She’s one crazy chick. Completely unpredictable, which is part of why I loved photographing her so much. With two older brothers she holds her own and is utterly fearless. She flitted around like a butterfly where everything intrigued her and called her to experience it in its entirety. Each time she obliged the call, so quickly flinging herself into the moment at hand that I had difficulty keeping up. My heart beat fast a good deal of the time while photographing her because I never could be sure of what was coming. I only knew that I wanted to be ready.

In the beginning I thought her to be a tomboy but was completely wrong on this. Again unpredictable, she was in fact quite feminine at her core. The best kind of feminine though–that which is delicately wrapped in strength and tenacity, revealing itself only when trust and respect are forthcoming.

I’d been sitting on the ground across from her where she was thoughtfully inspecting a small bug when out of the blue she threw herself backwards as if falling into bed exhausted at the end of the day. I was totally unprepared for this and all I could think to say was “wait a minute!”, hoping she’d stay put for the time it took me to spring to my feet and photograph her from overhead. I actually couldn’t believe she stayed still since where she’d landed was very prickly and not in the least bit comfortable.

In viewing the couple of images made from this particular incident I immediately wished for the chance for a do over to get the elements exactly as I wanted. I imagined the perfect image that might have been attained had this or that had been slightly different and my aperture not so wide. I even briefly considered trying to recreate this scenario with the next child I photographed in hopes of achieving such perfection. But any magic at all that exists in this place is only the result of a very unpredictable little girl following her own unique impulse and simply falling backwards when the moment inspired her to do so.

Who knows, maybe authentic magic always exists just a little bit outside the bounds of perfection anyway. I like to think so.

~Cynthia

 

I love it when I remember to pull out old beloved music that’s been long neglected. I listen to music *all* the time, and since it’s a necessary prerequisite for most everything I do, I’m constantly in search of something new. But it’s only when I’m feeling that the current selection is getting monotonous that I think to resurrect the old stuff. And while revisiting the past can be a dangerous proposition for most everything else, having a fling with an old music flame is nothing but good for the soul.

I was home alone working one evening not long ago, looking at what needed to be done before morning and feeling overwhelmed. I’d put at least 8 different CD’s in my stereo, one by one yanking them out before the first track finished. None were doing it for me. And that’s when I decided to go back in time.

From stacks and stacks of music I pulled out Eric Clapton’s Unplugged CD, looked at the cover and held it to my chest filled with warm remembering. One of my favorites, and it had been forever since I’d listened! I cleaned it up, popped it in, and it was instant bliss. Suddenly, with Eric’s music serenading me, an evening of work became fun as well as productive. I cranked it up loud, got up and danced when I needed to stretch my legs, and was completely inspired to tackle what was required of me. It was a good date.

Too bad for those in my close proximity though, because when reintroduced to an old love there’s an inclination to cling on a bit too tightly and for far too long. So it’s been Eric Clapton week around these parts, and only fair that I should torture my visitors here with the same.

Hard to pick a favorite from this wonderful CD, but maybe I’d say “Running on Faith”. Great song from a great artist who melts me with his music.

~Cynthia

 

Every now and then I get the idea in my head to quit offering maternity sessions. I can come up with a whole slew of compelling and even practical reasons for this thinking, but since I’m not motivated much by practicalities, the truth of it is I prefer photographing kids to adults, and I sometimes get bored with the repetitive nature of maternity shoots.

The funny thing is, every single time I reach the point of firmly deciding to eliminate them, I have a session that I begrudgingly go into and then find myself having a surprisingly good time or learning something new about myself in the process. And then I’m back on the maternity session bandwagon.

A lot of times I have to sort of harass and tease couples during these sessions to get them to relax and reveal more of themselves, but I could tell early on that that approach wouldn’t work for this couple I recently photographed. They’ve been together a long time…….been trying for a baby a long time…….and now that they’re pregnant with twins there was a rather serious intensity to their expectation not as prevalent in those to whom it’s come easier.

While at first quite uncomfortable in front of my camera, it was evident how completely comfortable they are with each other. So I knew that my job was just to help them forget about me and concentrate only on their partner. It was a session done in hushed tones where I spoke very little and when I did it was nearly a whisper. I did all the usual stuff I do for maternity shoots, but it felt different to me, almost sacred. They were finally able to forget about the intrusion of my camera, and I guess that I did too. I was caught up in observing the dynamics of a long-time couple who were still utterly in love with one another and anticipating something yet unimaginable that they thought might never happen for them.

I think as portrait photographers there are two ways to ensure the longevity of our livelihood. One is to keep current with trends, remaining innovative and clever and staying always on the cutting edge with products and technique. While the other is more internal, entering into each photo session with the question, “how willing am I to take the time and expend the energy to delve beneath the surface of both myself and my subjects in order to see that which is pure and genuine, as if seeing it for the first time?”

It’s always there, somewhere. Even in maternity sessions. Ü

~Cynthia

 

He was born in California, but to my good fortune moved to Florida, his mother’s childhood home, before he turned two. So he’s a Florida boy now. I’ve been photographing him and his successive sweet little brothers for 4 years. There are children who’ve come before my camera that I can’t imagine never photographing, and he is one of them. Seeing him grow through the lens of my camera has truly been a gift.

It would be easy to assume that I love photographing him because he’s a physically beautiful child, but honestly that’s not it. He’s not a model, but a typical little boy with high energy, short attention span, and an aversion to anything remotely sounding like coaching or instruction from me. So for the most part we do things his way, and I’m good with that.

While it seems that many of the kids I’m especially fond of photographing are the rather shy/introspective/misfit types I so closely identify with, this boy is different. I think I love photographing him so much because he exhibits characteristics I wish I possessed in greater quantity. He exudes confidence and is so completely comfortable in his own skin that as I follow him around with camera I’ve no doubt he’s a born leader. That he also has a kind heart only adds to his charismatic presence.

Hanging out with him one on one is so fun for me that I have a tendency to lose track of time. When this recently happened, he held out as long as he could until very gently and diplomatically announcing, “I think we should be done now”. And like the obedient little photographer I am in his company I quickly answered, “right”. We were done, with me as usual looking forward to my next session with this Florida boy and his brothers.

~Cynthia