I have been taking photos of this beautiful family for quite a few years now. Seth, Emily and their children are very dear to my heart, and truly wonderful friends.
Over the past four years Seth and Em's oldest son Ned, has been battling Leukaemia. It's been a tumultuous fight, that still continues. This story is not mine to tell, nor could I ever share it as well as Emily does over on their blog; her words are both eloquent and heartbreakingly real.
These photos were taken at a time of great stress and transition. Having just returned home from an almost year long stint in Melbourne for a bone marrow transplant, Em and Seth were in the midst of hurriedly organising a vitally important trip to Seattle, to further Ned's treatment. Certainly not an 'ideal' time to have family photos taken. And yet, I asked if we could, and so we made it happen - despite the unpacking and re-packing, the half finished kitchen, the exhaustion, the worry...the list goes on.
I hope these images not only show two amazing parents, doing an incredible job during a time of hardship, but also the beauty of joy amidst difficulty. Of course, in this particular story the burden is still weighty (that can not be belittled), but how magical it is to see warmth, and play, and happiness despite it all.
I say it all the time, and I will say it again. I don't want to photograph perfection, I just want to photograph your beautiful now. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that at the end of the day, it's the photos of the ordinary that will matter most.
'All great things are wound up with all things little' - L.M. Montgomery
