sarah, paul, miles, & lola | a family at home in the woods and the garden
It is almost surreal to write that I have known Paul and Sarah for almost ten years. I photographed their wedding in October 2017, in the midst of my first full season photographing weddings as a ripe twenty-year-old college student studying graphic design and art history. From their first email, we clicked; their easy manner, abundance of jokes, and depth of their gentle kindness shines through all of their ways of being, and our connection is one that I treasure quite deeply.
It has been my immense honor to have photographed their growing family in Ellicott City, Maryland multiple times over the years since their wedding. Miles and Lola are—unsurprisingly due to their wonderful parents—some of the most curious, playful, engaged, and lively young humans I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. We spent the first half of our shoot last August climbing on fallen logs, turning over stones, inspecting shapes of leaves, and running through well-worn forest paths in the deliciously moody lighting of an August morning in Patapsco Valley State Park.
Thinking back, this section of our shoot last August was made even more special because it was in the same state park—albeit a different section, closer to Ellicott City—where I first met Paul and Sarah and photographed their engagement session in 2017. This family has always been steeped in a gentle kindness and deep curiosity that is best explained in linking it to the outdoors, and the forest specifically; their wedding, too, took place amidst the beautifully luscious fall foliage of Maryland. It is a joy to witness this legacy pass to their children; Miles and Lola were perfectly happy roaming the woods with their equally easeful parents.
We then drove the short five-minute journey back to their home to finish our shoot in their gorgeous backyard. Every time I have the pleasure of visiting Paul and Sarah, I am struck by what a thing it must be to grow up a child among this wild, messy, abundant, garden. Now studded with the artifacts of a childhood spent at sweet, vital play—a plastic house nestled next to the berry plants, a chain of magnetic monkeys climbing up the trellis—Paul and Sarah’s backyard has a life of its own and has, therefore, been another kind of joy to document in its growth over the years. We made our way through its winding paths, snacking on tart fruits and popping tomatoes and, at times, meeting their sweet kitty, then headed inside for a quick playtime before it was time for the workday to start.
Paul, Sarah, Miles, and Lola—you all are so, so special to me and I am forever grateful to have known you, let alone witnessed your abundance and love multiply in your children over the years. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your trust, your connection, and your kindness. It is a gift to photograph all of you, every time!