Jim and Tiffany's Engagement Session- Dundee Michigan

The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts, and brings peace to our minds.  ~The Notebook

October 5-on-5 2017

One of my goals for this fall is to document my parents more.  I feel like they are missing from a lot of my photos.  They tend to step out of my camera range when I am taking photos of the grand babies or family moments.  I'm not sure they do it to avoid my camera, but rather because they think they might spoil the photo.  I am slowly helping them to see that they need to be in the photos... that I want them in the photos. 

Also in the past I have shied away from taking photos if I felt like the environment or lighting would cause my photos to be technically weak (ya know like mixed lighting).  Or if it was just a busy family time and I was needed to help out to keep things running smoothly.  I am trying to find that balance of being more present, but also not missing out on documenting great moments.

Last week my mom and I decided to make applesauce together.  We used to do it all the time when my children were younger, but somehow over the past couple of years we haven't joined forces on this project.  I knew this would be a perfect opportunity to document some of the moments from the past that I have missed.

My dad came in from checking the fields part way through and talked with us for a while.  He kept jumping out of the frame when I was using the self-timer, but thankfully I got him in a shot or two without his knowing.

It is important to me to document our harvesting and preserving.  It is something my grandma did (my dad's mom) and she taught my mom.  I remember every summer my sisters and I would be mom's helpers.  We worked in the garden, picked fruit, snapped beans, and eventually when we had families of our own, she walked us through the canning process until we were proficient.  This is my heritage and I want to make sure it is documented for generations to come.

 Continue on in our blog circle by heading on over to the super talented Nicole Austen, an Orlando Family Photographer.