Kaela- Missing her Mom

This is a look back at a very special session I did last year of a beautiful young girl, Kaela who had an equally beautiful personality. It was about this time of year and it was chilly.  Carla, her grandmother, recently contacted me and I thought I would show off the portrait session we had at the beach.  I also wanted to share the touching note Carla wrote:

Kaela is a 9 yr. old child of Autism, she is bright, loving, and funny in her own kind of way. Her Mother is in the Navy, and at the time the photos were taken she was in Bahrain and had been for almost a year. I wanted these photos taken and made into an album to be given to her Mother for not only Mother's Day, but as a Homecoming Gift as well.


Monica,

I really appreciate what you do for the Military, it is such a Wonderful way of giving back to them.

THANK YOU!!

Carla

Carla,  thank you for allowing me to capture these moments!

"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera."

                                    -Dorthea Lange

Homecoming of the Roosevelt and the "S" Family

There are several sessions that I have not posted over this last year.   This was taken a few months ago and I just fell in love with this adorable cutie pie!

I meet with sweet little "V" and her mom, Johanna and freinds to all welcome home David, her Daddy.  The last time he had seen Little "V" she was just born so this was a particularly special treat.  You can only imagine what must go through a baby's mind.  I tried my best to capture her and her beautiful Mom's feeling as we finally got Dad off his big boat!  ;o)

Look at that face!  Poor Dad!  This must happen so often to these guys.

Granted, she was waiting several hours on the pier with thousands of other people in the crowd.  I had to post this one,  I loved it!  Luckily she did decide that Dad really was the good guy, as you can see below!

Thanks for allowing me to show off your special day!

Two Girls and 1 Mom - Missing Dad!

When I say too cute, I really mean it! Mom and these two girls were so fun to photograph. They called me to do a session so that they could send some portraits to Dad who is on a very long deployment. Although, to every military family facing this, what deployment isn't long?

I am so excited to get this beautiful wall portrait, that you see above, to mom. I just love how it turned out and makes a great example of a composite or collage.

We even got a little bit of a fun attitude showing up during the photo session! It's always welcomed and makes for a great shot! They both have one of Dads hats on. Makes me smile every time!

The older of the two was great at posing here. We did get quite a bit with her wearing the hat then we tried pulling it away from her for this sassy picture under the pier.

The younger sister had no problem posing for the camera either! She has such a beautiful innocent look with her adorable braided pigtails! I soooo love it! You know me, I have all boys, so all this cute girlyness is so much fun!

No beach photo session is complete with out a walk along the surf! They made it extra special by taking advantage as a moment to have fun together. I know their dad is going to truely adore these with so much of their personality showing through!

Full of giggles and grins!

And even mom joined in for the shoot! I'm so glad she did. Dad will appreciate it! I hope you enjoy your portraits and my prayers for you and your family will continue until he is home! Thank you for becoming a Cocoa Bean Customer!

Eisenhower Comes in for a great Homecoming!

As promised the update on The homecoming of the USS Eisenhower! Congratulations to all the sailors coming home to be with their family and loved ones. This time I got to snap up the reunion of Tyler to Lindsey. She has been counting down the days with so much enthusiasm it was a pleasure to see them together again.

I loved the shirts she and his whole family were wearing! Aren't they great?!

His family was excited to see him jump off that ship too. It's so hard to wait especially in the 95 degree heat and humidity. It is such a treasure to see thousands of families going through the same feelings of excitement and anticipation. Love it!

Couln't get away without a picture of his Mom and Dad looking on. Loved this one of the ship and family in the glasses.

It is great seeing the ship come around the bend of the Chesapeake Bay toward the pier. I was capturing this just under the bow of the USS Truman who I got to shoot Last year coming home. I'm sure Lindsey got some great shots too. She got to go up on the Truman with a few of the officer's wives to wait. At this point the crowd is starting to cheer and the exciment is building!

At one point I look up and had to capture this shot of Old Glory waving in the sky. I think they were waving in time to the music playing on the peir. I tell ya, it's a great experience.

And I never get tired of seeing the guys and gals come in lined up all around the deck.

I'm so happy for you two! I hope you enjoy these picture just as much as your last few sessions!

Thanks so much Tyler, for doing what you do! It's a pleasure shooting for you two!

The happy couple heading home!

Homecoming of the Bluetails

I now have a couple of homecomings to share with you all. For today I'll start off with the reunion of a very sweet family at the homecoming of the VAW 121 Bluetails.

Normally I would be shooting all the planes coming in together. But this daddy showed up a little earlier than the rest. I suppose he really couldn't wait to see these boys. They were all over him and did not want to let go. This was a very special reunion for this little man! He has cerebral palsy and has just learned to walk while Dad's been gone. Quite a special treat!

If you can't tell this is Mr. Superstar! All the planes started landing and he started jammin'! LOVE IT!

Can you even resist that look? This is my fav! What a look!

I had to put this one in with his sweet look that could melt chocolate.

Now, I made mom come out of the hanger for a few shots and I'm glad I did. Always great for a few shots dad can cherish. You look great Laura!

Dad found us and jumped right in for a little kiss. Perfect shot to a perfect day!

Caught ya!

Daddy's Home!

Looking for the planes!

Thank you so much for including me in your day. I hope you truely enjoy these and the rest of the images.

Also, thank you Justin, for your service. It has been a pleasure showing this family off.

Next blog coming soon that includes the Eisenhower homecoming and features a couple of familiar faces to Cocoa Bean Photography, Lindsey and Tyler!

Wendy and Sam

Wendy, congratulations on having you man back home!

This was my first homecoming on the airstrip and wow, a photographer's delight! I have already shown Wendy and Sam thier images but I had to share! I think you'll enjoy it too!

Sam Is a wonderful Navy pilot as you can clearly see. I had a great time watching the planes coming in, and it couldn't have been a more beautiful, sunny day!

You just can pass the opportunity to photograph this awe striking sight.

And wow, just as striking! These lovely ladies really know how to turn it up when thier husbands come in. What husband wouldn't be happy to see them? I love it!

They weren't the only ones excited to see those pilots come in though. I snapped up several shots of the kids nervously waiting for thier Daddies!

I love this shot! As you can tell, the wives were just as nervous or at least holding back overwhelming excitement!

And when these guys make an entrance- They make an entrance!

But nothing in the world beats that first moment back together!

Congrates to you Wendy and Sam and the rest of the group.