Baraboo Newborn Photographer // Strength, tiny sized

Wanna see something beautiful? It’s this baby boy, Atlas James. You’re welcome.

I was supposed to take his mom’s maternity photos, but he elected to arrive about a month early, so I got to meet him instead. No offense to mom, but I’ll take it.

Atlas’ namesake, the Greek god charged with supporting the heavens, is always pictured bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. I think of the giant bronze statue in front of the Rockefeller Building in New York City, which I stood under many times when I was going to college out East. In that crouched pose, Atlas shows that strength and courage can be, in and of themselves, a burden. It’s not easy doing what’s expected of you. All that jazz.

Except this Atlas, he makes it look easy. He came the day his parents were supposed to go to their birthing class. A perfect little peanut, healthy and beautiful and strong in his own way, in his tiny package. It makes you so incredibly grateful when things go right; it makes you realize you can never take “going right” for granted.

Welcome to the world, baby boy. I expect great things of you already.