This year the small apple tree in our backyard was loaded with knobby, spotty apples. I thought they’d still make good applesauce though, so one foggy morning I decided to go out and pick all I could. I used to do self-portrait photoshoots before I was pregnant, so I decided to dress up and take some pictures just for fun. Enjoy scrolling through the results!
The struggle with self-portraits on a DSLR is getting myself in focus. These first few are a little blurry but they’re still cute.
I may have hidden from neighbors a couple of times as they walked past on the road… I miss photoshoots on the farm where no one’s around. :’D
Most of the apples were still pretty green, but I knew from past years that if I left them on the tree for much longer, the squirrels would steal them all. They were still ripe enough to cook well.
After several weeks of hot weather and no rain, we’ve been getting lots of storms and, on the morning of the photoshoot, even fog! So pretty.
Can’t resist a contemplative black and white.
I’ve kept this basket in my basement for harvesting my garden produce… but my plants got so eaten by various pests that I’ve mostly brought harvests inside in small handfuls. 😦 It worked great for apple picking though!
As you probably know if you have a backyard apple tree, the fruit tends to be small and gnarly without spraying it and keeping up with it. But I did find a few huge apples which was fun.
Have to highlight the baby bump, of course! It looks smaller in these pictures than usual, I suppose with the flowy dress and sitting down.
One of my favorites of the self-portraits. I can’t believe little Sophia’s due date is only a few weeks away now.
My final harvest.
I felt so cottagecore with my outfit, a wicker basket, and this beautiful wooden stool my granddaddy made.
Hehe my feet are covered in wet grass here.
It was a lot of work to pick, wash, cut up, and cook these apples, but I didn’t peel them which saved a lot of time. I just blended the stewed apples with an immersion blender. (And then strained any extra peels out later using a metal mesh strainer).
All in all, this little harvest made about 10 quarts of applesauce, which pleased me immensely! My freezer is filled with Ziploc bags, which Sully and I have already dipped into.
I hope you enjoyed this little photoshoot! I used to do this kind of thing a lot so it was nice to get back to it one more time before the baby comes. And now I have a few maternity self-portraits!
Have you ever made applesauce?
***Allison***
P. S. Photos taken with my Nikon D7200 and a 35mm lens. Edited with Lightroom.
Allison Marie 
These photos are lovely. Your child will cherish these.
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Aww thank you!
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These are so beautiful!! The apple picking alone is a lovely subject but making them into your pregnancy portraits is extra sweet and meaningful! 🍎
My daughter and I are new readers to your blog and we’re enjoying looking back through your many years of blogging. Love your style, creativity, and message! 💕
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Thank you Alinda! That’s what I felt like too. 🥰
Aww yay, so happy you and your daughter are enjoying my posts. Thanks for commenting and reading along. ❤️
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Beautiful shoot! I’ve never made applesauce before but those apples look good!!!
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Thank you! The apples were not great by themselves but delicious in applesauce. 😀
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I went strawberry picking with my three-year-old a couple of weeks before my second child was born. That was hard–lots of bending over!
You look so adorable. Not long now until you hold that sweet baby in your arms.
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That *does* sound hard, haha! Bending over is not as doable anymore; I have to do a lot of squats when I weed the garden (which is not as often anymore).
Thank you so much. 🙂 I’m so excited!
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You look lovely, Allison! What a pretty area to take pictures in. Wow, those apples sure made a lot of applesauce!
These pictures have such a cozy feeling to them. It’s been triple digits here… Can’t wait for cooler weather!
So excited that Sophia will make her little arrival soon!!!! Many blessings to you!
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Thanks Valentine! Yes I was pretty surprised!
I laughed at myself with the fall-ish pictures when really it was too hot and sticky to be comfortable in my long sleeve shirt, haha.
Me tooooo! Thank you;
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Hi Allison;
The pictures are lovely They remind me of an old fashioned characters
from books that have characters looking like you. Enjoy the apple sauce. There is nothing like homemade food.
Have a wonderful week-end.
Marilyn,Joan and Marion
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Ooh I love that! I wanted it to be a bit old fashioned. Homemade food is indeed the best. Blessings to all of you!
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Just realized that even small things like apple picking can be interesting if portrayed properly
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That’s what I am to show with my photography! There is so much beauty in the small things.
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