Happy Birthday Miss N!

Last Friday I met Miss N and her parents at their home for some first birthday pics. N is just a month younger than Abigail. I met her mom, Kelly, last October through Baby Boot Camp, and we've had such a great time watching the girls grow and change over the year. We've had countless conversations about sleep, food, sleep, diapers, sleep -- the list goes on and on. I'm so thankful that we've become friends.

Miss N's session began at home. Usually when I see N, she's the one who will sit and watch everything going on around her. I don't know what got into her, but she was a wild thing on her parents' bed. She nearly jumped off a couple times.

She did NOT want to wear a hat!

Then we moved into N's adorable nursery. I love the wall color!

And then out into the beautiful (and productive!) garden.

In the backyard. I think she wants down.

After we had exhausted the home front, N was up for more, so we headed to downtown Edmonds for a few shots around Main Street.

This is my absolute favorite shot of the day.

N really came alive when people walked by. Actually, they never really walked by. They stopped to exclaim over how adorable N was and how good and sweet and beautiful. She really is.

We were just about at the end of N's patience here. See the tears?

Love the kisses.

N's parents are both teachers and big readers. I'm sure N has already spent a lot of time at this Edmonds bookstore.

Happy Birthday, N! You were a perfect little model.

Welcome!

Trevor has been trying to get me to blog for years, but now that I have a daughter and a business, I finally feel like I have something to share. So welcome to One Tree Photography’s blog! I imagine that this will be a combination of personal and professional photos and stories. At this point I’m guessing you already know me if you are reading this, but for those of you who don’t, those of you in the future who are reading this in my archives…

I’m Jessica Peterson, and before embracing photography professionally, I’ve been a whole lot of things: waitress, middle school teacher, Barnes and Noble minion, blackjack dealer, the list goes on. But this is what I was meant to be doing. I’ve always wanted to be an artist, but I couldn’t draw or paint or sculpt, so I’ve been searching for years for a way to satisfy that artistic longing. In college my dad lent me his Minolta XD-11 to take to Romania for the summer. He gave me a brief crash course on shutter speed and aperture (he had been taking fabulous pictures since before I was born) and sent me off. There was plenty of amazing architecture and beautiful scenery, but my favorite shots were those of the children. And they still are.

Fast forward almost a decade and now I have a daughter and I can’t seem to take enough photos of her. I want to capture every bit of her because already I’ve learned that she grows way too fast. Trevor gave me my first DSLR when she was three months old and it felt like I had reclaimed a missing part of me. My old manual had been idle for quite a while (the cost of film and developing and the time lapse between taking and viewing pictures had forced me to embrace a digital point and shoot), but I had felt that loss. No more! I had the optics and control of my old SLR but the instant gratification of the digital age. Heaven!

Not too long ago, I worked for one of those busy photo studio chains. There were things I liked and things I didn’t, but I learned a lot about what is really important to me as a photographer. Hint: it isn’t about getting the perfect smile. It’s about capturing a moment that will never happen again. It’s about showing soul, not just pretty eyes. It’s about approaching a shoot with a mother’s love and seeing uniqueness in every subject. And it’s pretty hard for that to happen in a twenty minute session in a tiny studio.

So now I’m on my own! Why “One Tree”? Trevor and I were married under a solitary pine tree on Orcas Island. That’s where our family officially began, and if it weren’t for that union, I don’t know if this ever could have happened. Trev has been my ultimate cheerleader, always believing that I should follow my heart and find the thing that makes me feel RIGHT. So this is for him, for us. One Tree Photography.

That’s a lot of writing and not one picture yet! Well, here are a few of Abigail (13 months) in our backyard. I don’t think the lawn has been mowed since her birthday party. I’d hate to cut down the pretty dandelions!






Here's a picture of the Point Lawn and the tree we were married under. Every year we go back to visit.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I have some great posts planned for later this week.