“I married into a French family and I am very blessed to get the opportunity to go to France every year. This year we just so happened to choose to spend a week in Avignon. We rented a beautiful house located on an Equestrian Estate and I immediately fell in love. Not only was this location picture perfect in every way, the light all day every day was just truly incredible. I could have stayed for months and months but as time went on I was itching to do a shoot at the house, and particularly a Mother and a Child. Something about this house was so calming and so nurturing, it really eased my soul and I was longing to capture the beauty and peacefulness that surrounded this home.

As a former participant in the Fount Workshop this May I have fallen in love with Motherhood Portraits even more than I ever thought I could. Maybe because as I get older I realize that Motherhood comes in all shapes and sizes, some Mothers have multiple kids while some have one, and some are longing to be mothers and it truly takes a village of Mothers to help raise our children. Something about the workshop really set my inspiration on fire and I have been overwhelmed with so many ideas since the workshop. I rarely do portraiture in Film and I know I should but I am an avid digital shooter. However, I only take my film cameras when I go abroad and mainly just to get creative again and really try to see my surroundings in a different light. When I realized that the owner of the Estate had a daughter and grand daughter that lived not too far away, I knew immediately it was fate that she was available and willing to participate in my Motherhood session at the house. Alicia and Anna were so sweet to take the time to model for me and I can’t explain it but I knew that day that it would be one of my top all time favorite sessions ever. I double checked every single setting on my Contax a million times because I have never done a family session fully in Film before, so to say I was a nervous wreck is an understatement. I guarded those rolls of film with my life as we spent the next week and a half traveling through France and I have never been so happy to receive scans back as I was when I opened up these. My heart literally jumped for joy because they were far more beautiful than I remembered.

I loved working with Alicia because she was all in when I told her my hopes for the session and my inspiration with what I wanted to accomplish. Anna is so giggly and at such a fun age so it was really heartwarming to capture their interaction with each other and their playfulness. I love that Alicia didn’t care if she got her jeans dirty or didn’t mind laying in the ground, there is just such a carefree and tenderness way about these photos and I will forever cherish my first full film session with all my heart.” Charlie, Photographer

CHARLIE JULIET PHOTOGRAPHY | Kodak Portra Film, Contax 645 Camera, 80 mm lens