2011    What an amazing year this has been!

Earlier this year, I decided to follow my heart and make the switch to birth photography. I had the pleasure and the privilege to witness some amazing hospital and birth center deliveries. I’ve said it before and will say it again, that being asked to document such a beautiful and life altering event in someone’s life, is one of the most amazing things I could hope for in my job!!

I want to show you some of the collages I created, as a look back on this amazing year. Thank you to all you wonderful parents for allowing me to witness your little miracles….

Here’s to 2012, and many more babies to show off this time next year!

First came Baby N. on February 21st. The longest birth I attended all year, I was there for 19 hours!

Next was Baby A. on ANZAC day, April 25th. The shortest birth all year, I was there for about 4 hours (4th baby…)

Then on August 4th, Baby E. made her entrance. This was my first time witnessing an unmedicated birth!

October 24th, I was asked to  document Baby J. birth. My first time witnessing a birth center delivery and water birth (!), and second shortest birth.

Then, on November 27th, my last birth of the year, Baby M. Her Daddy was deployed at the time, but was able to see his new baby girl, after her arrival, via skype!

THANK YOU and see you in 2012……

HUGS, ~ Catie xoxoxo

I first met Stephanie and Josh at the Best Start Birth Center in September, while attending the monthly ‘Friday Night Doulas’ (FND) meeting. They had decided to come and meet some people and maybe learn a thing or two about birth. After talking with them for a little while, they seemed eager to have their son’s birth documented, and so we arranged for me to do just that.

I kept in touch with Stephanie for the rest of her pregnancy by phone, and she let me know right away when things were happening. At 5am on October 24th, I received the call to let me know they were headed to the Birth Center. After arriving there and getting checked, it turned out she was already dilated to 6-7 cm, which in turn I learned from another call. I was already up and ready, I hadn’t been able to get back to sleep after the 5am call… So, I headed in and arrived about 20 minutes later (around 6.35am). I found her laying in the tub, and looking as calm as could be. I introduced myself to the Midwife, Vanessa, and went about documenting Stephanie and Josh’s journey to parenthood. She started to push around 8.15am, and delivered a beautiful baby boy at 10.23am.

This journey will stay with me forever for several reasons. It was my first time experiencing a Birth Center delivery, first time water birth, and Stephanie’s calmness will always inspire me - she was amazing!!!!! Witnessing her journey had a profound effect on me, and I (almost) wish I could go back and have my kids all over again!

THANK YOU, Stephanie and Josh, for trusting me to document this life altering journey for you!

It’s that time of year again, my friends. I can’t believe it’s Christmas in just under 3 months!!!!!! Where has the year gone?

I’ve had some exciting changes happen to my business this year, mainly the switch to full time birth photography. I do, however, miss my other clients and their families, and will be offering these types of Mini Sessions a couple of times a year to keep in touch with everyone!

So, without any further ado, here’s your opportunity to reserve your date and time slot for YOUR Holiday Mini Session. CALL now!

After almost 3 months in the NICU, Baby Valentina has finally come home! It was so beautiful to see how much her older siblings adore her, and they help Mom and Dad as much as they can to take care of her. I’m sure her brother and sister will also teach her all about wrapping Mom and Dad around her little pinky, not that she needs much help in that department…Valentina is surrounded by so much love, you can feel it as soon as you walk through their front door!

Thank you , Rebecca and Francisco, for allowing me to come to your home and document some beautiful moments for you! I look forward to watching your little princess grow and thrive.

I’d never seen my friend, Merrilee, NOT pregnant. We’ve been online friends for just over a year, but only met face to face by chance at a photographer’s gathering when she was already 5 months pregnant. We became instant friends, and after I asked her if she had anyone to document her pregnancy, I offered to do it. A few months ago, I did just that, and now that Baby C. is here, they asked me to do a little mini session to capture their new family of four!

We met up at Liberty Station in Point Loma, and got to work. I think unless you have more than one child, you can’t imagine how much work it takes to organize 4 people, including a sometimes stubborn toddler (and now big brother) and a newborn! All went well, and we got some “magic” moments!

Thanks, Merrilee and Brad, for trusting me to capture your beautiful family of four!

I’ve been a volunteer for  Pictures of  Hope Foundation for about 2 years now. As a volunteer for this Foundation, I offer a complimentary session to parents with a baby in the NICU. Whenever I get a call to come and photograph one of these little fighters, I feel so very privileged. I try to imagine what the parents are going through, but I just can’t fathom all the emotions they’re experiencing during this difficult time. So I try to capture some of those emotions with my camera instead. It’s not much, but it’s something for them to look back on later, when their kids are grown and going off to College.

There’s a BIG change coming to Vuefinder Photography. Here’s what’s happening. I will be documenting births. Yep, you heard right - BIRTHS.

I attended a Natural Baby Fair a few weeks ago, and met some amazing Doulas (labor and birth assistants), who are just starting out and were very interested in talking some more with me. I also stopped by a booth of an organization called “The Bump” http://www.thebump.com/. It’s a resource guide specifically aimed at maternity, a one stop guide, so to speak. To make a long story shorter, I will be advertising bi-annually in this printed publication and online as well. The new publication is coming out late June, and I am doing a full page ad which I’m really excited about. Never done anything like this before.

Years ago, before switching from film to digital format, I shot quite a few births. My kids were younger then, and it would’ve been very hard to shoot births exclusively due to the unpredictability of labor. In the back of my mind though, I always said to myself when the kids are older, this is what I want to do full time. Well, the kids are now 9 and 14. It’s time. It’s the right time.

I am super excited about this new direction. I’ll still occasionally shoot family sessions, especially for past clients. Just be advised, that if I get called to a birth, I must go and your family shoot will have to be rescheduled.
Don’t get me wrong, it will be hard being on call 24/7, and sometimes having to go out in the middle of the night, but it’s SO worth it to me. What do I love so much about births? So many things. For starters, the joy and privilege I feel, documenting the arrival of a new life, is incomparable to anything else. To be trusted by these parents(to-be), and document their life altering journey for them….. it’s an incredible feeling. I’m on a high for several days after each birth.

So there you have it. My new statement. I am a birth photographer. (I feel as though I’m in an AA meeting or something). This is a big step for me, I’ve been shooting family portraits for so long, and a part of me will miss it. Life’s too short, I have to follow my heart, and it’s with the births.

And as no blog post is complete without a picture, here’s one of my favorite images from a recent birth.

First, I’d like to thank Sarah and Matt, for allowing me to be part of Alexander’s welcoming committee! It’s been an honor.

A few weeks ago, while in a meeting with another friend about something photography related, I bumped into Sarah, a friend from my Aussie Mum’s group. After I finished my initial meeting, I sat down with Sarah, and we chatted about our kids and her 4th pregnancy (!). She would be due May 5th. I was really wanting to shoot more births, and so I asked her how long her last labor had been. On finding out it’d been three hours from start to finish, I asked her if she’d like me to shoot her delivery. She’d never before considered having anyone do this, and since this was definitely going to be her LAST baby, she said YES…..I was stoked!

I visited her last Friday to talk about some details, and she calmly told me that there was plenty of time. HA - famous last words! Crazy me, attended a 2 hour bootcamp style training session on Sunday morning from 7-9am, and promptly had a 4 hour nap after getting home!

That same evening the phone rang as I was about to get ready for bed (around 8.30pm), Sarah was letting me know her water had broken. Soon, I left for the hospital, and I arrived there about 10.30. Baby Alexander was born, after ONE push, at 1.19am on ANZAC Day, April 25th, and I was home by 3am. My beloved husband took the kids to school that morning and let me sleep in!

This was quite a different experience, timewise, from the last delivery I photographed (I was at the hospital for 19 hours!). Shooting births has been a learning curve for me. Things like: when do the expecting couple let you know that they’re heading to the hospital, at which point do I head to the hospital.

Despite all the logistic issues and the unpredictability of births, they do remain my all time favorite thing to shoot. The privilege of being present as a new life enters this world, is very humbling. Being trusted by a family to capture these precious moments is out of this world for me!

Have I told you lately how much I love my job? It’s simply the best!

DRAMA FREE PHOTOGRAPHY, aka DFP, is the name of my favorite photography forum, in fact since the original one I joined, closed, this is the only one I feel at home on. Just a bunch of knowledgeable, helpful, hard working, funny, generous photographers helping each other wherever they can. There’s a monthly competition that is judged by our peers on the forum, and awarded gold, silver and bronze medals.

This month, I’m so excited to tell you, I won a SILVER medal, with an image of my daughter. I was shooting some images of her for her 13th Birthday last year, and she struck this pose for me. After we arrived home, she showed me something on the computer. The pose she had done was the same pose one of her favorite Manga characters did on the front cover of a book! I had to admit that the resemblance was striking!

So, with no further ado - here’s my award winning image. Photographers, please feel free to join this wonderful forum here: Drama Free Photography

It’s that wonderful time of the year again when Mothers get to celebrate their very own special day! When was the last time you gave yourself, or your Mom, a beautiful portrait of you and your family? When was the last time you treated yourself to a little makeover?

Here’s your opportunity to do both - and on the same day! Ruby Roof, Independent Consultant with ARBONNE, and Vuefinder Photography are teaming up to give you a special treat - a Mother’s Day Mini Session and makeover marathon!

See below for more details.

Limited spaces available - book now! Email us at info@vuefinderphotography.com or call 619.203.9412 to book your time slot.