This is a family photo shoot in Devon shot both digitally and on 35mm film. But it is more than that. This is a post about a beautiful young family and their journey into becoming a family of four. It is about all the things I look for when I capture a moment in time and attempt to translate hearts full of feeling into images with that imbibed. Anticipation. A new chapter in the same love story. All the threads that weave the past and present together.
This is also a post about synchronicity, play and opening up space. It might be a bit of a ramble but hear me out. A couple of years ago I decided to bring in extra time to breathe and explore in my work. To allow myself further creative freedom and to talk myself out of the consistency loop I found myself in. To free up my practice a little and loosen at the edges. In order to do this I needed to leave gaps in my diary to usher in new growth. A risk I had to take. This month is typically really busy; in the past I have blinked and missed it. May is the month of clouds of cow parsley in the lanes of Devon, of cool misty mornings giving rise to birdsong and warm afternoons. This year I am finding myself revelling in it. And telling stories I would never have gotten to tell if I didn’t leave gaps. This is one of them.
When Saff Michaelis reached out wanting the exact kind of work I want to create it made sense. I had a free date and it all clicked into place. Synchronicity in action. Trusting the unfolding. Both on the macro level and within the session itself. With space to play there was time to relax into the simpler pace of life that our children live in. Keeping these shoots child led means allowing it to unfold at their level, with bug rafts on the stream and throwing pebbles without the need to move on too quickly. We all need to add in moments of this quieter, simpler life more than ever. Taking the time to pause and just be without any real predetermined narrative other than to capture this slice of heaven between being a three and four. A liminal space. Taking it intuitively, gently and with my usual nudges to spark giggles.
It was a bucolic setting at Stream Cottage, part of the estate at The Pig at Combe. Keeping the whole shoot within just a few square metres and making the most of the natural surroundings it really worked. Because things are so much better when stripped back and kept simple, the story presents itself without being forced.
Thank you Saffron and family for trusting me and for understanding how to follow intuition. To let go and get into flow to reveal the truth. Which in the end is always love.
If you are considering capturing the ever shifting sands of family life please do reach out or browse the family work further here.
