pascale wowak photoblog

Avery, Quinn &....?

I have been making magic with this wonderful family since very soon after I launched my photography business.  I have been able to photograph each of their (now three!) pregnancies and it's been such great fun!  They are a goofy, active and energetic bunch.  I always know that our shoots will be full of laughing, running, playing, and definitely have a dance party of some sort thrown in at some point.  I love so many things about this family but what I love most is their deep appreciation for LIFE. And LOVE.  And TOGETHERNESS.  They truly understand what's important in life and don't fret the small stuff.  They focus on their priorities and their priorities are each other.  There is a solid foundation of love and respect upon which the entire family has been built and they've never lost their sense of humor and goofiness along the way despite how exhausting it is to have two littles and jobs to juggle and all that comes with life in general.  If anyone can handle, with grace and humor, three kids 5 and under it's Kevin and Carly.   When we were walking down from the parking lot and I was commenting on how gorgeous the light was, Kevin turned to me with the biggest smile and proclaimed: "I'm just happy to be alive!"  And that pretty much encapsulates their constant, ever present joy.  They are just HAPPY.  Through and through.  Happy and playful and light hearted and loving and compassionate.   There is a gentleness about them that is just so utterly palpable.  It's always such a joy to be around them and be able to participate in the goofiness and encourage the displays of their inherently playful nature.  Engaging with each other and connecting is their "happy place", this is what they focus on.  You can just sense that they don't get swallowed up by the nitty gritty details that bog so many of us down.  Their sense of persepctive is firmly in place.  Their commitment to each other is unwavering.  I see them as a model of how I want to live my life and the kind of relationships I strive for.  With my kids and with all my other relationships in my life.  They are just truly fantastic people and it's an honor & delight to have them as clients and friends.

Carly & Kevin, here is your sneak peek with just a few favorites of mine.  I cannot wait to meet your new addition, find out his/her name and see you all as your newly expanded family unit! ENJOY the sneak peek!

My Trio

A couple weeks ago I did a commercial shoot for my friend Joy's FRECKLETREE knitted wonders, which you can see HERE.   Ellie modeled and Gavin had light/reflector duty.  Immediately after the shoot I decided to grab the last slivers of light and quickly shoot my two kiddos and our dog Kooper.  I am SO BAD about taking pictures of my own kids.  I'm the ONLY parent at school field trips, events, plays, class parties etc... without a big ole camera.  I'm pathetically sitting there snapping one or two shots on my iphone while everyone else is properly documenting the event with an ACTUAL camera.  It's pretty unacceptable to begin with, but even moreso considering that professional photography is...oh..I dunno....  MY JOB.... Sigh.   Isn't there some old saying about how the cobbler's kids never have shoes or something like that...  :)

Anywhoooo, I was feeling guilty and did a quick 10 mn mini shoot with my kids to remind myself that they were, afer all, the inspiration behind me dusting off my old 35mm film camera in the first place.  A camera that had accompanied me on so many trips around Europe and enough crime scenes to last anyone a lifetime.... (In case that sounded weird to anyone who doesn't know my background, I was a crime scene photographer many moons ago)

Here's just a few favorites from our post-commercial shoot mini personal shoot.  My kids are totally wacky and goofy.  And I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.  And even though Ellie drives Gavin WACKADOO almost every single day, he loves her to pieces and would do anything to protect her.  She makes him laugh so hard sometimes that he will clench his stomach and beg her to stop.   And Kooper.  Kooper is the world's best dog.  Truly.  He just is.  And he loves giving Gavin nonstop kisses and he's scared to death of Ellie, who rules the roost in his world so she's usually his handler when we are out and about because he OBEYS her.  I'm sure there's a small country out there waiting for her to become its dictator.... Just kidding! Sort of...   :)

I love my kiddos so very much and I'm going to bookmark this post so that the next time I'm ready to threaten to sell them to the lowest bidder on EBAY, I will pull this up and REMEMBER how fantastic they can be.  We make a great little team.  They've been through SO much the past year and a half and I'm so very very very proud of them for overcoming some massive transitions and dramatic changes in their lives.  They are little rockstars.  I *heart* them.

Rama

When I was contacted by Marci to photograph her, her husband and her 6 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, I could not possibly have been more excited.  I may have squealed.  Internally, of course.  So as to not scare her.  That being said, it's a well known fact, as a fellow owner of a Rhodesian Ridgeback, that I am quite fanatical about them.  In a bad, bad way.   Those dogs just have a way of bonding with their owners in a sort of magical way.  My boyfriend likes to tease me that there must be some kind of super secret Rhodesian Ridgeback Owner Cult of some sort because anytime I am out and about with my Kooper and run into any other current or former owner of a ridgeback, it is sort of like we do actually belong to a super secret group.  There's an unspoken language of "Oh My God, Aren't They The Best Dogs On The Planet?!?!?!"    So, needless to say, I couldn't have been more excited for this shoot.  Marci and Jeff's Ridgeback, Rama, reminded me so much of my Koop.  Very playful, sweet disposition, loverboy, friendly and eager to please.  A wonderful RR boy with a fantastic personality.  Oh yeah, Marci & Jeff were quite delightful too! LOL! :)

We enjoyed a wonderful beach romp and finished it off with one of the prettiest sunsets I have seen in a while.  Just absolutely gorgeous weather, light and subjects.  I was in Photographer Hog Heaven.   A fabulous and very enjoyeable shoot.  I'm really looking forward to getting Rama and Koop together for a doggie playdate! 

Marci & Jeff, thank you for a fun evening!  Rama is a really awesome pup!  ENJOY YOUR SNEAK PEEK!  

Norah, Leah & Caleb

For full disclosure I should mention that Amanda is a friend of mine so my affinity for her family is not purely professional... But, if you knew them you'd love them too!!!  They're a wild and crazy bunch and just because I love to torture myself I suggested they bring their "slightly" overweight (he didn't used to be, some adorable baby *cough Caleb cough* has been feeding him food from his high chair the past four months) and somewhat not really trained dog to the shoot, just to add a little more spice to the day.... lol!  Listen, I love chaos.  I love kids.  I love babies. I love dogs.  Yes, it was pandemonium and yet I was still in my happy place.  Besides, how often do you get to hear a dog who sounds like a sea lion everytime he sees another dog walk by him?  Incredibly entertaining!  Amanda is the kind of mom I try to be.  That perfect balance of caring *deeply* for her children and wanting to raise them to be amazing human beings coupled with just enough chill factor that she's never wound up over the little things and yet is totally able to be firm and fair with her kids. She doesn't sweat the small stuff but she's totally on top of the important things.   She's got this mothering thing down.    I probably won't have any of this figured out until I'm a grandmother so I'm just kinda banking on the fact that I will be the worlds best grandma and my traumatized and ruined children will forgive me for screwing them up only because I am making up for it with my mad grandparenting skills.... that's kinda my game plan at this point... :)

I just really enjoy this family.  They know how to have fun and live life.  They've got a GREAT sense of humor.  They are playful and carefree and you just sense that they appreciate life, and that's an incredible gift you give your kids, you know?  Plus, HELLO PHOTOGENIC MUCH?!  Gah. Dimples, freckes, baby squishableness.... I was in heaven.   Amanda & Andy, here's your sneak peek, so glad we got a BEAUTIFUL day for this!  Love you guys!!!

Freckletree

My supercalifragilistic friend Joy is the brilliant creative spirit behind Freckletree's handcrafted hats and knit owls.  We are the lucky owners of three of her adorable little owls and one of her ridiculously cute hats which Ellie has proclaimed never to take off ever again.  She practically wore it to bed tonight!  We did a shoot featuring some of her fabulous hand creations today after school.  Ellie was the model and Gavin handled the lighting.  She, as always, was absolute perfection doing her thing.  Gavin did a remarkable job with the lighting with minimal instruction from me.  He just totally understood what I needed from him.  At one point he was messing up the light and I turned to him to ask him what was going on and he was squirming/wiggling around saying "I NEED TO GO PEE!"  So, once we took care of that little setback he was right back on point!  Gotta love kid assistants!  :)

So, this shoot was a family affair for sure and loads of fun for all three of us.  Ellie had her favorite music playing on my iphone and just got into her little groove.   You can check out all of Joy's awesomesauce items on her website HERE.

Joy is also an amazing woman, mother of twins and a fellow dancing queen and music freak like me.  I'm actually going to be seeing her very soon and can't wait to spend some quality time on the dancefloor with that girl.  We gonna bust a move! :)

Joy, thanks for sharing your amazing creations with us, we love them so much and are thrilled to showcase them here!  ENJOY the sneak peek!