A Sunny Fall Morning in Ajax With The Brown Family

There are some sessions where you can feel the joy before you even take your first photo — and this morning with Rowan and her parents in Ajax was one of them. It was one of those crisp fall days where the sun feels extra golden, the air is light, and every corner of the park looks like a film set waiting to be explored.

Rowan was just a few weeks shy of her first birthday (which, honestly, is my favourite age to photograph). That perfect mix of curiosity, wobbly confidence, and full-body excitement about… well, pretty much everything. She kept us laughing from the moment we spread out the blanket under the maple tree.

We spent most of the morning trying — and failing — to keep her from eating crunchy leaves. Every time she spotted a new one, she’d squeal, grab it triumphantly, and immediately attempt to taste-test it. Classic one-year-old energy, and honestly, the cutest thing to witness through the lens.

We moved around the park slowly, letting Rowan lead the way. Sometimes she wanted to explore, sometimes she wanted to be scooped up, and sometimes she’d just stop and stare at the sunlight catching in the trees. Those in-between pauses… those are the frames I love most.

We wandered down toward the water. The lake was unbelievably calm — that soft, glassy blue you only get on perfect fall mornings. Rowan’s eyes lit up the second she saw the beach, and she immediately pointed like she knew exactly where she wanted us to go. Watching her parents snuggle in around her with the waves behind them was genuinely beautiful. There was such an ease to the whole morning — no rushing, no pressure, just exploring together and letting things unfold naturally.

Sessions like this are exactly why I love photographing families outdoors. The light, the colours, the movement — and most of all, the sense that these tiny, ordinary moments will mean everything one day.

Rowan absolutely stole the show, as she should. I already know these images are going to be such meaningful keepsakes as she grows. Her first-year energy, that squishy curiosity, the way her parents looked at her… all of it was just so sweet and so real.

I’m already excited to photograph her again as she grows — because if she’s this much fun at almost-one, I can only imagine what’s coming next.