Reconnecting

The Jolly blog has been neglected of late, but I make no apologies.  Sometimes you have to withdraw and refuel.  It's been a big year.  A year of unprecedented growth in my business.  A year of giving and of service.  A year of heartache in my personal life.   By September I felt utterly depleted and drained.  I had nothing left to give and my soul was crying out for nourishment.  Unafraid of pulling the proverbial plug, my family and I packed our bags and left for Ireland (my real home) for a week. 

And what a week it was.  Only five people knew I was arriving.  I decided to just do what I wanted to do - no obligations to anyone.  I was craving, as I often do, freedom.  Freedom to roam, freedom to explore, freedom to dream, freedom to just be.   I ate lots of comfort food, I went horse-riding, I took long country walks, I stood alone outside in the cold to gaze at the moon, I spent time with fun-loving people, I laughed a lot, and I was reminded of all the goodness and kindness in the world.  I reconnected with myself.   Next time I won't wait so long.

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Swinglish family of six in Stocksund | Djursholm children's photographer

Mom's hair is really long and fabulous.  Like, really long and fabulous.  That was the very first thing I noticed when this charming family arrived at our location for their shoot back in August.  After that I was introduced to one gorgeous, polite child after another.  Four in total.  Ranging in age from 1 to 8.  Was I nervous?  I won't lie, I was a tad worried their adorable one year old might not want to partake in our photo shoot.  One year olds are unpredictable little creatures though and what do ya know, the minute I lifted my camera to take her solo portraits, her smile lit up the whole of Stocksund!  :)

Turning two and surrounded by love | Stockholm child photographer

I love repeat clients.  It's not something I take for granted and when a client re-books me to photograph their family, I am honestly humbled.  I have photographed this fabulous family many times and I've enjoyed every single shoot. This little girl (the calmest two year old I have ever met, incidentally) turned two last month.  Her grandma flew in from New York, so luckily the mom had the good sense to document this special occasion.  I loved both of my grandmothers dearly, so I'm always happy when other families include grandparents in their photo session! This is just a small selection of the beautiful images we got that day.  Happy days :)

A morning stroll through the woods in Åkersberga

I could feel it as soon as I entered their sun-filled home in a charming and idyllic neighbourhood in Åkersberga.  A positive, happy energy permeated the air.  This super-sweet American family had told me they love the great outdoors, so we gathered up all the necessary children's provisions and headed to the local woods.  The big brother brought his sword and wowed up with his impressive ninja moves.  We explored, examined a dead beetle, played in a tiny hut, oh and took some pictures.  I'm also happy to report that even though I'm usually the target of every mosquito within a 20 mile radius, I somehow survived this shoot unschathed!  Now, how angelic do these little siblings look? :)