Vancouver Documentary Photographer | Westcoast Winter with Lux
Vancouver Documentary Photographer | Westcoast Winter with Lux
When I choose a feature image for my slideshows, there is usually one that jumps out at me from the sea of gallery thumbnails. However, this session has me truly stumped. After one week of mulling over which images to choose, I conceded - I have developed coke bottle goggles for this session.
Why, you ask?
Because this one is special. Because this one is extra close to my heart as a story that started with a little baby's birth in 2014.
Chantel and Steve discovered that their baby girl, Lux, had a congenital diaphragmatic hernia while in utero. They wanted me to document her birth, no matter what the outcome would be. I remember standing at the NICU at BC Children's hospital, surrounded by medical specialists, minutes after Lux came out of the OR. Everyone was holding their breath, awaiting updates. In the middle of it all, Chantel and Steve remained beside their little baby girl, holding on to her. In that moment, I made an image of Lux's fingers wrapped around Steve's. It is a photo that has been transformative for me in so many ways.
Over the course of Lux's first year of life, she gained many Beads of Courage for every medical procedure conquered. I was fortunate enough to document this family again when they were back in Vancouver for one of Lux's last check up. She no longer needed feeding tubes and was just learning how to walk.
Here I am, reunited with this beautiful family on their winter visit to Vancouver. This time they are here to see the plaque that has been added to the halls of BC Children's Hospital. To those that know of her journey, this plaque represents so much more than her birth. It represents her strength and resilience, and her parents' perpetual hope for her survival and recovery. I am so grateful to be able to spend half a day with Chantel, Steve, and Lux atop Grouse Mountain in winter's glory. Now Lux is two and a half years old, full of words, and beans, with an appetite for gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate that just won't quit. As I culled through the images for this family's third instalment, I paused on one image of Lux drawing on the foggy gondola window. Something about her chubby finger, curiously exploring the world, her eyes full of wonder. To me, it is truly reflective of how far this family has come. I have found my feature image.
Chantel and Steve, you two and your light, Lux, are so special to me. Even while you are home in Saskatchewan, know you mean so much to me. Thank you for asking me to continue on this photographic and life journey with you, I am ever grateful!
To book a session with me for a birth, newborn, family life story, or travel sessions, simply contact me and we can start chatting about what’s important to you and your family to remember, years from now.
Westcoast Winter with the Hruskas from Felicia Chang Photography on Vimeo.