Family

The Bourne & Rosner Families – Downtown San Diego & PetCo Park Family Photography

I am a huge fan of Rachel and Andrew’s little family of four. They are incredible to work with because of they way they allow things to unfold. Goofy faces and laughter have been a huge part of our sessions these last few years. They upped the ante back in April when I photographed them and their respective families. I’m a huge ding dong when it comes to directions so when Rachel’s dad said he wanted to meet at a spot near PetCo Park, I was sure I knew exactly where he meant. So I told the family to meet me outside of the restaurant that directly faced the area I thought they were referring to and once they all arrived I immediately learned that my location was not their intended location. This family rolled with it. We started shooting right away just inside of PetCo and then they all happily made the trek to the other side of the stadium to get to the bridge they all wanted to shoot at and then down the stairs past the bridge to the grassy area where Andrew and Rachel had done their wedding photos. This family is amazing. Thank you for your smiles. Thank you for your trust and thank you for not killing me when we all had to walk to a second location. Thank goodness for that amazing sunset!

The sun is out today and I always find it easier to get through the days with my dad. We’ve had more overcast days here lately than usual and it’s feels like I’m moving through mud when the sun doesn’t shine. I consider today to be a pretty good day. Nothing crazy going on but I got the chance to go to my barre class this morning, acupuncture for myself and my dad, dog park and ride on the scooter with my dad in tow to get a few errands checked off the list. Now that my afternoon is free I thought I might take the time to play blog catch up again. This family came to me through a referral. I share a mutual friend with Lisa, she was my point of contact for the session and she shared with me her excitement for all her family visiting from Chicago. The only thing I knew was that I would be photographing a group of 13 and that they had rented a place in Rancho Santa Fe that could accommodate everyone. What I didn’t know is that I would be meeting a group of people full of life, love, energy and a willingness to allow me to photograph them. I also didn’t know that the Airbnb they had booked was amazing! We started with the whole group and gave priority to the grandparents so they could sit back and relax during the rest of my time shooting. I could tell at the beginning of the shoot that the family shared a little concern for getting all the shots they wanted. This happens a lot with big groups. I get it. They don’t all know me and it’s hard to see how one person is going to suffice with all their requests. Not to mention they have no idea where my head is at and what I am planning on doing. I always go into every shoot knowing that I will get the “safe” shots and the happy smile at the camera photos. While these are not the most fun for me to take, they are always crowd pleasers. The exciting part for me comes when I get home and can send same day previews to the family. This is when they realize my whole vision and that perhaps they light up when they can actually see some of the more…

Extended family sessions are becoming a specialty of mine. I am doing more and more as the years go by and I am finding I love all the combinations and energy these sessions bring with them. The chaos, the laughter and the forced family time seem to create an experience that always leaves me wanting to become a part of these families. Nancy and Brandon are awesome clients of mine and since Nancy’s family was in town for a few days it seemed like just the right time to gather together for some photos. The fun part for me was that Nancy’s brother and his family had never done photos and I was surprised to find how natural they all were in front of the camera. I had the extra challenge of mid morning lighting on the beach and corralling all those crazy little boys but as always I had a great time and left with a smile.

I have never seen two happier people with their newborn. Jen and Johnny are special to me as I have known them for many years and have been photographing them since their engagement session. It has always been a special honor to document them as their lives change and grow. We have shared similar personal struggles in the loss of our pets and aging parents. They are kindred spirits and I hope to continue to cross paths with them as their journey continues. Jen is the most amazing interior designer so you can imagine my excitement to see their new home and all the amazing Jen had created. It did not disappoint. From the perfect placement of framed photos and art on the walls to the chic furniture choices and delicious pops of color, it was a field day for photos! Their giddy excitement and smiles was the icing on the cake and I could feel my heart bursting for them. I wish them all the best as they raise their son and I look forward to seeing more of them as he grows.

Adriana remains one of my most loyal out of town clients. She is huge fan of my work and I find her to be a most loving, patient and compassionate mother, wife and friend. It’s always wonderful to see her. This was a special session with her mother and daughter. Adriana has been very vocal about the struggles she faces with her son and his special needs. This trip was meant to be a girls weekend full of family and mother/daughter time in it’s many forms. She told me that one of her daughter’s favorite parks was in Coronado so we meet up on a foggy March morning for some snuggles, giggles and swings. The session was short and sweet way to start their weekend and last I heard, it was a huge success. I will be seeing Adriana and her family again this July and I’m excited to see what our next session will bring.

I have had the opportunity to a handful of times to photograph the families of a few of the women I went to high school with back in Cincinnati. Annie and her family were one of them. I really do get excited to connect and catch up with anyone from back home. I always think I’m going to feel nervous butterflies or something but it always ends up being a joyous meeting of seeing an old familiar face. Not that Annie looked even a day older than when we were in high school. I gotta find out her secret! This was another February session for me. February was a tough month for shooting because of all the rain but this was one of those days where we got lucky and even a little sun peaked out between the clouds. We ventured the property of the hotel they were staying during their baby moon. I found this to be a very easy session to photograph as this family seemed to flow fantastically with the up’s and down’s of a small one. She was running the show but no of us seemed to mind and mom and dad took it all in stride. I know I say this all the time, but an attitude like theirs is key to having a positive stress free session. Annie has welcomed their second into this world now and I will cross my fingers that perhaps they will make another trip to San Diego and I will get to meet this newest member to help make some memories once again for them.

As my dad continues to progress with his dementia, I find my time is divided more than ever. The delicate balance between caring for him, work and making sure I still maintain some sort of social life is a juggle. The times I am working always bring me back to myself and I remember how grateful I am to be able to do this job. This job has also brought new friends to me and that includes Rob and Julianne. I first met them when I second shoot their wedding just about forever ago. They were referred to me by their wedding photographer, also a friend of mine, when they were pregnant with their first son. Over the years I have photographed them more than once as a growing family and over this time we have gotten to know one another and really enjoy each other’s company. We don’t get to see one another as often as we would like but the time is always well spent. Rob’s nerdy sense of humor always makes me giggle and Julianne has compassion and understanding for all things family related. She and I share much in common when it comes to our family dynamics. It’s nice to know this amazing family is in our lives. Again, I am behind in my blogging as this session was done back in February at the height of our rainy season. The rain proved to bring a ton of gorgeous green our way for a short time and as you can see from this photos, it was just starting to bloom and cast color over our normally brown landscape. Although I do love our sunny days, I relished in all the green around me this year.

Ever since my dad moved in I’ve been wondering what will happen to me, to him, to my life with my husband and beyond. Some days I get very sad about all of it. I’m sad because my dad’s health is in decline and because getting older is tough. I’m sad because instead of delighting in raising a family of my own, I am steadfast with my father knowing that one day will be our goodbye. I’m sad because while I live in this small world of everyday activities and errands, I have friends who I never see and friends who never call on me just to ask me how I’m doing. They all have excuses not to reach out because they all have families of their own but I guess that doesn’t necessarily make it okay. It’s just the way it is. I get bummed out about the whole thing and then other days it doesn’t bother me a bit. I tell myself it’s fine because I have everything I need right here. I have my husband, my dad, our dogs, my daily routine, my work and I even have my dad’s cat here to fill my time. Those days are the easy days for me. I wish for those days every time my head starts to hurt and my neck and shoulders tense up from stress. My husband and I were always the ones reaching out to plan get togethers with friends and family but I have reached the point of exhaustion and I no longer care to here the word no more often than not when we do try to plan something. I miss all the things about being surrounded by everyone I know and love. I miss knowing that I could call a friend at a moment’s notice and swing by to say hello. I even feel angry sometimes that all my friends with families of their own seem to forget that there will always be a pang of sadness inside me when I see them with their families. I am not writing all of this stuff to bum anyone out. My words are only musings that form in the in between moments of the day when the world gets quiet and I start to think too much. My inner self is a worrier. My outer self is a dynamic goof ball hell bent on having…

I am a dog person through and through. I have had a dog in my life since I was very young and even after the heartbreak of losing our Rusty and Sophie, we continue to have dogs in our lives. After Sophie died I resolved to just have one dog, one very weird dog we named Griffey which was very hard to accept in some ways. Griffey is sweet and he does have a gentleness to him but we surmise he was abused quite a bit living on the streets in Baja and unfortunately he is filled with anxiety in most situations outside our home. A hard pill to swallow when our two previous dogs followed us around the house, slept next to us on the couch as we watched tv and always greeted guests at our front door with a tail wag. I could do a whole blog about all of Griffey’s quirks but you get the idea. We were down in Baja back in January at Pretty Horses Ranch just south of Rosarito. I knew the owner, our friend Krystal had rescued a few puppies just before Christmas and other than seeing photos of them online and thinking they were totally cute, I didn’t think much of adopting one. That is until we were there and I saw them. By the time we came for a visit there was only one left up for adoption and she was the runt of the litter. Brave, adorable and loving with a big, fat puppy belly and then I held her and she fell asleep in my arms. I remembered what it was like to hold Rusty when he was just a little guy and how I used to carry him around on my arm everywhere. It made me think about Sophie and how she would do her groans as she got comfortable snuggled up next to you. I thought about Griffey and how even though I love him for the good dog he is that I also needed a sweet snuggle puppy in my life. I held her in my arms and squealed to Jesse that I wanted to take her home. All the while in the back of my mind wondering if it would be a big mistake. Jesse is always great. He was in from the moment I said I wanted her but he also knows me and…

This was my last session from the 2018 holiday season. Playing catch up on my blog has left me feeling similar to how I felt when I shot this session, grateful to have work but ready for a break. I was especially appreciative this day because I can always count on this family to show up on time. I’m not a huge stickler for time when it comes to waiting for clients but it does irk me when I have to stand around waiting. It makes me feel like my time isn’t valuable but on the other hand I always remind myself that I have an awesome job and if waiting around is the worst part of my day then at least I get to do it on a gorgeous day sitting outside! This whole family embodies a fun, kind hearted sweetness about them. I met mom and dad back when they booked me to shoot their intimate wedding ceremony in Carlsbad. While they no longer live in the San Diego area, I still hear from them when they are in town and in need of photos. It’s good to know that I have been able to give them an experience they want to come back to time and time again. So here it is, my final family session of 2018!