Day 073

So....you are in the right place. This IS electric lion. You are not seeing things. The above image is of a newborn. It is true.

Don't worry, it's weird for me too.

I got a call from my buddy Jon today to ask me to come grab some shots of him and Becca with their now-one-day-old child person. This is a service I don't mind providing for them at all. Our relationship goes back a few years when they asked me to shoot their wedding have no CLUE if i shot them or not. They just liked my work and wanted me to do whatever I wanted at their wedding. That is pretty much the dream scenario when it comes to me + weddings. I shoot them here and there and actually do get a lot out of them*, but I don't love them. So to be hired basically to just shoot..and then it happens to be a wedding...well thats alright.

ANYWAY..

So I get this call, head over to their hospital place later in the day, and I sit here now really satisfied. It is no secret that I also don't love kids (nor slobbery dogs nor bad drivers nor gimmicky photography). The very fact I am posting a tiny-child stems from just how in love with this kid they were. They weren't OHMYGODTHISISTHESMARTESTEVERCHILD ITWASBORNWITHANIVYLEAGUEDEGREE SERIOUSLYITSRIGHTHEREANDDIDWEMENTIONHOWFUCKINGCUTEITIS OHMYGOOOOODDDDDD. They were just happy. You could see it all over them. It was internal, which is where I like it. It seemed real. They weren't having a joygasm over telling everyone about their kid. They just...were happy.

So that's why you saw a baby on electric lion. Jon, kissing Stella, with Becca in the background**.



*"get a lot out of them" means here the following: i use them as a means of learning more technical skills, dealing with pressure, etc, but mostly dealing with high stress situations in a manner that FEELS relaxed. that and executing my craft in a situation that will not be repeated. you get one shot and you've gotta be ready. its good training for photography in general.

**i debated what to do with beccas eyes. they look a little racoony but its in a hospital room with less-than-optimal light. if i blow them out it doesnt make any sense, if i dodge them a little she looks sort of like an alien. hopefully this note is moot because you, dear reader, didn't even notice. though of course now you may go look again and be bugged by it too.


oh and post script, I thought I'd mention that, yes, Stella has a cleft lip/palette. in case you saw it and wondered.