I cried when I saw this picture download off the camera. It's one of those images that I didn't see completely when I shot it.
He turns one year old today. Time has never flown by so quickly. He has surprised us so many times. He himself is a surprise. His quick and easy arrival was a big surprise to me. His easy going nature, relaxed demeanor, patient presence, has all been a delightful surprise. Everyone remarks at how even keeled this little guy is. In fact, the first year has been so mellow in his presence that lately, during play dates, should he express an opinion or distaste he is met by gasps and laughter from the mothers who know him and didn't think him capable of a complaint.
This baby is so funny. He is so very charming and coy, flirtatious and giggly. His smile is easy and his tears seldom seen. He's becoming extremely independent. He's fearless. Which of course makes me terrified. Our dining room, leading to the staircase, has become a kind of lock system, similar to those that allow boats to move up and down canals. Multiple gates temporarily stall his progress but it will only be a matter of time, minutes probably, before these baby gates become mere hurdles for this child.
I thank God that I am a photographer. Every tiny detail that makes this tiny person unique is bound to change dramatically from month to month over the coming year and sometimes it seems as though I cannot record enough detail and preserve it for all time. Someday he will talk back. Someday he will storm out of the house and slam the door. Someday he will have his heart broken by a girl. Someday he will call home from college and ask for a batch of my cookies, I hope. Someday he may become a father himself... And on those days I will want to reflect back to these easy going times, and the simplest of images.....
Happy Birthday Darling Boy!

I don't think she knows this, but my friend Pauline was the first person to know that I was pregnant with my third son. We were newly moved to Fort Huachuca in the summer of 2009 when Pauline called me and introduced herself. We met in person for the first time at Buena Highschool Senior Registration Day. It was on this day I was carrying around the surprising and somewhat overwhelming news that I was pregnant, again, rather unexpectedly, and I confessed this fact to Pauline. I think it's rather common to confess big news to a stranger- after all, you get to release something aching to come out, and practice the words before telling your family, and you probably won't see this person much anyway. Fortunately for Pauline and I, the "not seeing more of each other just hasn't been the case". One year ago at 9:22pm I was in the middle of a blissful, epidural induced, nap. They would eventually wake me up and ask "Mrs. Kuniyuki, are you ready to meet your baby?" And the following day a dear friend would visit me in the hospital to meet my new little man. Over the course of 2010 this friend, Pauline, and I would share countless stories, insights, creative thoughts, realizations that we are two people of very similar tastes, opinions, and interests. Pauline shares many special gifts with our family. The gift of her musical voice and strumming fingers rang out clear on Christmas Eve as we lit luminaries on our historic block. The gift of her friendship, her inviting home, filled with delicious smells and always a fresh cup of coffee. The gift of her love with generous hugs and silly remarks for my children who always giggle and smirk and linger in hopes of another tickle. The list is endless. Today there was an extra special gift. Today my friend produced a treasured family souvenir, a kimono from her days living in Okinawa, a baby kimono just the right size for my birthday boy! Only this friend, a fellow photographer and creative mind, could see the potential images combining my sweet little guy and this precious vivid piece of cloth. Thank you so very much for sharing your many treasures with us, we love you so very much!

(If the images in this post appear blurry, click on them individually for a clearer preview.)
I'm always really excited when my client is a tiny person. I love tiny people. Sometimes I think I should only photograph tiny people. They are challenging, adorable, always changing, and such a joy to work with. When this gorgeous little man arrived today for his 7 month old portraits I was immediately smitten with his beautiful baby blue eyes and eyelashes that super models would kill for. Seriously, his lashes were almost 3/4 of an inch long! We sat down to chat for a moment on the floor before starting and he relaxed right into my lap, what a doll! I can't wait to present this collection of images to his parents; I don't know this baby well but I know that I captured some of his most treasured "looks" today. Thank you for sharing your precious little one with me today! Enjoy your sneak peek!

This was literally The Bundle's very first reaction to seeing snow. Can you hear him? It was more like "ooooooooooooooh!" and it was stinkin' cute! Gosh I'm in love with my little people, they are so charming!

Could anything be more precious than a napping infant? Even after they overtook your marriage bed the night before? Even though their little feet remained wedged firmly in your rib cage through the wee hours of morning? Even though they camped out at the breast for eight hours straight? Yes, nothing could be more precious....

Nothing compares to scooping up your baby and having them cling to you, hug you, rest their head on your shoulder, nothing. Awhile back we were at the playground, my friend and I with all of our kids, with cameras in hand. Granted, with four little ones and my youngest finally mobile and getting into everything, we seldom get more than 5 clicks of the shutter before someone gets injured, has been assigned the role of "monster" and no longer wants to play, or needs to be hoisted into a swing... I met this friend when she attended my digital photography classes offered through the Army, and she is such an eager student, I just love when she calls and wants to get out to "play" with her camera. So on this day we got talking about sun flare and in the briefest of moments I demonstrated where she should stand her subject, and where she should shoot from, and I think I took three frames before I was blinded by the sun. When I got home I found this picture and man, does it ever make my heart flutter when I capture a great shot of a wonderful person in my life!

Ten months already. He can stand, he has figured out that if the music table is on hardwood flooring he can push it around and actually walk from place to place as though it were a walker. He has his favorite kitchen cupboards, cooling racks and cutting boards all over the kitchen floor every evening as I cook supper. He smiles more than anyone I know. He babbles and makes noises with his tongue that make the rest of the family hoot with laughter. He is adorable, and he totally knows that we are all wrapped around his little finger. He isn't a big boy. He's very tall, but lacks the rolls of baby fat his brothers both had. Probably because he eats healthier than all of us combined. He gets mostly homemade baby food and has a voracious appetite, in fact that is the only time you will hear him scream or fuss, if you aren't shoveling dinner fast enough. And then he wants down again, to crawl, and stand, and scoot, and boy is he fast! He is predictable, as though God looked down upon me and thought "she has three, and this one was unexpected, so he will be an absolute joy, an easy baby." For all of this I am grateful.

No, I didn't leave him alone with a marker. No, he isn't showing school spirit for Michigan. Yes, he is breathing just fine. If you've never heard of Gentian Violet, it's an herbal supplement used to treat some conditions associated with brestfeeding. He is being treated; it stains EVERYTHING. You can readily see which fingers he favors. This was just too funny not to post. And during the week we had our family portraits scheduled! Fortunately it went away in time.

I confess. Online I appear uber organized. But in real life I'm still wearing my pajamas at 2:42pm. There is no picture of all three boys in their Halloween costumes, together, because I haven't taken it yet. The Bundle's Ewok costume hasn't been unwrapped yet. It's November 2nd. Halloween came, our tiniest lad didn't sleep a wink all day long due to a cold and teething, so come 5:30pm as we are costume clad and ready to go out the door for some trick-or-treating, he was ready for bed. So to bed he went. He slept through the fun. But since I'm a mother of three, I let him sleep, because he really had no idea what he was missing. I can take the picture today, or tomorrow, or next week, and unless he reads my blog as a teenager, he will never know. But gosh, he was awake and adorable for his first trip to the pumpkin patch.

I'm happy to report that I am well again. I've been under the weather for the last week and have so many exciting happenings to blog. But for tonight I just want to post something fun, a family tradition we have where we put our newest addition inside their pumpkin! They NEVER like it at first, I have images of all three boys being lowered down inside and screaming like banshees. But they warm to the idea, they do a little teething, and I never grow tired of snapping away, capturing each unique glance.







And just for fun, because my mother loves to do this, I put them all side by side. From left to right: My first born in 2006, my middle blond baby in 2008, and to the right is The Bundle, born in March of this year.

One week old. I LOVE these sessions. It's part skill, part luck, all timing, and a lot of patience. I don't have to worry about getting the baby to smile at this point, I just have to be ready for whatever she's going to give me. I've been waiting to photograph this precious little princess for a very long time. I've had the joy of watching her mother grow, and grow, and grow. I had the joy of fetching the big sister for an overnight when we finally got The Call. I got to hold her in the hospital nursery shortly after she was born. And in just one week she has changed so much! Perhaps the best part about working with friends is the lack of pressure to perform. Of course I want to deliver the most stunning images I can muster, but there is also a little extra room for creativity because I will ask my friends to do crazy things, like wedge their one week old newborn onto the fender of their Harley, just because it might look neat. When the Harley was offered as a prop my mind spun with excitement and I spent most of my vacation last week thinking up ways to capture the essence of the bike while keeping the focus on the babe. In the end, our gorgeous tiny subject broke every newborn photography rule and was wide awake for most of the session. Most of those sleeping shots? She blinked. But when it came to the fender, she nestled right down and we nearly had to wipe drool off the bike she was snoozing so hard. I'd say 16 years from now, we're going to have a serious biker chick in the family, but watch out boys, Daddy is a Harley riding Marine!

He coos, he rolls, he laughs deep belly laughs, he eats peas, he smiles... there is some hair grabbing and ear pulling too. He lets everyone hold him, thank God. My baby is 6 months old and very nearly ready to crawl, though he has mastered the art of mobility like an inch worm on his back, so maybe he will skip crawling all together. He's discovered his jumperoo excersaucer and squeals like an excited monkey at the mere sight of it. What a joy! It's faces like these that get us pregnant in the first place, so don't stare too long!



I'm aware that my images are pixelating a little bit on the new blog layout. If you happen to know how I can fix this without changing my blog template please let me know!

This Holiday season I am teaming up with my very talented friend Pauline Fredericks, offering an opportunity for local families to have the stunning holiday portraits they've always wanted featured on their cards and gifts. Read on for more details and call for your appointment soon, spaces are filling up really fast!

Baby Mama. Funniest movie I have seen in a long time, and the beauty featured in this sneak peek rivals the movie's ability to make me laugh. My dear friend is having a baby, such a precious and intimate event to share with someone. She was on my "emergency call" list when The Bundle arrived, and now I am on her list. Words can't express what this friendship means to me, so I hope my images will....

Once upon a time he was a quiet and observant little fellow without too much worry or complaint. Now comes the first tooth, I assume, which has been causing a slobbery mess on all my shirt sleeves. A fair amount of screeching and screaming, mostly joyful, but still ear piercing, now rivals the parrot living next door. His gummy smiles are simply to die for, his smushy little cheeks draw so much attention I have to beat away the admirers at the grocery store. Please people, resist the temptation to grab sweet baby fingers and toes, and definitely don't try to kiss my baby if you can't even pronounce my last name! He is so precious, nothing that I write can convey how sweet and heart stoppingly adorable he really is, even if he is shrieking like a banshee...

This morning I had the exciting opportunity to photograph gorgeous twin boys, for the second time! This beautiful family invited me into their home when these little guys were only a few weeks old, that chilly January morning was peaceful, sleepy, warm and cozy, precious. (For a peek at how tiny they were CLICK HERE) Today however, was a whole new world. In a mere 6 months we've discovered yummy fingers, delicious toes, Daddy's nose, and about a thousand other things that make us pout, giggle, and frown. It was just amazing to watch the little personalities grab hold of every heart in the room. It was a bittersweet morning for me as this family is moving, as Army life often makes us, on Tuesday! They will relocate and make a new home amidst old friends in a familiar town far from here. I am always thankful for the amazing souls God brings into my life, if only for a short time, these were GOOD times! Best of luck to your amazing family!

Impossible! I heart faces wants us to choose a baby picture this week... Hmmmm. Well, I have three sons, so there are four and a half years of personal favorites to choose from. And Photos By Karyn is going on year number three of capturing life's most precious moments for other people, so Lord knows I have my favorites there too. So, in the end, I decided to choose the picture that started it all. I took this picture of my middle son, when he was just ten weeks old, with I Heart Faces contributor Julie Rivera's camera no less! I know what you are thinking: can we get some butter for all those rolls?! When I took this picture I finally realized what I wanted to do with my life, I shot my first paid session the same week.


If you haven't made I Heart Faces a favorite on your blog list, it's time! Head on over by following the link below:

I never really enjoyed the physical side effects of being pregnant, so those months went by agonizingly slow. Now, I just wish that time would stand still. He is asleep on my lap, all 14 pounds 3 ounces of him! (He's 24" long too!) He still has that wonderful newborn smell. He's starting to get that bald ring around his head from laying on his back. He's doing push-ups at tummy time. He laughs, he smiles, a lot. He looks most like his older brother, except he still has these captivating blue eyes like noone in the family. He acts with a sweet, quiet, easy going personality that is all his own. The pediatrician says that I am nursing him too frequently. Nevermind that he just slept through the night last night, and nevermind that I have, count them, THREE boys. Sorry Doc, I think by now I know what I'm doing, excuse me while I go feed my incredibly happy baby...

{These images were all captured at home, spur of the moment, around 6pm on the porch, in the span of about 5 minutes before my other two boys had a huge meltdown from hunger... Canon 40D, 24-70mm lens, right around ISO200, F5.6) I simply couldn't pick a favorite!}