makaya larson photography

The Huckster

is SIX! and he is my buddy.  He makes us laugh and has the sweetest soul.  He also can sing the theme song to Family Ties word for word!  He is the best!

Love you bud

-M

light...

She is brave and complicated and sensitive and beautiful....

All of my children fill little holes in my heart but this girl is my light in the dark....

I love you my little light...

 

also: loving this late winter end of day light we are having and so happy for a couple days of warm weather.

-Makaya

 

 

 

The new year and vampire babies....

It is the new year and I am feeling it here in full force with all of it's ups and downs.

It has been nice to "unplugg" and I am hoping to only partly plug back in at least during the winter months. 

Location photographers always get a nice winter break but I am not feeling much rest.

Life feels crazy and busy and boring all at the same time.

We are remodling our house on a budject which is a fancy way of saying we are doing almost everything ourselves...yikes!  All the while I am taking care of 4 kids (nutso) trying to cook them delicious homemade meals, (popcorn) homeschool them, get them to sleep through the night, (Ida is seriously a baby vampire I am sure of it!) compliment every lego creation built by my son regardless of what it is,"it's a forrest riding on a dinosaur mom don't you see it?!" convince my daughter that eating is as important as reading and beg Poppy to stop growling at strangers.(She really is a sweet girl if you get to know her:)

It's funny though because after all the worry, lack of dissapearance of sleep, and days when my sweatpants are the only friend I've been close to in months I look at an image like this and my heart aches and swells all at the same time.

I don't know what I would be or do without these exhausting and amazing little people in my life.

I love you Larson kids!

-Mom

word association at the movies....

Just a quickie of my twin and her family.

My sis is awesome.

I will tell her my idea for a photograph and she will say "Great" and run with it.

It's like word association....I say "old movie theater" and she buys 3D glasses, hip and easy clothes and shows up munching popcorn with her 5! well behaved kids.

Wait now that I am thinking about it...I am getting a little annoyed at her perfectness.

Love you anyway Linehans!

-Makaya

family recipe....

This family means so much to me....my husband's sister and her family.

Men need sisters....it's true whether they like it or not:)

I think they are a wonderful family because they:

-make fun of each other

-stay up late talking to each other

-hug each other

-pray with each other

-roll their eyes at each other

It's really the best family recipe that I know.

Love the Collins family!

-Makaya

 

It's like riding a bike....

Friendship....

The dad in these photos is like a brother to me.  Actually if I could have a do-over I would like to trade one of my brothers for him....only kidding (kinda)

We ran around the woods together, pretended to drive my parents old green van together, and ate drippy watermelon together with our shirts off (I was six it was PG I swear:)

He has been In England with his gorgeous wife doing things only intelligent amazing people do and is home now with his English born baby who wears his sweet soul on the outside of his body.

Seeing an old friend like him was like riding a bike...familiar and happy and comforting.

It was my privilage to photograph them.

Love you Elam family!

-Makaya

loud like a bomb......

Sometimes you wait for something......

and you pray for something

and you plan for something

and you cry for something

and you ache for something

and you worry and wrestle with the worst of thoughts

and sometimes "heartache isn't loud like a bomb" but it's quiet like a feather falling" -unkown

and sometimes tiny miracles happen!

and you hold a gift so precious you can't imagine you deserve it but you do.

Congratulations to Sadie and her baby...(and mom and dad too)

-M

Beyonce was right.....

This session was a re-shoot because it was FREEZING the first time around....I am positive I was colder than the kids (big baby that I am) but it all worked out and we got an amazingly warm December second chance.

This was my lump in my throat session....Dad is overseas in the military.  There are families like this everywhere but when you are up close to one it's difficult to not feel the absence.    Thinking I mean worrying about it all later I couldn't help but feel strength from this strong and beautiful mama.  I get cranky if Micah is 5 minutes late from work and this lady is doing it all solo for months!  I think I want to be her when I grow up.

In the end Beyonce was right again.......Who run the world? Girls!

:)

-Makaya

 

I feel it.....

I think it's easy to tell the truth of a family by their photographs...

If they don't connect and love on each other at home it shows.

This family was in love....

I don't mean the perfect love we think about from rom coms we watched in college (my poor ex-boyfriend) or see in instagram pics I mean the real kind...

the late night laughter

the days we yelled too much

the snuggling

the failures

the crying ( I have three girls I know how it is!)

It's all there for me in these images....I see it but most importantly I feel it.

Love you Dressen family!

-Makaya

 

 

 

The voices in my head.....

I am always nervous to meet new clients....driving to a session thoughts begin to swirl in my head.

"Will they like me?"

"Will I like them?"

"Will the light be too bright here or too dark there?"

"I hope the kids think I am funny"

"What if the kids don't think I am funny?!"

"What if my camera breaks....like literally falls apart in my hands" (a little extreme I know but I think it none the less)

After all of these thoughts....I am lucky enough to reply to myself because I talk to myself all the time....(doesn't everybody?)

"Makaya you always have an awesome experience....enjoy it!"

and I am lucky because it's always true.  I love the high of meeting new people.  I love having a special invite to their personal moments.  I love driving home with that naive momentary feeling of "all people are awesome" and even if the kids don't think I am funny they are polite and smile anyway:)

Thank you Motkar family for letting me in on your "moments"

-Makaya