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“I will look after you and I will look after anybody you say needs to be looked after, any way you say. I am here. I brought my whole self to you. I am your mother.”
I “met” Dorette way back online when I first started noticing her beautiful photographs of children. She and her husband lived and worked in Korea and she often documented her pre-schoolers in such a simple but beautiful way. She also has done many in-home family sessions abroad, and each time I see these I am inspired by her honest portraits of children.
As her time came to close in Korea (or so she thought haha), she and her husband wanted to have some pictures done to remember their time in the country. The Reynekes were off to new adventures abroad! But life decided it was time to start their family and blessed them with a little boy. So they decided to move back to Korea and the couple are now based in Busan.
During the late spring, I made my way down to Busan to photograph the mamma-to-be in her new home. Our original plan was to go out in the afternoon to take advantage of the pretty spring sunset light, but between all the chatting and the lack of accurate planning from both Dorette and myself, we had to get up the next morning very early. You see, I’m terrible at direction and failed to realise that Busan is on the east coast of Korea, so of course the sun wouldn’t set over the ocean. Luckily we were having so much fun catching up and Busan has so many good restaurants we weren’t bothered too much and instead went to fill our bellies with some good food and ice-cream.
The next morning we ventured out at 5:30am to the famous Haeundae Beach. Our timing was perfect! Just as we arrived there was beautiful golden light coming through the little garden at the entrance and we played around with the morning rays for a bit.
After some beautiful moments, we headed down to the beach to get the best of Dorette’s baby belly and Busan’s beautiful seascapes. Hendrik kept the mood light, cracking jokes and keeping his very pregnant wife happy and laughing!
It’s a beautiful experience to be part of couples’ big life milestones. I love watching people grow from engagements, weddings, pregnancies and growing their families. It’s just so special to me!
