The Derlago's | Nottingham Family Lifestyle

How I met the Derlago family absolutely blows my mind.

When Bryana (Riutta Images) and I were planning our United Kingdom trip, I made a casual comment to my cousin's wife about missing the colors in Michigan and not being there for the fall photo season. To my surprise, she informed her good friend and my regular client, Allison, just so happened moved to Glasgow... EXACTLY where we were going to be! Allison's family, as well as many others, lives nomadically as her husband, Ryan, plays hockey professionally. I'll spare more of Allison's story for another post that features her own family, but long story short: she connected me with other North American hockey families overseas who desired lifestyle photography to document their current state of temporary living situations.

The Derlago's are originally from Manitoba, Canada. Mark, Jenna, and their children had just moved to Nottingham, England only weeks before Bryana and I ventured over. We met them in the bustling area surrounding city centre and documented their family doing what they're best at: doing whatever the heck they wanted and would normally do in their everyday lives!

Our timing on the session was unexpectedly a blessing; shorty after, their family needed to return to Canada for family matters. This is why lifestyle photography is so important in all of its unplanned, less posed, flawed glory. You never know when your current chapter is closing. In the Derlago's case, they leave their home country every hockey season and live in an entirely different country on an entirely different continent, inundating them with all new cultures and experiences. They could potentially be stationed in another country the following season. How cool is it to have a set of images that actually realistically depict their lives in what was their current way of living!? So I'll reiterate: you never know when your current chapter is closing for the next. That's why we document.

We made our way through the cobbled streets and quaint shops until we eventually reached Nottingham Castle's walls. Castles are so strangely mundane in the UK... whether you're in the middle of a city or casually looking out the car window on a single track country road, you're more than likely going to be greeted by the sight of one.