portraits

Sam and Santa

in

Right after hell froze over, Josh took Sam to see Santa Claus. As you can see it was a tremendous success. Must have been all those Jewish ancestors telling Sam how wrong, wrong, wrong this is. Ben must have heard them because he was too scared to even get close to Mister Claus. You know you are in Texas when Santa's choice of footwear is cowboy boots. Photo by noerrprograms.com.

Snapshots

in

Just a couple of shots from my recent family visit. These were taken the day before my grandfather died.My Grandmother and Grandad. They were married for 71 years. My Grandad and sister-in-law Kim: A map my Grandad made with pins of all of the places he and my Grandmother have visited and lived (this photo only shows about a quarter of the map): Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Grateful

in

I am SO grateful for all of the kind words you all had for me and my family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It has been so nice to be able to say goodbye to my grandad and to spend such quality time with my grandmother and my immediate family. It has also been a gift for us to be together with no spouses and no children, simply because it has allowed us to reminisce about old times without the fear of boring anyone and without the constant interruptions of children.Upon my return I will have pictures to share. I had forgotten how beatiful it is here, so I even took some (gasp) landscapes. Thanks again. I am so blessed to have you wonderful people in my life.

Right Back Where I Started From

in

I unexpectingly find myself back home in California this week. I made the decision abruptly to come and spend some time with my grandparents. They are 92 years young and until the last year or so have been the picture of health. My grandfather has made a steep decline and is not long for this world. He is at home with hospice care and is in the process of shutting down. One thing that I should mention is what a HUGE part my grandparents have played in my life. They have always lived within one mile of us. We saw them every day. They were there from the first day my parents brought me home from the adoption agency. They came to every school play, every swim meet. They said I could be whatever I wanted to be. While my parents were critical, they told me I was perfect.

I was nervous to see my grandad. To see his deterioration would be to admit that he would soon be leaving me. In Texas it was easy to keep my visual memory of him restricted to his past self, ignoring the present. But I think that I had overprepared myself because he looked better than what my imagination had conjured. I was afraid he would not know who I was because I had been warned by family that it would be likely, but he knew me right away and he closed his eyes tightly and began to tear up. He talked about how good it was that I had come and how much he loved me and his family. All of his life grandad was NOT effusive. He had never said he loved me. He was not physically affectionate. He was a military man through and through. But his actions showed every day how he felt and the fact that he now has words to match them makes little difference.

At about 7:00 tonight my grandfather passed. It is so hard to say goodbye.

Sam and Elmer on Mother's Day 2007

All in the Family

in

When fellow Austin photographer Dave McLaughlin asked for someone to take a family photograph, I jumped at the chance. I LOVE Dave. He frequents my blog and has been incredibly supportive and generous with his kind words about my work. I finally got to meet him in person a few weeks ago and he is simply splendid. And now I know that his wife Kerri and their daughter Ava are just as lovely. My only regret is that I wasn't able to spend more time hanging out with them and taking pictures after the one more cup of coffee that I desperately needed. But I can simply hope that I will get another chance to capture them again. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Goodbyes

in

When Ben left this morning I asked him for a kiss. He ignored me. Josh urged him to give me a kiss and when Ben did not I said "Please don't push him, I want him to choose to or not to, but I want it to be organic". Josh replied, "Hippie". I haven't laughed that hard in ages.

Family Session: Home on the Range

in

This family of three not only were charming and easygoing, but they also graciously invited me to their ancestral home, which is an old cattle ranch in Dripping Springs. It was so nice to get out into the fresh air for awhile. When I walked up to the house the cows and the horse were all staring at me. Talk about having all eyes on you. I found out later that they thought I might be carrying a snack for them. And little, silly Sadie just stole my heart. Her mom told me later that she woke up from her nap and asked, "Where is my camera friend? I need her." Josh and I laughed about that all day. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Good Golly Miss Mollie

in

This morning we met up with fellow photographer Mollie Donovan to do a little holiday photo swap. It was very cold and her daughter was feeling terrible and later turned out to have a fever of 104. But we persevered and I think she got some great shots. You can see them here. I only hope mine did her beautiful family justice. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

in

Well I am one day late as usual. Hope you had a great day yesterday filled with yummy food and lots of love. We had a wonderful day and I took lots of shots, but am too lazy to process them all right now, but I will soon. Thought I would leave you all with this one to give you a taste of how peaceful our dinner was. Not to worry though, we brought out the teething drugs soon after this and then all was bliss. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Holiday Mini Sessions: The Geddie Girls

in

I loved these women. The sisters are what are commonly called Irish twins and the love between them and their mom Stacey is fully evident. And Fiona's fabulous nails almost made me want to be a teenager again. I said ALMOST. And for some reason I LOVE the last shot, which is not technically great, but I love the feeling of it. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Holiday Mini Sessions: The Baby

in

This little angel was such a good sport. It was so cold and so windy and not one complaint from her sweet little lips. Isn't she just the cutest? I wanted to squeeze her and take her home. But then I remembered I already have two at home and the house is full up. But take her photograph? Any day of the week. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.

Holiday Mini Sessions: The Simons

in

I love this family so much. Geni and Kell and their kids were some of the first people we befriended in Austin. Geni brought us a meal right after Sam was born with an Austin Mamas red tent and we have been good friends ever since. It is hard for me to depend on people, but I depend so much on the Simons and they always come through. They are such good people. Bonnie Berry is an Austin based child, family and wedding photographer.