Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

Started by co-founders Sandy "Sam" Puck and Cheryl Haggard, the US non-profit organization Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep provides photography for infant bereavement sessions. We photographers volunteer our services in order that parents might remember their new little sweethearts through fine art photography long into the future.

If you know of families needing the services of a NILMDTS photographer, or of a hospital where you'd like to see the program start up, please pass along the web site link, where local photographers are listed, or if the need is for someone in Burnaby or Vancouver, have them leave a message for me at 604-435-9581.

From the NILMDTS website:

"Pregnancy and Birth is a miraculous journey. This amazing time of life is full of mystery, anticipation, joy, hope, and wonder. Feeling the powerful energy of birth and new life, watching as a new family is born unto each other. These things humble and amaze. These are the things that we celebrate when a baby is born

But there is another aspect of pregnancy and birth. There is an unexpected place in this journey where some families may find themselves. When a baby dies, a world is turned upside down. There is confusion, sadness, fear, and uncertainty that cannot be explained. There is sorrow where there should have been joy. During this time, it might be impossible for families to know what they might need in order to heal in the future.

This is the place where NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP gently provides a helping hand and a healing heart. NOW offers a vital service to our community. For families overcome by grief and pain, the idea of photographing their baby may not immediately occur to them. Offering gentle and beautiful photography in a compassionate and sensitive manner is the heart of this organization. The soft, gentle heirloom photographs of these beautiful babies are an important part of the healing process. They allow families to honor and cherish their babies, and share the spirits of their lives."

How cool is this?

The baby book I made for clients Tricia and Brian was chosen by its publisher, Asukabook, for its Book of the Month. It's the August book, but the announcement just went live today! It's called 'Becoming Leif.' Go and have a peek. I often make books for my wedding and portrait clients, but this one was a special delight since I'd grown so close to the family after spending so many sessions with them. They chose my 'Blue Line Package' which involves several shoots. It was crazy! We photographed them on the beach at dawn. We photographed them in the studio. We photographed them underwater at a pool. We photographed Tricia in her bathtub under 12 dozen (fridge-cold) eggs.

I stepped out of my usual box a bit by telling their pregnancy and birth book as a bedtime story for their son. I remembered when my girls were little, and how much they loved fables about themselves as babies, and how much they would have loved a picture book about how they got here, and how much they were loved and anticipated when I was pregnant. I just knew Leif would love a book about himself just as they would have.

Anyway, I'm pleased and so proud of the family. They are such awesome parents! They were an utter delight to work for, and I was bereft when the job finally came to a close six days after the baby was born. I hope they have me back to do future work for them!

Shi Shi

I was delighted to shoot Katari Taiko's character "Shi Shi" last evening. It's a bit of a challenge shooting dancing in the studio, limited as I am to the unexpansive edges of the seamless, but I still managed to catch the excitement he brings when he explodes into life. Jan Woo, who plays Shi Shi, says there is nothing like the expression on kids' faces when Shi Shi jumps into a classroom. Can't you just imagine? Last summer I photographed Katari Taiko, and Shi Shi's six-minute number, at Vancouver's Powell Street Festival, as I have for several years running. I caught two photos of kids reacting to Shi Shi, and Jan's right, it was out of this world. Just everything that is magical about childhood--big, oversized, fantasy characters who can pop you right out of your universe and into a new world.