The Facchini/Carswell/Recck family shoot

Adrian and I had the opportunity to bring our boys out to Cape Cod this past weekend, for the occasion of a combination family shoot for old friends Jim & Cathy Carswell, and their spouses Aimee & George and kiddos.

(Full disclosure: the Cape is where my family would vacation every summer when I was growing up, and the smell of the salt air always brings back memories for me. When I was around eight years old, I actually used to keep a bottle of "Cape Cod air" in my room all year long, and I'd uncork it every summer the instant we reached the apex of the Bourne Bridge that crosses over the Cape Cod Canal to refreshen my supply...)

We ended up going to a nature preserve of sorts for our photo session, and hiking along paths through rolling meadows, marsh grasses and forests. It was a beautiful spot that provided all sorts of interesting backdrops for photos and we just improvised throughout the afternoon, letting the kids be kids.

Many thanks to Aimee & Jim and Cathy & George for their hospitality - our boys had a blast getting to hang out at the beach during the weekend, and have been talking about it ever since. Enjoy the sneak peek!

Hello world!

Welcome to the debut of my new Derek Fowles Photography blog!! This is brand new for me, so I don't want to go crazy with my predictions, but I intend for this to be primarily a photo journal that documents what I've been up to with my camera - with some glimpses along the way of my life away from the lens.

I've got quite a backlog of recent fun and interesting shoots that I will be tapping into soon, but I want to start off with a little introduction to me and my background, for those who don't know. All you close friends and family out there, you'll just have to be patient:)

I live with my wife Adrian, our two boys and our cat Poco in the town of Northampton, MA, also known as "Paradise City" (to the Chamber of Commerce), "Hamp" (if you're old-school) or "Noho" (if you fancy yourself a hipster.)

I grew up not far from here in the hills. When not playing sports of nearly every variety, I spent my summers working on my grandparents' nearby dairy farm (I believe the world would be a better place if there were more Guernseys and fewer Holsteins). I've been a Red Sox fan since the age of seven. At one time in my life, I was a trailmix-chewing, opinion-spewing, earthy-crunchy outdoor diehard, but these days nothing makes me happier than to hit some golf balls and splash in some puddles with my boys.

I have worked as a farmer, a waiter, a construction laborer, an outdoor educator, a cook, and a painter, but once I discovered photography this all changed for good. I love what I do, and I look forward to sharing stories and images!

Just cruisin'...

After a session of mud-puddling.