August 2017

Hollyn // Driftwood Beach theme // Alaska baby

Byadmin InBabies

Could this setup say Alaska baby any louder?

We’ve been spending the summer weekends in Whittier, Ak this year – and I am SO obsessed with beach combing! Alaska doesn’t have a lot of sweet sandy beaches – we have more of the rocky beaches, but there are some fantastic places to find driftwood – and really beautiful driftwood at that! So obviously – I thought – I MUST use this for some sessions! I love the texture an the lines – and thought it would compliment a sweet little babe perfectly.

The shells were collected in Seldovia, off MacDonald Spit, where there is a rare and lovely sand beach (because shells just get ground to dust on rocky beaches) and I went with lovely gray and white neutral nautical colors. I really didn’t want it to look busy – just textured and interesting. And so easy to compliment bean bag shots – with those same neutral colors.

Also – we’ve had such a rainy/wet summer here in Southcentral Alaska – those neutral, subtle colors just seemed to fit the mood.

And sweet baby Hollyn was a dream to photograph. She was sleepy and squishy and all things a baby girl should be. And mom looked freaking amazing – no one would know she had a baby a week ago!

Alaska Life // Anchorage to Whittier // Photograph Summer Family Memories

Byadmin InFamily Photos 2

This one is all about that Alaska life. I was born in Anchorage. Raised my whole life here, and before this summer I could count on one hand the number of times I had been to Whittier. On prior occasions, my draw to the town had been to explore and photograph the iconic Buckner building (which – spoiler alert – it totally gated off and inaccessible now)

The phrase “it’s always shittier in Whittier” is a common saying around these parts, but my husband has a deep love for Whittier in winter. It’s the closest place to Anchorage to go snow machining – and the snow fall there is usually epic. There have been so many years when they are still riding the mountains there at Memorial Day.

So when our good friends invited us to come camp (and help work on their boat – which sustained some major water damage over the winter) we thought – sure! And thus began a truly epic summer. We have been back almost every weekend since, and have just kept our camper there all summer.

For those of you who don’t know me well, “outdoorsy” is not a word people use to describe me. Alaska life? Just doesn’t seem like my style. Don’t get me wrong – i LOVE the scenery, and I enjoy hiking, fishing, etc – i just am not rugged. I do yoga and drink fancy cocktails, and make art people!

And yet – here I am falling in love with this tiny little town that has zero amenities (Although there is a bomb coffee shop – so that’s definitely helped!)

But the best part has truly been hanging out with the kids. And let’s be real here friends. It still rains in Whittier. Often. But kids just don’t care! Cover ’em up in rain gear and they’ll play for hours – riding their bikes, beach combing, making mud-pies… As long as they can pop in and warm up every now and again – they are happy as clams.

And yes- we do pop them in front of some screens every so often for a rest. Our camper has a rockin’ combo tv/vcr and we have exactly 3 VHS movies they will watch. I can seriously quote Winne the Pooh for you we’ve seen it so many times at this point… So if you guys have any good VHS tapes laying around your kids have outgrown – seriously – send them my way!!