The Beauty of Pregnancy in Nature

The second location we went to on the Gather the Creative Women Mountain Retreat was in the woods of Pine Mountain in what we call the Circle of Gratitude. Our local pregnant Mom-to-Be was Kristin. She was a dream to photograph. Here is the a few of the images I photographed of her. The women on my photo retreat were overwhelmed with her relaxed lyrical posing. She was lovely to work with and inspired all of our creativity. 

As a portrait photographer, I am used to being in the studio. I am really enjoying environmental portraits! Leading and teaching on this retreat has been a great creative renewal for me as well.

Gather the Creative Women Retreat Creations-First Day Shoot

Getting with women to meditate, visualize and go on location to photograph a medicine woman is thrilling! We journeyed out to Soda Lake about an hours drive from our retreat in Pine Mountain. Soda Lake is a shallow, ephemeral, alkali endorheic lake in the Carrizo Plain in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, California. The lake is located on the southwest side of the northern Carrizo Plain, 103 km (64.0 miles) east of San Luis Obispo.  To learn more about it go to this link: Soda Lake.

SunJay is a medicine woman, yoga teacher, artist and musician. When I asked her to model for our photo retreat, I knew she would be amazing and bring a true spirit to the photographers.

Tonight after a sumptuous dinner prepared by Chef Joe, photographer Izumi Tanaka will present a slide show of her photography and speak about the passion she has for her art.

Here are some images I took of her. What fun it was and truly inspiring in such an interesting location.

The Art of Nurturing: A Photographic Breastfeeding Porject

My first session creating my new passion project began with a lovely couple Kyla and Wyatt and their beautiful four month old baby boy. I felt a sacredness in photography Kyla with baby in arms feeding on her breast. I started the first shot with window light having her gaze out the window thinking about her profound roll as a mother. It makes me tear up to know what women are capable of doing. With the ability to nurture children just as Mother Earth nurtures us, is a stunning role to be given in this world of turmoil.

I journal everyday to ask myself why I am doing whatever project I have chosen. The answers unfold as I walk the path of each project. Where will it lead me? Who will I meet along the way to mirror a momentary transformation in both of our lives. The stories from women on the phone or when I meet them in person are profoundly magical. I feel blessed, once again, to embark on another creative journey.

This is one of my favorite portraits from the session. Although, I will be using another portrait for the gallery show and I want that to be a surprise!

To all my passionate women photographers! Join me for an amazing creative retreat in the mountains above Los Angeles, September 18-22, 2013. For information and to sign up, http://maryannhalpinretreats.com/. When you register now, get $100 discount by adding the code: creative