River is a friend of mine from back when we went to The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA and lived in the same house. He actually met his wife at my going-away party when I moved from Olympia to Chicago (to take a job atThe Art Institute of Chicago), and almost two years ago, they had August, an adventurous little guy who loves being outside and being active! Lucky for me, they moved to Lebanon, ME, just a few hours from us in Somerville, MA
Last weekend, I was hired to photograph a birthday party/family reunion at a lake house in Lyman, ME, so Carrie, Reid, and I took the opportunity to visit with River, Miriam, and August when we were up in their neck of the woods.
I had thought about photographing River and his family while we were visiting, but after a four hour family shoot (tons of fun, but somewhat exhausting), I figured I would keep the camera in the car. But, after watching August having fun running around in the yard as the sun was throwing a golden yellow all over the place, I made a quick dash for the car and pulled out my long lens. I’m so glad I did! The long lens kept me a little further away and let him be himself and play in the trees and in the grass, and captured his playful personality.
When I have the chance to work with outdoorsy kids and families, and when the light is just right, it makes me so happy that I decided to start taking photos nearly 20 years ago now. Capturing that moment that really speaks not only to someone’s character, but that represents the lifestyle I’d like to shoot, there’s just nothing that beats that!!
