Birth day

I snuggle into her warmth and she reminds me of the greatest.

Soft downy hair, dark and glossy, a little Mohican rising at the crown, the nape of her neck, skin still bearing the blushes from her entry into this world. She smells delightful.

I'm about to return from a holiday with the boys when I get the news that my dear friend Jennifer's baby has just popped out with but two pushes and so we agree I'll visit her this evening and capture her on day one having missed the birth! I had been there for her big sister GG's birth two years ago and Jennifer for Callum's birth, but this time her second daughter had no further intention of hanging around in her cramped quarters. I talked with Jennifer about that final impetus, what happens in the mother's body to make the baby decide the time is now.

I wanted to keep hold of her forever, listening to her little kitten whispers and purrs. I stay for much longer than I should given how tired Jennifer is no doubt feeling and I love the intimacy of the moments, sharing such an incredible precious time with her in the same hospital into which my own boys came into our World.

There is something so distinct about photographing in the dimly lit surroundings of a newborn's room, no lights on save the remains of the sun which is setting under the ocean beyond, and the resultant grain which characterises these images. It only serves to compliment the mood, the calm after the euphoria of the moment of birth and the slight disorientation that ensues.

Welcome to our World, baby Dylan...

* * *

Earlier that day, I'm driving back from a beach resort with the boys and our friend Jennifer, and, leaping off the freeway, I take the canyon route through the state recreation area of the Santa Monica Mountains which trails to the ocean at Malibu below. From the highest vista, the view is expansive and expensive. Nestled in the grooves of the interlocking spurs, bathed in a Mediterranean climate, sit glorious ranches and mega-mansions, Italianate architecture juxtaposed with mid century modernism and contemporary. I drive us to Zuma Beach in Malibu, one of my globally favourite spots and places of solace and we clamber over the rocks. If fully traversed, we would be sitting on a secluded cove reminiscent of Lulworth in Dorset. Callum has his hands up feeling the sand trickle through his fingers as the waves break on the giant boulders. Reuben wistfully looks out over the ocean, perched on sedimentary rocks which are less able to withstand than eternal crash of the waves than the black volcanics behind him. On this very spot was filmed Planet of the Apes.

And then we spot them.

Imagine: You've flown over at great expense and effort from the UK (Yorkshire) with both mums and dads, and your two children to have your dream wedding on the beach in Malibu. Your dress is exquisite, your hair made of golden tresses, your makeup immaculate, the suits crisp and cool. You've hired a professional photographer for piece of mind. As the waves crash behind you, the minister asks a Mum and her two little boys who look like twins to step aside as they're in the background and upon seeing the ceremony, we, that family, rush to the other side and watch the lovely wedding unfolding. And then I realise there's something amiss. The young sons are capturing the wedding in stills and video on point and shoot. The bride and groom have harsh shadows on their faces which look anxious. Their mothers repeatedly look behind them to where we are sitting. I scan the scene and think, "Where's the photographer?" So in the midst of all this, I rush up to the mother of the bride and ask "Where is your photographer? and can I help as I'm a photographer?" And she exclaims excitedly mishearing "Oh great you're the photographer!". Well today folks, I guess I am for the next two hours whilst my friend Jenn who has joined us on our mini break thankfully watches the boys in the shade. And throughout all they do is thank me and I just try to imagine if fate hadn't intervened for them. And we have a great laugh and suddenly they're relaxed. I just happen to have 48GB on me after being away with the boys, and behind the scenes in my head I'm thinking lenses and sand and dust and making space for the 700 images I take and what's their creative brief? their taste? and thank God! What a day!

Driving home from the hospital I start to contemplate:
Am I the only photographer to have shot a beach wedding and a day one newborn on the same day whilst returning from a holiday with my little lovely boys...

I rather like Horrigans description Fairy Photographer.

Wedding images on FB (I'll also be doing a blog entry too if you don't use FB)