THE ROSS FAMILY (aka: The Frame Family)

This may be one of my most difficult blog posts recently.  Not because I don’t know what to say or what to write.  The toughest thing about this blog post is that I have so much to say and so much to write!  I would like you to meet the Ross Family.  I suppose that when two people get married, technically they’re a family.  When a little one comes along though, they are for sure a family!  Christmas day, 2009, when Hudson James Ross came into this world, Ryan and Rachel’s family officially began.

I’ve known Ryan and Rachel for seven years now and they are two of my best friends.  I love them and would do anything for them.  When the little man came along though, the first thing I had on my mind was shooting a portrait session!  I couldn’t wait to get these three out for pictures because they’re totally “The Frame Family”.  You know what I’m talking about; the family that comes in the frame that you buy at the store.  They’re the family that if you didn’t have any friends, you would just leave their photo in the frame and tell people that they’re your best friends.  The best way to get a good vibe of who they are would be this little experiment.  Take a Z Gallerie catalog, a couple of surfboards, a Bible, a Harley Davidson, a skateboard, a few candles, great food, and anything black, throw that all in a blender, and hit puree for 30 seconds or so.  Bam, that’s the Ross Family and they’re amazing!  Honestly, I could talk about these two all day, but I’m going to refrain and just get to some photos!

As much as the Ross Family fits the biker surf style, they’re equally if not more comfortable in the country-side scene (Ryan has a strange love of John Deere tractors.  He’s from Santa Barbara and it makes no sense, but that’s what makes it so great)!  When I think country, I think Ramona and I had the perfect few hillsides and roads picked out for them!  Hold on.  Did I mention that I’m Hudson’s Godfather?!  Okay, pause, rewind, and insert “I’M THE LITTLE MAN’S GODFATHER!” somewhere in that upper paragraph.  I’m Italian and have pretty much been waiting 26 years to be a Godfather.  Now all I need is the sweet, barely comprehendible voice to pull it all off.  Okay, now onto some photos!

Zoolander would be proud of this “really, really, ridiculously good looking” family!  Admit it, you would leave their picture in the frame and tell people they were your friends!

While the picture of Hudson with his giant teddy-bear didn’t make the blog cut, Ryan carrying the bear did!  It’s Hudson’s bear, but I think that Ryan made a new friend ;)

I dream of this photo being blown up and mounted on some sort of really good looking wood to hang up somewhere in the Ross house.

It’s a tough call, but I think this photo is my favorite!  I love Hudson’s little face.  He is crazy curious and looks around at everything!

Okay, this photo is up there on my list.  There’s something about a dad holding his son that hits me.

See, this was the problem with this blog post.  I love all the photos.  Come on, how adorable are Rachel and Hudson together?!  I feel like this is the picture that Hudson is going to take to college with him.

We brought a chair from Ryan and Rachel’s living room up to a super long and straight Ramona road and had a blast!

(At no point was the little man in danger.  This was non-busy road in the middle of nowhere.)

Again, maybe one of my favorite shots!  It’s hard to see when the photo is this small, but Hudson is rocking a pair of tiny All Stars on his feet!  So stinking cute!

Here it is.  I think I’ve decided that this is my favorite shot of the shoot.  If you know the Ross Family, then you know that this image just fits them so perfectly!  They’re amazing, I had so much fun with them, and trust me, you will be seeing many many more photos of Hudson on the blog over the years!  Many more!