portraits
Fall is here. The colors are turning and it's the best time to be out taking pictures. My favorite time to shoot is just before the sun disappears over the hills when the light is just right, and thankfully some of my clients have been willing to put dinner off for a bit to take advantage.
Here we are. I ended up taking one of my favorite pictures in recent memory. Simple photo: just a dad, holding his son. When I got home and started going through the images, this one instantly resonated with me and I knew why. I have a son as well. He’s older now, high schooling and driving and girlfriending and in and out of the house like the wind. A busy dude. I feel like I don’t get to see him that much at all these days. I was so young when he was little, I feel like I don’t remember much of it. But the truth is I do. I guess things just get kind of hazy over time. I know this of myself; I think I spend so much time thinking about what’s coming and worrying about the future that I often times miss what’s going on right in front of my face right now. It’s so cliche. But the older I get and the more I realize I missed, the more I see that it’s the truth. Sometimes I will even catch myself- things will slow down for a second and I will think, “this is it, one of those moments you need to hold onto”, and I will try and record every detail of what’s going on in that moment. My daughter’s face, her hair, her clothes; or something my son did or said.. I’m thankful that at least I’ve sometimes learned to do that. A guy on TV once said, “I wish there was a way to tell you were in the good old days before you actually left them”. Well here we are. I wish I had a picture of my son and I like this one. So here you go Joe, here’s to your good old days :)
My latest shoot was kind of a throwback. An old friend of mine that I hadn't seen since high school contacted me wanting some pictures. Of course! After we scheduled, I sat back and thought about how long ago that was; a time when I was just worried about skateboarding and hanging with my friends, chasing girls and cruising in my car. Sometimes it seems like just last week, and sometimes it seems like it was a lifetime ago. Back when we were just kids- not really knowing what was coming next, and here we were years later taking pictures of her kids and discussing remodel plans for our houses. I never would have thought. But I guess that's what happens. These days, with all the craziness of raising a family and all the things we all have going on in our lives, it's always good to see an old friend and get a chance to meet their family.
Oh, and sometimes, we bribe our kids with Mexican food to get them to smile. "Say taco".
