Available light only (flash would have been
intrusive)
Midwife arrives and final labor begins.
I wasn't keen on showing Angie's labor.
I was assured by family that Angie
would want them later.
The midwife could make a career in acting or
modeling.
Her face was extraordinarily expressive and
her facial structure was superb.
Some people just photograph well -- I
couldn't take a bad image of her.
Top it off with top-notch medical skills and
terrific bedside manner. This woman should be a star.
Chase Bailey Carpenter comes into the world.
Mother and son.
Dad cuts the umbilical cord.
She has every right to look exhausted.
Chase at 10 -- minutes that is.
Father and son.
Chase opens his eyes for the first time as he
contemplates calling his lawyer.
"Hey, we're talking major litigation
here! Can't a fellow just sleep?"
No makeup and after just giving birth Angie
still looks beautiful. Gets it from her mom.
Lessons Learned: This was an extraordinary
event -- I feel so privileged to have been allowed to be
there. Angie was always loving, funny and smart: she
taught me how brave she is and her sharing of this intimate
experience with all of her sets of parents was quite
special. I hope I haven't betrayed any of the trust
she gave in displaying these images here.
As someone who can never do what she did, I can hardly
imagine how women can go through this even once, let alone
again and again. There's a reason they call it labor
-- nothing we men do can ever come close. It made me
want to thank my mom (and I will).
It was also very special to be there at Chase Bailey
Carpenter's first birthday -- he's a very special lad and I
wish him all the best.
From a purely technical standpoint all of the images
except those taken of Chase in the recovery room were taken
by available light, ISO 400. Those of Chase were taken
with flash (I don't think he minded the flash given all the
other indignities he was subjected to) bounced with a
Lumiquest 80/20. I didn't correct the images much,
just a little levels adjustment (far less than normal), no
sharpening or color adjustment (the D30 did a good job with
the fluorescent lighting).
Chase's Birth
