At the beginning of this month I took a photography business clarity course with Jeff Jochum. He made my head explode, but by doing so allowed me the freedom to focus with my work. I remember a group discussion about how as photographers we feel a sense of loss if we choose a niche..like we are missing out, but upon a month of thinking I paralleled this thought with part of my wedding vows my husband Adam and I borrowed by Madeleine L'Engle. She wrote and we vowed,"If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation".
The path I refined at Jeff's workshop was that I want my photography to focus on families with special needs. Now all the revamping of my website etc. is all in progress but its is this creative dialogue I am still clarifying.
As a mother of two bright beautiful boys that have benefited tremendously from early intervention I am aghast by their spirit and incredible progress. What breaks my heart is to think that there are mom's out there that want and deserve treasured photo's of their children, but know that the studio experience or general photographer might not understand the behavior their children present...so they don't have professional photo's taken. They are embarrassed not of their children, but of the general lack of knowledge relating to their life circumstance. This from a mom who has practiced being in a mall with her child so he could learn to adapt to the sensory overload or arriving early at the party, with my bag packed of organic treats , so the party can build up around us, rather than walk into a full swing bash. I know being one of the first arrivals at the celebration will yield a more desired fun day.
I took these photo's of Quaid in the hospital because our path is imperfect, sometimes difficult always filled with joy, but all of it is part of his story..his history. I took photo's of my oldest Gavin when he was a premiee with an IV in his head at 5lb. perhaps I'll post some of them soon. Trick #1 of hospital photography is to ask for forgiveness not permission..oh and not a big fancy camera these are just a point and shoot my way of sketching. It is crazy that as a mom, photographer and teacher the only time I get to read is when my child is hospitalized for a few days... pretty pathetic, but I did get to leaf thru a suggested reading from my friend Christine Barker which was Me Ra Koh's new book, "Your Baby in Pictures"...us mom's are always multi tasking and repurposing things huh? I encourage mom's and dad's to break out their camera at the most innopportune time and when you call me to photograph your family don't worry about matching ,or the setting, or the pile of laundry that we all have. Let's just celebrate the tiny moments.
So here is my Q with the Mardi Gras beads he loves so much, managing to enjoy the texture with just one little hand. I am happy to report he is home and well.
