When I first heard Elizabeth's story my mouth hung open. Then I immediately teared up and cried as she kept talking. I remembered all the times I didn't stand up for myself. The times I can look back on when I knew I wanted to say something, but just didn't for all the reasons that we don't. And the ways that not speaking up didn't serve me or totally changed me. 

Part of my goal for The Gardenia Project is to not only help women feel empowered by sharing their stories, but to shine a light on the realities of our lives that we are often too afraid or embarrassed to talk about publicly. I want to change the dialog. I think that by sharing our stories (however dark they may seem to us) they will loose their power over us. Things that are hidden remain big and scary. Things that are shared remind us of the ways we can connect to each other, that we are not alone.

I have so many families that get in touch with me year after year for sessions. They tell me how much having these images on their walls beings them joy every day. It is the memories with our family that are the fabric of our lives. 

Dance is the hidden language of the soul- Martha Graham. I work hard to really connect with the people I take portraits of and yet I immediately can see the soul of a dancer.  What truly drives a dancer is all on the outside, when they dance. It's why so many people around the world want to be dancers or go to watch dancers.

Maybe as you look at these images you will see snakes as just a little more beautiful than you thought of them before. I would love that. 

Then the realization that this is it. This moment. This chocolate batter. This cake. This child.

This is the best. The best that life has to offer. I have it. It is mine. It is here. And now. So I savor this. I smell the rich dark chocolate, hear the harmonies of the background song, listen to my daughter chattering on. Drink it in. And smile to myself. I totally win.

 These tween years are tough for girls. I remember them well. You aren't a little kid, but you aren't a teenager yet either. You still want to play with toys that you have always loved, but your loves are evolving into older girl stuff too. It can be tricky to navigate the emotions that come along with all these changes. I offer these Little Women sessions to try and help girls feels positive and powerful during this time. 

"When I saw the first image I was so blown away at how beautiful I was, how excited I was to play big because of that image, and how I saw my power and therefore FELT my power." - Bambi

I had a vision for layers of texture and fabrics that would be rich and warm for this winter studio set. I wanted a reminder of all the wonderful elements of feeling surrounded by the sun in all it's shades of golds and yellows. It is so much fun to take portraits of girls inside the overlays of colors we created. I finish up each session with a cup of hot cocoa as well! A memorable experience for creating art you will both love for a lifetime. 

I am always amazed by people who are so positive even after having really awful experiences. It would be so easy to take something that was so bad, for so long, and really let it turn you into a negative person. Always expecting the worst from life and people. Anna has clearly decided that will never be the case for her. 

I had a whole bunch of stuff I was going to write about 2016. And maybe I will still get to that. But technology hasn't been my friend today and this took way longer than expected. So here is the 1 and a half minute video that took me all day to make! I hope you enjoy it! I realized while creating it that I did a wide variety of work this year. It kept me on my toes and has inspired me to push some more of my boundaries with my goals for this year! Please let me know what you think or what you would like to see me do in the comments below. (: 

During this session as I was taking portraits of the four generations I realized that even though I wasn't very close to my family I would love to have a portrait like this. To see my great grandmother, grandmother, mother and daughter all in the same portrait would be a gift. To see how we looked alike. To remember the details that have faded in my mind. 

I am grateful that I can do this for others. The chance give these women portraits that they will cherish and hand down to their sons and daughters is truly one of the reasons I chose to be a photographer. 

Let's chat a little about being a mom (or dad). And what that means. First of all, I just want to thank all the powers that be and the Scary Mommy blog in particular for getting with the program. For calling out all the realities of parenting. Let's just say that while there is plenty of magic there are also times as a parent that are truly small (or a large) slice of hell.

I hope that these sessions are a way for every kid to show their own unique self. And prove that there is no one "right way" to dress, act, look, or be. That our job as humans is to accept and love each other. And often that starts with ourselves. 

 "Getting the pictures taken allowed me to forget everything that was going on in my head and just have fun and relax.  It was a lot of fun.  When I actually saw the pictures I couldn't believe it was me.  It was like I was looking at a model and reading what my family had to say about me just made me so happy.  I gained a lot of self confidence from it and can really see the beauty in me both inside and out."

Being a senior is an important time. You are officially going from being considered a kid to a grown up. I remember that feeling well. I think it's a time to celebrate where you are and where you are going. It's a time you will look back on with fondness for the rest of your life. 

Michael called me from Indiana. He said that he and his girlfriend were taking a road trip and he knew he wanted to propose here in Maine. He asked for help figuring out where in the area might be best so, naturally I suggested the Portland Headlight at Ft. Williams in Cape Elizabeth. It's an amazingly beautiful iconic Maine location. One of the top ways to identify the area is the ocean and a lighthouse! 

Ellie came in to have her portrait session after mom saw the invitation for the Little Women sessions on Facebook. These sessions are designed to give girls who are between 10-12 an extra boost of self confidence. Those ages can be especially hard for kids. They aren't little kids anymore, but they aren't yet teenagers either. They have new hormones and feel caught between wanting to be young and play and wanting to feel all grown up and get taken seriously! It can be tough to feel confident too with all the different messages that society gives young girls on how they should look and act.