Our Maternity Photos

I must start by saying that I am a big believer of “going with your gut.” I tend to let my intuition take the lead, and while my decisions may not always take me exactly where I thought they would, they always lead me to the right place. It was this gut instinct that lead me to contact Tonhya to inquire about our maternity photo shoot. I started following Tonhya’s blog a year or so ago and immediately fell in love with her work. Even months before we got pregnant with Isla I knew that I wanted Tonhya to photograph our maternity photos, especially if we were still in China. I was certain her airy, yet edgy style would highlight our Shanghai surroundings perfectly. Beyond the aesthetics of her work, I deeply admired Tonhya’s ability to capture love between  people, and that was exactly what I wanted to document. Plus, there was just something about her writing that always made me feel like we’d be friends- does that make me sound crazy stalkerish? I swear, I’m not a crazy stalker! I mentioned the maternity shoot idea to Isaac and, bless his heart, he appeared amused with the notion… he is getting used to my big, crazy ideas after all these years, and has gotten very good at just going with the flow as he knows there is no stopping me once I get fixated on something.

Fast forward to last spring. We were finally pregnant, still in Shanghai, and my gut kept talking to me. I couldn’t shake the idea of having Tonhya shoot our maternity portraits. I know the notion of flying somebody to another country for a photo shoot might seem excessive or crazy, but I felt like we needed to go for it. I summoned the nerve to write to Tonhya, and then crossed my fingers and toes. I was thrilled to get her response and find that she was just as excited about the idea as we were- woo hoo! We finalized dates, booked her tickets, and counted down the weekends we had to get the house ready for a guest. Things were rolling along smoothly until just a few short weeks before Tonhya was due to arrive and we received word that the Chinese consulate would not issue her visa because of her profession. Umm, yeah, this twenty-something wedding photographer from Seattle was clearly a spy (grumble, grumble, eye roll). Amazingly, I never freaked out over the issue. My gut just told me that everything would work out, because this was meant to be. And it was. After some serious leg work on her end, Tonhya was granted her visa and had her passport back in her hands just days before travel. Hooray!

It took only minutes of meeting face to face (after a crazy hour of searching for one another at the railway station) to feel like we’d been friends forever! Tonhya was nothing short of amazing! As if flying thousands of miles across the Pacific to stay with, and take photos of, two people she didn’t know wasn’t enough, she patiently styled my humidity-challenged hair, buckled my shoes for me, and even helped me peel my pants off of my swollen cankles when I was too winded from bending over (ah, the joys of pregnancy!) to get them myself- far, far beyond the line of duty for any photographer! That Tonhya is a gem!

During the course of the week we ventured out for little photo shoots all around the city. We hopped on the motorbikes to visit local places with sentimental value, like our old neighborhood and the farming communities where we like to ride our bikes, and then taxied into the city to more touristy “Chinese” spots like The Bund and Tianzifang.

We were sad to see Tonhya go at the end of the week, but so thankful to have made such an lovely new friend. As soon as her taxi pulled out of sight, Isaac turned, wrapped me up in a big bear hug and said, “You were right. I’m so glad we brought Tonhya here for photos.” And then I fell even more in love with him. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have a husband who not only supports my crazy dreams, but who will jump right in alongside me for the ride! It’s exciting to think about all of the wonderful adventures that still lay ahead of us.

A few days ago Tonhya posted an amazing sneak peek of our photos. I was bawling within seconds. Truly, truly incredible images, and such heartfelt words! She captured so many meaningful details and happy, love-filled moments that will always remind us of our pregnancy and our time in Shanghai… these photos were everything we’d hoped they’d be and more! Besides enjoying the images themselves, we had the pleasure of reliving our week with Tonhya and all of the hilarious moments we experienced together- seriously, did you see how many of the photos show me laughing my head off?! We had so much fun!!!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Tonhya, from the bottom of our hearts! We will treasure these images forever!

Below are a handful of our favorites- narrowing these down was a serious challenge! There are even more (and plenty of other gorgeous photos) on Tonhya’s blog, so go and check them out!

 

And as if she hadn’t done enough for us already, Tonhya left the sweetest card and most adorable outfit for Isla! We absolutely love it! Isla wore it to Daddy’s first basketball game yesterday and looked too cute for words! Thank you, Tonhya!