2 a.m. {a photo journal} » cristina navarro | 2 a.m. {a photo journal}

Yes, it’s true. Ofter a long hiatus, the blog is back…new, fresh, and ready to rock and roll. Update your bookmarks!! See you at the new crib!;)

The new CRISTINA NAVARRO PHOTOGRAPHY photo blog is HERE!!!

I will never forget how it felt when the phone rang that morning. I listened as my husband spoke with his Mother. From his response, I could tell she was concerned. After all, we were in Los Angeles at the time, and by the time she had contacted us, the second tower had been hit. It was very apparent the United Stated was under attack, and she was worried that somehow Los Angeles would be next.

Still, something had been lost in translation during that phone call. As she tried to communicate what she knew, he failed to understand. He thought there was an exaggeration, of sorts, on her part and, in the end, he ended the conversation reassuring her he would turn on the television to see for himself. But he didn’t.

I did.

And what I saw broke my heart into a million pieces.

There they were… the North and South Tower were burning and my heart sank as I watched the details and heard the news reports as they fed live. It’s funny how quickly confusion, fear and worry can suddenly exist where there was none before. I learned then that feeling of safety and security is one that is often taken for granted until it is gone.

Thirty minutes after the wake up call, the South Tower fell to the ground and turned into ash on the screen in front of me. Shortly after, so did the North Tower and, with it, hope.

I will never forget the things I saw on September 11th in the days and months that followed. I will never forget the feeling of fear and uncertainty. I will never forget the feeling of helplessness. I will never forget how in the face of tradgedy, solidarity and sacrifice emerged in full force. No, September 11th is a day I will never forget.

I finally had an opportunity to visit New York this spring and it was an amazing experience. I fell in love with that city so much that if I had the opportunity to go more than once a year, I would do it in a heartbeat. It’s just magic. I didn’t have an opportunity to walk to the site where the tragedy happened. I only saw it from the window of a bus and even then, 10 years later, it was still surreal. What I did get to do was visit the Statue of Liberty and so, I leave you with that. The iconic image of freedom I choose to hold onto and something we are all so blessed to have.

I promised her a year ago I would photograph her on roof somewhere. Yes, it took me an entire year to make good on that promise.  When you are busy shooting for other people, it becomes even that much harder to shoot for your own personal reasons.  Not to say that my children are starving for photographs (or attention for that matter).  They are in front of my lens all the time.

But this shoot was going to be different.  Something a little more elaborate and a little more time consuming.  Which was exactly the reason it kept getting bumped off the schedule until, before I knew it, it was a whole year later and I still hadn’t made good on that promise.

But, all things happen for a reason, and this was no different.  It was actually perfect timing.  I loved the lack of teeth and the extra year gave her poise that was perfect for the location.

So after two hours, a few blocks, and tons of laughs, I was happy.  And so was she.

Despite getting locked in the parking garage after dark (which gave her…well, perhaps all of us a bit of a scare), she was happy.  And so. was. I.

(Below right) Getting primped by my assistant and partner in crime, Diana. She fixed hair, cracked jokes, lugged the wardrobe in a plastic trash bag. I couldn’t have done it right without her.

(Below left) There are tons of silly shots from the shoot. This one came from my direction to get closer to the wall. Her response: “Okay. THIS close?!” She cracks herself up. {Like someone else I know;}

(Sigh) How blessed am I?!

It was the coldest day of the year (15 degrees in the desert, to be exact) and I made my children endure it for 5 minutes just so I could get these.

In the spirit of blogging more, a quick and recent image of my little one in a simple game of peek-a-boo.