This shoot is one of those that I feel so privileged to capture.
Whenever Ellen sends me an email, I know it will be a great opportunity to capture something meaningful that she has coordinated. Ellen holds the record for the most photo sessions in the shortest amount of time, and I always love working with her and her family.
This session was for Ellen and her little boy Raymond, her cousin Kelly, and their great aunt Lee. Ellen is always so good at organizing her plans; Kelly came from New York City, Ellen picked up Lee at her assisted living apartment, and made sure little Ray was all set to go. Of course, it was helpful to have Jim along to help out, too!
I always enjoy photographing people of advanced age, and Lee holds the record for that at 98 years old. I have to admit to getting a little emotional on my way home after this shoot. Lee reminded me so much of my Grandma McBrierty– her white, white hair, the soft gleam in her eyes, the dignity in her bearing– and her mind clear, with a sharp wit to match. Couple that with a beautiful little boy in her lap, and it’s hard not to be sentimental.
We met at Orchard Hill in South Windsor, and I had fun sipping hot cider and grabbing some fall images before all of the subjects arrived. Not a bad job, is it?
Thank you Kelly, Ellen, Jim and Lee. I once again enjoyed our time together, and it was great to meet some new faces. Thanks for trusting me with these memories. Enjoy your preview!
Isn’t she beautiful? –
“Remember this,- that there is a proper dignity and proportion to be observed in the performance of every act of life.”
-Marcus Aurelius
This little guy has visited me 3 times to have his pictures taken– and he gets cuter every time, if that’s even possible. Look at those eyes!
He was more interested in the apples laying around him than in my camera, so I had a little fun with the composition on this one:
‘Saturday rain’ has never been my favorite word couplet. But today it is. The skies were so thick and steely gray that it was easy to sleep a little longer, and relish the freedom of a day without scheduling.
It was a privilege to get up and watch as Paul made breakfast, all of us deciding to make it a book day– which means a run to Barnes and Noble, roaming aisles filled with the glorious smell of new paper. It was a privilege to have a hot beverage to soothe a sore throat, and relish its flavor as we read through long lines of type. To leaf through thickly-bound books, and then slowly run fingertips along a row of hardcover spines. To turn the corner, and see our children doing the same thing, just at a shorter height.
I love that our children love books. Well, I love it most of the time, anyway. Some days I get frustrated when I have to call them three times to come empty the dishwasher, and I don’t like when Joel delays homework so that he can finish one more chapter of his Hardy Boy book. But I love to see Connor’s fervored concentration, the ruffle of his brow as he gets deeply involved in a plot, even if it is of the elementary ‘Berenstein Bears’ variety. I love that when they get money for their birthday, their request is to head to Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT to get their latest favorite. Some days I am rather irritated when I’m tripping over the books that Nora left laying on the floor, or I find myself picking them up off of the chairs in the sunroom. And it doesn’t thrill me when I find books out on the driveway next to a camp chair, or sliding around under the seats in the car. However, I do like the fact that we have to move the little bookcase out of the living room, just to make room for a bigger one, because the other case is overflowing onto the hardwood floor. I do love that they can sit for hours and learn new words, or take a little journey through time to a different era just by turning a page.
I relish our trips to the bookstore, all of us together, yet so separate in our search for something that calls to us. Sometimes it’s Grisham or Montgomery, Whitman or Frost, even F.W. Dixon or Peggy Parish. It can be fiction or history, biography or classic literature, but it all pulls us in, and makes a day of grey rain not only bearable, but pleasurable. Couple that with the fact that Starbucks has released their pumpkin spice latte, and we had the makings for a lovely, long day. And as I roamed the aisles sipping at the smoothness of the drink, I couldn’t decide what I savored more– the delicious smell and taste of the tall-whipped-cream-nutmeg-cinnamon-spicy-pumpkiny goodness in hand, or the fact that our children love books as much as we.
I think it’s the latter.
Rain, rain, don’t go away. Not yet. Because I’m savoring today.
“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.”
~Anna Quindlen
You know how sometimes images can be so powerful? They can bring back happy recollections and warm thoughts, and have the ability to even create a longing for a future memory. Well, that’s the case with our friend Eric’s photos. Every so often I bug him to send me a picture to showcase on my blog. Well, I bugged him months ago, and he reciprocated rapidly. But then the summer craziness crowded in, and people were graduating and wanting pictures, and people were having weddings and wanting pictures, and people were having babies and wanting pictures. Which is good. Great, actually. But our friend Eric? His picture still sat in my folder, and it kept taunting me, bugging me to get it out. Because something this haunting, this beautiful, something that evokes such longing needs to be shown. (And because, for pity’s sake, I want the picture to stop calling my name.)
It makes me want to dust off old dreams of travel and hiking, creating a desire to find a quiet place in the middle of a huge wilderness and sit and dream. (And take pictures, of course.)
Unfortunately, I hold not the talent for landscape and nature photography that Eric does. So instead, I live vicariously through his travel and experiences, and share some of them with all of you. Because it’s just the nice thing to do.
There’s a nice story behind this image, and though I keep asking him for all the details, this is all I know, quoted directly from Eric’s email:
“It’s a longer story for another day, but basically I had to wait for the elk to stop frolicking in the water so that I could get the reflection of the mountains back again.” 1/40s, F/14, 18mm, ISO 200
Are you kidding me?! (Oh, that’s me talking again.) Can anyone imagine me sitting and waiting for anything to happen– least of all waiting for elk to get out of the frame, so I can get what I want of the still reflection?! I’d probably want to be up in the elks’ faces, trying to showcase their personality with the gleam in the big guy’s eye or something. To have a fraction of Eric’s patience would be a blessing. (Paul thinks that would be nice if I did, too, I’m sure…)
Okay, I want to hop on a plane and visit Wyoming now. Can you imagine it in autumn?! So, if you want to live vicariously through his images, you can purchase Eric’s fabulous artwork on his site here: www.ericjvirkler.com. Methinks you’ll be glad you did.
“My profession is to always find God in nature.”
-Henry David Thoreau, New England-born author, poet, naturalist
(1817-1862)
This post is long overdue, but that’s how it is with family sometimes, right? Get put to the back of the burner? (You know I love ya, Dee!)
It was great to have my dear friend and cousin come ‘home’ this summer to spend some time with us, gallivanting down to the shore and enjoying seafood and salt air. Of course, we had to grab some photos for them to remember Dee’s New England hometown.
Some of the images have to be left out just in case they’ll be turned into Christmas cards, but here is a little sampling:
~~~
If these piggies weren’t covered in sand, I think they’d be good enough to nibble on:
So typical of this happy little girl who knows what she wants:
Love you, Kenzie Lane!
Can I just say again how I love the gardens at Harkness?
Know what I learned that weekend they came to visit? Kayleigh loves the beach. In a very big way! It was tough to get her in her ‘natural’ state of smiling for some of the earlier pictures. When we hit the sand, not an issue at all. Love you, Kayleigh Sue!
Watch out. Kenzie’s coming through–
And I’m thinking this might be the Christmas card (Is it, Dee? I can’t remember) but Brad and Deanna said it didn’t matter. Good thing, ‘cuz I love it too much to hide it:
Then it was back to Ellington for a delicious dinner with extended family. And when the light got soft and warm and beautiful, we just had to grab a few more, with the girls’ adorable outfits. We almost said, “Nah, we don’t have to, we got plenty.” But then, we just figured we’d try. And we’re glad we did. It only took about 5 minutes, but it’ll last a lifetime…
Just one more, because this little girl’s beautiful brown eyes can’t be ignored:
“I’m not a bit changed–not really. I’m only just pruned down and branched out. The real ME–back here–is just the same.”
-Anne Shirley, of Anne of Green Gables – by Lucy Maud Montgomery
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