4 Baby Birds

Months ago I had an idea to shoot some "personality" studio stuff of my nieces and nephews. The idea was to get an everyday look and then gussy them up for a look that showcased their true selves. It kind of worked....I didn't have an assistant and my sister in law didn't have an assistant either. We ended up each growing about 8 arms. I tried to juggle shooting, helping to dress and style, making sure the kids didn't punch a hole through the paper background...which left me little to no time to perfect lighting. I had just enough time to aim the light and fire. I wanted a mid grey background and achieved it on most but due the the lack of time I had to make adjustments the light is all over the place...BUT despite the lack of exactness to my original vision the kids shined.

I think photography is my way of making it so they never have to grow up.

After we told them I was pregnant there was all sorts of questions. Among them Taylor wanted to know, "Will I still be your baby bird?". One of my first thoughts when I found out I was going to be a mother was of them...my baby birds. How could I choose another? How could I love another as much? Will our closeness fade? Will they grow up and away from me? My heart ached and aches with these questions. I've been told (believe me) that loving your own child is so different than loving nieces and nephews and while I don't disagree NO ONE and I mean NO ONE can tell me how much or how little I love these 4 baby birds. I will add more to love and it may be a new type and degree of love..but believe me when I tell you, I know what it means to love a child.

Now when we have a "love nest" while snuggling on the couch, I get a little bit closer and hold a little bit tighter. Things will change, as they should, but for now I am happy stopping time. I am happy being an aunt.

Lets start with Faith, our resident rockstar...

Standing in one place on a backdrop wasn't her idea of fun. She has never liked the idea being confined to a space. She knows no boundaries when it come to being close. She has always just wanted to love and be loved.  Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she was the 1st grandchild and all we ever did was pass her around and stare at her. Now when she requests an audience for one of her many performances, I guess there is no one to blame but ourselves. We just can't help but watch. Since I have helped contribute to the problem I want royalties when she goes on her first tour.

Just One...

...all I ask is for one of my kids to look exactly like this heartthrob. I'm not being greedy. I just want one. The rest can look like gremlins.

(Remember newborn Rachel from yesterday? Meet her brother, Mr. cutestboyIhaveeverseeninreallife).

Benders + Bathtub

After yesterday's post I wanted to show off my bathtub a little more.

Obviously I won't be giving it up. It's just too awesome.

I have some pretty major Bender Family love.  Thanks for taking a "photo bath" with me.

Check out Julia's blog if you want to stare at Ro-Ro a little more.

Rockstars

Here's a little peak of  a fun shoot I had this week.

I've been needing to get updated photos of my neices and nephews and thought a "personality" studio shoot would be perfect.  They are my favorite models. I couldn't be more in love.

Everyone have a great and LONG weekend.

Me and my man are heading to the woods for some star gazing and campfire cooking. xo.

The Wilson Family

Bike ride, uno game, dog pile on mom and dad's bed...sounds good to me!

Wilsons, thank you for letting us invade your home.

I do have to say, after looking through these images, your kids don't look so shy to me. xo.

Time To Vote

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(Niece Julia & nephew Jake. Sacramento is too far away.)

I already got a lot of great feed back from my previous posts but I thought I would get the final say in one place.

I am not promising that I will use the image size that gets the most votes, but I still want to know the general opinion. It matters. I don't want to have annoying images that scream at you...AND I want it to be a friendly size based on how you view them.

Voting ends Friday 6pm PST

Which size image would you prefer to see on my blog?
image 1- 900px
image 2- 850px
image 3- 800px
image 4- 750px
image 5- 700px
pollcode.com free polls

Frazzled

(neighbor Phoebe jumping and static-ing on our tramp)
Her outsides represent how my insides kind of feel right now.

OK, I might look a little bit like that too.

Thanksgiving 2009














Nothing I love more than food and family.

The meal was delicious. HUGE thanks to Nancy and Hugh for doing 99% of the work. We appreciate all the service and love you give to us and the whole family and only hope we can repay you someday.

I made a couple pumpkin pies and a chocolate haupia cake (in honor of Kauai). I didn't get any great photos of the results. All in all my baking was tasty, but I sure do struggle getting a flaky crust on my pies.

Tribe and Tani have always made me stare, but look at my niece and nephew! I was drooling all over them.

Until next year homemade rolls...I will miss you.

(photos featuring me, taken by my bro in law Darren. Thanks for proving I exist!)

Faith

This is my niece. She was my first niece. My first obsession. My first photographic muse. She just turned 8 and we had a photoshoot to celebrate....











While editing through her 8yr old photoshoot, it started me thinking...I have been taking photos of her for 8 years! For 8 years! I don't know why that seems like the longest time range, but it does. I think I had my first paying photography job 12 years ago, and I am pretty confident Faith is one of my oldest clients. For some reason she keeps coming back...or....I keep obsessing.

I love her more than everything and anything. She and my other nieces and nephews are what make me nervous to start trying to have my own babies. How could I love others more? How could they be as beautiful...as enchanting? I keep asking and I grow timid at the thoughts of my own attempts to create such beauty. They are masterpieces...and I am just blessed enough to capture a little of their spirit through my camera.

Enjoy a photographic journey of Faith over the last 8years...















Your aunt loves you Faithers. More than sunsets, whipped cream, BACON and the twinkly stars in the heavens.

stoker family



































another day shooting in a family's home and I always love the results...crazy, comfortable and fancy free.

I have a slight obsession with this little family. their house is awesome and their yard, even better. janet has done all of the gardening and it is seriously beautiful. We talked about some of my most favorite subjects, photography, food, tomatoes, cooking, travel, family relationships,parenting etc.....

I really wished grant and I lived closer so we could try to copy everything they do and say.

major family crush. love you guys!

romney family


















the eyes on those kids....fantastic.

loved spending early evening in the park with your family. great light, great weather, great company.

I can't believe you have 5 kids...beautiful, well behaved AND extremely happy. I could tell they were all really happy.

here's to happy families!

the romney family

































please let me be blessed with children this adorable.

the 5yr old giggled every time I looked at him and the two year old had 4 outfits changes without a breakdown....and can we just talk about this squishy newborn? she was OUT. we tried waking her up but she was just too sleepy from all the eating and sleeping she does. exhausted.

beautiful children and beautiful home (don't you just love that door?). thank you for letting me invade!

coming to utah

(photos from an adorable family I photographed last week. more to come once back from camp. I love the triumphant sippy cup shot. cheers to pink milk!)

I will be in salt lake city from august 31st through sept 2nd. I have a few time slots open if anyone is interested in having me photograph..something, anything!

ideas range from babies, couples, documenting a family dinner, swimming, best friends, mortal enemies, awesome people with interesting looks. possibilities are endless.

shoot me an email at rachel@rachelthurston.com, let me know what kind of shoot you are interested in and I will email you back rates and availability.

madi

how stinking adorable is my niece?
she is going to be a world famous dancer someday so she needed headshots.
I am going to be a world famous aunt someday so I needed to show her off.

miss O



























it has been said that I have some pretty great friends. what they say is true. I would say I have the tres leches of friends. the ripe mango of friends. the kauai of friends. I have the BEST friends.

I have what I call "3am" friends. you know, the ones you can call at 3am when you REALLY need them. I believe each of us only have a handful of these types of people in our lives. matt and heather are 3am friends. being a 3am friend doesn't come without sacrifice (like phone calls in the middle of the night), but there are perks as well! like my complete devotion and loyalty, as well as the occasional photo shoot.

spending a week in the wind rushing state of oklahoma to be with my newest baby girl and her family was amazing. our week together was planned in 3hrs increments...which usually consisted of eating, playing, sleeping, pooping, eating, playing, sleeping, pooping. for a non scheduled girl like me this household was a machine! I think I can still smell the formula and that sweet little body after bath time. seriously, does anything smell better than post bath baby?

I watched in awe as I saw first hand the transformation of these two into parents. they are naturals! the love, and adoring and cooing and instincts were all there. all and more. I loved matt and heather before but after seeing them as parents I think I love them a little more. such selflessness. such sacrifice. but just like being a 3am friend has it's perks so does being a parent. olive is flawless! happy is an understatement. for sure one of the easiest babies I have ever been around. and can we talk about her plus my camera? um, is it normal for a 7 week old to stare into my lens with big wondering eyes?! NO! but olive, being flawless as she is, stared into my lens the entire week. not kidding. we even tried to get her to look away but her eyes were transfixed. somewhere deep inside I want to believe she will take after her auntie and become my apprentice.....or maybe she is the smartest 7week old in the history of time. whatever the genius, taking photos of her was a complete and total dream.

olive, stop being 17yrs old! never get bigger! make those cooing noises as you fall asleep forever! always look right into your auntie rachel's lens! never stop the kung fu panda moves right before you fall asleep! move closer to me! smoosh smoosh smoosh smoosh!!!!!!!!!!

all my love to my favorite new family.

boulder baby
















thanks again to beana and her family for inviting us. this place is a total dreamboat.

grant and I are trying to relish our weekend getaways while they are still easy to do. life only gets more complicated right?

summertime just makes me happy.

the cripe family






































this is the way, in my opinion, a family should be photographed. in their home, comfortable and doing what they normally do.

I don't have kids yet, but when I do I can only imagine I will want to remember them being themselves....and not being forced to take photos that tell nothing of their personalities or age.

this family really impresses me. they are classy, but down to earth. stylish but functional. they were great to work with.

they let me reek havoc on their home, and trusted me to shoot. this is key, they "trusted" me. don't hire me if you are worried I won't photograph something the way you want. hire me because you trust I will (this of course involves healthy communication), but you get what I'm at. when a client lets me shoot, I can use my instinct, get my creative juices flowing and let myself be inspired. thank you for letting me do just that. I'm not saying it's a perfect science yet, but at least the flaws are genuine.

cripe family, I know you love black and white photographs, but I couldn't bring myself to lose the color. I have a color addiction. I also have a cripe addiction.

love, love, love your kids. love, love, love your family.


(if you are interested in having me document your family, or anything at all, please email me at rachel@rachelthurston.com for rates)