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Ice Skating & S’mores

When Nicky and Erik moved here a couple of years ago, we made gorgeous pictures of raspberry picking in their backyard, chalk drawings in their long driveway, and an iconic swing hanging from a majestic tree branch right on a clean farmland horizon. We walked the perimeter of the pond in the backyard, and the girls told me all about the teeming life right here. It was nothing short of enchanting.  When Erik mentioned that they can’t wait to go ice skating in the winter, I knew I wanted to make those pictures. My joy nearly matched the girls’ when I arrived!

Nicky piped in Christmas music on the edge of the rink, the girls giggled, and the skate was on.

young girl pushes older sister on a chair on the ice with parents getting on their ice skates in the background Swift and happy, they made the trek around and around the pond. The sun broke free from the anemic winter light and bathed us in a sparkly glow just as it hit the horizon.  Christmas music and ice skating blades bounced off the pond, and no one was short on happiness.

mom ice skates with each of her young daughtersyoung girl sits in a chair on the pond ice while her father pushes her while ice skating

Over and over they passed in front and in the back–a skate train of joy.  And a workout to boot!

Family of four ice skates on a pond at sunset pulled back view of family of four ice skating on a pond at sunset They made ice orbs that glowed in the clean winter sunset.
girl examines a ball of ice on the frozen pond, she lays on her belly and ice skates are in the air

The light and sky became dramatic against their grand Willow tree.  The ice skating blade marks on the pond, that was silky smooth save for some shoveling lines when I arrived, richly illustrate how busy the skaters have been.

dramatic light of family of four ice skating on a frozen pond family of four ice skating on a frozen pond at sunset

I’ve added much more motion to my work in recent years–I don’t necessarily want to freeze-frame everything; I want you to feel what it was like at the moment.

Girl ice skates holding onto a folding chair at sunset. Image shows motion blurOff to the races. Using folding chairs as balance, the. girls race from one end of the pond to the other.  Speedy, joyful, fun–and back again.

Girls use folding chairs on the frozen pond to stabilize them while ice skating Mom helps daughter out of her ice skates and into boots after skating in winter Girl swings on a swing above the horizon as a silhouette

I love s’mores. I don’t think I really love how they taste, but I do love the nostalgia of summer. It tastes like a vacation. True story: we’re known to roast marshmallows over our gas stove on the coldest day of the year just to feel hopeful about beach days again.  Since the pandemic, we need no special trip to break out the trifecta: graham crackers, Jet Puff marshmallows, and Hershey bars in our own backyard.  {If you know how to equally roast a marshmallow and have melted chocolate in the same bite, do tell.}   Winter s’mores has the summer joy without crunchy sand inside.  The fire is welcoming and warming.  I think this is a trend that must continue post-pandemic.

Family of four roasts marshmallows over a fire at sunset in the winter girl wears bright pink snow pants and jacket while eating a s'more at sunset in wintermarshmallows roasting over a fire in winter

There is still a lot of winter left in Wisconsin!  Contact Me

xo,

Jen

5 star review for Jen Lucas Photography

Oh Jen, the photos of our family still bring tears to my eyes! The girls have grown so much since September! We loved working with you so much, it was easy and fun! I wasn’t sure how the little ones would do but you let them guide the shoot and we were having fun just being ourselves! Poor Gwen was a little under the weather but you could never tell, she hung in there and had fun being outside, blowing bubbles and playing with sidewalk chalk too. I also enjoyed choosing our photos afterwards, there were so many good options in terms of photos and sizes, products and books that could be ordered for us and grandparents. We will book with you again in the future, no doubt about it!
Thank you for the great memories!

See their 2017 session here!

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