Portraits {Zhang Xing Xing}

 “Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.”
― L.M. Montgomery
 The Story Girl

Way back in September, we were still reveling in the ability to finally resume life as normal. That meant discovering new places with new friends and rediscovering this side of CQ that felt so alien just months before.

This was a quiet brunch with Z where we went back to Stop for a While and discovered that they have added two additional floors and better access to the park below.  The place was lovely, and the serene stillness at that time of the morning, even more so.

Family {The Hatts Mini Session, Portraits for Paws}

“Everyone's time is limited. 

What matters most is to focus on what matters most.”

― Roy T. Bennett

Spent 30 minutes with the Hatts last fall, enjoying the cool temperatures and colors of autumn at Jinshan Park. It was a real treat getting to shoot a family with their pets outdoors especially since their pup was just a bundle of energy, quite the opposite to the family feline who was cool and collected the entire shoot. This was for the Portraits for Paws project that I did for fall and I'm glad that we got together when we did because a few days after this shoot, typical Chongqing weather reared its wintry head and it was back to chilly days and nights for us. 

A few shots from that afternoon with this lovely family. 

Family {Walkies with Arya, N & G}

“Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies.”

― Gene Hill

Started doing sessions for donations to the local dog shelter a couple of weeks back, and N and G reached out because they wanted portraits done and they loved that the sessions were for a cause. I was excited to see them too, because  they're Arya's humans. Arya came to our apartment last year for the hubby's and mine's birthday, and we got to see how much of a darling she was. 

She also drove Tomas crazy with her puppy energy, which was hilarious to watch. 

Arya is also a rescue! 

We met at the mall near their home. Apparently, this is one of Arya's fave places for walkies. We got clicking before the mall opened, which meant that we got most of the space to ourselves. Had no problem getting them comfortable because these two have photography backgrounds themselves (N is  a photographer herself, and G worked as a photographer in a  cruise ship before coming to China). Having to run after Arya and seeing her derpy outtakes were also enough to get us in the mood for some really nice shots without us even knowing it.

lifestyle photography, portraits, couples

A few shots from that sunny morning, which is a precious thing to behold when you live in this foggy city.