The farthest west I had ever been before Nebraska was PA. So Lara and I traveled to Omaha Nebraska for Ebie and Zachary’s wedding. I love love second shooting and my favorite person in the world to second shoot for is Lara. So Nebraska did live up to it’s rumors of being flat. Like, flat flat. So you could see amazing amounts of sky just everywhere. And the fields full of wild flowers had be swooning. I really wish my backyard could look like that!

Dont’s you love Ebie’s look when the Priest announces them as husband and wife? And Lara (the one with the camera folks) with all her collage friends who came out for the wedding! Thanks so much Lara!

So more than a year ago I was photographing Cynthia and Ryan’s Virginia wedding. At the time, Cynthia already knew that they were not only getting married but soon to have a baby. Jackson was born a few months after their wedding and has been keeping them very very busy. Everytime I see a facebook update from Cynthia it’s something like ‘Exhausted!!!’. I laughed when I got a picture text on my cell of Jackson dressed up for Halloween last year as a monkey. He was just laying there like “What are these people doing to me?’.

Jackson turned one just a few weeks ago and I was excited to get an email asking me to do some family portraits to celebrate Jackson’s birthday. Can you believe all these pictures were taken when it was 96 degrees out? That’s how much of a trooper Jackson was. He sported his new onesie at the end, ready to wriggle out of his clothes in the heat.

I’m pretty good at keeping secrets. But this was a hard one. Shira and I conspired to tell her girlfriend that they were just doing a couple shoot. Just for fun before they moved. Yup. Just a couple shoot.

Only we both knew Shira was going to propose during the shoot. What would make the proposal visually fun? How could we make this more than just a “Omg! Your down on one knee!” type deal. Shira wanted it to be super personal. So we decided to do it in a park as both of them work as park rangers and that’s how they met.

So the day of, I’m just chatting it up about how fun it is to have couple’s portraits done. Blahblahblah. Inside I’m like “Do not not not slip up and say anything. Do not give sly grins to Shira. Act normal.” When Kacie saw the hearts, she thought a kid had placed them there. That was, until Shira told her to read them.

So along the park trail we went. Collecting hearts. Kacie reading loving messages. Nooooow she was getting suspicious. By the time we got to the last heart, sitting down on a rock next to a stream, she was laughing nervously. And that’s when the ring box came out.

With Rosh Hashanah hours away, I’m gearing up for the new year. This will be my third year of high holy days as an official jew. And I’m making slow, steady progress towards where I want to be religiously.

One thing I have wanted to really strive for ever since I converted is honoring Shabbat. It’s basically a day of rest/reflection/time with family. I love the concept and have always been held up by one big thing: it’s Saturday. And most weddings are Saturday. And I really feel more than ever that being a photographer is what I’m supposed to do. My thought process went like this “Well, if I can’t do every Shabbat what’s the point? And it’s not like I don’t work 7 days a week so how would I make up the time? I would just be so behind and Saturdays are the big day people are available for shoots. And synagogue is 4 hours! Whyyy is it so looong? church was only 45 minutes, tops!”

But over the last few months, I have been making my few wedding-free Saturdays not available and trying to honor Shabbat. Of course, life has happened and I feel guilty for not working/feel behind and say ‘Screw it! It’s the middle of wedding season!’ But I have decided to make it my official policy to myself that I only schedule weddings on Saturdays. Nothing else. No classes. No shoots. Nothing business like.

Now, it’s going to be at least 2 months before I can test this theory as I have a wedding every Saturday until then (except this Saturday and I scheduled an engagement shoot a long time ago). But I think we all have the desire to slow down, to take a day off, to enjoy our family. And I feel like Shabbat gives me, as my own boss, structure and permission to take one day a week off. Because right now? That’s not happening.

So that’s my goal for the Jewish new year: I will not schedule anything except weddings on Saturday. And slowly, inch by inch, start to give myself permission to not work that whoooole day. No facebook. No twitter. No gmail. But yes to good books. And museum visits. And picnics with my wife. And yes- going to synagogue too (when I find the right one!).