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Madison Family Photographer | Beautiful, Backyard Summer Night

“Summertime is always the best of what might be”

— Charles Bowden

The backyard is simply enchanting. A rope and tire swing rest under a cool tree canopy & flickering summer light, a moment of stillness before the two boys grabbed ahold fly in a subtle arc that is guided by their young body weight. The yard is dotted with oranges and reds–from furniture to flowers–they pop in a sea of summer greens and family blues. Two sweet ol’ pups pace the deck, while Paul starts the dinner grill.  Francesca alternates between giving underdogs and leaning back into the downy grass.  The spaced hums with joyful chatter.Boy swings on backyard rope in evening summer lightCircles, oh so many circles. And perfectly dirt-loved legs and toes.
Boy swings on backyard tire swing in evening summer light while mother sits in grass and looks onBoy climbs up ladder in backyard treehouseYoung boy sits in tree house and works on electrical inventions with toolbox and materialsI’m pretty sure the boys ate the entire jar of pickles.
Family of four at outside picnic table. Dinner is on the table. Young son reaches for pickles while mother serves older son rice.In a moment of thoughtful gratitude time, the pickle was still calling his name. Family holds hands at dinner. Young boy is holding hands with his mother while trying to eat a pickle out of that hand.Family of four on deck with picnic table dinner. Sunlight is dappled and family is eating dinner.Focus on family dog while rest of the family is having dinner at picnic table on their deckBoy is framed by two family members as he eats a pickle at the picnic tableI’m utterly charmed by the colors and shapes at the picnic table. Oranges, blues, yellows and warm, dappled light and weathered wood embody Dinner On the Deck. Top down view of colorful plates and bowls filled with family dinner foods.

Is a summer meal complete without ice cream? Francesca serves orange sherbet in a cone. Family documentary photography captures these tiny details–sherbet, inhaling pickles, skinned summer knees.
Mother scoops orange sherbet for son. Orange cantaloup in the foreground.Children and mother eat orange sherbet at picnic table on backyard deck on a summer night.View of deck flowers, sun, and backyard treehouse; dog waiting patiently for a lick of boy's ice cream coneMother takes one of her son's hands and washes with a washcloth while he eats ice cream with the other handtop down view of young boy on a tire swing in backyardBoy in treehouse works on electrical invention. Summertime.Boy climbs up a rope ladder to his backyard treehouse in the summer. He is barefoot and not camera aware.

 

Family sits in a tree house in backyard. Summer evening sun is shining through tall trees. Black and white. Dad slides down slide after young son. They're laughing. Dad inspects electrical equipment with young son as they work on an invention in a treehouse. Top down view of boy coming off a yellow slide, barefoot. His knees and feet are dirty from playing outside all day. Boy climbs up a slide & makes eye contact with camera. Black and white. A nightly family walk takes them to the playground. Family of four and two dogs all walk across the neighborhood street together. Parents on opposite of swing set with two boys on the swing .They’re all here!
Wide scene of family at the park. Mom helps boy with his shoes at the park. Back home and getting ready for bedtime. Black and white. Boy points finger at camera as mother helps older brother change clothes before bed. Young boy reads a chapter book in his top bunk

“Do not ask your children
to strive for extraordinary lives.
Such striving may seem admirable,
but it is the way of foolishness.
Help them instead to find the wonder
and the marvel of an ordinary life.
Show them the joy of tasting
tomatoes, apples and pears.
Show them how to cry
when pets and people die.
Show them the infinite pleasure
in the touch of a hand.
And make the ordinary come alive for them.
The extraordinary will take care of itself.”

–William Martin

xo,

Jen

 

Beautifully Ordinary Logo trademark of Jen Lucas Photography

Beautifully Ordinary is trademark of Jen Lucas Photography, LLC.