It’s when I meet girls like Tessa that I’m comforted about the teenage years ahead of us. Living life at it’s full (in french we would say “elle croque la vie a pleine dents”=”she’s bitting life with all her teeth”), an accomplished athlete, a great circle of friends, a good relation with her parents (oh, I so appreciate!), Tessa is a beautiful girl with a great appetite for life, and a wonderful smile that just irradiate, and her eyes… Oh those green lagoon eyes!

There’s an aura of admiration and awe around the blue angels. Here in Pensacola, there is a sense of pride to be Home to the elite group of pilot. When CJ and Anne came to me with his “retired” blue angel uniform to use as the cover of their son’s, Christian’s album, I thought it was a terrific idea. So much sentimentality, such a perfect way to convey what was happening in his family at the time of his birth, without having to glue memorabilia all over his album. However, once alone facing the blue uniform with the proverbial emblems, stripes… and my pair of scissors, it felt like sacrilege to cut into it. I must say, there was a bit of procrastinating involve. Priscilla Foster, the artist book binder who makes my albums needed a generous amount of fabric without seams. After much hesitation, I decided to use the legs of CJ’s uniform, and restitch the logos onto them. I sent it all to Priscilla, who will either use some of the many fabrics she has in stock, or will allow us to use our own. Yesterday, her beautiful box arrived in the fedex truck at my door. Really, the FEDEX lady and UPS man could be wearing Santa’s suit, they always bring me such nice things!
I met Priscilla in Bozeman, where she lives and has (although she’s now selling it) an amazing paper/stationary store, a paradise. Her craftsmanship in bookbinding is impeccable, she has been classically trained in the art of this time honored tradition. She takes pride in delivering an album that will stand the test of time, showcase my client’s images in a beautiful way. Everything down to the packaging is exquisite and eco friendly, a point of honor for Priscilla. I especially love the watercolor art paper she uses in her “Adelaide album”, in a 12×9 inches horizontal format. The pictures are beautiful printed on that thick art paper, the large size allows for a fluid design of BIG images, nicely wrapping up a successful photo session into a truly wonderful keepsake.

One could say they took a very long time to start dating… Laura and Joe have known each other since they were wearing diapers. Only in college did they become a tandem, but they’ve been building a universe of memories since their early childhood. And when you hang out with them just a little you get a glimpse of their solid bond. It’s the strength and ease you find in couples who’ve been together a lifetime, with the spark of young love. I left our session last week with a happy feeling, witnessing and keeping track of their growing family. Cannon is now 5, Sarah 3, and Laura & Joe are expecting baby William in July.
I asked Laura and Joe to tell me in their own words how the transition from friends to being a couple happened.
Joe: I think there was a point in our college friendship when we began measuring the people we dated against one another.
Laura: There was a conscious moment that occurred many times when I thought someone wasn’t as funny as Joe or took themselves too seriously or wasn’t as broadly interested in everything like Joe. He’s the most fascinating person I know and no one else ever lived up to that.

Laura: When we finally decided to start dating it was just the next obvious step. We already loved each other as such close friends, but we did have to learn how to date one another, be romantic, impress each other. Still, being with each other has always been the easiest part of life. We’ve faced adventure, hope, work, great loss, and profound joy as partners with the same goal of making everyday a day we are glad to spend together. And I hope our love for our children is a reflection of that.

They let me barrow a few pictures of them together, the resemblance between children to parents is striking in this first one.

Laura’s prom,

College,

Married,

Now,