I had to continue the beach series before summer comes to an end. You think I’m kidding, but temps in north eastern Pennsylvania are already threatening the 60s. We haven’t even made it to the pool one time! So again I will run to the memories my camera provides. I love how photography can instantly transport you to memories and inspire dreams. My baby girl is no stranger to dreams. She inspires many of my dreams and is such a joy to photograph! I love these images because they remind me of cotton candy. Silly, huh? Every time I look at them, I just can smell the sweetness in the air. The crisp, sweet, fresh beach air. I just want to lay on the sand and watch her dance around in the warmth of the sun, curls bouncing, laughter flowing, dress twirling. Let’s make a sand angel! Let’s run up the shore and let the waves tickle our toes! Let’s enjoy this day, baby girl, being silly and goofy, being you and me.
This is another image from the session I was able to capture of my boy on the beach. We were actually on vacation during these shots and I was itching for a change of scenery. I love beach shots. When we lived in North Carolina it was a little more available, but in here in Pennsylvania it is a treat to go to the shore. I haven’t visited many beaches up in the northern part of the country. It’s still a little odd to me that when people say “let’s go to the beach” they actually mean a lake. I want waves that are rolling in from a hard day’s work of ocean drifting, waves that were once traveled by dolphins and fish and sharks and whales. (Side note- why is it now grammatically correct to say fishes? What is wrong with using fish for singular and plural? Might as well just say fishies. That’s what it reminds me of. End note.) Of course there’s the Jersey shore; a part of me always wishes I could have visited the boardwalk in its prime decades ago. Nevertheless, we found great adventure at this beach. We were visiting family out west and for much of the trip, and I tried to step away from the camera to be more present with my kids. However, can you blame me for picking it up on this gorgeous evening? My boy. Standing so tall, busy with adventure, caught in a glance back to the group. Ah, vacation. The warmth of the setting sun mixed with the evening breeze. I’ll just stay in this memory a while longer.
New Jersey | North Carolina Beach Photographer
I admit, I am not the first one to dig my toes into the sand. In fact, I hate dirty feet. More like the feeling of dirty feet. If my feet feel dirty, all of me feels dirty. I just want to take a shower! When I found out my first child was a boy, I knew I had to start preparing myself for dirt ahead. You hear the stories about boys. We all do. Digging in flower pots, eating gravel at the playground, shoveling sand into diapers. Those kind of stories didn’t fit into my pre-mommy life. Somehow, though, starting with the first gleeful splash in the bath tub, my baby boy started changing my mind that a little dirt didn’t have to be a bad thing. A little mess could lead the way into grand adventure. That splash in the bath tub could be a dolphin coming to say hello to us in the ocean. The flower pot full of dirt could be hiding the royal prince’s long lost medal. The gravel at the playground could contain magic that floats us high in the sky. The sand at the beach could be the very sand that the pirate villains abandoned us on after they took off with our ship. How can those little boys dream up such big adventures? And how can a little mess be anything to fight against when I see the commitment to my imaginative boy’s fantasy? I am looking forward to summer days ahead, outside on the shoreline, or inside under the dining room table fort, catching glimpses of my children’s dreams.
