At 7 years old, just a few days after school was out, you’d find my family and a summer's worth of luggage tetris-ed into our beat up brown Toyota Camry and headed out of NYC.

Summers weren’t for art expos or Central Park, summers were for Maine, the lake, canoeing, camping, and making summer friends at the campsites where we stayed. At night we’d sit by the fire after my dad somehow whipped up Michelin star-worthy campfire meals and scour the campsite for the perfect marshmallow sticks: Long enough, but not too long. Thin, but sturdy.

Bonus if you find one that can roast two at the same time.

We all liked our marshmallows different.
My mom: burnt as if a dragon had tried roasting a marshmallow while breathing on it.

My brother: perfectly brown and mushy. (How the hell does anyone have the patience for this?)

Me: half burnt, half brown. No patience.

My dad: Whatever ones we didn’t want to eat.

It’s funny how summer memories stick with us. Especially simple ones. One thing I love about remembering them? We have the photos to go along… Like the photo of my birthday the year my parents gave me my “pretty box”.. A  green and pink box with different compartments to store things (this was gold to someone like me who likes to know where everything is).

Or the photo of my brother and I climbing trees together next to our campsite. I was a small monkey-like child so this was one of my favorite things to do.

Little memories.

Simple.

But they speak volumes of a time when my greatest sorrows consisted of the lack of fish biting my line and having to stop swimming to head back for dinner. These photos are priceless and I thank god my parents thought enough to take them…and print them.

Summer-time’s approaching…it’s time to decide which moments you want to remember and how to capture them.

Will blurry selfies cut it? (Hint: No. Actually.. Hell no.)

It’s time to pick up your camera and document your life in an honest, fun and EASY way. Which is why I’m giving away 5 copies of my book to upgrade your summer reading!!

This digital book (perfect for iPads!) will give you confidence in your own abilities to take gorgeous photos of your family! Whether you've just bought your first fancy camera or you just need a quick refresher, this simple-to-read book will help you bring your photos from just okay to absolutely stunning. 

The Authentic Portrait: A Parent’s Guide to Documenting Childhood giveaway ends this Friday (at 3pm CEST)!! And it’s SOOOOOO easy to enter! 

Follow this link to head over to Instagram and join the contest. Follow the instructions and check back on Friday to see if you've won!!

If you think a friend would be interested, forward them this email or tag them on instagram so they don’t miss out!

Not lucky? Snag your copy here for 25% off this week only with a BONUS cheat sheet for using your camera on manual mode.