Throughout my childhood, years were not measured by weeks and months. They were measured by two yearly events: Christmas and our annual family vacation to Ocean City, New Jersey.
As a child, the two hour drive from Pennsylvania to New Jersey always felt so long but was always worth it. The week ahead promised sand, sun, water, rides, cousins, and far more junk food than I was usually allowed to consume. It was magic that was well worth the two hour drive in the vinyl seats of our station wagon.
While the world has changed significantly in the past 30 years, not much has changed at Ocean City, New Jersey. It’s still filled with sand, seagulls, and people. On the boardwalk you will still find every imaginable junk food, carnival rides, and cheap souvenirs. And you still have to pay to sit on an overcrowded beach.
To my adult eyes, none of it’s seems very magical But then I see my kids. My son triumphantly building sand castles and being SO excited to eat an ice cream cone with sprinkles for the first time. My daughter loving the boardwalk rides and bursting into tears every time one ended. The two of them playing and giggling before bedtime, so happy from a full day of being together. And I know the magic is still there. Honestly, it’s probably there in our every day lives but I often don’t pause long enough to see it.
As photographer and a mom, I am trying to be more intentional about documenting our days. Our real-life-fun-messy-chaotic-frustrating-joyful-spirited every day lives that are par for the course when you are raising small kids. Being a mom has really changed how I view family photography. I love and value having nice portraits of my family. But I’ve found the images I love the most are real, unscripted moments of my family. They aren’t “perfect” photos but they are real, intimate, and so incredibly special to have documented. Knowing how much those images mean to me (and how much more they will mean to me in 20 years), I am so excited to capture them for other families.
Which is why I love family documentary photography. I love hanging out with families and capturing the fun, beauty, love, and chaos that comes with parenting small kids. If you are one of the thousands of people heading to New Jersey this summer for a week at the shore, I would love to document a day of your family vacation. I know that is 20 years time, when your kids have long outgrown diapers and sandcastles, you will be so happy to look back at an album of images of when your kids where very small. You can a little glimpse of that magic forever.