.:the tucker family:.

I was privileged this summer to photograph the Taylor House. If you follow us on facebook, you may have seen the photos in one of our albums. It's a beautiful old home on Broadway that most of us in Columbia have admired as we have driven by it. What many don't know is that it is a bed & breakfast operated by some of the sweetest people ever to put down their roots in this town.

I met Rob, the innkeeper and owner, as I did the first round of interior photos of the B&B this summer. When we chatted about photos he told me that he moved things around a lot and was constantly adding and changing the decor so new pictures were always helpful because the house was always evolving. When we visited again this last week to take photos of his family I discovered that he was, indeed, correct. Rob does move things around and add new details a lot. The Taylor House is always a stunningly gorgeous work in progress!

The few times I have talked to Rob he has always spoken highly of his wife, Deb, and their two little ones. When he contacted us about doing their family photos needless to say I was stoked. To finally meet these people he has talked about so much? Deb was truly as beautiful and kind as he said that she was and his kids as full of spunk and life and joy! It was about time they finally had a family photo since it had been years since their last one.

We had reign of the beautiful Taylor House for their photos as we hung out with the family for the afternoon the day before Christmas Eve. Brian talked cars with Rob (you'll have to check out Rob's collection, all you car lovers) while their eldest entertained us with her musical prowess and Deb and the littlest cuddled. All six of us chatted and laughed as we meandered through the house finding different spots and attempted to corral the kids for different shots. We ended the afternoon photographing the kids doing what they do best: chilling on the couch.

*Sigh* New people, new friends, new lives to photograph. I love photography. What an honor to capture lives as they unfold. One of my favorite family lifestyle sessions to date.

Fist pound!


Kitties!

Thank you, Rob and Deb for trusting us with your family and your home and your beautiful kiddos! Lifestyle portraiture at its best. Isn't life beautiful?

.:un bebe:.

In a conversation with my dear mother today she made it abundantly clear that she was sad that I had not posted for so long. I have folders on my desktop with beautiful photos of amazing people ready to be blogged but I keep getting distracted! So, this blog is for my mother. And, of course for Erica, Pablo, Lucas, and all of their dear friends and family who have been waiting so patiently for Lucas!

Pablo and Erica met many years ago in the mountains of Colorado--a place where both of them were foreigners. The Lord put the two of them together in a way and a time in which neither of them expected and they fell in love. Their whirlwind courtship ended in marriage less than a year after they met. Dear Erica, who was one of the few who wasn't learning Spanish in the group of girls we hung around, was an adament speaker of German. How like the Lord to send her of all persons a Latin man!

Pablo and Erica have now been married for almost two years now. They've left children up to the Lord and so were delighted after a year into their marriage when they found out that Erica was expecting. Baby Lucas Juan will most definitely be an evangelist with a name like his!

Funnily enough, Erica and I had been working on scheduling maternity photos for her for several weeks. After several schedule and weather conflicts we finally settled on last Tuesday afternoon for the photos but lo and behold, I got a message from Erica the morning of our scheduled photoshoot that she was in labor!

So instead of "baby bump" photos we now have Lucas himself at day 7! I had forgotten how precious newborns are. I love the feel of their skin and all of the new imperfections that surface so quickly! The little zits, the peeling skin, the red splotches... everything that makes new parents call their doctors in a panic asking if what they're seeing growing on their baby is indeed normal. I love their little fingernails and their tiny wrinkly toes. The way so many of their faces look like little gnomes with wisdom beyond their years.

It's safe to say that Erica and Pablo are getting used to this new schedule of no sleep. They decided after the first rough trimester with Lucas that they aren't so sure they want another one. (But just between you and me, we all know that they'll have another. Theresa, Erica's mother, promises she'll convince them. Lucas is way too precious not to win their hearts enough to prompt another little one!)

Thank you, Erica y Pablo for welcoming us into your home and letting us take pictures of this little bitty one! Thank you, Lucas, for inspiring me. You'll thank your parents some day when you're old that they let me take pictures of your little bitty body in the buff. And thank you, Lucas, for making me feel special by not peeing on me when your little diaper was removed.

Umbilical cords!

I know this photo is partially blown but there's something so magnificent about Lucas in this photo. I couldn't bring myself to deleting it. It's that stillness and solitude of a baby asleep that makes us believe for a moment that all is well in the world.

I love photographing Erica. She has this beautiful face that is so timeless. I've always thought she looked so classically beatiful but when she was cradling Lucas and fixing his tiny hands and the light was streaming in she looked so much like a photo of Madonna and child.

Proud Papa! Erica y Pablo han decedio que Pablo solo hablar con Lucas en Espanol para que Lucas puede hacer bilingual! (Pablo, como estaba mi espanol?)




We were all admiring how adorable Lucas was when Brian broke our sighs of admiration with, "He sure does look a lot like a rotisserie chicken." Thanks, Brian.

I will end this post with what Pablo may call "behind the scenes" photos. I would call them outtakes. When I told Pablo to kiss Lucas you'll see what he did first and then second. Then you'll see that Lucas takes his cues from his papa, even at seven days. Check out his face in the last one. = )






Don't you just love babies?

.:more out-takes:.

This is why I love photographing children. They can still make these faces and totally get away with it. It's no wonder I'm addicted to photographing the flower girls at weddings. Look at this little one!

.:out-takes:.

One of my favorite parts of posed group photos are the out-takes. I always need to test the lighting before we do any sort of studio-type shoots to make sure the lighting is working. Brian is almost always my guinea pig but on this occasion we were doing family portraits and Spencer, the family's 8-year-old, was hanging close by and joined in on the light-testing magic. As I was going back through the family photos, I found this one. I'm sure Brian was probably the ring-leader on this one.

I've also pasted our new logo! Thanks to those of you that helped us in that decision-making process. I'm hoping I won't be kicking myself soon for having designed an unusually-shaped logo. I guess we'll see...

We're almost caught up on photos which means we are on to the next phase: album designing!