One Magical Fall Day
Have you ever experienced one of those days that just felt like there was magic in the air? Like you felt all tingly and your heart felt happy, and maybe you couldn’t explain why, but you just took it all in and savored it? I had that feeling last week on what I expect was the last warm day we will have this year. The weather turned colder about a month ago, but unexpectedly in the 3rd week of October we got a couple of days of 75 degree weather. The first of those days I spent outside and doing projects with my boys. We homeschool so can basically do what we want when we want.
I had spent some time earlier this fall regretting that I hadn’t used a warmer day in September to recreate an image I had made of my youngest last year when he was about 8 months old. So when we got these warmer days I decided I had to make it happen.
This image below is from last year.
If it helps you understand the craziness that my husband puts up with, I had a vision for the outfit I wanted Otis to wear and of course I just had to make it on my own. I finished most of it in one night, staying up until 3am cutting and sewing. Unlike editing photos, the more physically active process of sewing and creating with my hands kept me awake much more easily than sitting at the computer editing photos often does.
The following morning I sewed on buttons and attached snaps and I was done! By the time it was done I had missed the morning golden hour so I decided to wait until later in the day, but of course, rain was forecasted. That left us the mid-afternoon hours to try to get the one shot I wanted. Not typically the ideal time of day for photos with the sun high in the sky, but there were clouds so that made it workable.
We spent the morning outside. I went barefoot to make sure I could take in all the positive vibes from the Earth. I waded through leaf piles and felt the caress of the warm breeze. I took in the warm colors all around us. I picked some of the wildflowers that were still blooming out back and some of the dry grasses that were blowing in the breeze to add some extra texture to our photos. I had only a few hours of sleep and I should have felt exhausted, but I didn’t. The atmosphere just felt electric and it left me with a calm, peaceful energy.
Come afternoon, Otis had taken his nap. I had already brought most of the fall-inspired items out back that I wanted to use in the photos, so I gathered my boys, put Otis in his new outfit, and grabbed my camera. We headed out back and what did we hear? Thunder! Then we felt the raindrops. Of course. So we popped into our small barn and waited it out. Thankfully it didn’t last too long.
Once it all let up I ran out and put down the blanket and hastily restaged my props to try to get our shots before it started raining again.
I know that when it comes to the littles I might have one minute to shoot before they’re over it, or I might have five. Thankfully Otis was in a good mood and was happy to play with the apples in our setup, so we maybe got 5 minutes of shooting time on the blanket or sitting on pumpkins. My older boys helped keep him entertained while I shot. It was all I needed.
I love his natural look in the photos, and I love his crazy, wind-swept hair. As always, there are things I would do differently if I could go back. But I will treasure these images and remember this day for eternity! Thank you, Mother Nature, for making such a perfect day for us! And thank you, Otis, for the smiles!