Purple Lemon Photography

This Season: Dinosaurs

Tuesday, April 25, 2017
I write often about seasons and our This Season package here and on social media. I think one of the reasons I love it so much is because I see these special glimpses of my every day life that are simply wonderful. Full of wonder.

I step back often and have to just take in the incredible life that God has given to my family. Certainly there are challenges and hard parts, but alongside that- and perhaps because of that, sitting in almost magical contrast are the sweet, miraculous, and warming moments that fill us up, let us savor the goodness.

The seasons change often all too quickly, and the little moments change. The light that drifts through the window is filtered through leaves that come with the freshness of spring. The interests of our children shift and wane and blossom. The milestones and rhythms of our families change as our children grow up.

Our middle son amazes me. Even in this year of change in our family, with three rowdy boys, two of which are preschool age, he takes a long chunk of almost every afternoon to enter into imaginative play and whispers to himself involved stories and complex characters. There are voices and independence and creativity. I tend to let him play alone, but one afternoon in midwinter, I asked if I could observe him with my camera. Unscripted. Unposed. No consulting mom on wardrobe.

Special details that make the difference. Slouchy socks, train shirt, necklace from the treasure box at school transformed into a form of dino transportation, and PopPop's hand-carved dinosaurs.

This is his season of imagination.

Unfazed by my camera, this is what I saw.

This Season: Engagement of Sami + Collin

Thursday, April 6, 2017
Last fall, I photographed Sami and Collin during their season of engagement before their wedding.  I design this type of session to be a date. We highlight favorites that represent their story and their normal type of ways to celebrate and enjoy their relationship.

For Sami and Collin, this meant a sunrise picnic (Collin and I surprised Sami with photos from this part of their date; She didn't know I was there!), running, walking, and laughing as we took a long walk around Forest Park in the early morning hours as the fog rose off the Grand Basin.  We then switched gears and headed to one of their top coffee shops- Foundation Grounds- in Maplewood, near their new home, and took a walk and explored another favorite- a bookstore along Manchester in downtown Maplewood.

I am thrilled to present a show highlighting that day with a mix of real moments, striking portraits, and many details that surrounded their morning date. Grab your lemonade, sit back, and enjoy!