Special Birthdays - July 2022
It's taken me almost 40 years to understand why birthdays are special. I never really got it and thought those who dragged out their celebrations for yet another trip around The Sun were just looking for something to celebrate. Turns out I was wrong and I've changed my mind exponentially, believing them to be events worthy of endless celebrations. As I get older I realise how lucky we are to see yet another birthday and hopefully with that wisdom and grace in our ageing, which is not a luxury afforded to all. Making up for lost time, this is why I now go all out and celebrate birthdays; those that I hold dear and especially my own !
This birthday photo shoot was a truly memorable afternoon. Booked as a surprise for a special lady's 75th birthday with three generations in attendance for afternoon tea at Eastwell Manor Champneys Hotel and Spa in Ashford, Kent.
Her three daughters wanted to have photographs of her milestone to treasure and a few of them all together. Some would say it's a luxury to have a photographer present when we all have smartphone camera's in our pockets, but in a few years time when life has moved on it becomes the only physical way we are able to return to our memories to help relive them.
Taking advantage of the gorgeous gardens and beautiful afternoon summer light we spent some time doing individual, family and then group shots before retiring to their suite for cards and gifts and finally the champagne afternoon tea, which looked amazing. The five littlest Grand-daughters all took turns to share hilarious stories and poems they had of their wonderful Granny who was overcome by such thoughtful gestures. At this point I slipped away and left them to their celebrations knowing I had captured some truly wonderful moments for them to keep. Driving home I kept thinking to myself what an absolute privilege and how much I love photographing others special days.
