Baby Anna Joy

Wow, I never thought taking pictures of a baby would be so difficult. I see such adorable pictures of babies, perched in such odd places, on trunks, in baskets, on the arms of couches, even wrapped in cloth and hanging from branches like the stork just delivered them. But this little girl did NOT like different postions. Whenever I laid her on her stomach, I got a face like this one.

After she threw up a few times(she had just eaten), I gave up on any super cute poses and just laid her on her back on the bed and opened the curtains wide for better light.

She really is a good baby. She barely cried at all. And when she did, I realized that she was still hungry. I had interrupted her meal and didn't realize it. I think her mom thought I had to take pictures NOW and couldn't wait. Anyway, we took a break and Amy fed her and then she was quite happy.

Isn't there something incredibly adorable about tiny feet? She had a black & blue mark from her shots and I just felt so sorry for her even though it didn't seem to bother her at all.

About halfway through our shoot a friend came who wanted to show Amy how to bathe a baby. I didn't shoot any pictures because they required my help to bathe Anna. It's hard for me to imagine having a baby when you've barely ever even held one.

I wanted a few pictures of the mom & baby. I don't think Amy was really prepared to have her picture taken. I really should not have assumed she would know. I thought it was a given. But she was more than willing to pose for a few pictures.

And I'll leave you with another feet picture. Baby feet just give me warm fuzzies.

Amy

Amy is a lovely Tibetan girl who works at Leanna's Bakery.  A few months ago, we found out she was pregnant. She's not married and has almost no family. Her boyfriend wanted her to have an abortion. We prayed like crazy and were so thankful when she decided to keep the baby.  These pictures were taken about a week before the baby was born.

I look at these pictures and realize how difficult it must be for her to be alone(Her boyfriend left her when she decided to keep the baby. He's back now that she's had it.) She looks so tired. And life isn't going to get easier for her. It takes a lot of courage to make the decision she made and I admire her for it.

Coming soon: Pictures of Amy's sweet baby girl, Anna Joy.

Lawver Family

A few weeks ago, I took family pictures for a family in our fellowship. As usual in Chengdu, it was hot and humid that day. Because of the mugginess and the kids, I tried to keep the session pretty short.   It's always a challenge to shoot here because the Chinese people like to stop and stare and distract the kids and there are always weird things in the background. What I wouldn't give for a wide open field or a nice brick building or some other large, non-distracting background.

Andrew and Jennifer have 3 beautiful kids. Blond princess Amelia, Gabe, who hates to have his picture taken and wears ties more than any kid I know, and adorable, precocious Megan. 

The Lawvers have a 3-wheeled motorized bike to get around.  It was one of my favorite "Chinese culture" pictures of the day. It was funny because Gabe & Megan kept hitting the horn and the throttle and surprising us all.

So incredibly adorable!

Amelia loves posing. We couldn't get her to stop spinning her parasol though. She has an utterly contagious giggle.

The 3 siblings. Even though they fight, I could tell they absolutely adore each other!

 I always go into these things with so many ideas, but then give them up because most of the families I shoot just want to get it over with. Most families want one good photo and that's all they're after.
A week or so ago, I shot a young pregnant girl. I was so amazed at how much more relaxed a shoot is with only one subject. Pictures of that coming soon.

2010 Chengdu Ultimate Frisbee Tournament

In June, Chengdu had it's first frisbee tournament. I didn't play, instead I spent most of 2 days capturing the sweat & joy of the game. I learned a lot about sports photography. I learned a lot about the game. The China Frisbee Community is awesome. Everyone is so friendly and fun. I've always liked frisbee, but I totally fell in love with the spirit of the game. I was so impressed with the pros that were there. They were so helpful to all those who were new to the game. And the overall atmosphere was one of competitive fun.
Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

Gotta love the hair on this one.

This one's probably my favorite action picture of the weekend. I love everything about it, the fact that he's midair, the expression, the frisbee just beyond his fingertips.

All the necessities

Here's the kickoff. (Ok, it's most likely not called the kickoff.) Anyway, I love this one, mostly because of the blue grass skirt on the thrower.

More of the grass skirt. He wore it the entire day.

This collision resulted in injury. But  you can't keep a good woman down. She came back in for the final minutes of the game.

What is is about sports photos that I love? I love the intensity on the faces of the players. Everyone has their own intense face. I love it.

The winning team celebrates.

Tournament MVPs.

And a few pictures of some of the beautiful people who played that day.

Here's Hannah. She's a fellow Virginian, so much fun, and absolutely gorgeous.

Izzy, Brian, and Edu.

This picture makes me smile. Brian and Abu always pick on each other, but they are such amazing friends, both to each other and to pretty much everyone they meet.

Eric's a lot nicer than this picture makes him look. He's got his game face on.

Cheer and Jodie, so cute!

And last but not least, a picture that actually has me in it. Left to right: Hannah, Bev, Hilary, Me, and Denise.  They are all such amazing women. I'm so blessed to call them friends!

 What can I say? These people make me smile. This game makes me smile. This weekend inspired me to play more and harder and really try to get better. These people made me believe that I'm not fighting a losing battle when it comes to athletic improvement.

I love this game!