As a child, Melissa Appleton, photographer and owner of Appletree Photography, was captivated by her story. “I always wanted to look at photo albums,” she says. “Those things that are tucked away that you get in trouble for pulling out, like your baby blanket, or Grandma’s dancing shoes. I was always obsessed with the idea of a story… all those memories.” Now, Melissa curates family memories starting at the beginning: birth. “These moments are a part of your story,” Melissa says. “They’re a part of what builds you. This is maybe the first time this woman is a mom, this is the moment that gave her that title. The kids, as they grow, this is their story, this is their beginning.”
Sometimes, that birth is literal (single parents, couples and even surrogates), but Appletree Photography also photographs figurative births: adoptions. Melissa herself has a complex family: two biological children, an adopted daughter and a foster/kinship son, who is a biological sibling to their daughter. In fact, the name, Appletree Photography stemmed from the adoption celebration she had for her daughter, in which a hand-drawn apple tree acted as a guest book. “Apple trees make me think of family,” Melissa says. And, she will photograph the beginning of any family’s story.
