Sometimes you don’t fully appreciate how special a moment is until after it’s over. Like when Ilia invited me over to take photos of him and his family as they fixed a bicycle. I mean, of course taking photos of a newly minted 1-year-old kid passing his dad a 15mm wrench is going to be cute. Grabbing shots of Denise as the sun spills over her shoulders while she chats with her son. Photographing little Lev as he hoists himself up to stand beside the bike, shooting through the spokes as he fits a random piece onto the bike pedals. (The kid understands that circle-shaped objects go with other circle- shaped objects, and he’s one — it’s incredible.) The whole scene is crazy adorable.
You see, we’re not just giving this Linus a spring maintenance check. We’re fitting this bike with a baby seat. This is the moment. The moment where this new little family goes on their first bike ride together. You see, Ilia and Denise first connected over their mutual love of biking. The first time I met Denise was when she was dragged to my photo exhibition by Ilia, freshly covered in mud from their mountain biking adventure through Edmonton's River Valley. During the shoot, Denise tells me that she hasn’t been on a bike for almost two years, since before she was pregnant with Lev.
The repair transforms the bike from a solo machine to a new hub that will shift how the Bizis move around the city. The excitement builds as they fit Lev with his very first helmet. As Ilia straps Lev into the seat, Denise tells him about all the birds he’ll be able to see from his new perch. Neither Denise nor Ilia can hold back cheek to cheek smiles as they push off on their first family biking adventure.
This Life by Selena Photography blog post about family photography was produced by Montreal photographer Selena Phillips-Boyle. The Biziaev family was photographed in Edmonton. Selena often travels to Edmonton for photographic projects and accepts commissions worldwide. You can see more of Selena's family photography by heading over to this Montreal family photo session with the Duffin-Neuman family or this Toronto family photo session. This post was edited by Montreal communications professional Max Baru.
Cet article de blogue sur la photographie de famille Life by Selena était produit par Selena Phillips-Boyle, photographe montréalaise. Les photos de la famille Biziaev était pris en Edmonton. Selena voyage souvent à Edmonton pour des projets photographiques et elle accepte des contrats dans le monde entier. Cet article de blogue fut révisé par Max Baru, spécialiste de communication à Montréal.