Dragons, sword fighting and hide-and-seek {Portraits}

Every once in awhile you need to be reminded what's important in life. I get busy, and my daily list of to-do's starts taking over. I quickly forget to take a minute to enjoy what's "right now" in my family, and actually live...really live.

I had the pleasure of spending one of our beautiful late September, warm mornings with an adventurous 3 year old and his mother. I met Sarah months ago and was excited to photograph her and Ian as they enter a new chapter in their lives together.

We decided on a favorite spot of the two of them, one that Ian found comforting, and might not mind so much the "intruder" on their morning play. We started with a walk, he showed me his bug he'd been holding onto for the car ride and then we went exploring.....

What I had in mind was a regular family session, beautiful photos of mom and son, in the gorgeous woods of Aspen Hall. What I got was a magical world of hide-and-seek, Dragon hunting, sword fighting and pretend camp fires and the best smores I've ever had. Following this mom around on {what I found to be} a "normal" morning for them was one of the best ways I could imagine spending that morning. The imagination on this doe eyed three year old was incredible, as him and his mother ran through the woods flying to our next destination. I quickly snapped when I could and managed a few eye contact photos with little Ian.

I wasn't merely an observer either. I got to seek for the two hiding, and search for creatures hiding in the woods. We turned mom into a frog and and found refuge in a cabin.

While I can say technically, tromping through the woods, dark woods I might add, did not manage to produce the crisp, perfectly-in-focus photos I normally like, what I did get surprised me as well. The story, is sometimes more important than the actually quality, and the memories that this mom will always carry with her of a normal morning with her son.

Thank you Sarah and Ian for showing me sometimes the to-do list can wait, and while I strive for perfection, it's more about the moment every time. I hope these photos only do our adventure justice....I will never look at Aspen Hall as anything less than a magical place, with dragons and the best smores I've still ever had.

Sarah and Ian; a dragon hunt. from Studio 3 bend on Vimeo.