Winnie and Darren by Mark Sommerfeld.

“These images were all shot over the course of a long weekend at a lake with close friends. As with most weekends away with photographer friends, we were all taking too many photos of one another, but Winnie and Darren were the main event.

Winnie and Darren were the first to give birth in that friend group. Their devotion to one another has always been inspiring and I’m certain everyone who knows them would say the same, emphatically. Who they are and how they are when they’re together makes them wonderful friends, and pretty fabulous portrait subjects…which was not surprisingly elevated by their pregnancy. Watching them prepare to welcome their newborn into the world, and their lives, was outrageously educational and aspirational. I’m not a parent but from what I gather, most parents would likely agree having kids shakes up one’s routine quite a bit. Winnie and Darren include their new son in their day to day lives, seemingly effortlessly, which has been an astounding feat to witness…and, has raised the parenting bar to a place I would aspire to reaching should parenthood become a part of my life one day.”

Mark Sommerfeld is a Canadian photographer based in NYC. I chose his work and these photos for their quiet intimacy and poetic nature.