Raw, Emotion-Filled Family Portraits… And Happy Holidays!

By now you guys know how incredibly emotional and sentimental I can be. It’s slightly tragic, and the older I get the softer I get, and I’m not just taking about my mid section and my hips here. No sir. I’m not sure if it’s motherhood or my old-er age that’s making me be this way. For now – let’s just blame motherhood, as ever since our little man arrived, I’ve become so incredibly aware to how precious life really is, how limited our time on this planet is, and of the importance of stopping for a second, taking a deep breath and feeling gratitude – even for just a moment.

In the spirit of the upcoming holidays and as another personal reflection on Christmas, I wanted to remind us all of the importance of family and celebrating what we have, and, perhaps for some of us, what once was. I know too well how easy it is to get caught up with all the crap in this world, and forget about everything that truly matters. To me, this compelling collection of family portraits does just that – may it serve as a little reminder of all that is important – our family, our friends, and good health. That’s it.

On that note, I hope you all have a fantastic break, a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of Holidays. This is our last regular post for the year. In the coming weeks we will continue to bring you roundups of various topics and categories covered on Yellowtrace, and give you the chance to catch up on 2014 and all the awesomeness we’ve shared together.

The roundup posts will run daily from Monday 22nd December through to Friday 9th January (except for public holidays). Team Yellowtrace will be back on deck and resume our regular posting from Monday 12th January.

Now off you go, have a great time, and hope you manage to shut out the rest of the world for a little bit during the break, while you give and receive the ultimate gift of love – time and undivided attention.

Love always,
Mama Yellowtrace xx

Photography © Fausto Podavini.

Fausto Podavini document’s an Italian couple’s battle with Alzheimers // One of the previous winners of World Press Photo Awards is this hauntingly intimate and beautiful insight into an Italian couple’s battle with Alzheimer’s by Fausto Podavini. The images are remarkably sad and powerful, and in stark black and white capture the pain and the love that wed the couple together.

‘Days With My Father’ by Phillip Toledano // ‘Days With My Father’ is a son’s photo journal of his ageing father’s last years. Following the death of his mother, photographer Phillip Toledano was shocked to learn of the extent of his father’s severe memory loss. He started a blog on which he posted photographs and accompanying reflections on his father’s changing state. Through sometimes sad, often funny, and always loving observations, Toledano learns to reconcile the elderly man living in a twilight of half memories with the ambitious and handsome young man he occasionally still glimpses. ‘Days With My Father’ is an honest and moving reflection about coming to terms with an ageing parent.

‘Finding Alice’ by Sian Davey // England-based photographer Sian Davey’s photo series ‘Finding Alice’ is a touching illustration of family life featuring her daughter Alice, who was born with Down syndrome. Through beautifully candid snapshots of Alice’s daily life, Davey shows that, despite developing physically and mentally in a unique way, her daughter is no different from any other human being. She plays with her siblings, displays a curiosity and thirst for life, and loves her family the same as any other child would—and in return, she is cherished just as tenderly by the friends and family who surround her every day.

“…The result was that as my fear dissolved I fell in love with my daughter. We all did. I wonder how it might be for Alice to be valued without distinction, without exception and without second glance. This project is for her, for Alice.” – Taken from Davey’s website.

Timothy Archibald Photographs Unique Habits of His Autistic Son // San Francisco-based photographer Timothy Archibald began photographing his autistic 5-year-old son Elijah as a way of dealing with his young boy’s diagnosis. This portrait project titled ‘Echolilia’ reveals the unique perspective of a socially withdrawn child. The way he interacts with objects offers an alternative approach to communicating with the world around him. “I never wanted [Eli] to think that he was normal. I wanted him to be aware of how different he was and see that as an asset,” says Archibald.

Photography © Amelia Coffaro.

Fundraising for Young Photographer Diagnosed with Breast Cancer // 28 years old freelance photographer Amelia Coffaro has been diagnosed with Stage III Inflammatory Breast Cancer. In response to this devastating news, Amelia’s friends and loved ones have started Project Amelia, a fundraising program to help pay for Amelia’s extensive medical treatments, given she doesn’t have health insurance. This selection of photographs is from Amelia’s series, ‘Pretty Little Things’.

Father & Daughter Recreate Wedding Photos of Late Mother // Ben Nunery and his young daughter Olivia have published a gripping series of images in which they bid farewell to their home and to their wife and mother Ali, who died of cancer at 31 years of age. Before they left their family home, to serve as lasting memories of their past lives there, Ben decided to ask his professional photographersister-in-law, Melanie Pace, to take photos of him and his 3-year-old daughter in the same home.

“Many people have asked me how I felt while doing that photo session. What I want them to know is that this isn’t a story about grief and loss and hurt. Yes, I’ve gone through those emotions and still do but that’s not what I want people to see in these photos. This is a story about love,” says Ben.

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Five Friends Pose For The Same Photo Every Five Years // Five teenagers posed for a photo at Copco Lake in 1982 that started a tradition spanning 30 years. Every five years for the past three decades, John Wardlaw, John Dickson, Mark Rumer, Dallas Burney and John Molony have been meeting at the California lake and taking the same photo.

“We plan on doing this for the rest of our lives, no matter what — Up until there’s one guy just sitting in the same pose! Even then, maybe someone will take a picture of an empty bench for us.”