i feel so incredibly honored to have been able to photograph a military hero’s homecoming yesterday…

twenty-two year old marine CPL nicholson returned home yesterday, for the first time, after being wounded last july.  CPL nicholson lost both his legs and his left arm in a hidden improvised explosive device [IED] blast, while on foot patrol in afghanistan. through his ongoing recovery over the past eight months, CPL nicholson has endured 23 surgeries.  in october, he walked for the first time with prosthetic legs. CPL nicholson will be home on leave, for the next month and then return back to bethesda, MD for continued rehabilitation. his family is hopeful that he will be home for good by the end of the year.

the community support for CPL nicholson was nothing short of beautiful, inspiring and very emotional.  hundreds greeted CPL nicholson at the airport…

friends, family and strangers lined the streets of tampa as the patriot guard riders and patrol cars escorted CPL nicholson from the airport to the welcome home ceremony location…

hundreds more attended the ceremony…

being relatively new to tampa last year, i had not heard of CPL nicholson’s injuries.  it was driving by this sign [the nicholson family lives almost directly behind us] a few months ago, that i first learned of CPL nicholson. i immediately emailed the family, sharing that i’d love to help in absolutely any way that i could. i’m hopeful that i will be able to photograph the nicholson family more over the year or two, while stationed here in tampa.

a special thanks to carmen for second shooting with me and making sure i got to each location on time.  and to cliff of the patriot guard riders, for asking me if i’d like to ride on the back of his motorcycle to the church [so i didn't have to keep running there].

and here’s a tampa baby times’ video of CPL nicholson‘s return…

what remains:  the life and work of sally mann, i highly recommend that you should.  i rented the documentary via netflix quite a while ago, but happened upon this series, available on youtube a few weeks ago.

it
all
makes
perfect
sense.

she’s been such an inspiration to me, from the very beginning.  i hope that you enjoy it as much as i did.

shadows [harpers bazaar | 1962].

the voice inside of you.

love these sweatshirts.

awesome underwater light and capture.

my kind of outfit[s].

can’t get enough of images of dads with their babies.

muhammad & laila ali.

love this perspective.

no reason for a bad attitude.  [original source unknown]

i ‘m not a big cauliflower fan, but these intrigue me.

LOVE the women in this video.

oh the light [imogen cunningham | 1911].

embracing these words.  thinking about making my own version of this with a water image and vintage label maker.

compliments your kids need to hear. photo courtesy of jen wright.

important –> link with love.

being a navy family and all, i really want to make something like this with the kids [maybe a collage with magazine or fabric bits].

i think i’ve re-written this post 10 times now.  i’m not sure i could ever express my complete gratitude to jen, for capturing my own family’s photos.  these are a few of my absolute favorites. i hope that one day my children will look back on these and see our family’s absolute love and joy for one another.  we are so very blessed!!

\

you can see more of our photos here.  thank you jen.  deeply and truly, i thank you!!  i hope that one day i can return this most amazing gift you have given my family.

a few months ago, i had the awesome opportunity to photograph for babiekins magazine. i had such a blast coming up with the shoot concepts and the girls were amazing to work with.  they were such troopers too — as it was so cold AND windy on the day of the shoot.

it pained me not to share the photos right after i edited them, but that’s the agreement — no sharing until the issue is released. so i patiently waited…and waited!

so without further ado, here’s a few of my favorites…

a super special thanks to all the models and their parents.  along with andie sleeman [for makeup] and darlina contto [for hair].

the entire spring issue can be viewed here [my spread starts on page 262].

and a few behind-the-scenes photos that one of the model’s parents shared with me…

oh this picture.

i heart twiggy.

i just want him.

no sugar oat drops. must try.

i love this idea so much. need to photograph sky’s toys & create stories with the kids.

growing older is a privilege!

life is art. [source unknown]

cool coloring books for kids.

so incredibly inspired by sally mann.

intrigued.

beautiful simple portrait

and another stunning portrait.

this could possibly be the best kid’s backpack ever.

want these shoes bad.

banana bread [with applesauce and honey, instead of oil and sugar.  i bet you could also substitute coconut flour for wheat flour]

this is so great.  gotta love her.  and ellen at the end…hilarious.

and OMG…this had me in tears.

live with intention.
walk to the edge.
listen hard.
practice wellness.
play with abandon.
laugh.
choose with no regret.
appreciate your friends.
continue to learn.
do what you love.
live as if this is all there is.
[mary anne radmacher]

in a weird, quiet place at the moment. reading and embracing the thoughts above.

a couple weeks ago, i was emailed by K, inquiring about my pricing for an underwater maternity session. i shared with her that my underwater work was a personal project and that i had yet to extend my underwater photography to clients.

K shared that she was really disappointed — this was most likely her last pregnancy and she was confident that she wanted  fine art underwater maternity photographs. our communication continued and the more we talked, the more i felt we were a perfect fit.  within just a couple days, K located a heated pool we could use and her session was scheduled.

underwater shooting is tough and has it’s unique challenges but goodness, i love the results so much, i can barely stand it.  i CAN’T WAIT until summer, when i can shoot underwater much more often.

here’s a few of my favorite photos from our time together…

if i had a world of my own,
everything would be nonsense.
nothing would be what it is
because everything would be what it isn’t.
and contrary-wise;
what it is
it wouldn’t be,
and what it wouldn’t be,
it would.
you see?
[alice in wonderland]

pretty swim suit.

i’ve been trying to think what ryder could do for his 100th day of school project and then i saw this.
[although the chest hair is throwing me off a bit.]

happy day print.

no use comparing.

vegan. yum.

not vegan. yum.

super love johnny cash.

i shoot like a girl.

packaged with love.

i hate perfume.

chips and salsa. my weakness.

new favorite pants.

so much inspiration here.

drawn to this.

always on my mind.

i love hummus. said to be the best.

he would make a fun kids collage project.

be a girl with a mind.
a woman with attitude.
a lady with class.
[author unknown]