heather and her girls: love to the third power

heather is an old classmate of mine, from elementary school. our families were friends well before the two of us ever met. so, when heather asked me if i could take pictures of her with her little girls i was quite excited… even just for the catching up we could do. we settled right in and started with just her daughters.

seeing the girls so loving and friendly with each other was fun. so let’s throw mom into the mix and see how that dynamic changes things.

the vulnerability and connection with her youngest was quite something.

and the difference with the elder was tangible… but the love was still just so easily seen.

we let the girls play on their own on the beach for a little bit after they had done their part.

i asked heather if she wanted to do any shots on her own at all. we had kind of kicked that idea around a little when we first talked. i was glad that she was still up for it.

as the day was almost over, we started chatting about some ideas i wanted to shoot at some point. heather caught me off-guard and said she would be up for even getting wet before she left. i hadn’t really prepared for it, but how could i pass up her offer. so we took a few minutes to shoot and when the waves started dousing her, she was a total and complete champ about it.

i just love the complete and pure joy on her face here. another reminder that adults can still have spontaneous fun too!

i sat here and thought about this one for a moment. allowing my mind to float back to that day for a full re-collection. and words could not fully describe the almost spirituality this shoot evolved through. a whole lot of individual, yet strong, adjectives come to mind as i try to describe the relationship between heather and her girls. it is the kind of love that is so fully formed and respectful (in a way). if i were a mother, i think i would have just sat there and simply sighed… and nodded my head ever so slightly. knowing that this is what i would strive for. any semblance of this bond and relationship. i am not a mother, nor even a woman… but as a fairly new parent, i walked away with close to that same desire… to build something like the bond and (dare i say) communion that i could see in existence between these three over just a few hours with them.

i hope to do this again, some day, heather. and now that i really soak in everything that brought those words above out of me, i can maybe even say: the pleasure was all mine.