One of the things I love about my work as an artist is that sometimes I get the pleasure of meeting some really cool people. Rick and Christina are some of those really cool people. I met them over three years through my affiliation with the Athens Birth Circle when they contacted me about maternity portraits. They live outside of Lancaster and when they booked me had mistakenly thought I worked out of Athens…they decided to make the drive to Belpre anyway and a friendship was forged.
I photographed their daughter Raven Emmaline over the first year of her life and really got to know all three of them as a family. My favorite sessions that year were always at their farm. I often come home with a dozen of fresh eggs and a smile! I missed my appointment with them last year because I was attending and photographing the delivery of my cousins daughter, Lydia.
I got them on the calendar this year in a prime fall foliage spot as their farm Sandy Rock Acres is amazing and bursting with beauty that time of year and I did not want another year to go by without seeing Miss Raven! She is a very serious little girl sometimes and I love photographing her – her eyes are amazing and she always gives me a good stare down!
Many of you may already know that I love a good barter, it makes me downright giddy, especially if it’s something I am really excited about - like getting the house painted or humanely raised meat. Rick, Christina and Raven own Sandy Rock Acres , a 50 acre farm based on the philosophy meat should be raised in the most humane way possible. They are not in a hurry and they don’t believe that bigger is always better. They believe, like I do, that happy animals make better tasting meat.
This has to be one of my all time favorite barters because not only was it a great deal for both of us but I love telling people that my sittings are $125.00 or 12 free range chickens….yep they paid in chickens. I bragged about it for days, begging everyone that came in the house to look in my freezer. We have had the most amazing meals from these chickens and they are indeed tasty…mmmm tarragon lemon roasted chicken….mmmm.
Our session came at the end of an amazing week for me. I had spent some time in the Columbus area being gentle with myself and forging some new friendships. I hung out at my Grammas and did a bunch of nothing and then I got to finish the week by photographing on the farm. Here is a peek at our afternoon - I cannot remember a more gorgeous fall shooting day.
