When she asked if I could take some family portraits for her I was delighted.  Her parents drove up from York and we all went down to the beach.  It had been nice and sunny in the morning, but of course as soon as we got there it clouded over and got a bit blustery.  But being the no complaining about the weather Brits that we are we soldiered on, and had a great time.  Dad, Ian, was finding strings of seaweed as tall as Hannah and having a little munch on them, as you do, while the rest of us were trying to staying warm.  I had a great time shooting their portrait and miss them dearly already.

I have your room ready for you here when you make it across the Atlantic and there will be a bowl of soup waiting, not stew, but soup.

Call me: 323.240.4407

Email me: nicola@nicolaborland.com

In my business and line of work I am always talking about memories.  Making them, capturing them and just having them in general.  I always try and tell my clients how important it is to have photography and a good professional photographer in your life.  I sometimes feel like a broken record saying the same things to everyone and it can feel a little cheesy at times.  The phrases “Memories that will last a Lifetime” and “For Generations to Come” seem to come out of my mouth on a daily basis!

It is not until I come back home and visit with my family and old friends that it really hits me.  Its true, the memories do last a lifetime and for generations to come.  I just had a look through a photo album that my grandmother, known as Babí to the family, made of my sister and I as kids and some trips she took with my Granddad, known as Dêda (d-yeda).  It was so cool to look at that album and see what images she loved and wanted to keep, what was important to her, and to just remember her.  Her smile, her style, her grace, adventurous spirit and green thumb.

Babí had the best green thumb!  One photograph was of Babí and myself standing in her veggie garden and it brought back some of my favorite memories of having Sunday lunch on the tiny patch of grass surrounded by the bounty of all her hard work.  There were potatoes, strawberries, gooseberries, chives, poppies, carrots and so much more.  We would have whatever cold foods and goodies we could pack into containers, and enjoy the weather while Babí watered and looked after her plants.  Dêda would have to cut the grass with the hand mower, but there was always hay fever and a bad back to contend with, and of course, once the back goes, well that’s it gone!

I talked with my mother and sister about it and we all smiled and laughed and paused for a second to remember the scene in our heads.  Yes, the memory could have come up of its own accord, but that picture was the starting point for me for that one memory.  Then all the other ones come rolling out of the woodwork and before you know it you are on the floor laughing at something obscure that happened 20 years ago in a distant land, but is still funny today.

What makes us people?  Is it the houses we live in, the jobs we have, and the places we are going? Or is it the places we have been and what we have learned from them?  Sure I like to look forward.  To look ahead to the future, keep moving on and learning and growing.  But what we have done in the past, places we have been, and people we have met are what I think truly shapes us.  We learn from the past, the good things and the bad things.  The happy memories and the sad memories.  Our lives are no longer quite with little distraction, but loud and quite frankly all over the place.  Meetings, classes, phones, work, computers, obligations, kids, pets, the gym and so many other things fill our lives.  We forget the people that make up our lives.  I forget the people in my life.  I forget people that I haven’t seen in a few years.  Does that mean I hold their teachings any differently?  No.  It just means I am looking ahead a little too much and need to slow down and look back.  To sit with a photo album and remember.  To read a diary, or an old birthday card sentiment, and laugh.

To look at my old photos at home brings back so much I feel like I want to bring them all back to California with me!  To hold them close and never forget.  To show people why I love photography so much.  That before I was even able to hold a camera, photos were already a huge part of my life.  To try and convey that those baby pictures of myself, and my sister and not just a quick shot that doesn’t mean anything, but something so big and important I may never be able to convey what it really means to me.  To show my clients that when I say that the images I capture will be “memories to last a lifetime”, and the images will be here “for generations to come”, that its true.  There kids will hold them close, and their grand kids and great grand kids.  They will look at them as I do mine, and wonder do I have her nose, her eyes or her style.  And of course the one that most of us are heard saying as we look as childhood photographs, “What on earth was I wearing!”

So next time you are about to snap a quick shot with your point and shoot or hire a photographer to do a family portrait, remember that it is not just a picture, but actually a memory that you will cherish, and your kids, friends and family will love even after you are gone, as I do with Babí’s pictures from so long ago.

After the service we all went back to his new Godparents house for some family time.  Antonio had a great time with his big cousins on the bouncy castle.  I think he liked the colors and the not being on solid ground part.  All the friends and family that were there loved seeing him in his little white suit and with the coolest little white chucks as well.  I am loving being a friend of Antonio and being there for all his big days.  Next big, 1 year old!!!

Call me at 323.240.4407

Email me at nicola@nicolaborland.com

They know they are having a boy but are keeping the name secret until his arrival. I know that its fun, but its kind of torture for me and the rest of the family! I think they should use a good strong Scottish name, in my honor of course, like Hamish or Douglas. After all, its all about me…isn’t it? Either way I am looking forward seeing the little boy arrive! Congrats you two!

Call me at: 323.240.4407
Email me at: nicola@nicolaborland.com

Grandma and Grandpa Karas dropped by for the shoot and I got some great images of them adoring the new addition to the family. I am really excited to be (unofficially) Auntie Nic again, and can’t wait to watch him grow. Here are some images from his newborn shoot and the slideshow has some of him in the hospital, so be sure to check it out and let me know what you think.

Holly and I have know each other for about 3 years and have become very close over that time, and Joseph is a good friend now too.  I was so happy to hear that the pitter patter of tiny feet were coming into their lives.  Watching her belly grow over the last nine months has been really weird, but beautiful as well! I am so looking forward to be an unofficial Auntie again. And of course looking forward to capturing the first moments of little Jude’s life.

Congratulations Holly and Joseph! Love you both loads!

See a beautiful slideshow of the day here! Be sure to leave a comment.

I was so excited when Diana asked if I was able to shoot her family portrait that we arranged it for only a few days later.  We met and went off to a local park to have some fun and take some pics for their new family portrait, earlier this month.  Of course, Luca we entertaining us all with his mad ideas and playful nature, and the time just flew by while we were having all the fun.  I love the way these images really capture Luca’s fun side, Diana’s gentle fun nature and Michael’s role of devoted father.  I can’t wait to be able to play with this gang again and am dying for my next massage with Diana.  Yay for new neighbors becoming new friends!  Let me know what you think!