Happy Birthday Joan! — Chatham Cape Cod Family Photographer

When I showed up at Harding’s Beach in Chatham last week for this shoot, the fog was so thick that I couldn’t actually see the ocean from the parking lot. It was windy, and the temperature had dropped 10 degrees since I’d gone over the bridge. Not the most ideal setting for a family photo shoot, particularly one that was in celebration of an 80th birthday and had been scheduled months in advance to take advantage of a family vacation on the Cape. There was another photographer in the lot as well, with another family, and I could see that look of dismay on all of their faces — where had the beautiful sunshine gone?

It was with these guys. Truth. They showed up 10 minutes later and the sun peeked through the fog and the skies brightened and You’re Welcome, Other Family!

Beth is a distant cousin of Calder’s dad. Her mom Joan (and Joan’s late husband Tom) were the very first people to give me and Matt an engagement gift all those many years ago (it was a beautiful holiday plate, and I still have it!). I hadn’t seen Beth, Joan, or anyone else in the family in years, but I had kept track of their comings and goings through FaceBook and news from my mother-in-law, and when Beth contacted me to photograph the family in celebration of her mom’s 80th birthday, I could not have felt more honored. It was so wonderful to see them again, and Aunt Joan looks absolutely amazing! Beth brought her husband Mark and her two awesome kids Julia and William, as well as her sister Susan. And a couple bottles of wine, which: YAY! We ducked into the gorgeous dunes that ring the beach and shot a whole lot of iterations of family groupings. The best part, however, was when the kids decided that they wanted to show off the things that they did best, which for Julia was dancing and for Will was soccer. We let the remainder of the fog wash over us and had a really remarkable time. I’m so grateful that I had the chance to work with this wonderful gang!