you are my wild

a few days into the new year, a ridiculously talented friend of mine mentioned totally off the cuff that she and two of our friends were starting a weekly portrait project and was i interested. um. yes?

a few days after that i was keyed in on the guest list. and then i kind of puked in my mouth a little. some heartburn. there is major talent in this crew. like, talent that i thought would never even know my name. just.crazy.

Anje Bridge Becky Zeller Brooke Schwab Dera Frances Jessica Kraus Kati Dimoff Kelsey Gerhard Klodjana Dervishi Meaghan Curry Rebecca Conway Ryan Marshall Shelby Brakken Tara Whitney

and so we are banding together as a group of artists and as parents. to make sure we take even a split second out of our 7-days-a-week routine to notice something quietly extraordinary about our children. and, once a week, we 14 photographers will come together, to tell a bit more of the stories of our wild young things.

you are my wild

isabel

letters to our children

my friend amy, who i owe much of my courage to, invited me into this group of absolutely crazy talented photographers. once a month tend to my words. this first month, it's fitting i wrote to leo, as it's his birthday. i was lucky, and with jack's help, that leo tolerated a few portraits on his 4th birthday. some words and pictures i'd like to remember.

an interview with Leo. age 4. - - -

So, Leo, do you like being 4?

uh huh. am i still 4?

Yes, you are. Does it feel different to be 4?

yea. it feels like i wanna be flee again.

If you could wish for one thing, what would it be?

oh! a fox and the hound book.

What's your favorite food?

whipped cream

What's your favorite color?

yellow, black, pink, red, blue, purple. that is all my colors.

What's your favorite animal?

a moose, a whino, a baby moose, a baby whino and a baby giwaffe. my favorite x-men animal person is wolvewine.

What's your favorite song?

beatles. a hawd day's night.

What's your favorite thing to do with mommy?

go on the train!

oh Leo.

you are so infuriatingly sweet. you are wild and desperate to keep up with your brother. you are so much younger to me then your brother was at this age. you are still so tender and happiest to fall asleep in my arms as you suck your thumb and flick lovie. you crawl into our bed before the sun seeps through the curtains. something your brother never did. i always wished to be the parent who had babes clung to her in the night. in reality i'm grumpy and hate being woken before i'm ready. i'm working on that. in the mean time, daddy makes a wonderful buffer and falling back to sleep in his arms and snoring together is one of your favorite pastimes.

your overbite and fang teeth make me melt daily, when you bust out that smile of yours.

- - -

next is the talented Elaine...

isabel

10 on 10 january

i'm a big cheater. i can never keep to just 10 images and i knew i was shooting for this 10 on 10 back in december. these are some of my favorite images from our whirlwind trip to NYC. i also bitterly complain that i don't get to shoot enough when we travel. in a way, it's true. i had such grand plans for how/what/where i'd shoot. in the end, i knew using the trip for my 10 on 10 post would force me to realize that even though i may not have shot fully everything i had hoped and dreamed in one little trip, i still was able to observe and absorb the city and my family.

please be sure to check out the strapping lad of our crew; Mr. Joel Chapman!

isabel