I had so much fun reuniting with Kaela and Isiah! Back when Geoff was shooting with me, we photographed their engagement session in 2016 with their impossibly small/impossibly cute pup Archie. The Knot published their engagement shoot and has apparently been using their pictures ever since – in magazine advertising, social media, etc. The Knot loves Kaela and Isiah and I do too. And now they have a beautiful baby girl who is ADORABLE. The eyelashes! The little bow! The outfits! Her favorite pastime is being held up a la The Lion King by her dad, and tugging on her mom’s hair. She’s not sure what to make of Archie. Archie, now 14, is not quite sure what to make of her. But together they’re the cutest little duo and I definitely would watch a tv show about them if it was streaming anywhere. Love these folks and so happy to do another photo session with them in their beautiful home!
This session was so fun for me! Olivia and Aurora were celebrating two major milestones in their lives – Olivia graduating law school and Aurora graduating 5th grade – and I was there to commemorate this time in their family with Yahtzee, oil painting, roller skating around the living room, and hanging out with their dog Dinky. We also talked about Stephen King a lot (one of my favorite pastimes), as well as this family’s time spent living in Pittsburgh, which is my hometown. I realized later that I forgot to talk to them about Fern Gully, which they had mentioned on their contact form and is, by far, my favorite childhood movie and still my favorite animated movie – next time! I have a lot in common with these folks and it was a ton of fun hanging out with them. Olivia and Greg have been together since they were 16, so 21 years in October, which is exactly how long Geoff and I have been together (I was also 16 when we met)! They are great parents to Aurora, who is an artistic, creative, lively spirit who loves painting with her mom, talking about Stephen King with her dad, and doing flips on her aerial hammock in the living room when she’s not roller skating around it. And they’re also great parents to Dinky, a beloved 14 year-old angel of a lab mix who could not be sweeter or gentler. It was a ton of fun spending the morning with these guys out in their own little slice of Fern Gully in the woods.
I’ve had the job of photographing the wonderful Janice of Big Dog Little Bed many times over the years. The last time I saw her, I photographed her with dogs Toby, Murphy, and George, all of whom were extremely loved by not only Janice, but the entire community who met and interacted with these pups, myself included. This time was bittersweet because these friends are no longer with us and are very much missed. Anyone who knows me has probably heard me talk about Toby because I was very much in love with him from the moment that I met him despite Janice’s warnings of, “Don’t make eye contact with him, don’t touch him.” I did make eye contact with him (eventually) and I did touch him (eventually) and we even progressed to the level of SELFIES TOGETHER (!!!) where Toby is very visibly rolling his eyes and trying to get away from me. He was one of my very favorite creatures to walk the earth and also to photograph. I also very much loved and cherished Murph, who was always friendly and loving and cooperative. He seemed wise beyond his years – like a little Yoda who chose not to speak. I had only met George once, but he was handsome and took direction well and was a very good boy.
I miss these friends. But while I had photographed Janice many times, this was my first time meeting and photographing her husband Sean (!), as well as their new dog Layla Bean (!). And I’m very pleased to announce that Layla Bean is truly a stellar addition and quite the character – and so is Sean. I immediately adored them both. Sean is the perfect match for Janice and I got along with him right away. He’s funny and creative and loves the outdoors like Janice – and he has a baseball team that Geoff just joined! Layla Bean is a very small yet very mighty dog with a lot of personality. She’s a tiny bossy tyrant with the sass meter on 100% at all times and I love her. She likes to carry around a toy pig that says “Kind of a pig deal” and I’m pretty sure she knows what it says. She enjoys bullying other dogs, hogging all of Janice and Sean’s attention, digging through her toy bin, playing fetch, and celebrating her birthday. They got her a cake. She loved it. She is a cooperative subject only because she knows I’m taking pictures of her and seems to be proud of that. She’s a diva and I’m excited to see more of her in the future because she’s adorable in every way.
So while our old friends are missed, we can take comfort in our newfound friend Layla Bean and enjoy celebrating her for many years to come. This was Layla’s first Gotcha Day celebration and I’m so happy for her that she found her perfect family.
