~Through the Looking Glass~ NICU Photography

“She is everything that is perfect

wrapped in a tiny bundle.”

~Bon Johnstone

Due to a request by the Mother of this little one, I am not allowed to release any names/information on this beautiful girl. She was born at 30 weeks old and I was lucky enough to be asked to capture this moment in her life.

I, myself, grew up with a sister who was born with physical birth defects.I spent the first 8 years of my life playing in different hospitals while she went through surgery after surgery (37 to be exact).My Mom would leave for months sometimes to stay with my sister in Boston while my Dad stayed home and took care of my brother and I.Hospitals, breathing tubes, nurses, and long drives just became part of our lives.I remember playing in the elevators was a great pass time. :)

Looking back, I wish we would have had taken more photos from those years.It was a huge chunk of our lives, kept only in our memories.We have minimal photographs from that time and to me, I believe that should have been when we took the most photos.My sister actually flat-lined on one occasion.We almost lost her and we wouldn’t have had hardly any photos of her.Yes, it was a difficult time and well, lets face it, no one wants to photograph something that makes us sad.

I do not see these moments as being sad though, I see them as being triumphant.Times where these little children are fighters, they’re strong, willful and they keep going where some adults would give up.No matter what, it is definitely a time where there should be plenty of photographs taken.So years from now, when that child is fifteen years old and they think their most recent break up with boyfriend bozo is the end of the world!You can show them a time when they had real worries.You can show them just how amazing they really are and how important life is.

So after all of that being said…I am starting a new program.It is called “The Looking Glass” where I will photograph and provide prints for the family of infants in the NICU for FREE.So if you know anyone who has a little one in the NICU or has a little one in the hospital. Please pass along my name.