Caren Barry

Photographer + Writer + Surface Designer

Portfolio

  • :: this photo was taken exactly one year ago today. I was pregnant with Emilia and James had whisked me away for a wander around this beautiful woodland of bluebells. Our visit fell shortly before sunset, so the light filtering through the trees and onto the bluebells felt pretty magical. We walked through the dappled light and I made note of just how special the insects looked as they danced in the last of the days light, I even noticed a dragonfly fleeting by me. One of those moments you wish you could have captured. I remember that little adventure so fondly 🥰 . We’ve been so busy these past few weeks... (well, life with a baby always feels so busy doesn’t it?!) and so we unfortunately didn’t manage a trip here this time around. I had really hoped to capture some photos with my girl – I just love the idea of revisiting the places where we captured all bump photos and updating our photo album 💜 it’s in my calendar now and so we’ll definitely make it there next year ✨
  • :: oh how I love this girl so much. She never fails to make me smile and I’ve noticed just how much she loves to entertain us (she’s trying to eat the sticker on the lapel of my coat here 🙊). . I used to worry that my feed was too heavy with baby/motherhood content, but I’ve made a conscious effort to stop overthinking whether I should post something of that topic... after all, it’s such a big part of my life and I’m passionate about it – that surely is something special worth celebrating and documenting in my little online space!? ☺️ . When I stop and really take a look at my life now; how much it’s changed and how different my outlook is, I often don’t recognise myself. Yes, most days I’m in my jammies until lunchtime and I don’t eat lunch until almost 3pm, I haven’t slept more than 3-4 hours at a time for I don’t know how long, and I’m still trying to find that balance of ‘me time’ or time to regularly exercise, or even having enough headspace to concentrate on reading one of my many books I treated myself to before giving birth... . BUT It’s almost 9 months (or 18 months if you include pregnancy) of being Emilia’s mama, and I still can’t believe how lucky I got – though I’m sure all parents say this of their children! I’m incredibly grateful for all the little, ordinary, everyday (even the challenging) moments that go alongside this pretty magnificent and magical thing that motherhood is. ✨
  • :: slow, sunshine-filled days with this bare-legged babe in bloomers and bonnets... need I say more? 😍☀️
  • :: a windowsill bouquet of beauty. . I can’t quite believe I’m only just getting round to sharing these flowers; a lovely surprise from James to celebrate my first Mother’s Day as a mama. @therealflowerco‘s beautifully scented bouquets have been my favourite for several years now (so you can imagine my delight at receiving these 🥰) and although sadly these flowers only lasted a few days, it has always brought me so much joy how gently their blooms perfume my home, every time. ✨
  • :: it’s been such a lovely Easter with our little bunny 💛 . We’ve had a jam-packed weekend of family engagements and gatherings, so today was spent at home, just the three of us. The doors to the garden have been wide open all day long; the warm breeze and birdsong floating in made our day of relaxing (a few chores included for good measure) pretty perfect. . Emilia’s not eating chocolate just yet, so I put together a little Easter basket for her instead and filled it with some thoughtful gifts; new books, a sweet little outfit (as she’s outgrowing her clothes so quickly these days) and a beautiful wooden leaf puzzle. James added in a cute little bunny balloon and bubbles for fun too ☺️ I didn’t have Easter traditions as a child, but I loved picking out each of these gifts for Emilia so much (each item was bought with the intention to be less wasteful) I’m planning to continue this every year as a new family tradition 😊 I’m also very much looking forward to the glee on her face when she does experience her first Easter egg hunt... chocolate included of course! . I’d love to hear – what traditions do you love that you’ve continued or created for your family?
  • :: oh my! I know I’m biased; but I cannot get enough of this girl and her gorgeous, cheeky smile 😍 . At seven months old, Emilia was already well practiced at crawling, so much so that standing (assisted) quickly became her new favourite activity, smiling delightedly at us every time this was achieved. I’m fascinated by all of her developments, of course, but a lot of the time all I can think is how quickly these ones in particular have come about! So, we’re definitely in the world of knocks and bumps now. We’ve had our fair share of pretty dramatic tumbles 😬 and that heart-in-mouth feeling when she hurts herself is something I’ll never get used to. That being said, I think we must both be getting better at avoiding and/or coping whenever that scenario does arise 🙈 . Emilia loves music now too, especially @george_ezra. I discovered this when she was a few months old and it seems his beautiful bass-baritone voice is still working its magic in distracting and calming her down at pretty much any occasion – she’ll often hear his voice before I do and it quite literally stops her in her tracks before a gleeful wave of her hands in approval. . #emiliahannarose #emiliahannarosemilestones
  • :: it made perfect sense when introducing Emilia to a couple of her mamas favourite things; glasshouses and walled gardens, to stop for a few photos. Emilia is becoming incredibly inquisitive and I love watching her explore and discover new thing in her ever expanding world ❤️ She was particularly fascinated by the box hedging... 🌷🌿✨
  • :: an image I captured almost a month ago (!?) which seems very fitting to share on what has been a bright and calm Sunday. . I’m embracing any and all moments of calm in our return to our normality and a slower pace, especially after our little ‘adventure’ with Emilia on Wednesday. A visit to our GP due to a suspected allergic reaction to a new food turned into a completely unexpected dash to the hospital. The mysterious (and quite dramatic looking) rash was soon identified and treated by a specialist doctor there, but it was definitely one of those moments where I had to keep reminding myself to stay calm and only focus on the now instead of the ‘what if’s’. . Much to our relief the rash looked far more severe than its cause and all is well now – thank goodness for our wonderful NHS... and all the doctors, who even during a busy afternoon/evening treating many patients, still made us feel like their only concern. Emilia was very out of sorts and far from our happy, smiling, entertaining baby girl, so the extra snuggles these past few days have been just what we needed ❤️

 

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