Sea Foam and Sand Angels/ Portland Lifestyle Photography

I've been a bad blogger as of late. I wish I could say it's because I've been busy with sessions, but the real reason is I just haven't been in the mood to write. Or, if I have, there's been a 3 year old begging to play hide and seek or Candyland and he wins out every time. So, while there are no new sessions to post right now, I thought I'd share some personal pictures. I've been to many beaches in the world, and have many fond memories of camping out on the sands of Zanzibar, and waking up to the sound of rolling waves on Koh Samui. But take away the exotic factor and I'd have to say my favorite beach of anywhere is Cannon Beach right here in Oregon. Having grown up in Florida, I never was very fond of swimming in salt water or coming home with blistering sunburns. I was always much more excited about being there during a Florida thunderstorm, or in the winter when it was colder, which is why the beaches here in the Northwest are perfect. It's almost never warm enough to actually swim and the storms are amazing. In fact, the night we were there this past weekend the pounding hail and driving winds made for a restless night. Nevertheless, the storm let up on Saturday and Q and his friends headed back down to the sand to do some important digging and sea foam collecting. While the perfectionist in me sometimes craves that perfectly composted, perfectly exposed shot, the artist in me loves days like this when I can just step back and capture the action however it plays out. The sun may be too bright, the shadows too contrasty, or I may have forgotten to change some settings, but the imperfections sometimes make the pictures more real.

Look at their excitement and joy in the littlest things...running from the waves, collecting sea foam, making sand angels, kicking up mud. They don't mind getting sand in their boots, or mud in their hair. They giggle at the sea gulls' calls, and jump up and down at finding sea shells. Seeing the beach through a child's eyes is humbling...inspiring...enlightening. When Q grows up I hope he'll be able to see the many beautiful beaches of the world, but I also hope the he will always consider the beaches of his childhood special and never forget the joy of collecting sea foam, or making angels in the sand.