Capturing Childhood

The importance of capturing childhood… specifically my child’s childhood. I don’t want one moment to pass or fade away. Freezing all the little moments, all the little details of his childhood is what I find important. Remembering what his little pudgy fingers, toes, rolls, and cheeks looked like is something I want to see forever.  Special moments, certain looks or smirks, time spent playing… these are to not be missed or forgotten. To me this is documenting life. That’s what I want to do.  That’s how I can relive those memories with more than just my imagination.

“Play is the highest form of research.”

~ Albert Einstein

I want to document life for others… to freeze those special moments, little freckles, toothless smiles, milestones, celebrations, and memories.  My passion is to capture those soon to be memories. My passion is capturing childhood.

The (really old!!) picture below is of my son {now 11.5}. Here he is 11 months old {2005}.

Capturing these types of moments is what brings you right back to that very day, that very second.  Here is a very old video clip from this same day in the tub in 2005 🙂
That voice, those eyes, that playful and adventurous manner, that smile… these are things we want brought back to life.  This is what it is all about.

I chose this next picture because I can remember this moment like it was yesterday… it was actually the day before my son was to turn 1 years old circa 2005.

This is definitely not my best quality image, but that is not quite what this one is about. It’s not regarding the sharpness or the lighting… this is about how this image evokes so many emotions from me. 

I remember I was in my bedroom; suddenly I heard the sound of little tiny wheels dancing on our laundry room floor followed by the most precious sound of giggles and laughter ringing through the hallway

…. recalling this brings tears to my eyes 🙂 

Without wanting to disturb him, I slowly and quietly peeked around the corner into where he was… he had discovered the fascination and pure enjoyment of pushing this miniature truck across the floor and watching it glide across with ease. It was one of the most beautifully raw things I had ever heard and witnessed.   I quickly grabbed my camera and secretly captured this photo of him in action.  He found his way into the laundry room daily to tickle his little fancy with speeding cars and trucks as they crashed into the walls.

It is usually the simplest of things such as this type of photo {documentary/storytelling style} that evokes deep feelings. 

The most obvious reason for documentary style photos: reliving your most cherished memories, if only for a moment. We all have memories that we wish we could go back to.  Old photos spark the best conversations.  There is nothing like living through the memories within the photos again while sharing the stories and tales behind them.

There are soooooo many more old photos I could add in here, but I am now going to jump to the present. 

My son (again who is now 11.5 yrs old) has not yet lost his sense of childhood and I truly hope he never does.  He is and always has been so adventurous.  He could entertain himself for hours… yes, I said hours.. ALL BY HIMSELF!! I feel blessed 🙂  I always anticipate where his imagination will take him next.  Whether he is outside, dressing up as his favorite comic book hero, helping me with my 365 project, listening to music, playing basketball, making his own board game, or enjoying tub time … he always finds a way to keep himself occupied.

Now that he is older his way of play is different at times in the way that I often find him paused for a moment soaking it all in, as if he is replaying his day and tucking into his mind for safe keeping.  Like any child he has his good days and his not so good days … growing up isn’t always easy.  He is so very resilient though 🙂 I believe in capturing all of those moments so that when he is older he can look back at his true childhood story.

I understand that I cannot follow YOUR child around their entire life to capture their life story, but capturing the glimpses of they are in that moment … capturing new memories as they develop … THAT is what I want to do for others.

Enjoy the following photos 🙂– All from 2016 and earlier

Updated to add my current Portfolio! You can check it out by clicking below!