You might recognize “Banjo Boy” from the homepage of my website, only now he’s a little over 4 years older (*sobs*) and his sister is no longer a baby (*sobs*) and Ruby the Dog is also somehow 4 years older (*sobs*). They are, however, still the best kids – hilarious, super smart, and raised on a steady diet of Garfield comic books. And not the new Garfield, either. We’re talking classic Garfield. You know, the good stuff. They also use Mr. Sketch scented markers (22 scents now!) and had a good time taking off the caps, having me smell the markers, and guess the scent. They play Badminton, which I used to play all the time as a kid. It’s like they’re living a delightfully early 90s childhood with no devices (except Duolingo, which is a favorite – and when it was discovered that I also use Duolingo, I gained a lot of street cred with the boy who then firmly moved me into the “cool” category). Kinda want to move in with them. Scratch that – definitely want to move in with them. You can find me in their backyard on the hammock reading their collection of Garfield comics.
I’d been in conversation with Mom about doing photos of her sweet family at home that weren’t “cringe-worthy” (my kinda client) and weren’t painfully posed or orchestrated for Dad or Baby Girl. She wanted to do the photos at home (yay!) and I am SO GLAD SHE DID because their home is gorgeous!! They have a beautiful color scheme that’s filled with colors and textures and I just love it. Plus they have insanely great carpets. Like, the softest and fluffiest of all the carpets. So on these carpets I photographed the preciously cute Baby Girl army-crawling herself around, wide-eyed and curious, and eating some book pages while her parents tried to read to her. She also liked to eat her Mom’s necklace a lot (teething stages, amirite) and stare fixedly into the camera (she is a great model). PLUS LOOK AT THOSE PANTS. I would 100% wear those sweatpants now even though I am 90% confident I already had some iteration of them in the 80s. Mom and Dad enjoyed cuddling with Cool Sweatpants Baby Girl a lot and turning her upside down to make her giggle. When they’re not doing turning their kiddo upside down for giggles, Mom is an incredibly creative and stylish woman who enjoys decorating their home and writing. Dad likes video games, technology, and cooking. I absolutely loved working with all three of them – we bonded over lots of similarities, but mostly our deep and undying love for October. And October people stick together.
Martha and Justin are dear friends of ours whose wedding we photographed way back in 2011 (!!) and whom we’ve played many games of Killer Bunnies with ever since. Martha’s from Chicago and Justin’s from Minnesota, but they met in Chicago. Martha left to attend Duke, and Justin joined shortly thereafter… and they both became Durhamites through and through. Here they adopted a cat and later had a real human child named Emilia, who is the friendliest and most adorable kid on earth. She is a fantastic hugger and excited ALL THE TIME! and also loves pizza. She is also incredibly patient, especially for a 2.5 year old. I’ve seen her look lovingly at pizza that wasn’t hers (while clapping) yet remaining seated (!) and just politely sitting there until her pizza arrived. I’ve seen grown adults who can’t do that and have zero chill when it comes to waiting for pizza (namely my husband).
Now they are sadly (to us!) moving to Minnesota, and taking their knowledge of amazing food with them (Martha helped us discover the joy that is pupusas, and, of course, El Cuscatleco). We will miss them greatly. They wanted a family session that documented a little bit of their time spent in Durham at the playground in Central Park and The Parlour, where Emilia makes the best ice cream eating face. It’s like the face you would make to imitate a tiger, only instead you’re just eating ice cream. I love her. And them. When we visit you in Minnesota you have to promise you’ll take us to see Prince stuff. xoxo.
