charley star photo

FAMILY PORTRAITS / THE 52 PROJECT

 

*

Satine in Contemplation

*

Keats in color (version of this)

*

last year i was inpsired by deb to take more photographs of my own family.  i was so busy with client work and juggling motherhood/pregnancy/newborns the past couple of years, that i haven't documented my own family as much as I'd like, or if i did, the photos are buried in my computer somewhere.

i've also enjoyed looking at others' 365 Project seen all over the web.  I've seen the 52 Project around the web, and was inspired to do my own when i saw my friend elizabeth's 52 project.  i've been wanting to do something similar for so long, but didn't think i could commit to that type of daily/weekly/monthly ritual.  i mean, look. here i am 10 weeks late, er, in, and just now getting it together.  

but perfectionism is for the birds. right?! right! a domestic-mentor-someone inspired me to adopt this motto:  "You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are. O.K.?" which is totally appropriate for this situation... so here we are.  jumping in at 10 weeks.

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, {uh, most weeks} in 2013."  

especially since i'm still on maternity leave from client shooting, i've really enjoyed getting out my "real" camera again, instead of just iphone snaps, and giving my family some of the photo-love attention that i give to my clients. we'll see how this goes.  some weeks might be portraits, some weeks might be more of a photo essay like deb's... my goal is just to re-commit to taking photos of my family the way i used to... 

anyone else doing a similar photo project? would love to see/hear about it.

xxo

 

HEY, YOU. STOP GROWING UP SO FAST.

hey, you. stop growing up so fast.

it's been 7 months since i last posted photos of you. though i take them quite frequently, i hardly have time to blog them.  but such is the pace of life today... with three, especially with you and your sister both being so young. life has been whirling by-- whirling! -- i can't stand it -- days whizzing by like bullets and me, observing all that you are and have become and i can't even believe my luck to get to be your mama.

sometimes, when i look at photos of you after you are asleep, my heart breaks into crackling fissures for all the new discoveries i find there in the photos, for fear that i missed them during the day when i was actually with you.  and then i will go and peer into your crib, see your rump in the air, knees tucked beneath you, and i'll reach down, squeeze your plump, squishy fingers with my finger tips, or rub your sack-o-potatoes back...

and for just a second, i'll be sad... sad in that my-heart's-so-full, motherly kind of way, sad that trying to take in all the details of your uniqueness and specialness is like trying to observe all of the stars-- you're bound to miss some. there's just So Much Good Stuff, and life is so full, and so fast, and i can't keep up, and there's three of you now, and, and, and..

I'm trying to absorb, to be present, and mirror back to you all that you are, and all the countless ways that i see you deeply and am on this ride with you, right here, right here with you.

so forgive me, little one, if i miss something.

now, you are talking. babbling, really, listening to your own voice, but i like to think that the other day in the crib you said your first word:  Mama.

MVI 7939 KEATS BABBLING from charleystar on Vimeo.

you are standing up really well on your own and attempted one (unassisted) step. your first. but you are making tracks down the hallway with your walker.

you grab everything. everything!  out of drawers. off tables. glasses off faces. anything you can get your hands on, you want to touch it, feel it, throw it, and sometimes even still, taste it.

you love to explore and you are superfast. and strong! and sometimes, when you're frustrated, you'll just THROW yourself in adorable exasperation, face down, onto the floor, palms slapping against the hardwood.

here you are lately:

your chubby cheeks and sometimes crazy eyebrow:

the wisps of your hair, which flare out on the sides:

your triumphant moves:

gleaming in the sun, that hair, again: 

your strawberry patch birthmark, about to be covered for good by your growing hair until at some future point you might decide to shave your head...

your smirk. the way your toe looks looks like a "thumbs up" symbol:

getting into, under, and behind everything:

and those eyes, which just kill me everytime...

your little chicklet teeth, which came in early at 4 months and have been non-stop ever since...

grabbing everything down,

pulling everything out:

your sweet li'l birthday suit:

(your dad thinks your smile is like Calvin's from Calvin and Hobbes, so we got out the book to compare.)

i love you, keats. every day. for the rest of my life. and then some.

thank you for coming into our family.

 

xxo

 

KEATON, 3 MONTHS

Oh, little one, you've charmed us with your ways...

you are strong now, and you are drooling! you can flip over now and love your tummy time.

you wake up with a smile, a coo, and a laugh every morning... and i love that your happy little face is the first thing i see when i awake.

you are starting to look more and more like your daddy. i think he's pretty stoked about that, and with your handsome li'l face who can blame him?

your sisters absolutely adore you, as do i.  although navia doesn't know the strength of her hugs, and she's made you cry more than a few times with her, um, love pats. sorry about that.  

navia has dubbed you:  "Bah-yeee" (her attempt at "buddy").  it's so cute how she says it, that we all call you that now. Bahyee.    

thank you for coming into our little family.  can't imagine me without you.

 

some self portraits of me and keats...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MY LIFE IN A INSTAGRAM (april/may)

been a while since i've gone through my IG pics... life is so full, and so superfast for everyone these days that it's hard to get the full impact of the amazingness of a life, all of these wonderful moments, except for in reflection. anyone else feel like that? like, you know it's pretty cool, this moment you're living in...  maybe it measures a 6 on a 1-10 scale.  but in reflection, it's somehow become a 10.5 moment. i dunno, maybe that's just me. but that's why i love looking back on all these pictures... so that i can more fully feel that tenderness, that sweetness, that beauty and joy of life. soak it in a little more fully... (except that my littles are growing up so fast it make me wanna cry! sniff sniff!)

i think most of these are from end of april/may, starting from when Keats came home. and if it weren't for having a camera in my back pocket (the one on my phone) i would've probably forgotten these already. sigh. thank you iphone.

hope you are having a good week!

xxo

FROM NEW SERIES I'M WORKING ON... // sneak peek

WHY I'VE BEEN OFF THE RADAR

INTRODUCING
KEATON EDWARDS STORER
APRIL 23, 2012
9 LBS 11 OZ
 

i can't believe it's taken me this long to mention it here on the blog, but on April 23, i had the wonderful pleasure of meeting my son, Keaton. Born two weeks early, he came in a tangle of surprise, joy, calm, emergency, tears, fears, prayers, laughter and of course, love.  Doctors predicted a May 6th due date, but when the stir of contractions began on the 22nd, it wasn't long before Keats became the fourth person in our family born on the 23rd of the month. pretty cool. must be my lucky number.

so now he's here... my perfect little guy, and the final installment of the Edwards-Storer progeny.  Our family is now complete and me and the Mister couldn't be happier. We feel beyond blessed, especially after the few scares I had during this pregnancy and even during the delivery itself.  I just thank God that he is here safe, sound, and healthy.

So if you've noticed the even more sporadic posting, or if i owe you an email or a phone call, that's why. three. little. small. tiny people. living in my house. i'm still in joyfull bliss and shock i think... and incredibly behind on all things in my life that don't involve changing diapers and feeding.  

But now that I've got three kids -- including a one a half year old and a newborn... i am officially on maternity leave!  because let's face it:  three kids is no joke!  it'salottawork!  not so easy to pull late night editing sessions when you are already exhausted from all-night babythons :)    I'm not sure for how long, exactly... i'm sort of feeling my way through this... but I did clear my calendar of all weddings for 2012 and will only be accepting a very limited number of portrait and children's sessions later in the year.  

i want to be PRESENT, to slow down, to focus on my family and really cherish these next few months.

but here's the other truth: as much as i love being a mom, and as much as i feel SO MUCH HAPPIER when i'm present  in my own life (rather than exhausted and overextended), it's hard to let go of work that i love so much.  i'd be lying if i said there haven't already been countless times since maternity leave that i have been crushed to have to turn down so many amazing jobs... but i am just following my heart and trusting that this is the right move for me/my family, and that work will be there when it's time to work again.

and my goal is that during this time, i will be able to finally get around to editing and framing some of my own family photos (i feel a bit like the cobbler with no shoes: i've hardly any family photos up in my house because i've had no time to edit through them!), as well as working on the numerous personal shoots/projects that have been spinning in my head forever.

so that's it. just a heads up that it might take me a bit longer to return emails and phone calls... that you won't see too many weddings posted here for the rest of the year, but i am excited about what the future holds and how this time of transition will transform me and my photography!

In the meantime, if you would like to book a shoot please get in touch -- I do have some amazing associate photographers and I would love to help you out.

thanks and happy weekend!

xxo

my life in an Insta-gram

one of the downsides about working as a photographer, is that i hardly ever want to pull out my "big camera," (as it's become known around my house) to take photos of my own life when we're just hanging out. and isnt' that when the best photo ops occur?  as soon as that black beast is in my hands, i'm in "work" mode  and out of the moment that inspired me to want to take the photo in the first place.

thank goodness for iPhone + Instagram. 

here are some highlights from the past month or so:

- satine lost her first tooth -- and a second one 2 days later!  
- the bun in the oven is cooking away. i'm 32 weeks now.
- navia grace is 15 months, more and more engaged and alert and curious with wonder about every. single. thing. and such a sweetpea. 

are you on Instagram? come find me & say hello. my username is:  charleystar
Let's connect! 

Spread Your Wings, Butterfly // newborn shoot

Listen/Play:  10 Butterfly

 

Butterfly...
close your eyes, butterfly
Fold your wings
Dream sweet dreams, butterfly.

sweet baby aiden, 

you sweet little boy... 

when i first met you, you were a loved little lump in your mommy's tummy. 

look  at you now, you sweet butterfly

you are the smile upon your mother's lips,

the tenderness in your father's caress,

every inch of you a miracle...
 
the tuft of your hair 

the landscape of your feet

every crevice revealing the promise of your great journey to come...

the sweetness of your rumpled, perfect skin

 

you are the joy in your parents' hearts

the sweet coo ringing in the ears 

Butterfly,
close your eyes, butterfly,
fold your wings,
Beautiful things,
Butterfly 

 

 

When you feel 
the sun warm on your face again
you will fly...

 

 Spread your wings,
Butterfly.

 

Spread your wings,
you will fly...

 

-Elizabeth Mitchell & Lisa Loeb 

a li'l bit of sugar // sneak peek Rome's 1st Bday

Oh Rome, you little drop of sugar, you.... 

happy birthday.
happy year.
happy life.

so glad i was there to capture your first birthday. thanks for staring at me with your big blues and melting my heart.

more to come....

 

xxo

sleep softly, sugarplum /// los angeles newborn photography

good night, sweet lamb, good night

 

xxo

my very own christmas elf /// {newborn photography}

home life /// the sunday sessions

sunday mornings.

snuggling in.

home life.

something about these three things together rate as one of my all time favorite things.  in the early morning light, my daughter comes crawling into bed with us, squeezing and squirming her way in between me and her dad (and now her sister, too), finding her rightful place in this family dynamic. with eyes still closed, my arms reach out and guide her into the snuggle fest.  tired as i may be, especially now with the nighttime nursing marathon, i know that these are those times... the times when memories are being formed... the times that, when they're grown, i'll remember with such sentiment that it'll bring me to tears i'll cherish it so.

and as i lay there absorbing all this amazingness that is my family -- as im sure you feel about your family -- i hugged and snuggled my daughters, and my husband, and i rejoiced in their glow, and i willed myself to open my eyes, and put my feet on the floor, and go grab my camera...

so that i wouldn't forget.

so that i wouldn't take for granted the specialness of this time:

the beginning bonds of sisterhood...

the curl of her body...

the sleepy, tired, handsome face of my husband...



the complexity of this child that i discover anew each day...

and the discoveries awaiting me in this one...


i reached for my camera so that i could fall in love again and again and again....

and could forever cherish the landscape of her face

and the joy de vivre beaming from hers....

and her dirty feet and goofy smile and her delicious heart and her pride at being a sister... and the angelic Navia who makes my heart burst from tenderness...

i reached for my camera so i could discover the new dynamic of my family... and because it was warm beneath the covers, and it was sunday morning, and the light was coming in just so....  and i knew in 2 months, or 2 years, or 2 decades, i would need to remember this particular morning on this particular day during this particular time.

xxo

 

========================================

 

* T H E  S U N D A Y  S E S S I O N S *

i n t i m a t e  f a m i l y  p o r t r a i t s

N O W  B O O K I N G   A P P O I N T M E N T S  F O R   J A N U A R Y .

CALL OR EMAIL FOR DETAILS.

213. 278. 9656 /// hello@charleystarphoto.com

this makes me happy.

this little gem of love was pure preciousness to soothe my soul today...
thank you, luke prins flexner + welcome to the world!  xxo

*

{newborn shoots are one of my faves (!) and are best done within the first week. so if you're a preggy momma wanting to have photos taken when your li'l nugget is born, contact me to pencil in your date.  :)   }