Meeting Elle

A few months ago I had the privilege of meeting the Tankersly family: Mom, Leeana; Dad, Mike, and their ridiculously cute two-year-old twins, Luke and Lane, for a family shoot at the Bahrain Fort. At the time Leeana was expecting their third, a little girl, in February.

Fast-forward a couple of months...and Baby Elle is here, and I had the opportunity to capture this special little girl in her first couple of weeks. She is as sweet as her big brother and sister. It was a joy to spend another afternoon hanging with the cute Tankersly family as they make the move to a family of FIVE. Congratulations to one of the warmest families I've had the chance to photograph: twice!

Here's Elle.

Manama, Bahrain: The Grand Mosque

Beautiful light in a grand, holy place.

The main entrance is open-air--gorgeous, but not so handy during the sandstorm that was going on the day we were there.

Top: The Quran.
Bottom:  These men were learning how to perform the call to prayer, which takes place five times a day here.

A sneaky shot of afternoon prayer.

My covered photo friend, Pricsilla.

Off to pray.

Anticipation.

When I first met Melanie, first-time mother to be, I thought she surely must have a couple months to go before the big delivery date was set to arrive. I soon learned this stunning expectant mom was just three weeks away from bringing her little bundle of love into the world. Two words: not fair! She makes pregnancy look way too easy.

Melanie and Jimmy were one of the cutest couples I've photographed. She could obviously be a model for those darling 'little' maternity clothes (the ones I could never pull off when I was growing larger by the minute waiting on my twin boys to arrive nearly seven years ago--we won't go into the footwear situation that arose...)

Being away from their lush home of South Africa and now living in a desert, Melanie wanted something 'green and vibrant' for her session--not a small feat here in Bahrain. But we settled on a hidden-away oasis of a spot called Jannusan Exotics Nursery, just near my house. The owners have been so gracious in letting me overtake their place of business more than once--thank you, thank you for your little spot of heaven in a land of sand...and more sand.

Melanie just glowed in every photo, and it's plain to see that Jimmy will be the most tender new dad to the baby girl who will be here any day now. Congratulations to such a gorgeous, warm couple as you move into this next wonderful chapter of your lives.

And Baby Ali Makes Three

I recently had the pleasure of photographing my first local family since arriving in Bahrain. It was a great privilege for me to step into their beautiful home and life. Sometimes as expats, although we live among other cultures, it is difficult to bridge the gap and truly experience how the local residents live day to day. Baby Ali had just turned six months old, and his mother, Noor, and father, Akhmed, wanted to capture their little cutie at this early milestone. Ali is one of the smiliest babies I have ever photographed, and his parents made me feel right at home.

After shooting Ali's session, Noor put me in touch with her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Ghalya, who asked me to photograph her engagement party--what a great chance to learn about the Bahraini customs during such a special occasion (photos coming soon!)

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite shots from my day with the Al Bastaki Family--loving the gorgeous light we had. Thanks to Noor and her sweet family for allowing me into your home for the
afternoon!

Something Green.

Okay. I'm WAY behind on posting session stuff--there's been tons of holiday jobs, Christmas chaos, kids home from school (going back tomorrow...but who's ticking off the days?!). So, here we are, and I'm just going to go back a few weeks and start trying to catch up.

Meet the Greens. An English family of four who couldn't have been nicer to meet and to get to know a little bit as we took over the Bahrain Fort. The Greens were hurrying to get family photos wrapped up to give as Christmas gifts before they headed back to the U.K. for the holiday. I loved how laid back Simon (Dad) and Nicky (Mom) were as the kids Grace and 'Tink" (cutest nickname) discovered all the nooks and crannies the ancient fort offers.

Here's a peek into how things turned out. Happy New Year Greens and thanks for letting me get to know you and your warm, sweet family a little bit.

Double Trouble and One on the Way

They say twins are twice the fun. I know. I have six-year-old twin boys myself. Fun always doesn't seem to be the right word, but my shoot with the gorgeous Tankersley family last week actually made me wish (for about half a second) that my twins were that cute age (nearly 3) again.

Leeana is expecting baby number three in February. After spending time with her adorable twins, I can see why she and her husband Steve aren't afraid to jump in and have another baby. I survived the terrible twos/threes with two of my own, but Luke and Lane were just about the sweetest, most well-behaved little people I have met in a while, not to mention seriously CUTE.

I told Leeana she should have 10 more. Thanks Tankersley family for being so great to work with and letting me into your precious, growing family for an afternoon. Here's some of my favorites of the day...

Leeana makes being pregnant (and managing three-year-old twins) look like all those commercials where you're never tired, always gorgeous and truly happy. Not sure how she does that.

Oh, they also have an amazing grandma who made my job SO much easier with all the smiles she easily gets out of her grandchildren.

Little Boys.

Having two little boys myself (who aren't actually that little anymore), I love to chance to shoot the rough-and-tumbler toddler ones. For one, it's a great workout for me with all that running and chasing. But mainly, it reminds me of when mine were pint-sized and all of the adorable things they used to do that I loved but somehow have forgotten as time has passed.

So thank you Mike and Alison (two great parents) and the tiny guys, Nathan and Ryan, for some much needed calorie burning, and a fun session where catching those little boy moments made me hug my own little men a bit tighter that night.

My favorite shot of the afternoon. How cute is that?