My Muses

I would be lying if I didn't admit to photographing my own children on a regular basis. It would be a lie to say I don't photograph them more than I photograph other people's children. I think it's supposed to be that way.

I've always loved photography, and I learned that I was good at it when I took classes in high school (I'll always have a soft spot for the magic of the "real" darkroom). But growing up, I swore I would never photograph people. I was determined to be an artist, and only photograph abstract images which I would only print on archival fiber paper.

I never did manage to get a darkroom setup in my home. But I've learned that there is beauty and art in every human being I have the privilege to observe and photograph.

Fast forward a few years after high school. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with the most amazing blue eyes (she inherited them from her daddy). I could spend hours getting lost in those "anime" eyes (a genuine description given to a friend while she was teaching English in China and showed my daughter's picture to one of her students). I wanted to remember those eyes. Forever. And I wanted to remember all her cute little baby rolls, her tiny toes, her pretty little lips. I didn't want to forget anything.

So I bought a new camera, did a LOT of studying on photography technique combined with an embarrassing amount of trial and error, and started photographing my little girl.

All. The. Time.

There was a point in her life (from about 18 months to 3 1/2 years old) where she refused to look at me when I had the camera in hand. I have a lot of great images of her profile and her eyelashes from that period of time. These days, she prefers to ham it up. A little too much. I have to be sneaky to capture natural expressions and poses (she wants to be America's Next Top Model - I'm so not ready for that), but sometimes she'll comply. Especially when she's posing with her baby sister.

This little girl is the reason I discovered a passion for photographing children. Without her, I'd probably be photographing barbed wire and calling it art (although I do still enjoy the occasional "me" photo expedition where I try to find beauty in the abstract).

I want to share a few images of my first muse. These are recent images, but she still has those big baby blues that I love so much.





Our family was recently blessed with a new addition. She inherited beautiful red hair from both of her grandfathers. She looks a little bit like her big sister, but very much like herself. She is also in danger of being seriously over-photographed, and I think I need a new computer with more memory.







Her big sister loves her dearly, and I couldn't me more grateful for that. We were worried with the age difference between the two of them.



I feel truly blessed to have these two little girls in my life. I just wanted to share them with you today, because they truly are my muses.