My friend Sarah has been so supportive of me and this adventure. When she asked if I would come document her birth she was met with an enthusiastic, "Hells YES." Then the reality of my real job set in. I work full time night shift as a punching bag....., I mean an ER nurse. We decided I would come if it was possible and left it up to chance. God smiled down on us that this actually worked out!
Panic set in when I started to think about photographing in low light. Although I plan to revolve my craft around natural lighting, I needed a flash. I didn't own one and I didn't know how to use one. My husband went to the amazing Foto Forum with a list of questions. They were so much help and I plan on bugging them A LOT. I saved up and bought a 430 EXIII, watched you tube, creative live videos, and practiced. I highly recommend watching the Mastering TTL Flash class in creative live with Mike Fulton and Cody Clinton. It was so helpful and I need to watch it 10 more times so that all the info actually sinks in.
At last, in the wee hours of the night, I got the call. When I got there Sarah was calmly laboring with John by her side. Her mom was there too as solid support. The midwives were watching over her labor and reported that it was coming along nicely. There were two of them. One, a seasoned veteran who was present at Sarah's previous birth and another in training. While talking with them I considered becoming a midwife... for about 30 seconds. Sarah was a freaking rock star. Watching her trust her body to bring her baby into the world was a powerful reminder that our bodies were made to do amazing things. Baby Vayda came into this world calmly and into the hands of her father who handed her over to her mother while announcing that they had" gotten a girl!"
Seriously, such a beautiful moment.
