A pink bow on the table
I photographed this birthday party in a Roseville backyard in October 2026. On the patio, a wooden tray of cheese, strawberries, grapes and salami sat on a coffee table next to a vase of white hydrangeas. The food table held crackers, pita chips and bowls of dip, with pink gerberas, baby’s breath and eucalyptus down the middle.
On one of the guest tables, a gift wrapped in peacock-feather paper and tied with a pink bow sat beside a bright pink envelope, a small glass lamp and a pink drink. A guest set a slice of citrus into a cup with a red rim. Under the covered patio, two women hugged, one of them smiling with her eyes shut.
The children had a game of their own on the lawn. I photographed it from behind a small orange goal, with one boy standing in the net and the others bunched together by the fence.
By the time the sun was only on the tops of the pines, guests had filled the white folding chairs around the tables on the grass. Two women crossed the patio hand in hand, one raising her glass. Another pair stood cheek to cheek under the trees, one with her eyes closed and the other smiling at the camera.
