Caitlin's Maternity Shoot at the Ruth Bancroft Garden

On Good Friday, we went out to Ruth Bancroft Garden  (click on name to read about this amazing garden!)  Caitlin loves cactus and succulents and wanted this extraordinary garden to be the back drop for her maternity shoot. I was honored, and happy when Caitlin asked me to do the shoot for her. We had a lot of fun taking the photos and discovering all these gorgeous plants at the same time. It's such a jewel box of a place and if you live out in the East Bay Area, you really need to go and check this place out! There were plants I have never seen in my life. My favorite one was the one pictured that looks like an eight foot asparagus!!!
I think the pictures turned out really beautiful and Caitlin was happy with them, so that makes me happy. I love photography, and since as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to do something in that field. When I was in High school, my dream was to be a photo journalist and work for National Geographic. That didn't pan out hahah, but photography was always in my life. In college I took many photography classes, and was in the dark room for many hours at a time perfecting my skill, and to this day those are my fondest memories of my University days. I had an excellent professor and learned a lot.  Of course now everything is digital and edited with fancy filters. The skill involved in making a print in a dark room took a lot trial and error, which I believe was part of the fun. I'm not saying that editing digital images is no less of an art form, it's just that it is much easier to do I believe.  The artistry in photography also is capturing that image right? Caitlin decided that instead of seeking out a photographer to do her shoot, she would have the closest person that knows her the best, to capture the most beautiful time in her life. I think the strongest photos tell a story about the people, and I hope that years from now Ruby will look at these and see how in Love her parents were and what beautiful souls they are. Her mother in full bloom with her, just like all the beautiful plants surrounding her in bloom as well. Her father in complete love with her mother and the beautiful life she is carrying.
Hope you enjoyed taking a peek at some of my favorite shots of the day!

****btw, I didn't use any fancy filters when editing these photos. Just a bit of tweaking in brightness and color correction.****