I’ve been spending a lot more time at home since the studio flooded almost a month ago. I’ve set up office in Sofia’s playroom in the basement of our home. Sofia and I have spent a lot more time together, playing early morning lego and going for walks with our dog Jake. Our neighborhood is blossoming with all different kinds and colors of flowers. Sofia has taken the self appointed role of “teacher” when it comes to strolling along the gardens.
She creates imaginative stories about the different plants, what their names are, where they come from, and what can be done with them. She loves to teach me about how intricate each flower is, and the variety of colors within then. We’ve bonded in a whole new way.
I’ve noticed she tends to focus primarily on the wild flowers growing along the edges of the sidewalks rather than on the intended “center piece” flowers in the gardens. Her great-grandmother calls them the flowers that were “planted by God”. She loves dandelions in particular and knows that they are pretty much the only flower she can pick and bring home for Mama.
I guess these are the important moments in our lives that we always hope that we will never forget. I’m so fortunate to be able to capture these moments and keep them for a lifetime. These last few weeks have been an extremely difficult time in my life in several ways. My little girl has taught me that there are a lot more important things in life than the things that we stress about.
I look forward to many more walks with her as new and different flowers come out in our area. I’m sure I will be learning a lot more from her.
"I have had the recent pleasure of working with Jonathan Cruz to photograph my client, Michael Buble.
Over the 24 years I have been in this business, I have worked with countless photographers in both Canada and the U.S. and found Jonathan’s work comparable to many of the best. In past we have worked with Kwaku Alston, Andrew Eccles, Annie Leibowitz, Randee St. Nicholas, Denise Grant, Mark Mainguy and James O’Mara to mention just a few.
As important as the quality of his work, was also his professional demeanor. He took the time to meet before the shoot to make sure he knew what we were looking for, he shot quickly, had a good command of lighting and kept the client involved in the shoot.
At its conclusion Jonathan was on task turning the final product around in a timely fashion. We were very pleased with the end result. I would highly recommend Jonathan and his team." - Marlene Palmer, Publicist for Michael Buble
"I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to be working with you guys on this project. It's been so much fun getting to know you all, And the photos... they are every little girls dream come true." - actress , Sarah Smyth
"Jonathan, whom I had only met hours before, is a kind & gentle soul. His on-the-spot modeling lessons helped me relax behind the camera, while his personality & technique created an atmosphere that made it difficult to remain uptight." - Krysta Nordin
"The Unique Minds calendar would not be possible without the generous time and effort that you provided. Thanks again." - Kelvin Wilson, Founder and CEO, Unique Minds Foundation