SIXTYsecond Motion - March - A Day At The Zoo

For the months of February and March, this Momma (that's me) has been struggling a bit to keep her head above water while balancing her work and family life.  I was hired on by River Oaks Baptist School, a local private school here in Houston, to come in and photograph all of the students from 2yrs of age up to 7th grade, as they ran around the playground, enjoyed lunch, hung out with their friends in the carpool pick up lines, and even participating in the Renaissance Fair for the 7th graders. My job was to make at least one great photo of all 700 students to present to the parents at their Gala this year. It was easily the biggest challenge of my career as a photographer, and one that I would absolutely do again in a heartbeat! 

My poor children may not agree as wholeheartedly since they spent quiet a bit of time entertaining each other, taking in more screen time than I would typically prefer, and begging mommy to play with them. But they and my husband(who I basically didn't see for a month or longer) were all troopers in allowing me the time that I needed to complete the project. I know that they made it through just fine and while they may know every word to The Magic School Bus episodes(their latest obsession... which I'm perfectly ok with), they supported me and I know they would do it again if and when the opportunity presents itself.

Needless to say, now that the project is behind me, we're making sure to breathe.... lots of breathing at the end of that wild ride... and to get out to enjoy this incredible weather we've been having for as long as it sticks around!! We know the brutal summer heat is not too far off, so we certainly have to get out while the gettin' is good! We made our way over to the Houston Zoo and had Grandma and Paw Paw tag along on our adventure, and what an adventure it was! We saw so many animals, including some wildly entertaining elephants, fed the giraffes (my daughter wasn't as eager as she has been in the past... even though it was all she talked about and wanted to do until the giant giraffe was in front of her), we rode the merry-go-round, and finished it all off with some delicious dippin' dots, making sure we ate every last drop! What a gorgeous day it was, and so many fun interactions and memories to have to look back on throughout the years. It's always a particularly special and cherished time when the grandparents can join in on the fun! Which, in turn, made it quite difficult to narrow down the footage from the day to just 60 seconds! Thankfully, I was able to pull it off, and here is the result.......  

It truly was a beautiful warm spring day filled with so many silly, sweet, funny and loving moments! I'm so incredibly happy that my family will have this to look back on and remember such a fun time of spending the day with Grandma and Paw Paw at the zoo!! I know it makes my heart abundantly happy, and makes me wish I had something like this of the time I spent with my grandparents. Never take those "little moments" for granted, for one day they could easily turn into BIG moments!

Be sure to head over to see the beautiful work of art that Eboni Rivera put together over on her blog! She's such an incredibly talented photographer up in NYC, a ridiculously strong momma, and beautiful person inside and out! And her films are always orchestrated so wonderfully! Take a minute and have a look!

For those of you who see these videos and think, "What I wouldn't give to have something like this for my family!" Well, GET EXCITED!!! Because I will be adding family films to the list of offerings at Olive Shoot Photography for all of my beautiful families who choose me to save these special every day moments in film and photography! All you have to do is click the link below and we can discuss all of the in's and out's of what this would look like for your family. So go ahead and contact me! There's certainly no better time than right this second!

Looking forward to seeing you soon!! Until then....

Keep it real,
Nikki Gould

Olive Shoot Photography
Houston Family Photographer
Family Documentary Photographer in Houston
Houston Family Photojournalist servicing the
Greater Houston Area