I take hundreds of photos every month, and most of them don’t get shared with anyone, let alone online. And yet the moments in time that those photos capture are just as important a part of our story as the other images that I do choose to share. I created this blog as a way of documenting our lives, a way of watching the girls grow into who they’re going to be and a way of remembering who they once were. It’s something I want them to be able to look back on as they get older, because memories fade but (digital) photographs don’t.
It’s easy (and tempting) to only focus on sharing the fun bits, the memorable parts, the highlights and the celebrations like holidays or birthdays. But I’m learning more and more as I continue through this crazy journey of motherhood that it’s really important to me that I capture the ordinary, everyday times that we spend together as well. The bits of the jigsaw that fill in the gaps to complete the picture. The tantalising glimpses into who our girls are becoming.
The chaos, the calm and all the moments in between.
This monthly feature – The Moments In Between – is a space for me to share all of those magical bits that would otherwise just stay in a folder on my laptop, never to see the light of day.
DECEMBER
December felt like a long, slow month, which I guess is unusual because of the ‘crazy-busy’ season of Christmas (and in our house birthdays too) that normally makes time speed up and overwhelm take over.
As frustrating as I’ve found the slow days, they’ve taught me that I can actually be content at home. That I don’t have to do everything at 90 miles an hour all the time. That I don’t have to constantly be ‘doing’ and that just ‘being’ is quite therapeutic. I feel like I’ve really been able to simply and quietly observe my girls and as a result I’m so pleased with some of the images I’ve captured.
Looking back over the last twelve months of this project I can see how much my work has changed and how I’ve grown as a photographer. I feel like I’m starting to find my voice, beginning to be more intentional about the moments I choose to capture, and gradually figuring out that the images that I love to shoot are the ones that will eventually bring the families who want their moments of love and connection documented to me. There’s still more to learn of course (there’s always more to learn!) and I’m loving the journey.
And now December – and 2017 – is done and another yearly chapter in the story of our lives is closed. I’m looking forward to continuing this project into 2018 – it’s my favourite post to put together every month and I’m looking forward to whatever 2018 brings. Every time I write it I find that I have new favourite photos and this one is no exception – I remember exactly how I felt in every photograph at the exact moment I pressed the shutter.
Each and every one of these photos is part of what makes us who we are. Each and every one of them tells part of our story. And I love them all.
This is us.
