baby love / a maternity series / welcome home / january 2014

It seems like it wasn't so long ago that we stood in the lush, soggy grass on a typically grey, Melbourne winter day to take our first frames of this collection.

BABY LOVE.

This series became so much more than I thought it would be. Hoped it would be. Mostly because of you guys. You have showed such intrigue and interest as each month rolled on, sending best wishes to my sister and her husband, wondering where we would shoot the following month. So many of you commented on how much you would have loved to have your pregnancy documented in a similar way.

Thankyou for following along. Sharing in our journey. I am so grateful for all your kind, heartfelt words, and genuine encouragement and appreciation for what we were trying to achieve.

It really became a bit of a competition with myself, to better myself and my work each time I picked up my camera for my sister. I feel proud to see how much my photography (and editing skills!) has improved since that first collection of images, back in July. I am not sure what it was, but something definitely shifted at the seven month mark, almost as if both myself and my camera, opened even more. To let more light in, more depth, more love. Simply more.

Most of all, I think I am just plain proud to give this to my sister. Her words and emotion as she saw a new collection each month was just what I had hoped for. Raw and honest. Tears and laughter flowed.

While I expect to do a final final roundup video and post, a collection of mother and baby's growth--together--this, right here, is the final piece of the puzzle.

Of course, as always, you can see the full stills collection OVER HERE. Lots of black and white to finalise the series.

Courtney--my baby sister with a baby!!--thankyou. Thankyou for letting me do this. To stick my camera in your face every few weeks of your pregnancy. Even on the days you didn't want to see me. Thankyou for seeing where I wanted to go with this. For understanding the process, for doing everything I asked--yes, for getting in trolleys with a six month bump, getting up when the clock said 3-something to catch a Queensland sunrise (our best, in my opinion), for walking The Boulevard for hours when all you wanted to do was put your feet up--just to name a few. You never complained. EVER. You never questioned my ability or my vision for what that month in pictures would become. You allowed me at the birth of your son, a truly sacred moment between you and your husband. You trusted me wholly, and I thank you. I love you. XX

Music / Bob Dylan / Forever Young

FULL SERIES COLLECTION
Three months / rain
Four months / sunshine 
Five months / sunset
Six months / carpark
Seven months / sunrise
Eight months / sparkle
Nine months / waiting
Birth / Welcoming Baker

All slideshows can be seen HERE