Schlagwortarchiv für: Parents

Time to say goodbye to beautiful White Sands National Monument / Photo Sessions by Karina Schuh Photography

Familien Portraits

I will never forget White Sands National Monument. It ist he most magical and peaceful place that I know. So much beauty. Many people that live around Alamogordo, NM want me to shoot their sessions at White Sands. As there is a lot of military here in the area, people are moving a lot, stay for a few years and will be deployed somewhere else. To remember this stunning place, many families booked their sessions out at White Sands with me. I even booked seniors, engagement couples and families from other States of the U. S. who were drawn by the beauty of White Sands.

Some weeks, I booked four sessions out there and I got never tired of it. Of course, taking photos out there is not as easy as it seems because the sun is very bright and the white sand reflects it even more. To get the right skin color, I try to be careful with the direction of the sun that skin tones look nice and even. There is no shadow to work with and when you have people with no hair in front of you, it makes it even harder. An overcast day would be perfect out there to achieve the perfect colors.

But everybody has so much fun out there, in the biggest sand box of the world. And everybody is happy and enjoyes the magic. Jumping, running around, digging, sliding, all these things are possible for all kinds of ages.

My time here in Alamogordo is over. Since my husband has been deployed here at Holloman Airforce Base since 2009, we have had the possibility to get to know Alamogordo and surroundings as well as the U.S while traveling. Now, we are moving back to Germany and a new chapter in our lives will begin. We will never forget the time here in Alamogordo with its kind people and the sunshine. 

The following photos show a German family that moved to Alamogordo, just last year. They come from the Baltic Sea and love the beaches so much that White Sands created the perfect environment for them. Look, these pictures tell their story.

Abel’s birth story on October 05th, at 00.03 a.m. at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center | Alamogordo, NM | Birth Photography by Karina Schuh Photography

Everytime, I am waiting for a delivery, I am ‚on call‘, that means that I should not leave Alamogordo about two weeks before due date until the baby is born. Libby’s due date was September 28th, 2016. That meant I had been on call since September 14th. We texted back and forth but baby Abel took his time. My husband planned on going on some trips as the German School was closed for vacation and my cousin from Germany came to see us here. The first weekend in October was a long weekend and my husband planned on going to see the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque. But as the baby did not want to arrive, I did not want to risk to leave for the weekend. Too bad but that’s my work. Sometimes, it is hard to understand for my family that I love birth photography so much as I am very limited during this time. And even for me, it is hard for me too.

Libby was induced on October 03rd in the evening. The next day I stayed very close to my phone and received some updates from time to time. At the end of the day, Libby was 4 cm dilated and until then nothing really happened. I went to bed at 9 pm hoping to get some sleep before I go to the hospital. I was thinking of them and was not really asleep when Caleb sent me a text that Libby suddenly was 9 cm dilated. That’s when I jumped out of my bed to make it on time to the hospital. I ran through the long corridors of the hospital and arrived at their room … on time. Everything was prepared for the delivery. Libby looked very tired from such a long time in labor. At about 10.45 p.m. the delivery started. But Abel took his time to arrive. He did not want to arrive on October 04th so he waited till midnight and finally arrived at 00.03 a.m. All the time of labor and pain was over and forgotten and I had a very happy family in front of me. Congratulations Libby and Caleb. Your son is gorgeous, precious and absolutely handsome.

I can’t find words for the time when parents finally hold their newly born son or daughter in their arms, so much in love. These are the most beautiful moments of my work and I can’t everybody thank you enough for inviting me in such a private atmosphere to create and document their baby’s birth story that they will be able to look back for years to come. Their baby when he or she is grown, they can even look at these beautiful images full with love and precious moments.

Documenting a birth story does not mean that I as the photographer is interrupting the family during labor and birth, NO, I try to stay as quiet as possible, I don’t talk unless I am asked and I am just squeezed behind the bed and try to do my job using my best technical skills to document each individual moment. As it is very hard in the delivery room, I need these technical skills to produce the photos in good quality. I never use flash to not disturb anybody in the room.

After a delivery, the parents and families are so happy and they are thankful when I snap all these beautiful moments that happens right after like first breastfeeding, first kisses, exploring babies body, cuddling, bathing, measuring, and weighing the baby, and when parents or family arrives, I also document these moments.

Thank you for letting me document Abel’s birth story on October 05th, Thank you Caleb & Libby! You are a wonderful family!