Maternity Photo Adventure

Last weekend our long-time friends came to visit and take some maternity photos for us. This is kind of a side, hobby thing for him, at which he obviously excels. We started at our house and took some photos in front of our west-facing window. I LOVE the way they turned out:

Then we headed over to Sand Key State Park in Clearwater for some beach photos. We chose this location based on an informal Facebook survey (status update question) on what the best beach for sunset photos is in Clearwater. 

Traffic was horrible, but that's just Tampa. 

We skipped dinner to race against the sun and arrived a little after 7 PM, right when the sun was setting. There were multiple wedding parties taking photos and several tourists enjoying the beach, so we booked it down the beach to a more secluded area. 

Then Mike got these shots: 

About ten to fifteen minutes after we started, a HUGE black cloud rolled in from the shore. We tried to get some shots using the very little remaining sunlight, but the rain started to fall. 

We could see the haze of a downpour down the beach, so we started running back to the pavillion where we parked. 

Everyone else had already vacated the beach, and we got majorly caught in the deluge. There we were running to the bathroom pavillion: Mandi pushing her kids in a double stroller through the sand, Mike with his camera bag under his shirt, Zane carrying Daisy, and me, the large, preggo woman with a beach bag and a saggy maxi skirt bringing up the rear. 

What a sight!

We just laughed and shrugged. It was a shame to cut the session short, but Mike got some amazing shots in the short time we had. Daisy and Brynn played in the rain, while the rest of us waited under an overhang for the worst of it to pass. Then we changed clothes as best we could and ate a late dinner at Chick Fila. 

It really was a crazy, fun adventure. Luckily, the kids stayed happy until 10pm (a miracle!), and we got some good, quality time with friends. My only regret is that we didn't get a photo of the whole group. 

Thanks, Mike, for the awesome photos!

ALL photo credit goes to Mike Armand.