When I was driving out towards Gem, Alberta, early-ish for this session, I was in awe
of the landscapes that were unfolding as I headed North out of Brooks, AB. The morning sun was already past it’s early morning,
long-shadow casting pace and was lighting up the sage brush that blew in the raw prairies along with long grasses. When I turned off, just
before I dipped down towards the Red Deer River, I could see the path the river took from the West to the East from my driving perch.
Before I even arrived in the Nielsen driveway my senses were heightened and my inspiration blooming.
When I head out for a Lifestyle Session, I’m just ready to absorb myself into someone else life, and this was no exception.
I walked into Lauren and Lars’ kitchen as they were preparing smoothies and drinks for broken bones while their boys, Liam and Lane were
cuddling kittens and sharing magic tricks. From there, we hit the ground running.
We didn’t stop until the yarn was spun, the flowers watered, chickens, goats and horse fed and the garden planted,
and weeded. The playing, the kindness and the movement of the day was so fulfilling.
These moments are the ones that remind me that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
Life! It is so insanely interesting!
We don’t have animals, so watching the capability of these boys as they feed their chickens and checked eggs, and then
jump on their horse and confidently moved around the animals so a tad bit foreign to me and I admire that
quality of life on a farm or ranch.
Lauren and I spent a year at school together in Victoria, BC, over a decade ago, and I have had the luck of photographing
her and the boys a few times in the past, and so I know her as a friend but what I loved was seeing her as a woman, wife and mother.
Equally awesome was watching Lars with his boys and his animals. My first time meeting Lars, many years ago, I had stopped in to visit Lauren and I convinced
him to drive me to HWY 36 so I could put in an hour of training on my road bike.
On this day, we laughed at house naive I was about the traffic on HWY 36 and how far I’ve made it as a prairie girl.
*I recently posted about my Top 3 road rides out of Dinosaur Provincial Park and I also talk about completely avoiding HWY36 as a road cycling route.*
I should have listened to Lars those many years ago!
Photographing the raw life of a hard working prairie dweller is again, inspiring. It made me want to go home and start weeding my garden,
get back to creating a good meal and appreciating the greatness around me; the vast sky, the approaching rain clouds, the smells of the sage brush
and the quietness of space.
I hope these images share a piece of their extraordinary ordinary.
I think it’s beautiful, honest and I’m always thankful for the opportunity to be a visual story teller.
Thank you Lauren, Lars, Liam and Lane!
by rachel
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