Les enfants.

Yesterday I had the incredible privilege of taking some baby portraits for a friend of Leo's mama. Twin babies, nearly three months old--Malek and Leila. Delicious creatures, newborns on the brink of filling out, chubby cheeks and tiny bums, skinny legs attached to soft bodies. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh baby, how I love babies. Newborns are the best! I felt very close to Auntie Marj, as I always do when taking photos of brand new creatures. The mum of the twins was lovely and relaxed, encouraging me to do my thang', undress her children at my leisure. I wanted to cart them off to a sun-filled room and strip them down.

Rob Vilar hand friction before alighting my nanny hands on the babies. Tiny onesies, so much cuteness I could puke. And TWO. How the HELL does she do it? I asked Baya (the maman) how on earth she manages to get out of the house with two (it is hard enough with one) and she laughed and said she just hopes no one will steal one baby from the sidewalk while she gets the other.

It was such a beautiful thing to do yesterday afternoon, the sun was still high for five o'clock, warmth resting over the city's shoulders. Two cameras, not enough film (WHY do I continue to do this to myself; there is never enough film for newborns), racing between a squalling boy and a chill girl, swapping the Russian for the F3, blasting through film. Yum. Never sure of the turn out, it was more the process that hooked me. Documentation of growth. Baby portraits, there is a place for it somewhere. I find it so incredibly thrilling. Leo was there too with his ma and pa, along with the chaos that comes with having a 16 month old on the loose who knows exactly where the pot and tupperware drawers are located in every house he visits. There was a crazy chat dying to be let in, pawing wildly, drowsy babies draped on shoulders, slumped into each other--sister and brother--on a rocking chair. Light pouring in, delicate skin of brand new stomachs exposed to Sister Spring. God I love photography.

So many babies (from L: Malek, Leila, Leo); April Montreal, 2011.