The Byrd got accepted to an Operation Purple Camp at YMCA Camp Carson back in May … it was a week long camp in Indiana … states away from home … brave little thing.

She had the most incredible time whilst she was there … met people from 9 Nations … learned a bit of German and got to practice her accents. She earned 5 levels in Nature — girl has survival skills! She can build a fire all on her own … she’s looking forward to showing off this skill when we go camping. 🙂

The day we picked her up from camp, the leaders brought in their troops … Byrd was in Chippewa. They were singing chants and being goofy and dancing and it was just epic. When I caught a glimpse of her, she looked ten feet tall and full of adventureous stories to share with us. She looked as though she’d aged an entire year in that week … gawsh, I was so happy to see her again. This was our first time apart for more than a day or two, since she was born. It was hard … definitely a learning experience, and for sure something she wants to do again!

When I got to hug her for the first time, I squeezed a bit too hard. 😉 That was an incredible feeling … this gangly thing before me had been eaten by mosquitos, had cuts and scrapes, her hair was in dreadlocks (well, it looked like it anyway) … and she stunk like camp and sweat. lol So beautiful!

It was a long drive home from Indiana, but we stopped in St. Louis along the way for a break. 🙂 We saw the Gateway Arch, which let me tell you … is INCREDIBLE!! So beautiful! I was enthralled by the architecture in this city … so many different styles all meshed together in one city, amazingly beautiful!

Oh, and it happened to be game day when we rolled through …

Now for the real reason we stopped in St. Louis — Pappy’s Smokehouse! I’d looked up a place to stop for dinner when the Bug and I were on our way back, and found Pappy’s — it was closed when we got there!! Ugh. They’d sold out by 5pm. The reviews on Google were insane … 5 stars? Really? We had to go … we LOVE BBQ!! 😀 We decided to make it a lunch stop on the way back from picking the Byrd up instead, and made it … whew! The line was out the door. Crazy! The food was incredible … the flavors … the environment … it’s a great place and a must-see if you like BBQ.

Ugh … don’t even get me started

We took the scenic route along the old highways and had to stop for some time in Illinois … at first we thought there had been an accident, as two state troopers were in the middle of the highway, but then we heard the rumble of the bikes and realized what was going on. A funeral procession was underway, and the Patriot Guard was leading the way. Lord, I am so thankful for this group and all that they do. The funeral had been for a fallen soldier … God, bless his family, and be with them through this difficult time. He was far too young.

The clouds made the drive soooooo much more interesting. <3 <3 <3

Many more hours into this drive, the sun was beginning to set … it was a truly incredible view out the windshield — no, I wasn’t driving. For once, I was the passenger. 🙂 We slept like rocks that night.

Till next year, St. Louis!

I began my journey into photography because I wanted to document my own life and the lives of those closest to me. In my own personal world of photography, I do this almost daily. I document our truths … sometimes their ugly and sometimes their incredible and sometimes they’re just beautifully mundane …

As I was getting ready to finish up my bachelor’s degree, I was looking over my portfolio with my professor and we both came to the same realization — it was missing a huge chunk of me and what I stood for. Sure, my work was full of beautiful families and children, mostly “lifestyle” in nature (or what the term has become over the last few years) … my images are full of life and emotion and there are tons of in-between moments that would otherwise go unnoticed. But …

My mantra has been that I document the beautiful-messy-every-day-glory-we-call-LIFE. Sadly, my portfolio didn’t get the memo.

My professors and I talked at nauseam about how to convey more of me within my portfolio, my art, my style … how to dig deeper, and as I toyed around with a few ideas and began sifting through my childhood photo albums, I realized what I needed to do — document the truths of others, their lives … uncensored … raw … uncut. I wanted to infiltrate a family’s daily life and document the countless beautifully mundane ever so fleeting moments that make them who they are, capture the things they do that set them apart from the crowd … photograph what makes them unique and show them just how truly wonderful they are.

Now, I know that is kinda scary (ok, totally a lot scary) … I mean … you’re letting me inside your home … to document the nitty gritty of what makes your family tick. But, before the fear takes over … do me a favor, would you?? Take a peek at your family albums and boxes of 4×6’s and tell me what you see? For me, it’s life. I was playing in a pool of flour on the kitchen floor in my blue footies with a HUGE mischievous smile on my face, my brother was hiding in a cupboard under the sink in a flannel shirt and superman unders, my sister balling her head off because she didn’t get her way, my older sister and cousins had balloons stuffed in their shirts as pretend boobs, my dad had hippie hair and was rockin’ a California Raisin’s shirt, short blue shorts, tube socks & sneakers as he cut the grass, my mom was sitting in the rocker nursing my baby brother, camping shenanigans with our “cousins” … I mean … that was life. It was our life and I cherish those photographs! And if you flip fast enough, you’ll get whiplash from time traveling and you’ll laugh hysterically from the wardrobe & hair changes from one decade to the next. 😉 I see our strength, our struggles, our joy … laughter, love, and tears. The only thing that bums me out is that, for the most part … one or both parents are missing from our family photos.

I have this vision … an amazingly beautiful soul filling vision … of YOU letting me into your home and capturing you as you are — no muss — no fuss — no perfect hair, makeup, or wardrobe — no need for elaborate schedules — just keepin’ it real and doing what comes naturally — so that I can show you how incredibly amazing and beautiful you are together. <3

In my life, personally & professionally … I find that I’m constantly seeking the truth. I yearn for it. I need it like I need oxygen.

Let me show you your truths … what makes you great … what makes you, well … YOU.

To give you a little inspiration, check out my day with the Wetzel’s. This incredible family welcomed me into their home and they just went about their day — we made breakfast, ate good food, played games, enjoyed a little fantasy football time while the kids had some downtime or napped, wrestled, played games inside AND outside, explored … man, I’m so grateful this family let me explore their truths …

When I got in my van to drive home, I gotta tell you … I teared up a bit. I was giggly and wee bit giddy and totally excited. My heart was so full. My soul had been nourished. I knew that I had just made magic!

THIS is why I do what I do, friends.

I hope that your family will let me in so that I can tell your story and show you just how wonderful you are!

Again … I hope that your family will considering letting me in so that I can help you tell your story & show you just how wonderfully beautiful and amazing you truly are!

If you’re ready to take the next step, just hop over here (https://jaimehough.com/blog/details/bookmysession/) to fill out an inquiry and we can get started!

Cheers!

Jaime