Saturday, December 6, 2008

Life in Frames......

My Christmas Portraits of the kids
are done!!!

This was a multi-hour ordeal
beginning with
getting four reluctant kids
clean and dressed
at the same time
on their day off from school!

They knew it was coming though,
so I was met with minimal complaints.
We set the studio up
downstairs and
shot for about 45 minutes.
Not too painful.


As I was prepping the kids for this shoot,
I was thinking of family portraits
of Christmas past.

My earliest memory is not from the actual
events, but instead from reliving it through photos.

When I was very young, we lived in Maryland
with both sets of grandparents and
lots of family close by.
Holidays were big events
with all of us in attendance.
Over the years,
I've leafed through lots of family photo albums
full of the kind of photos you see on
nostalgic and hilarious
greeting cards now-a days.
I recall looking at photos of each
cluster of my immediate and extended family
gathered awkwardly around
a Christmas tree that was sparkling with way too much
silver tinsle.
Huge colored lights glowed from the branches
creating strange hues on the faces
of the people in the photos.
Of course we all had red eyes and silly
out of focus grins in every shot.
I remember seeing myself as just a toddler
all dressed up in a fancy Christmas dress,
my eyes glowing red from the flash
and sitting on my grandfather's knee with my cousins
in one of the photos.
Even if the photos were blurry and the
lighting all wrong,
those memories are precious.

Grandpa is gone now
and Grandma joined him this year.
How sad it would be for those memories
to fade away through the generations.

I'm so thankful that someone was
there with a camera in the room
during those holiday gatherings.


And so, it is for this reason
that I torture my kids
as often as I can
by pointing my lens at their ever changing faces.


Family gatherings aren't the same for my kids
as they were for me growing up.
For almost 17 years,
the Navy has taken us on our own adventure
and when we have gatherings with family,
it is usually the only time we are seeing them
that year or in several years.


It is hard to be so far away from those we love
not just during the holidays,
but every single day of the year.
So much life happens between visits.

That is another reason why I am not shy
about having my camera with me every where I go.

It mortifies my kids sometimes
when I choose to pull it out in public,
but there are people that love them
who are thousands of miles away.
And those people need to see
glimpses of our everyday life
so that we can stay connected.


The tag line to my business is "life in frames".
And to me, that's what my photography is.
Telling the story of our lives frame by frame.

I do it so that our "far away" family
can feel like they had a little part
in seeing my kids grow up
and so that someday,
my kids will be able to pull out a photo book
or CD,
and share their lives with their own kids
who will probably roll their eyes and fein boredom,
but that's OK.
It will mean something to my kids.


And just so you don't think it was easy.........












Don't forget to take your camera out this Christmas
and tell your story!!
Many years from now
someone is going to be thankful that you did.



8 comments:

Mama Kautz said...

AWESOME pictures!! even the funny ones would be great on a card LOL sadly my Canon died yesterday..it sounds like it tries to open but the lenses won't move.....not a Rebel...I hope and pray I can get a new camera before Christmas...what do you recommend in the $300-400 range

Mama Kautz said...

AWESOME pictures!! even the funny ones would be great on a card LOL sadly my Canon died yesterday..it sounds like it tries to open but the lenses won't move.....not a Rebel...I hope and pray I can get a new camera before Christmas...what do you recommend in the $300-400 range

Tonkamom said...

Oh wow, these are all amazing, Becca!! How on earth you were able to get so many good ones is beyond me!! Wow!

Laura said...

Okay...Seriously I am in tears. Your SO right about how christmas changes over the years. There are big togethers and as people get older or move or pass and it's not the same as you remembered them. I am fighting to keep the traditions alive but they just aren't anymore. My grandma's christmas turtles don't really exsist now. There really isnt the boxing day get together at my aunts as the kids grow up and my grandma passed who pretty much was that family link.

Now to stop crying enough to talk about the pictures. Becca and David you have a beautiful and special family. Each one of those kids are amazing in there own way you can see it in posts about them by the little things they do. Zach cheering for his brother still makes me smile, Madison how she can leave an amazing impression on people she meet where people know they have just made an amazing friend. Michael who never seems to let anything stand in his way and Bren who is full of joy and imagination and that gorgeous smile of hers. I am so blessed to have you in my life, thank you for letting me be a part of this amazing family.

Kay gonna stop ranting on your blog space now.

Love ya

Rebekah said...

Girl! Those are wonderful! And such lovely thoughts - thank you for sharing this bit of your life experience with us.

Libby Brady said...

BEAUTIFUL, Becca! I know how hard it is to get 4 looking happy in one pic and you mastered it!! Gorgeous kids!!!

JOY said...

tears are flowing !! What great kids to put up with a camra /// MOM. What wonderful memories for them ,they will bless you in time !!XXXOOO

Anonymous said...

I love how Zach has his hand on Madison's waist. I don't know? But that little bit of physical contact just shows that they are close and love each other. I just love reading about your family!

xo
Sandi