in-home maternity session in hawaii | summer + kainoa and their growing family

summer and kainoa are two of the most inspiring humans I know. I was so happy to photograph their first pregnancy in their jungle cabin in 2016. you can check out the session here, which is even more special now — as the cabin was destroyed in the iao valley flood.

bebegirl has been born, and here are some words from summer about the expereince of pregnancy and birth.

“We are now a family of four.

On February 1, 2019, in the quiet of our little plantation home, after a few hours of labor and two big ‘ol pushes (and two equally big screams) Baby arrived into our arms.

I couldn’t stop thanking the newest of newborn child on my chest, covered in vernix and staring up at me with eyes that still reflected the depth of the universe. So many thanks for the massive lessons already endured through this pregnancy and birth. Lessons that tore me open in dark territories of the heart that I didn’t even know existed. Lessons in forcing me to re-examine what I want to intentionally bring with me as I enter this new stage of my life as a woman, a mother, a partner, a family member, a community member. Lessons in what I want to intentionally leave behind and let rest as a part of my past (rather, aspire to leave behind, as we all know old patterns die hard).

Pregnancy and birth are hard. In a myriad of ways that we are rarely, if ever, taught. The impressive, messy, gnarly truth of birth should not be silenced or sanitized, it should be exalted in all its messy, hormonal, & bloody glory. It’s a deeply psychic time that few of us are ever given permission to explore without guilt or shame.

My hope for all birthing people as we move forward into a new age of accountability fueled by an emergent cultural evolution towards acknowledging and encouraging emotional intelligence, is that pregnancy and birth reclaim their traditional and rightful place of deep honor, reverence, wonder, worship, respect, ultimate strength, and dignity.

Enough of pregnancy and birth being the punchline, the funny scene in a romantic comedy, an insulting display of feminine “hysteria.”

We are all here because someone incubated us and birthed us. Period. Let’s all start acting like it and demand more space, more acknowledgment, more cultural nurturing not just for our mothers and babies but for our families and subsequently, our societies as a whole.

It takes more than a village.
It takes system overhaul.
It takes collective psyche overhaul.
And it’s well within our reach to do so.

Cheers to all life and the natural cycles therein.”

– Summer Starr

are you interested in a n in-home maternity session in hawaii?
I love to get creative in peoples homes, backyards, or fav local spots.
when you look back at your photos in 20 years, it will have that special feel.
the connection between our hearts and the spaces that are so dear to us.