I’ve been working very hard on my Etsy shop the last couple of months, fighting through the sleep deprivation of motherhood, squeezing in what few moments I have throughout my days of chasing around a very rambunctious 6-month-old baby girl. Now that I’ve built a little foundation, I’d like to use the holiday season to try to get things moving. If you could take the time to check out my shop, Lola Rain Photography, post a shout out on your Facebook or Twitter, or email the link (www.lolarain.etsy.com) on to people in your life that you think would be interested in buying prints for holiday gifts, or for themselves, I would GREATLY appreciate it! I need all the help I can get to get the ball rolling and help support my family!

I will be holding a SALE this week for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (the whole weekend, Friday-Monday). Use the code HOLIDAY10 for 10% off your purchase of any one item in my shop. Other deals (available without codes):

Buy 2, get 15%
Buy 3, get 20%
Free handmade holiday gift wrap and tag with purchase
Free gift with purchase (either a sheet of fine art stickers or a mini print)

For those of you who don’t know, I have been passionate about fine art photography since I was 15-yrs-old. I was given an ancient camera, the tools to make my own roll of film, and a place to develop my images while at sleep-away camp. And I was hooked. The camp ended up using one of the first photos I took in one of their printed publications (see it here) and I’ve had it hanging on my wall as inspiration ever since. In the past few years, I’ve become equally as passionate about taking portraits, but have had to put that part of my business on the back burner for numerous reasons—moving, a difficult pregnancy, motherhood…to name a few. An artist (of many sorts) is what I am, through and through. It is something I work on daily, something I really believe I meant to do. So, help this starving artist make her dreams come true!

Thank you for your support!

…just because.

I finally got around to finishing the art for baby girl’s room! I’m pretty happy with the way it all turned out. Aren’t they just happy, peaceful looking animals?

 

Birth and death—the bookends of life. Each experience has such opposite connotations and emotions attached to it, yet somehow they seem intertwined. The utter beginning and utter end, the circle of life, both so surreal in nature. 


I buried my Uncle last week (which is why I haven’t been posting), and have found my mind riddled with complicated thoughts ever since. Somehow experiencing this loss while 8 1/2 months pregnant made everything feel so much more intense, profound and symbolic. During such a great period of joy for me, at the very brink of bringing a brand new life into the world, my Uncle was lying in a bed at the very end of his life. He took his last breath and my child is about to take her first. I couldn’t make sense of it…not that anyone can when it comes to death. It was simply bizarre to be standing at a funeral, worried I was about to go into labor.


My due date also happens to be two days before my deceased mother’s birthday—another contradiction of emotions. In a way, I feel like all this commingling of birth and death is a testament to life in general. With the brightness comes darkness, one cannot exist without the other, just as death cannot exist without birth. As much as we may resist or dislike one end of the spectrum, the existence of these opposites enriches life and cultivates gratitude. I know that the beautiful life inside of me feels all the more sacred and blessed having just experienced the loss of another beautiful life. And I completely believe that my mother had a hand in bringing this baby to me on (or near) a day that in the past brought me sorrow—she was always one to remind me of life’s joy in the face of pain, she would want to transform mourning into celebration.


“Man’s feelings are always purest and most glowing in the hour of meeting and of farewell.” ~Jean Paul Richter

 16. something new

Newborn baby Cash

Newborn baby Helene

Boston Public Library

Time does not exist here.

Tea cup wisdom.

The last cup of coffee I had as a daily drinker…2 years ago!

 19. something you hate to do

Wash dishes while camping. Damn collapsable sink is not my friend.

I seem to change homes/apartments/states every few years, but I absolutely hate moving.

 20. handwriting

My girl Nat writing with sparklers.

A little piece of wisdom I found written on an alley wall in Burlington, VT.

Tragedy befell me this week….my camera broke! Given I live 45 minutes away from anyone who can fix it, and I’m completely exhausted by the end of pregnancy, I have no idea when I’ll get it fixed. But, I didn’t want to give up on my photo challenge, so this week I selected two photos from the past to compensate for the lack of present day photos. Here it goes…


11. makes you happy

Being out in the wilderness with my hubby (who is in the back of this canoe).

The fall season.

The empty walk-in closet in our old apartment where my husband proposed to me.

Walk-in closet, how I miss thee.

The highway into Vail, Colorado.

Blue flowers. Obvs.

I left my heart in…

My sister-in-law’s pregnant belly.

15. phone

Polka dot phone at happy hour…ages ago.

My man on the phone (when we first moved in together, aww).