Um… a week has gone by since I last checked in.

You guys, this whole time-slip thing in the era of Covid is real. And man, am I feeling it.

I am currently booked to the gills in an attempt to make up my cash flow before either the virus sets in at an even more alarming rate OR until it gets so cold in Minnesota that I can no longer make kids smile outside. I am not sure which will happen first!

I was on a family shoot Saturday morning, when I spied these ducks and snapped one image of them swimming across the lake before getting back to my paid gig, and I still love it. I’m not sure what it is that captivates me… but I wanted to see it again so I thought I would share it with you.

Maybe it’s the sense of calm it brings? I mean… I don’t know about you, but my hair is on fire with the world news right now, so let’s all take a deep long breath and imagine the quiet sounds of these ducks paddling out to the lake, shall we?

I honestly didn’t realize a full week had passed since I had last blogged. Life is a little insane right now, obviously.

First, we are trying desperately to figure out child care for the fall and with so many unknowns, it’s like a special game of parental torture. But we’re coming up with SO MANY PLANS and watching some of them ignite into flames and some of them smolder and others we’re still seeing if they are viable. I mean, it’s really no big deal right? Your decisions only mean the health and well being of your child. No big deal.

But anyway! I took this last weekend off from shooting. I don’t have many weekends off these days since I’m trying to fit in as many shoots as I can before winter and the apocalypse settle in, and this was a nice break. We took one day to travel south to Minneopa State Park because some very dear friends were driving through and camping there that night.

We had a socially distanced dinner around the camp fire, and I took photos of the buffalo in the park while yelling at my son to PLEASE ROLL UP THE WINDOW AND PUT YOUR HEAD BACK INSIDE THE CAR as the large creatures approached us. Only to be answered with, “But why?” as he craned his neck out further.

Have you seen me lately? I have grey hairs. A lot of them.

But the photos of the bison were quite nice as they were so close, so here are a few to entertain you (and you don’t even have to yell at your child while looking).

I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy. Some day we’re gonna have huge parties and be proud of our country again. Someday… in the very distant future.

Since I have super strict distancing rules in place to keep my clients safe, I can only photograph 1-2 newborn babies each month. And yes, that sucks for me. But I’m trying my best to make the most of it, and this family here was an absolute dream. Two enormous, fluffy dogs and a tiny baby? I was in heaven.

I had a sweet little session a few weeks back with a family who owned another golden retriever. I think that week I had three Goldens in three days! It was glorious!

But look at this happy baby! That was glorious as well! I love those big smiles on a sunny morning — such a fun start to the weekend.

Oh how I love this family! We spent a Saturday morning a few weeks back playing in the backyard and then hiking down to the creek to cool off in the burbling water. The love this group has for each other and especially for their dog, Henry, just melts my heart.

Also, while my own family spends loads of time at area lakes, we haven’t really explored the creek as much, and this made me want to do that even more. We saw fish and kayakers and it’s just fun to watch what floats by. Enjoy!

This weekend I was over at Callahan Framing taking free dog portraits, and ladies and gentlemen, it was SO FREAKING HOT. But it was also fun. And I’m glad to be back inside now.

One of the toughest things about this space and time right now is the realization that we are being hyper cautious when it comes to exposure compared to our friends and family. And that a huge part of this (other than our paranoia) is due to my business.

Luckily, I have a family that supports my ventures whole-heartedly, and they have no trouble being extremely cautious to ensure the safety of my clients.

As a few examples, we still order most of our groceries online except for a twice monthly trip to Trader Joe’s, we avoid going inside any and all businesses, we’re not eating on patios and we are seeing only a handful of friends socially distanced and outside, and Ezra hasn’t played on any playgrounds. What do I miss? Holy shit I cannot wait to leisurely browse at Target again. I miss wine in a cafe with my friends and I really, really miss travel. But I digress.

We are hyper cautious in this time period because the last thing I want to do is spread this horrible disease to a family with a baby. Because of this, I also wear a mask at all shoots (inside or outside) and I shoot with zoom lenses, trying to keep as far away as I can (space permitting). I guess the reason I’m laying all of this out there is so that those of you who might have babies on the way and are nervous about a newborn session will understand the precautions I’m taking, and know that I want nothing more than to keep your families safe.

This has all come as a huge learning curve (particularly with the family films!), but my top priority is for my clients to feel safe when I’m in their home. I don’t want anyone worrying about what I’m bringing to them, and I want everyone relaxed and happy.

Man, these times are challenging.

In this family session, we played in their AMAZING backyard (seriously, has EVERYONE upped their backyard game this year? Or have we been shooting in parks for no reason at all?) and then drove a few blocks to the beach for some fishing. What a glorious summer evening. What a fun family.