This was my second time taking images of little Estelle. The first time was to celebrate her first birthday and these were to celebrate her second birthday. Estelle lives with her mom and dad on 20 stunning acres in the Los Gatos Mountains on a working farm they own and operate called Abounding Harvest Mountain Farm. When I say this property is amazing, those words don't do it justice. It is BREATHTAKING. And a TON of work which Daniel and Nancy do all by themselves, which is just beyond remarkable when you stop to think about it. Just about every conceivable vegetable, fruit and plant is being harvested there along with a flurry of animals including a batch of 28-week old ducklings that are now producing eggs to add to the mix. The weather was gorgeous that day too which contributed to the beautiful light. Estelle was being your normal 2 yr old and having a hard time with the shoot at first, and wanting to cling to mommy like a little velcro monkey, but then I sent mom away (like I always do in these situations) and Daniel and I played with Estelle and before you knew it, she was having a blast. Estelle is a very mobile, highly verbal little girl and I was amazed at how she could run from plant to plant and identify them all (including the weeds!) and was eating everything right off the vine from basil to peppers to pomegranates. I honestly cannot think of a better "playground" to grow up in. She is one very lucky little girl. And pretty darn cute too! Daniel & Nancy, enjoy these images! Happy Birthday Miss Estelle!
To go check out the awesomeness of this farm, go check out A Bounding Harvest. I left the shoot with a basketful of of lavender, peppers, lemons, pomegranates etc.... My car still smells delicious! :)
At the very start of the shoot, Estelle gave their "buddha" an offering of a bunch of leaves she collected. Very sweet!
She became very attached to my little black chair even though mom and I tried to convince her to play with the nice teal chair that matched her dress... :)
Playing with her dog Sartaj (who was just a puppy last year when I photographed the family - I actually have one of their family photos from that shoot on my blog header!) Sartaj is such a sweet, gentle, beautiful dog!
Estelle really wanted to spend most of her time hanging out by this awesome sculpture on the property. She was very drawn to it!
That blue structure in the back is actually an old silo they converted into an amazing living space that connects to the house. The entire house is so colorful and vibrant. The color palette inside is as incredible as the one outside. Fabulous job they did!
Estelle was constantly on the go so to get this split second of stillness was a treat!
Picking a pomegranate to eat!
