Uncle Yef, Unclehood Training by Fire

My little brother, Geoff, came up to visit last week. We hadn't seen each other in over two years. The last time he had seen Bella, she was nine months old. It was his first time meeting Julietta. It didn't take much to win the two of them over, though. They were putty in his hands. Nearly every morning this week, Bella has woken up wanting to go down and cuddle with "Uncle Yef".  Throughout the day I would randomly here, "Uncle Yef, I'm on on the bunk bed!" and then I'd catch glimpse of a streak of color through the house  - he whisking  her around, arms spread, flying like a superhero.

It was certainly not much of a vacation for poor Geoffy. For the past week,  he has been helping out around the house, standing in to watch the girls so I could do normal things like take a shower, or try to do some work, and well... yes, he also did two straight days of yard work. Check out my preschool website: www.elgatopreschool.blogspot.com  to see what we accomplished. I'm pretty sure we've convinced him to put off parenthood for another ten years... at least. He loved the time with his nieces, but I have a feeling that he is looking forward to going shopping without  frantically grabbing various things off the shelf to keep a baby fom crying, and I bet that the toddler meltdowns will be happily left behind.

I am so thankful he was here with us. For me, grocery shopping was a breeze! Two adults to two children. Simple! I even left the girls with him for a half an hour so I could go pick up a pizza. This, I could get used to!

A few hours ago, we dropped Uncle Yef off at the airport, all four of us in tears. That was the first time that had ever happened! Man, I'm going to miss him. I'm not ready to go back to being a single mom again!! Why can't someone just buy the stinkin' cafe?!?! ( Alex, get here soon!)

Geoffy, thank you so much for coming to spend the week with us. I miss you already!

Hi, I'm Sarah Bunch. Remember Me?

This is the kind of dorky thing I say to people I went to high school with that I randomly meet on the island. Not only did I go to high school with them, I most likely went to middle school, elementary school, kindergarten, and possibly even preschool.

That first paragraph really has nothing to do with my post. The title doesn't really either. But, if my brother's motto can be, "I'm Geoff. I do what I want, when I want, it's part of my charm." I feel like I get to be random whenever I feel like it, because I can. I also haven't been around a lot lately, so I want to make sure you don't forget about me. Don't don't don't don't!

I talked to Alex today. HE'LL BE HERE SOON!!!! No plane tickets have been bought. The cafe still hasn't changed hands, but it will be happening very very soon. I bet you can guess how excited I am. Being a single mom of two is rough stuff. Anyway, while talking to Alex, he mentioned that I haven't been posting any photos at all recently, and he missed seeing the girls. I know I know I know. He's right. I have been so busy trying to get El Gato con Botas, the Spanish immersion preschool that I'm opening, ready, I haven't had time to focus on photography. I still have two sessions I haven't even finished editing because I just can't seem to get everything done!!! But, because I'm such a caring wife, I figured I'd post a few images from last weekend. We went down to Chehalis to help my brother, JJ, and sister in-law. Kayli, do some work. (We mostly just got in the way. But at least we were there to show our support!!)

"What's the deal with the bandana?" you may be asking. It was sunny. She's pretty bald. No sun hats in sight.

Alex, we can't wait to see you!

And to the rest of you, I promise I will back this way again soon. I will also be posting Shauna Ahern (a.k.a Gluten Free Girl ) and family's photo session soon on my Sarah Bunch Photography blog Monday morning.

Vashon Island Head Shot Photographer - Project 52 Week 13 - Black and White

Black and White is the theme for this week's Project 52 that I'm participating in with 17 other incredibly talented photographers from The Bloom Forum.

Time has been somewhat of an unseen commodity these days. So, I won't waste any this week, and just leave you with my black and white images:

Now go on over and take a look at  Shea Parker/Clinton Mississippi Child Photographer   to see her amazing work.

Happy 3rd, Bella Lu!

Three years ago I was lying in a hospital bed, mesmerized with this little bundle of gurggles and grunts and groans and poop and pee and cries. Oh, that first night, did she cry! I remember how new everything was,  how I was afraid I would break her little arms while trying to change her onesie. It makes me smile to think how much rougher I am with Julietta. I just flip her and toss her and pull on those limbs that she likes to stiffen up.  Anyway, back on March 31st 2008 I remember just sitting and staring at Bella. We stared at each other for hours.

I think it's funny how we imagine what our children are going to be like, and they turn out completely different. First of all, how did I get such a blondie? And character wise, well, sometimes I think that she didn't get an ounce of Sarah Bunch in her. She's fearless and tough and knows exactly what she wants. She can be the biggest pain in the butt at times because she is so decisive, and stubborn and quite bossy too (ok, maybe an ounce or two of me did slip into the mix) but I admire her for her strength. And with all that inside, she has such a gentle heart that she cries when her sister gets hurt, and yells and yells and YELLS for me if she thinks her sister might be in danger.  She "reads" birthday cards and they always say, "I love you. I love you. I love you." and every now and then she'll say to me, "I love you sooooo much". She challenges me on a daily basis to keep my patience so I can teach her patience - to teach her kindness and understanding instead of getting frustrated and losing my cool. She challenges me to be a better person, so I can raise her to be the best person she can be.

3rd Birthday Party dressed in her "pincess dress"

First day of Preschool

I love you, Bella Lu. With every ounce of my heart and soul. Happy Birthday!

Seattle Lifestyle Photographer - Project 52 Week 11 - Close Up

I am going to have to make this one quick and to the point.

Close ups. I love close ups, but I rarely take them. I think I'll make it a goal to take more of them.

Now head on over to Simply Shauna Photography to see what the fabulous Shauna, Sudbury, Ontario photographer, will dazzle us with.

Project 52 Week 10 - Vintage

I am a big sucker for anything vintage. I think this must be because my dad owned an antique store when we were kids so he was constantly dragging us to antique stores, flea markets, garage sales and thrift stores. I remember one summer, spending the days at his shop in Quartermaster harbor on Vashon. I was eight and had just received my very first camera for my birthday. Oh, the pure joy!! I was so thrilled to be getting a camera. I wanted to take photos of all my dolls and write a book about them. I never finished it.

Vintage love has followed me throughout my life. My very first car was a cherry red ´64 Volkswagen bug that had a horn that constantly got stuck on. My friends and I had a blast cruising around in that thing. As for furniture, well, I have very few pieces of furniture, since I've moved around so much, but I do have a couple pieces that I've toted around with me - my parent's very first piece of furniture - a beautiful oak bookcase, and my very favorite - a wooden, wind up record player that dates back to the early 1900s. I adore it. I like to think about the people who bought it new. What excitement they must have felt!!

We moved into our new house two days ago, so I went to pick up my small stash of furniture from my dad's house. He could probably open another antique store, he has so much stored in his barn. One pretty chair caught my eye while I was there, and my dad let me have it. It has been badly damaged by a naughty kitty, but I don't care. I love it anyway. I can't remember what kind of chair he said it was, but he did mention that it dates back to the 1800s! Wowsers! Amazing.

Now head on over to see the talented Shauna, Sudbury, Ontario Photographer
 of Simply Shauna Photography.

Project 52 Week 8 - Books

The theme for this week's Project 52 (a 52 week-long photography project I'm participating in with 17 other extremely talented photographers from The Bloom Forum) was Books. Oh, how I adore books! I could think of a million different photographs that would fit the theme. This week, though, or today, really, is a special day for my family and me. It is our baby girl, Julietta's first birthday. Oh, I could eat her up, I love her so. And so does her papá. He is also a major book-lover. When I think of books, I also think of him, and how when we packed up our house, we could easily part with most of our stuff, but not our books.

Anyway, today is a very special day, but it is also a sad day. My husband isn't here. He's still in Spain, trying to sell our cafe, and missing his daughter's first birthday. It breaks my heart to know it's breaking his. A year ago, I was in a birthing pool in our living room (the one we had flooded a few weeks earlier with that very same pool!) and Alex was the saint of saints as far as husbands of laboring wives go - bringing me juice, holding my hair while I was puking my guts out, and allowing me to cut off the circulation in his hand from squeezing it so hard. (Was that really just a year ago? And at the same time - has it already been a year?!)

This week, my photos are for you, Alex. Here are your girls, doing one of your favorite things in the whole wide world -  reading. Someday soon you'll be here to pick up where you left off with story time. The Queen of Hearts and Los Tres Cerditos just aren't the same without you (I, apparently, don't do the voices right!)

We miss you madly today. We miss you madly every day.

Will someone please buy the café already?!

Now, friends, eat something sweet in celebration of Julietta, and head on over to see what the cunningly creative Shauna, Sudbury Child and Family Photographer, from Simply Shauna Photography has come up with!

Project 52 Week 7 - Beginnings

This week's theme for Project 52 was pretty easy for me. I could have basically taken my camera with me everywhere I went and just started clicking away. It is all new for me, even though I'm moving back to where I'm from.

I haven't lived on my little island in more than 15 years, so I anticipate I'll feel like a foreigner again at the beginning... maybe not, though. I visited the island a few days ago, and I felt like I was finally home. I can not wait to start a new life there. Everytime I thought about where I wanted my kids to grow up, the only place I could imagine was Vashon Island. I have so many beautiful memories from my childhood, and I still have the same best friends I had from when I was eight. I want so badly for my children to get a dose of that wonder as well.

This second picture is my daughter (right) with my best friend's daughter (from when I was eight!) and my sister in la-la's daughter. (She's not really my sister-in-law. She's my best friend's sister-in-law, but we refer to each other as sister in la-las... we might as well be related!) I thought this photo really captured the beginning of what is sure to be a very long, beautiful friendship.

Please make sure to go visit Shauna, Sudbury Photographer, from Simply Shauna Photography. She's been on fire lately!

Project 52 Week 6 - Love

Love Love Love. That is the theme for this week's Project 52 that I'm participating in with 17 other wickedly talented photographers from The Bloom Forum.

Last Sunday I had the pleasure of doing a photo session at dawn with the lovely Sarah Cook from www.beingfrugalbychoice.blogspot.com and her beautiful family. Their son, Jack, was out of sorts. He was crying and having mini tantrums and just plain ol' grumpy. I was like, "sounds like a perfectly normal two-year-old to me", but, apparently, this was not like him, and so both Sarah and her husband, Troy, were worried. I could tell that it was very hard for them to concentrate on photos while they're little kiddo was unhappy.

This was right after Jack had fallen down. I know this isn't going to win me any awards, but I just love the emotion in this photo.

I know it wasn't the ideal photo situation, but to me, those worried looks, represent the real LOVE that a parent has for a child. Once you become a parent, you are thrown into this whirlwind of emotion. It's something that no one can prepare you for. I certainly wasn't ready for it.  A huge chunk of all that emotion is the worry that is thrown into the mix. Sometimes I feel like I won't be able to handle it, because I know it will always be there. What we worry about as parents will probably change, as time goes on, but there will always be something - whether it's not knowing why your baby's crying, to holding on to the door as your 16 year-old  drives down the driveway for the first time.
 

And then there was the cuddly kissy love. Oh, I LOVE this LOVE.

Things calmed down quite a bit towards the end of the session, and it started to sprinkle, while the sun stayed out. Beautiful light. Beautiful family.
LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Now head on over to see the amazing Shauna, Sudbury Photographer, from Simply Shauna Photography, and her interpretation of this week's theme.

What's Going On

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I'm still on a weird schedule. I actually wake up at sunrise. So not like me!

This is going to be a quick one. I just had to share a couple things before I get completely  back loaded with blogging.

First of all, despite being completely cautious and careful about my camera while travelling, look what happened during the flight -

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!

It's enough to make you sick, isn't it? 

This is my Nikor 24-70mm, f/2.8 a lens much coveted by professional photographers. I love this lens. I don't use it as much as my 50mm, but it comes out for very special shots.  Last week when I was taking photos of Julietta at sunrise on my mom's deck, I pulled out my 24-70mm and this is what I found. This was days after we'd landed. I was petrified. I knew Alex would be livid. Can you just imagine the feeling? I don't even want to think about it.  Yuck. 

Luckily, Alex had insisted on buying a polarizer immediately after we'd bought it, and the only part of the lens that was damaged was that. (HUGE sigh relief... I mean HUGE)

Oh to be HOME!!
This is what I've been missing. This is what I wanted my children to grow up with. I can take the cloudy days if they get to play in streams and mud and be surrounded with lush green every day of their lives. This is a beautiful park nearby my mom's house where there is a frisbee golf course!! I'll post more about this place soon.

And look at these sweet cheeks! This is my friend's daughter, Sarah. I had a session with them right before we left Valencia, and haven't had time to finish editing the images.  (Sorry, Christina!!!) It has been blogged on my new site: sarahbunchphotography.com/blog 
Check out this beautiful family. I just want to squeeze this little sweetie every time I see her adorable face!

And in case you're wondering what I'm doing with two blogs, I've decided that my new blog will be the place to go to see all my sessions that I do. It will be the more cut and dried, professional site. When you visit me here, you'll see the crazy, wild eyed, nut behind all the calm, collected and put together (if I somehow manage to achieve that!). I will be dedicating this site to what it was originally meant for - the behind the scenes take on my journey as a photographer. I'm sure you'll need a little dose of both to keep you balanced. Hey, I'm a gemini. It wouldn't be right to see only one side.

And don't forget to enter the FREE SESSION GIVEAWAY!!! I only have 21 people entered as of this moment. Get your little bums moving and leave a comment on this post PRONTO!

Project 52 Week 5 - Motions

I have been MIA this past week. Man, travelling across the world will tucker you out! I've been waking up way too early and going to bed by 9!! That's crazy talk!  Anyway, I haven't had  much time at all to concentrate on photography (besides my lens fiasco, which I'll tell you about in a few days), but after missing last week of Project 52, I just could not let it slide another week.  I missed you all too much!!

So, this is what I came up with in a pinch...

To me, this captures the love that my daughter and her yaya share. Yaya is going back to Spain tomorrow. There's a lot of motion and E-motion involved in all that surrounds us at the moment. (This was also an attempt to capture motion blur without a tripod. Not perfect, but not too shabby either!)

And I just found the motion in this one so evident, even though there is no motion blur. I am also loving that, even though I'm in Seattle, I'm still able to shoot with flare! Yippy! May the trend continue!!

Now head on over to see what the wickedly creative Shauna, Sudbury Photographer, from Simply Shauna Photography, has come up with.

Here Comes the Sun

I've been wanting to use this ironic title for years now!!!!

Here I am in my very first apartment in Valencia. I lived with a guy from Germany and one from Holland. My room was the size of a closet ( see below)

It's finally here. I'm leaving. I'm going home!!!! I've been dreaming about this day for years. There were times when I thought it would never happen  - that I'd be doomed to spend the rest of my life here. It felt like the vacation that just wouldn't end.  Nearly seven years ago, I took a sabatical from work to travel Europe. I was supposed to go back after the year and begin working again. I didn't. I was going to stay in Valencia for four months to learn the language. I didn't... I didn't learn the language perfectly either! I have cried so many tears and have gotten to such a lonely place that it's hard to remember what I'm really like anymore. It has been hard, to say the least, but I know what I've gone through has made me into a stronger person. I'm not going to say better. I think I've seen a lot of parts of myself that I wish weren't there. I've realized that in times of difficulty and stress, a lot of ugliness comes seaping out. It makes me sympathize with people, though, who I never could understand before.

Here's my little room. I came with only a backpack! I love it how it didn't even cross my mind to straighten up before taking the picture. I guess I wanted it to be real. I appreciate that!

Even though I'm going and looking forward to soooooo many things - my family, my friends, my home, friendly customer service, a dryer, a big back yard, being able to speak the language, being able to drive... and go places when I want to... (Oh, I could go on with this list forever!)   I don't ever want to forget all of the things that I love about Spain. For starters - the sunshine. I love the weather here. I love that I can always count on backlight in my photos! Oh, and I will miss my insurance and never worrying about coverage. That's been a beautiful thing, never having to think about that. I will miss the fact that people disagree here about what's going on with the government, but that never divides them as people, nor does it define them. I will miss the public transportation system, the ability to walk everywhere and always feel safe. I'll miss the Mediterranean food and the social way of life. I'll miss the small independent cafés, restaurants and bars, the history and lack of strip malls. I'll miss the old, beautiful buildings, the cobblestone, the marble, and all the wisdom that comes with age.

Boy, I guess I could go on with this list forever as well. It's funny to love two places so much but in such completely different ways. I used to say that if I could only combine Spain and Seattle, I'd live in the perfect place (I think I'd have to throw a little Monterey into the mix, though!)

This was taken last Sunday at our very last paella together.

Since I've been here, I've lived in seven different apartments, with people from 10 different countries. I've worked as an English teacher, a bar owner, a translator, a mommy and a photographer.  I've been dirt poor, have cried my eyes out on numerous occasions, but have experienced some of the greatest joys of my entire life. I have learned more than I could ever share. It has been an incredible experience.

And now, I'm ready to go home. : )

Scared

We leave in three days. I've spent the last month being a pathetic excuse for a mom, so that I could be a better mom in the future by making a living off of photography, and do you know what is going through my head right now? It goes something like this - "What IN THE WORLD are you thinking?!"

I'm scared out of my mind.

We are leaving Valencia because our café can't support us. We are leaving because I either look for a job here and put my kids in not-so-great day care, or go back and try to find a job. But we all know that finding a job right now is not easy, especially for a teacher who's teaching license has expired.  So, my bright idea was to start a photography business. I've put all of me into it. I've stayed up until 2 in the morning for the past 10 months. I haven't sat on the couch and watched a movie, read a book or knit a hat in 10 months. I have put every last thing I have into it, and now after lauching my website and my blog, most of my confidence is waning. I'm not good enough. No one wants me to take their photos. I am going to fall flat on my face. Like I feared. It's going to come true. It's already happening.

I am scared to leave here. I'm scared of all the humiliation that will come with failing.


I am just so scared.

Project 52 Week 3 - Warmth

This week for Project 52, a year long photography project I'm working on with 17 other talented photographers from The Bloom Forum, our theme was WARMTH. I bet you can think of a zillion things to do for "warmth" right. Yeah, me too. The first thing I think of, though, is two people cuddled up, and guess what?! I just happened to get an image of my friend, Christina, and her fiancé, Markus, all cuddled up and lovey-dovey, and as an added bonus, she's wearing a scarf.  We went for a photo session in the park with their daughter, Sarah, on Sunday afternoon. I'm pretty sure they thought it would mostly be pictures of Sarah, and were a little surprised when I turned it into a smootch fest. Look at the warm smiles on their faces, though. You  know they LOVED it.

Now go take a peek at what Shauna from Simply Shauna Photography has in store for us. That girl is ON FIRE! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) ; )

B-Rad and his Girls

Last week I had the privelege to do a photoshoot with my friend, Bradford (I call him B-rad, and if I were him, I'd go by that all the time) and his two daughters, Julia and Anna. What fun we had, singing, and running and playing tag and Simon Says. Good times were had by all.

I'm so stoked at how these images turned out. I am in love with the light and the smiles, but most of all, I love the interaction between this family. It is apparent by looking at these images, just how much Bradford loves his girls, and how much they adore their daddy in return.
 

 B-rad, it's been fun. I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do. See you sometime in the future... either back in Spain, or in the US. TAKE CARE and give those little girls big squeezes for me!

Love,
Sarah