{t's a Good Feeling, Such a Very Good Feeling...} Minneapolis, MN Lifestyle Photograpy

"When we treat children's play as seriously as it deserves, we are helping them feel the joy that's to be found in the creative spirit. It's the things we play with and the people who help us play that make a great difference in our lives."
— Fred Rogers

As a child I loved Mr. Rogers.
I always watched his show.
Wondered how many cardigans he wore.
Where he really lived....
and that darn train...
I got so excited when we got the part where we went to..
Imagination Land.

I met him once.
My memory is this
I remember like it was yesterday..
Outside church, with my dad, in Pittsburgh.
He was wearing a cardigan....and just walking out of church, like a real person...an actual PERSON
My dad stopped him, as a school psychologist he elegantly paid his respect...he did so much for kids...was the conversation in adult terms
Meanwhile...
I thought I would vomit....my hero...here on the steps of a church...in his cardigan...
He was calm, personable, real...I had so many questions...but I did not want to barf....
He was the kindest soul ever....

"Cause I'll be back, when the day is through...and i'll have more ideas for you..."

my favorite

more ideas for you..

{Discovery} Twin CIties Child Photographer

I believe it was Plato that said that you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than an hour of conversation. Play was our first work, before getting too serious. You know, the mortgage, the job to pay for the mortgage, the rat race..etc....etc...But back to play. Oh yes. because Play could take us anywhere. I recall childhood, where most days I lived on Jupiter and made visits to Mars. (I hear the snicker from the peanut gallery. Feel free to laugh. It release endorpins, we need it...people are wayyy to serious... and we are in a recession). There was the most beautiful woods next to my house with a tree straight out of Swiss family Robinson. My friends, sister and I would tumble through the sumac trees (itch itch) armed only with the broken sticks and leaves that served as swords, wands, flashlights or whatever we pleased. And at night the firebugs would filter through the trees and well...it was just magical.
Looking back, I remember distinctly my own imagination was more exciting to me than most video games , star wars figures, barbies and episodes of the "Facts of Life." Although each of those were a fun pastime, I was simply swept away by where my creativity and play could take me. While I love where technology and advancement (Wii, text, facebook, photoshop) has opened up other doors, I mourn and worry that simple, imaginative play is just. Lost. Sigh.
I can say, to this day I dream in technicolor and while it is a wild and often crazy ride (yes. crazy. we can talk 'bout that later), I would not trade it for the world. And now, I get this great opportunity to sit back and watch my children play. It is one of the few activities that can bring me into the moment. Where I watch and there 100% because, my friends, they too live in technicolor. Such raw and true art. And while I'm tempted to get the wii and love the text, for now I will simply relish in the lost art of play.