Expecting in June Landscape

A pregnant woman needs to lay down from time to time, and always it is on the back.

Expecting in June

This is Emily, a gift who arrived this weekend. Emily is expecting her first baby in June. He will be a boy to be named Houston and called Hugh, and she wanted to have some pictures of this portentous time.

She's going somewhere big - getting big - but not quite there yet.

Emily really opened up to the many looks of pregnancy and the expectancy it carries.. She was game for anything, for whatever. She had some ideas of her own, the wooden blocks H S R that spell out the baby's initials. I had some too.

We collaborated in many ways throughout our Saturday morning session. And, throughout, she revealed the internal, the external, the silly and the seance that seems to happen between the belly and the being who is growing inside it

You will see some more of these.

For now, I'm signing off with a big thank you to Emily for coming over and sharing the ride.

Wheels

The minimal bike took my breath away. That powder pink also drew me in. Saturday I had a fun day wandering with my photographer friend Holly. Springtime beauty was everywhere. Not much more to say than that.

There Are Limits

The daydreams are getting pretty interesting. Reading a poem by Louise Gluck, this line - there are limits - hit me and then this image appeared.

This rough draft isn't exactly right, but there were difficulties along the way. A power-tripping security cop in an unmarked white car told us we were trespassing. He "let" us continue for a while, parked on the other side of the road, watching every move.

When did city sidewalks become private property?

I'm heading back there with my friend Lindsay and we'll found out what the new limits are then. Hopefully not the cop across the street.

Star Magnolia

The star magnolia leaves were dropping quickly onto a neighbor's yard as I walked on Easter morning with my daughter. The blanket of leaves brought images and imaginings to mind. The next day, this is what I discovered.

Goodbye Winter

It's a glorious day and the windows are wide open. Spring is here which, after the real winter we had, feels just that much more delicious.

A real winter. I'm not the only one I've heard referring to it that way.

A real winter is something I enjoyed a lot this year. I spent my first 23 years in New York and New England, and some days this winter I felt that long ago sense of home. The cold was a familiar cold.

I was also reminded how beautiful a snowy manhole cover can be.

She's My Heart

Sitting on this beautiful love seat seemed ideal for a grandmother named Lovie Vanilla Hart King. Everybody calls Lovie, Lovie, including the woman sitting beside her in this portrait, Davita Galloway, who is Lovie's very devoted (and very stylish) granddaughter.

I've been working with Davita lately and one day in my studio she spotted a photograph of my greatgrandmother, Ada Alden. That sparked a long conversation about how important these two older women are in our lives.

"My grandma is my heart," Davita said, and you could feel how deep and true that was just by the way she said it.

I knew immediately that I needed to make a family portrait.

Last Friday when I went to Mrs. King's house to photograph her with Davita, I kept thinking what Davita had said. I asked Davita to sit next to her 91-year-old grandma and think about the phrase, "She is my heart."