It is fitting that I should feel inspired and compelled by my daughter to do a personal project shoot when I am in the throes of being overwhelmed with work and struggling with the kids underfoot for summer break. Only she could have the power to make me pull out my camera on the ONE day off I have from shooting this week. She is my muse. Always has been, and always will be.
Last week I succumbed to my 41st birthday (ouch) and went camping up near Half Moon Bay to celebrate the event. During that camping trip I discovered a somewhat secluded beach with a gorgeous path to reach said beach. I was so smitten with the locale and the light that I vowed to come back with my daughter "some day". Well, when I told my daughter about it over dinner she insisted we go. Right now. So, we did. :)
These are the results of the hour and a half we spent together playing around with the gorgeous California coastal light which never fails to make my heart sing. Ellie, naturally, was utterly fantastic in every possible respect. This location was so perfect for her. She is my wild thing. My fierce and ferocious little bird. She cannot be caged in. She cannot be restrained. She does best when she is allowed to not just fly, but SOAR. She lives on the edge at all times, in a creative whirlwind of emotions, passion, intensity and zest that can just as easily bring me to my knees as it can make my soul tremble with pride and joy. She is your quintessential artist type personality; incredibly sensitive, deeply emotional, highly reactive, keenly observant, living only in the extremes of highs and lows as she navigates the constant influx of creativity flowing through her body and soul at all times. Equal parts ridiculously confident and totally insecure. At the same time. She doesn't just feel things, she experiences them. For good or for bad.
She will likely render me completely insane by the time she hits her teens, but it will all have been worth it because I cannot imagine my life without her in it. She ignites my world with her high voltage personality and has single handedly taught me the definition of unconditional love.
Whereas her brother is my connection to the earth: grounded and stable, pensive and thoughtful, giving and warm, reliable and pragmatic. She is my connection to the sun, the stars and the moon: bright and fiery, mysterious and mesmerizing, powerful and intense, wild and unpredictable.
My life is so much richer and more interesting thanks to those two and I can't imagine it any other way.
