You might remember a special photoshoot I did in January for Lauren and her family.  You can see the shoot here.

Three years ago Lauren’s family found that she had Neuroblastoma, a form of cancer. She was only 4 years old when it was diagnosed.

When I photographed Lauren with her family this year, at 7 years of age, she was full of spirit, joy and laughter.  Her smile and enthusiasm reached right inside me and squeezed my heart.  The absolute adoration Lauren had for her mum, dad, big brother and even the pet dog was just what any parent would hope for. She seemed to understand a lot more about life than I do at almost 30 years of age.

Late last Wednesday evening Lauren passed away.  When I heard the news I was struck with sadness and disbelief. It just seems so unfair that the little girl who asked me to bake a cake with her is no longer with us.

RIP Lauren.

May you swing through the heavens like the angel that you are.

My thoughts are with Dave, Vic and David and every fortunate person who knew this beautiful girl.

xx Merryn

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I met Lauren and her gorgeous family last week when I photographed their Portraits as a part of the Australian Community of Child Photographers.

The Australian Community of Child Photographers (formerly known as the Australian Charity of Child Photographers) is a volunteer organisation of child photographers from all over Australia who have come together to form an organisation dedicated to giving the gift of photographic memories to families that have experienced stillbirths, premature and ill infants and children in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units of their local hospitals, as well as children with serious and terminal illnesses. The ACOCP is dedicated to providing this gift to families in a caring, compassionate and heartfelt manner.

Lauren stole my heart instantly. She giggled. She played. She was slobbered on by a Newfoundland, nipped at by a Border Collie puppy, she argued with me about where to have the photos and she giggled some more. Then she made me giggle.  She bossed her teenage brother around, she cuddled her mum and teased her dad.  She made us all giggle.  She was cheeky, gorgeous and an absolute delight to photograph.

She reminded me one single an hour what life is all about. Making the most of every moment. Laughing out loud. Being with family and friends.

Thank you for sharing your family with me.

xxM

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‘Happiness or unhappiness is often a matter of choice’

- anonymous

ACOCP: “On Baby Loss Day –

Picture the Babies. Talk and Listen to the Parents.”

15 October 2009 – Today, on International Baby Loss Day, The Australian Community of Child Photographers (ACOCP) is urging people to recognise the many families that go through the tragic loss of a child, rather than risk isolating them by neglecting to acknowledge their loss.

International Baby Loss Awareness Day is 15 October. Across the world, memorial services, balloon releases and candle lighting at 7pm take place in honour and as a sign of remembrance for lost children.

Said Jessie Broome, president and co-founder of ACOCP, “The grief that follows the loss of a child is so engulfing but it can also be very isolating. We encourage people to take the time to honour this grief; to realise that by avoiding the subject does not make it go away and by simply acknowledging the child can help the family immensely.”

ACOCP is an entirely not-for-profit Australian organisation that gives the gift of photographic memories to families who have had a stillbirth, premature baby, infant in the NICU or child with serious or terminal illnesses. Participating photographers – some of whom have previously experienced their own loss – are on call 24/7 to go to hospitals or homes and are often present during the families’ most tragic hours.

Jessie continued, “The wider community finds the loss of a child very difficult. We find it difficult to know what to say or what to do, so often tend to stay away – particularly after the funeral. The process goes on for a long time and support is needed over the long haul and not just the first weeks.

“Listening is the key. Parents often want to tell you the stories of their children. You don’t have to say much. Alternatively, some people find practical measures easier, such as helping out with cooking meals, child care services or housework.

“It’s understandable that people feel at a loss of what to say or do – for a long time, death has been a taboo subject in our society. It’s not something people discuss, but I think we must.”

The Role of Photography in the Grieving Process

Jessie explains the important role the ACOCP plays, “The most heartbreaking thing in the world is losing a child. As a parent, we look forward to watching our child grow, finding out who they are and watching them develop. We fill boxes with drawings and paintings and reports and photos. When you lose a baby, you also lose a lifetime of memories.

“In some situations, when facing the death of a child, parents are encouraged to take time with their little one. They are given a fleeting opportunity to try to create a lifetime of memories within a small space of time. They are encouraged to bond with their child, to hold them, to sing to them. To take their footprints, a lock of their hair and as many photos as possible. This is where the ACOCP comes in. We capture many beautiful, professional-quality, images in the most loving and sensitive way, so that parents has something that they can share with family and friends, something to treasure and remember always.”

More Stories

Martine Oglethorpe is an ACOCP members who also lost her baby daughter, Ava at five months:

“Nothing will ever take away the pain of losing a child but having photos is so important not only for comfort but to help keep their memory alive, particularly for other siblings who would otherwise not remember.

“It is hard for people to know what to say but I know for myself that I much prefer people to continue to acknowledge her and include her as part of our family. I have a canvas photo of her beautiful smiling face hanging on our wall and I too was wary of how people would react but mostly they just smile back at her and comment on how gorgeous it is.”

Said Mel Bright, ACOCP photographer:

“Recently I was chatting with a mum whose baby had passed away at 12 hours old. I took his portraits after he died. The part of our conversation that struck me the most was that she didn’t have clear memories of the time she had with her baby. She ended up having a caesarean, which I believe is often very common in these circumstances. For her, this cloudy time was the only time she got to spend with her son.

“The photographs clearly showing what her baby looked like have been ever so meaningful for her. When I prepared an album for her, I did all the pictures black and white. This meant so much to her as she was able to comfortably share her pictures with family and friends. Just as any proud parent would like to.”

About ACOCP

ACOCP is an entirely not-for-profit Australian community organisation giving the gift of photographic memories to children in need and their families. ACOCP works with families who have had a stillbirth, premature baby, infant in the NICU or child with serious or terminal illnesses. Participating photographers are on call 24/7 to go to hospitals or homes all over Australia. The service is entirely free. There is no charge for the photography, prints, beautiful presentation, tasteful packaging or delivery.

For more Information

ACOCP

http://www.acocp.org.au/

The Official Site of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day (USA) http://www.october15th.com/

Baby Loss Awareness Campaign (UK)

http://www.babyloss-awareness.org/

Merryn and I have been involved in the Australian Community of Child Photographers for well over three years now. 

This year the ACOCP’s tireless volunteers have organised a wonderful exhibition called ‘Heartfelt’. The exhibition is a selection of our photographs designed to raise awareness of the service we provide and to tell the stories of courage, heartbreak and hope of the everyday people with whom we are priviledged to work.

Three images which I submitted for consideration in the ACOCP exhibition were accepted, and will be mounted and hung in a ’storyboard’ format along with the child’s story. As the exhibition is being held in Sydney, I wanted to share the images here with our South Australian families as well, and to share the stories that go with the images. 

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CODY. AND HIS STORY

Cody Anakin Porteous

Born 12th of May 2008

Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

 Cody was born into his daddies hands at home in our bath at 4.15am on Monday the 12^th of May 2008.  We had a beautiful unassisted homebirth.  When he was four days old Cody turned blue, was helicoptered to the Womens and Childrens Hospital and diagnosed with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.  This is where the left side of the heart does not form properly.  Cody’s condition was not picked up throughout the pregnancy under ultrasound like most HLHS cases are.  Children with HLHS have to have three stages of reconstructive surgery and then eventually a heart transplant, they are very unstable.  At six days old Cody was flown to Royal Melbourne Childrens Hospital and on day seven he endured his first nine hour major open heart surgery.  This was to be the first of many, within two weeks he had had 10 surgeries ranging from minor to major.  Codys chest was left open for two weeks and he was on ECMO which is a heart/lung bypass machine.  Cody spent eight weeks in ICU when we were given the devastating news that Cody had suffered severe brain ischemia, which meant that he was left with severe brain damage, likely due to the machine which kept him alive for the first few weeks.  He had also suffered left vocal cord palsy, so he had no voice.  The surgeries which were supposed to save him had irreversibly damaged him.  At this time we decided that we would take our baby home for palliative care.  When Cody was 3 months old we finally took him back home to live out the rest of his short life.  Telling our 5, 3 and 1 year old that there brother was coming home to die was yet another difficult task, but one that had to be done.  There were many questions and we answered them as best we could.  We just knew that we needed to be a family at home and give Cody the best life possible until his passing.  The surgeons were unsure exactly how long Cody would or could last without his second stage operation, but they felt 9 months would be the maximum.  We were told that even if they tried another operation he probably wouldn’t live through it as he was not strong enough.  All these life ending decisions surrounding such a little life, but such a loved life.  

Cody has since endured many challenges, every day is so unsure.  But what he has had is a family which loves him immensely and a little extra time with his sister and brothers.  Photos have played an important role in our lives, they are a great way of remembering and celebrating his life.  We have tried to make everything a great memory for our whole family.  Cody has just celebrated his first birthday, one amazing and unexpected year.  He is such a little fighter, and a beautiful little character.  His smile is enchanting and he has bought joy to our lives if only for a short period of time.  Cody is one remarkable little boy who has touched us in so many different ways and who we will love for eternity. – Cody’s mum. 

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NIAMH. AND HER STORY. 

Niamh was born at 23 weeks. She weighted just 570 grams. 

She was given a 5% chance of survival. 

This photograph was taken when she was 2 weeks old, and was the first time her mother had held her entire body. 

She is now a happy and healthy 1 year old. 

Niamh’s wonderful family have been keeping a blog of her life from a few days after she was born. Her story is amazing. 

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The exhibition is being held from the 22nd June – 3rd July at MLC Gallery, 449 Harris Street, ULTIMO NSW and is open from Monday to Friday 11am to 6pm & Saturday 12 to 4pm. 

Please visit the official website and support our sponsors. 

Merryn and I are flying to Sydney on the 23rd June to attend the ACOCP workshops and AGM, as well to to attend the Heartfelt Exhibition opening and … of course … visit PMA while we are there! … 

The ACOCP would also like to announce a wonderful new website, so check it out! 

We have a HEAP of work to do before we leave for Sydney, but we’ll try to touch base with a few recent sneak peeks before we head off! 

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“Laugh as much as you breathe, and love as long as you live … “

Last weekend Merryn and I had such an awesome time shooting 16 families over 5 hours for our ACOCP fundraising session … 

A huge thank you to all those who donated to the ACOCP … you galleries will be available very shortly  … 

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You don’t choose your family.  They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.  ~Desmond Tutu

We just thought we would share this beautiful little slideshow we have recently done for a client … isn’t she gorgeous?

Enjoy your weekend everyone …

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A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.
– Eda J. Le Shan

Many of you know that both Merryn and I do a lot of work for the South Australian section of the Australian Community of Child Photographers. 

It is such a beautiful organisation, photographing hundreds of families each year who have suffered a stillbirth, or who have children who are critically or terminally ill, or born extremely premature – helping them savour the precious memories in a beautiful and artistic fashion. 

This year the ACOCP photographers are each holding ‘mini sessions’ to help raise much needed funds.

WHAT IS A MINI SESSION? 

A mini session is a short photography session of approximately 15-20 minutes. 

WHAT DO I GET?

You will receive a password protected private online gallery with 10-15 images for you to choose your favorite images from. 

You will receive one free 5×7″ print of your choice (valued at $30).

You can choose any further prints from our standard Product Guide. 

WHERE ARE THEY HELD?

We will be holding the mini sessions at the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens, lower gates, with the first session starting at 10 am on Saturday 23rd May 2009. 

HOW MUCH DO THEY COST? 

You will make a $50 donation directly to the Australian Community of Child Photographers via this link, and we will give you a free 5×7″ print of your choice from your gallery of images. 

HOW DO I BOOK? 

We will be running sessions every 30 minutes, starting at 10 am – 11.30 and 12.30 – 3pm. We have a maximum 0f 20 sessions ONLY. So be quick! … 

Call Kate on 0419 809 570 or email info@headinthecloudsphotography.com.au. 

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Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.  ~Author Unknown

This little guy was only two days old when I photographed him …

He had put his parents through quite  a bit of stress prior to his birth – ultra sounds showing enlarged brain ventricles and a prognosis of “anything from in-utero death to infant death to any range of handicap to completely normal. no way to predict. so for the last 4-5 months we’ve been insanly stressed about the future of this little one”. 

Then to top it off, he decides to arrive 4 weeks early, and mum is airlifted to Adelaide from Loxton for the birth! 

Thanks to a lovely friend of the family’s, who contacted the ACOCP on their behalf, I arranged to photograph little Alex regardless of the outcome of his birth. 

But there is great news. It looks like this little guy will be A-OK. He should be heading home shortly to join his big sister, Katie, whose story can be read here. 

(please excuse the very poor hospital lighting – hospitals really aren’t built for photographers!) 

{I hope your trip home was uneventful, and that Katie loves her little brother to bits!} 

Kate x 

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“A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on”.

~Carl Sandburg

The ACOCP is a community of photographers with a big heart. Every now and then we are priviledged to be let into the lives of some amazing families. One of those families shared their story with me last Sunday.  My heart expanded after meeting little ‘L’ and her family. The love was evident to me from the moment I stepped inside. She is adorable. These pictures do not do her justice.

Big hugs to little ‘L’. 

Thank you for sharing your story and your beautiful little girl with me.

Mxx

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“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
Aristotle