Do you remember the wonderful children’s story, The Giving Tree?  Well, here in Hawaii, I discovered one of the tree’s cousins, specifically in Kihei on Maui. One day I was driving down the road and I saw an unusually long tree swing hanging from an extremely tall tree next to the beach. That swing, inviting children young and old, hung in such a way that you had to imagine the tree itself was smiling and proud. A picture came to my mind, an idea for a photo shoot. And so began the process for the cat ears, cheetah rainboots, and an overall whimsical childhood portrait experience. I collaborated with the cheetah-loving little girl’s mom on overall look, painted the cat ears to coordinate with the boots, and all was going well.  Until… well until somebody chopped down hacked the tree swing! Really. With utter sadness, two feet of the ropes were just hanging there on the once proud branch, cruel evidence of the grandeur now gone, and the tree seemed lost, no longer smiling, even forlorn. Saying my goodbyes, I searched for a new location, cheetah-girl’s dad built a new tree swing base, my husband hung the swing, I photographed the shoot, we took down the swing, and in this process made this tree very happy and proud for the afternoon.  But it wasn’t really about a tree.  We watched a little girl feel incredibly special, truly enjoy the beach, the tree, the swing, and the sun– and all while paying tribute to her favorite animal!  This was so much fun, such a delight to do in every way.  And I’m so excited that mom and dad will have a beautiful Boutique Book and wall art for now and for generations to come to remember this speacial day, this mark of a beautiful childhood, and maybe even one day dream of it, and smile everytime they remember and see the memory– and see all the personality and beauty of their little girl.

Thanks so much for looking!  I’d love to know what you think…