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Madison Family Photographer | Summer Saturdays

Stella cheerfully guides her bike next to Emily & Stephen’s on the spacious rack and then unsnaps her grape, leopard print helmet. A few cotton candy clouds dot the sky. Seventy-five glorious degrees swirl lightly around us. Dappled light, the color of honey, winks through grand oak canopies. Dane County Farmers’ Market is already abuzz with a mass of chatty, happy shoppers—totes slung over shoulders, local coffee cozied between hands. Leisurely shuffles allow the crowd the ability to relish every color, texture, and fragrant note wafting on the Square.

When you’re market regulars like the Balsleys, you know exactly what you need and where to find it–favorite vendors for weekly treats and a mental list for special recipes. First stop on the list: a star-shaped sugar cookie with sparkly blue sprinkles. 8 a.m.? Doesn’t matter. Stella gives a thumbs up approval and we’re on our way. Next stop: deep red strawberries basking in the sun’s spotlight. Two sweet quarts fill the market bag. Onto summer bouquets: Stella chooses one with greens, reds, blues, purples with a pop of yellow. We have two more vendor stops before a spontaneous yoga break on the downy Capitol lawn…for sure, the best kind.  After they have been heartily fueled by strawberries, honey sticks, and beef jerky (yep), Stella takes off for an old-fashioned game of hide-and-seek amongst the trees. And then back to the waxing crowd for additional market goods.

Once the list is complete and the bag is heavy, it is time to return to the bikes for the ride home.  Stephen and Emily pack their wares in their baskets, and start walking their bikes toward the city’s path.

Young girl with curly brown hair and wearing helmet walks her orange bike down a path.Young girl parks her bike at a bike rack next to her mothers bike.Girl at a cookie stand points to the blue star cookie she wants as the seller grabs it.Fathers hand giving a blue star cookie to his daughter.Young girl eating a blue star cookie gives a thumbs up.Man walking at a famers market. woman working at a flower stand is behind him.Mother and daughter at a farmers market stand in front of a table full of strawberry's picking one out.Woman at a farmers market buys a container of strawberries.Location: Farmers market. Young girl eating a blue cookie, mother and father walking behind herMother stands with daughter at a farmers market picking out a bouquet of flowers.Young girl at a farmers market buys a bouquet of flowers.Mother, father, and daughter at a farmers market buying a bouquet of flowers.Father holds daughters hand while walking at a farmers market.Mother, daughter, and father walk in a crowd of people at a farmers market.Young girl stands and looks at a counter of beef jerky.Young girl holds blue cookie with blue frosting all over her mouth.Black and white. Mother, father and daughter sit in the grass eating beef jerky at a farmers market.Dad plays with his daughter in the grass at a farmers market.Father and daughter sit in the grass looking up at the sky.Young girl hides behind a tree pointing her finger to her mouth to be silent while playing a game of hide and seek at a park.dYoung girl high fives her mother after playing hide and seek in the grass at a farmers market.

Black and white. Mom holds daughters hands as daughter climbs up her mothers legs.

Mother, daughter, and father holds hands as they walk down a path at a farmers market.Black and white. Mother and father hold hands with their daughter as they walk down a path to a farmers market.Family gets ready to bike home after a morning at a farmers market.Mother, father, and daughter walk their bikes down a wide sidewalk on their way home.We catch wind of each other again along the Southwest Commuter Bike Path. Stella’s strong, sweet voice reaches the bridge before she does–a peppy song about muffins–and they zip by.Mom, dad, and daughter bike on a bike path on their way home from a farmers market.Mom and daughter bike on a bike path on their way home from a farmers market.Mother and father bike on a path on their way home from a farmers market.Father helps daughter put her bike away in the garage after a trip to the farmers market.Young girls opens the door to go inside her blue house.Father unlocks the front door after a trip to the farmers market.Chloe, the beloved Plott Hound, merrily greets us as we step out of the sun into the cool. The house is bathed in color: blues, oranges, reds leap against bright white walls. It is a feast for the eyes at each turn. Pale blue ambient light filters through the backyard redbud tree and falls on the warm butcher block countertops. The Crosley needle, weighted by a couple quarters, hits The War on Drugs’ Lost In The Dream vinyl album and the crisp, airy kitchen stirs alive with notable electronic synthesizers and cymbals. While Emily prepares the market bouquet in an old Mason jar, Stephen assembles the splendidly simple pancake ingredients: gluten-free flour, egg, buttermilk, melted butter, baking powder. Stella, who is perched on a yoga block, measures and empties silky flour into a bright orange bowl, followed by a gingerly cracked egg and the remaining items. Emily’s strawberry stained hands are busy washing and slicing. Stephen whisks the batter to a lather and then juliennes the almonds. Sausages and pancakes begin to theatrically sizzle and “An Ocean Between the Waves” shares the delicious airspace.

Cold juice and hot breakfast are served.

Stephen’s Strawberry Pancakes 

1 C gluten free flour

1 C buttermilk

1 Tbsp melted butter

1 egg

1 Tbsp baking powder

Batter on griddle – sprinkle sliced strawberries

Flip when they start to bubble

Top with more strawberries, whipped cream, slivered almonds and maple syrup

After dredging her stack in maple syrup, Stella takes a small bite. Then a micro-pause. Her eyes pop in delight and confidently declares: this is so good it’s making my toes wrinkly. Forks lightly clanging on breakfast plates and “Eyes in the Wind” are the only sounds breaking the dining silence. Superior praise, yes?

red tomato and two green snap peas sit on a window sill. Father starts a record player.Young girl helps make pancakes in the kitchen. She opens a box of eggs getting ready to crack it in the orange mixing bowl.young girl pours flour into a orange mixing bowl in the kitchen.Mother, father, and daughter make pancakes in the kitchen.Woman arranges a bouquet of flowers in a mason jar vase in the kitchen.Woman sets a fresh bouquet of flowers on a kitchen table.Father and daughter cook pancakes in a colorful kitchen.Young girl pours a cartoon of strawberries into a colander.

Mother slices fresh strawberries on a wood cutting board.

Mother and father make pancakes in the kitchen.Father flips strawberry pancakes on the stove griddle.Father makes strawberry pancakes on the kitchen stove griddle.White walls with colorful decorations.Father flips strawberry pancakes on the stove griddle.Young girl sits on the couch reading a stack of books.Mother sits with daughter on the living room couch reading books.Mother and daughter play with a dress up book on the couch.Table set with strawberry pancakes and syrup. hanging succulent in the window.Mother sitting at kitchen table pours syrup onto strawberry pancakes.Young girl eats fresh strawberry pancakes.Family sits at kitchen table eating a breakfast of strawberry pancakes and sausages.Mother and daughter sit a kitchen table eating breakfast.Young girl with curly brown hair sits at kitchen table eating breakfast.Family sits at kitchen table eating a breakfast of strawberry pancakes and sausages.

While Stephen & Emily clear the table, Stella finds herself in the living room creating a treasure map. Soon she is hiding her riches under the heart-shaped leaf awning in the backyard as Emily & Stephen & Chloe make their way through the picket gate, stretching their post-breakfast legs for a neighborhood walk. They stroll along, holding hands & chatting with friendly neighbors, and then swoop back home for some quiet time. Stella steps through her rainbow curtain into her gorgeously color-saturated “bedge room” for reading & games.

Young girl sits on wood floors making a treasure map.Young girl puts a treasure map rolled up in her pants waistband.Young girl puts a treasure map rolled up in her pants waistband.Mother, father, daughter, and the dog sit on backyard porch.Father sits petting his dog.Young girls bedroom door hanging.Young girl playing in her colorful room.Young girl reading in her colorful bedroom.Young girl reads a book in her colorful bedroom.Black and white. Young girl jumps on her bed in her bedroom.

I say it again and again–your ordinary days together as a family are absolutely beautiful. I wholeheartedly believe images of this time and place will be cherished for their authenticity, the realness of how we spend the hours in our lives with whom we love the most.  xoxo!

There are only 23 amazing Saturdays left this year. What will you do with yours?

Emily shared her thoughts on working with me:

We know we’re not a typical family and we didn’t want a typical family portrait. We started noticing Jen’s photos on Facebook and were impressed with her unique ability to tell a story with her work. We talked to Jen about coming to our house on a Saturday morning to experience breakfast and a trip to the farmers’ market. We knew that Jen would take intimate family photos. And even with our high expectations we were amazed by how she isolated the essence of that morning into a series of breathtaking, artistic photographs. Jen was genuinely a fun person to hang out with and someone who seamlessly integrated into our routine. They photos she took wowed everyone, including us. We wanted something outside the realms of a typical portrait. What we received was a true reflection of our family and we couldn’t be happier.

xo,

Jen

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