that.

World, I’d like to introduce you to Claire. She may be tiny and cute now, but soon she’ll grow and leave her awesome mark on this world. I can’t wait. Can’t wait.

Wow.

Take on the world girl. I’ll be cheering you on.

Sarah

Soon, Ariel and I’s newborn site will be live! We have been working on this site since last summer, so I hope y’all are excited to see the fabulous babies we’ve shot since then. It’s been quite a ride… but we’re SO excited to be moving forward and getting our site launched! Just a few more details and we’re ready to show the world! YAY! Thank goodness, too, since I could really use something to cheer me up. I mean, you can only listen to funk SO long… heh.

Wanna know who’ll be making their debut on our new site? Well, these two will definitely be included!

We can’t wait to show you it all! These twins gave us a run for our money and really WORKED us… but it all worked out good, don’t you think? Thanks mom for being SO patient with us! We can’t wait to see how these two grow up.. their personalities were so strong already. Seriously!

Happy Tuesday all! Leave some love for the girl in a funk.. I’d really appreciate it.

I am in a funk.

Perhaps it’s the cold dark winter here in the upper midwest. Daylight is short-lived, and cold temps are hard to face for this many months in a row. We still have a good four months till we de-thaw up here. Uff-da. Maybe it’s the fact that about a month ago, we were informed that my husbands position was being consolidated. He is welcome to apply for the new job… but, no guarantees. Also, there was no end-date given, just a big, fat, happy question mark. My husband is the sole breadwinner for our family. Not good news. Additionally, our son, Mason, has been having difficulties in school. We are currently in the process of getting a diagnosis on the spectrum… in the meantime, it is a day by day struggle for him. Some days are good, some are not so good, and some are straight up horrible.  Not gonna lie. Add an ego-maniac of a three year old and here we are – stressed to the max, and finding myself with NO inspiration to do anything with my camera.

Have any of you felt that overwhelmed? What do you do to overcome it?

Today, I turned up Aretha extra loud and danced with said ego-maniac. It felt good to let the worries that penetrate every moment of my days lately slip into the beat of the funk.

So. What it is. Rock Steady Baby.

It’s a funky and low down feeling.

Last week, all of us got sick – the explosive kind of sick that make owning a carpet cleaner worthwhile. In a weak moment of blog surfing/couch laying/ralphing, I debated selling my camera equipment… after  all, money may not be here in a few weeks. I mentioned the thought to my husband. “I’ll divorce you” he said. “I’ll divorce you if you sell your equipment.” While I know he is being dramatic, the impact was enormous. While he isn’t coddling or super encouraging, him stating those words to me mean a lot more than he’ll ever know. This dream of mine is important to him, too. It feels good to know that sometimes. Especially in those weak moments.

Then the last day I was sick, I got a phone call. My baby sister was in labor – two weeks early. Four hours later, I got a call that said baby was HERE! Even in the midst of a funk, you can’t help but be swept away by a new baby– especially if it’s your own sweet niece!

Introducing Evie Amelia:

And so I keep plodding along… learning to rock steady, baby. Sometimes you learn those things from the tiniest, most unexpected places… like Evie.

Welcome to the world, girl. It’s not always easy, or what you expected, but if you move your hips to the rhythm of what it is, you’ll rock steady. With a little bit of prayer and a lot of luck, your auntie will be there to show you how.

Well, I LOVE photographing families, right? So I only thought it was natural to enter this week’s contest at I heart Faces – “We are family!”

I spent a few minutes looking over my favorite images,  and this is the one I have chosen to enter – but seriously, I have had some ROCKIN families to photograph! Awesome! This one jumped out at me because – well- I am a complete SUCKER for kids with their daddies. Seriously. You can tell by the look on this dad’s face that those three beautiful kids will NEVER question how much he loves them – just complete awesomeness. I leaves me awestruck, actually. I love that.

This IS family. Support, joy, exuberance, trust, and radiance.

 Man, I LOVE this picture. Pulls at my heart strings every.single.time.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!  Be sure to check out I Heart Faces by clicking the icon up at the TOP of this post! I’m off to think up some great ideas for my self-portrait tomorrow… let me know if you have a  suggestion!

She is the one who got me into newborn photography. Together, we have photographed loads of beautiful new people, learning all along the way. I will always be grateful to Ariel, for her amazing eye and art, and for her reaching out to me and seeing something in me that I couldn’t yet see in myself.  Because of her, I am where I am today. If you read this Ariel – THANK YOU, how you knew I’d love newborns so much I’ll never know!

Anyway – last week I got to photograph a baby without Ariel, a first for me. Four hours away, I drove to meet Cooper, and he was NO disappointment!  I was nervous on my own and not as sure of myself as I should have been, but Cooper proved to be the perfect little model.

Isn’t he a sweetheart?

A couple of people have asked me what lens  I use when I shoot newborns – and my answer is always the same. I’m kind of a minimalist at the moment, so I shoot almost 100% of my newborns with only a 50mm 1.4. That’s it. Now, keep in mind that when I shoot with Ariel, she has her own special combination of lenses that she uses. But, for me, it’s always a 50. Always.  LOVE that lens. I am a firm believer that simple is best!

So yea, I LOVE babies, without a doubt! And, luckily, I just became an auntie for the first time last week to an adorable baby girl, and have ANOTHER (yes, ANOTHER! weee!) niece coming in February. Awesomeness! Something about new babies just gives me so much warmth in my soul – like something I can’t describe. I have the best. job. ever. 

I know y’all are going to have happy baby dreams now, right?  Even if you don’t, feel free to leave some love for sweet baby cooper, or for the adorable baby in your life!

Sweet Dreams!

Sarah

This will be the perfect platform to showcase recent sessions, and my daily musings on the journey to becoming a successful photographer! I am soooo excited! I have lot of great things planned for 2010, so this a fabulous way to kick it off!

I will be posting casting calls/photography tips/beautiful photos/anything else you guys want to see here! So much fun!

I am  so glad to be building my business with such wonderful people beside me. My husband, my children, and every one of you who read this.. I will never stop being grateful, truly!

This past week brought some unexpected news to our home, but we will keep moving forward, head held high. I traveled over 400 miles and photographed 3 babies this week, so be on the lookout for some delicious baby photos on Monday!

(You can’t tell that I am excited, can you?!)

Here we go!