An afternoon with Mollie, a session through The Gold Hope Project

“It’s so beautiful. It’s just so beautiful!”

Feet walking through gold confetti hearts on the ground

Those were the words that Mollie said over and over as we made our way through the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Her joy was contagious and inspiring as she looked at every flower and tree with wonder. Mollie was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2016.

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, so I thought it was an appropriate time to share this session I did with The Gold Hope Project, an organization that aims to aid research for rare pediatric brain cancer while raising awareness through photography.

Before I started volunteering with The Gold Hope Project, I did not realize that childhood cancer affects 40,000 kids in the US every year and that less than 4% of the National Cancer Institutes’ annual budget is accounted for childhood cancer research. Non profit organizations work to provide more funding, but more has got to be done for these children who have their entire lives ahead of them.

I really can not imagine what these children and their families experience as they fight through treatment and fight for a cure. Please go gold for the month of September and consider what you can do to help. Spread the word about The Gold Hope Project, donate a session, become a volunteer photographer, send a note of encouragement to a family affected by cancer. There are many ways to raise awareness. It matters.

A girl looks up at her mother while her mother tucks her hair behind her ear
a girl touches her forehead onto some flowers and smiles
a girl climbs over rocks under a tree
a girl climbs through a tree
a big brother helps his lister sister down from a rock
two girls climb around rocks in a garden
a girl hugs her dad who rests his chin on her head
a girl smiles and holds a stuffed animal dog
a portrait of a stuffed animal
three children sitting down, a girl hugs her brother
a girl sits in a shower of gold confetti hearts

A Day in the Backyard with the Gagnons

Pizza and Smores

image from family documentary session of mother holding and looking at daughter with father and son in background

Where do I start? I've known Sarah since I first moved to Madison, WI so many years ago. We took several art classes together and stayed in touch after I moved away to continue our conversations about fiber arts, adding home repair and parenting to the mix as well. Recently, I took a trip to Madison to second shoot a wedding with the extraordinary Anda Marie, and while I was there I had an extra day that I got to spend with the Gagnons. We spent a casual day lunching, antiquing, and backyarding. Sarah and Dave have built an incredible backyard landscaped with gardens, chickens, play structures, and a brick oven over the years in their spare time when they haven't been developing these awesome games. Lucky for me, Dave fired up the wood-fired brick oven and threw on some pizzas. We picked raspberries as we waited, and enjoyed smores after we had finished up. I so very badly wish this family lived closer to my family.

Image of mother looking at daughter while on a swing
image from family documentary session of mother holding son while picking raspberries
image from family documentary session of mother of looking at son who is eating a raspberry
image from family documentary session of boy smiling and partially covering his face with his hand
image from family documentary session of mother holding daughter in a chair in a playhouse
image from family documentary session of a girl climbing on playhouse
image from family documentary session of girl climbing in playhouse with drawn tattoo on hand and mother in background with tattoo showing
image from family documentary session of boy climbing a rope net
image from family documentary session of daughter looking down on father making pizza
image from family documentary session of boy putting his finger on his eye
image from family documentary session of girl
image from family documentary session of mother watering her garden
image from family documentary session of parents holding children who are playing
image from family documentary session of parents holding children who are playing
image from family documentary session of parents holding their kids on their shoulders
image from family documentary session of mother and son sitting on swing looking at each other
image from family documentary session of a little boy's dirty feet
image from family documentary session of a boy eating a smore with marshmallow stuck on his face
image from family documentary session of a girl sitting on the top of wooden pallets
image from family documentary session of a girl's bare feet sitting on a wooden pallet
image from family documentary session of woodfired pizza
image from family documentary session of girl eating a smore

Steph and Hadz, Motherhood Documentary Photographer

A mother daughter morning

These two. They speak the same language. They exude the same full hearted feelings. They are a team, and I love to hang out with them. I've known Stephanie for almost as long as I have been in Atlanta, and Haddie was my daughter's first friend, born a month before her. I met them at their place in Atlanta to photograph them as they leisurely got ready to take a walk around the neighborhood. After the two helped each other get dressed and ready, we were out the door, collecting gingko leaves and exploring a water fountain at a local neighborhood business. Haddie wanted to show me a nearby garden and walking path, so we set out in that direction. Along the way we stopped as Haddie explored her voice's echo, noticed buildings and towers in the horizon, and found sticks to wave around. Stephanie experienced it all right along with her daughter, and watching the two of them was pure magic.

27Nov15Steph+Hadz-20.jpg