Graphic, yet strangely intriguing.

I am a huge fan of Julia over at My Life In Transition and her latest post got me thinking: how far does my obsession with photography go?

I keep a {crappy} point&shoot in my bag at all times. I have been known to randomly snap photos (some at inopportune times) of people, places, and things. I took approximately 45 photos of the Gateway Arch (which my sister occasionally reminds me that I never posted my St. Louis review) and have in the ballpark of 500 of my dog. We have 2 wedding albums, did a first anniversary shoot, and my latest project.... oh let me tell you about that.

In the house I grew up in on Welshs Lane (not to be confused with our "old house", which is the first house I remember living in), my mother used to keep family photo albums in my dad's office in the basement. There were maybe 8 or 9 of them, and they all held print photos, many of which were from trips down the shore (not Seaside Heights, folks). As kids, we used to love looking through them, mainly to point out what jerks we looked like (a bowl cut looks good on no one), but also to just remember things that we used to do. And who we used to be. I have a picture of me and my siblings as kids, standing outside on the deck. My best friend in the world is with us. The five of us are smiling and eating ice pops. And every time I look at that picture, I think "Wow, we've been friends for like 20 years". I love the history.... I guess that's why I love to take pictures - so the memories are there for us to remember later.

So now my latest project is creating an album (MyPublisher is my bitch) of everything that happened in 2009... well actually we'll start with Thanksgiving 2008 and go from there (we got married early in November, went on our honeymoon, and then hosted Thanksgiving dinner) up through New Years Eve of this year. I want to do a year book every single year, so that our kids can look back through them and see what it was like before they came along... and so they can see themselves grow.

At this point, I'm tied to the anniversary shoot (annually, with kids/furkids) and the year book. I'd assume it goes without saying that I'm very into the maternty shoot and newborn shoot.

But (and if you clicked on the link above, you know what I'm talking about).... what about a birth shoot? Coming from someone without a bun in the oven, this should all be taken with a grain of salt, but as of right now, my stance is firmly on the side of "There's no audience when you're making the baby, so why invite one in for the birth?". Husband? Check. Doctors? Check. Everyone else safely tucked away in the waiting room where there is lots less blood/placenta? Check.

But I never considered a photographer. Until I saw this. Suddenly, I am very open to the idea {though my bank account might not be}. What about you? Creepy? Awesome? Complete invasion of privacy? The slideshow (the link above) has zero shots of ladybits (thankfully), so feel free to view at your leisure, and then let me know... what's your stance on birth photography?