At the beginning of 2017 I decided to make a goal for my personal photography- I wanted pictures of my family doing out everyday thing. Nothing fancy, just documenting our everyday life. I was sure it was a project doomed to fail. I've tried things like this before and never got to a half-way point... I'm not sure why I thought this would be any different, but it was. I documented our family with both digital and film cameras (waiting for film scans was torture but always worth it). Now, I am at the end of this project and I have this incredible amount of pictures from the last year. I haven't quite figured out what this year's project will be, but I know I want to do another one! The best thing that came out of this project are all the little everyday moments- that I might have forgotten about- are captured for me to remember. Here are a few of my favorites from the last year.
1 Comment
I'm not sure if I have mentioned it on my blog before, but our son Eric is on the Autism Spectrum. He is in the moderate to severe range and sometimes that makes simple tasks, like getting a haircut, into a stress and anxiety filled situation for him. Many people on the autism spectrum are extremely sensitive to sounds and sights- to put it in perspective, imagine if I stuck you in a room with a fire truck and ambulance with lights and sirens going- this is what he deals with daily.
Now, imagine going to a salon or barbershop and all the noises that go along with it. It wasn't until he was diagnosed that I became aware of all the noise that we live with constantly. We had tried traditional haircuts a couple times, but it was just too hard. I even watched YouTube videos and cut his hair myself for awhile (it wasn't perfect, but we weren't sure what else to do). Then one of the other mom's in our local Autism Group mentioned that a friend/hairdresser of hers was willing to put a saddle on a hay bale and cut hair outdoors on her farm- to take the noise and the scariness out of the equation. We have now visited the farm on two separate occasions and now that my kids are familiar with it they are both excited to go. While they get their hair trimmed they get to watch the chickens, deer, goats, ostriches and sheep mingle. Kelly has made haircuts into something fun and taken much of the stress out of the situation for many special needs parents. I cannot thank her enough for what she has done to help families like mine and I highly recommend her services! Kelly also has an indoor salon, The Crop Shop, on her property for the more traditional visit. If you want more information or to make an appointment you can check out her Facebook page here . All images taken on my Pentax K1000 with Fuji Superia 400 and Kodak Color Plus 200 film, developed and scanned by The FIND Lab. Some girls get excited about shopping for clothes, I get excited about shopping for plants. I know, it's strange but that's what I like. Last year the drought took a toll on our lawn and flowers... we stopped watering because we thought it was the "responsible thing" to do. And let me tell you, our house just looked sad. I hated driving up to see brown dead grass and no flowers. This year with things looking up we are thinking of better ways to deal with the water shortage and still have a nice yard. My hubby has been fixing up our backyard and told me we were ready to plant the fruit tree and vines that I have wanted since we moved in almost six years ago. Now I just need to get to work and get everything planted!
One of our favorite places to visit, especially in the Spring when wildflowers are out and everything is blooming. Wonder Valley is located just east of Fresno in the Sierra Nevada foothills. They have free-range cattle and other animals wandering through the valley. Our boy loved being able to run through the field and down to the stream, our daughter had fun investigating nature.It was a much needed retreat for our little family; we're planning a picnic during Spring Break.
Oh, how time flies! Our little Amelia is about to turn one year old. I took her to the park last week and got a few shots of our precious girl and she braved the swings for the first time and loved it.
We had a busy weekend and I didn't get anywhere near the computer, so tonight I am playing a bit of catch up with my blog posts. 18/365 We went to the park while her brother was at Speech today, but it was just too cold to stay very long! 17/365 Taking a few steps with her Daddy 16/365
Feeling under the weather (but Lulu is there to give him comfort) |
AuthorHi, I'm Melissa. I am a wife, mother, step-mother, Gigi (step-grandma) and a photographer. I started out as the family member always asked to bring my camera along and it has turned into my life dream. I just love being able to capture moments for others that they can always cherish.This is my little corner to share my sessions, projects, and a little piece of our daily life. Thanks for stopping by! Archives
July 2021
|