I have been to Las Vegas only once, and this photo documents the highlight of that visit: our hotel had a swimming pool! That's my brother Mike and my dad sitting on the diving board. And the story I am told (because I don't remember it) is that when no one was looking, little 7-year-old Scotty went out to the edge of the board and jumped in. The problem was that Scotty really didn't know how to swim. Whether that event occurred before or after the photo was taken, I can't say.This photo doesn't pass the test as far as quality photos are concerned: it has compositional issues and the photographer (my mom?) posed us with our backs to the sun, leading to underexposed faces. But like billions of other bad vacation snap shots, it is still an important photo - at least in my personal history.This photo, incidentally, was in an album that my aunt Betty had kept. In managing her estate, we ended up with several of her photo albums and it is obvious to me that even though she lived in California, her South Dakota family was very important to her.
Family
11-25-12 Happiness
There are many ways to picture happiness but I would choose the look on Evie's face from this Thanksgiving's celebration to illustrate it. It's hard to know what she's thinking, but in the arms of her loving great grandmother, it can only be good things. . . .
09-19-12 The Youngest Shep
I don't know what it says about me that I take more pictures of things than I do of people. I don't know the answer to that but I do know that I don't see my youngest son, Jon, enough.This photo was taken near Sitka, Alaska, a few years ago. At the time, Jon was working for an adventure company and we got the royal treatment when we visited. And I liked Sitka, except that it stayed in the 50s the whole time we were there. (July!)
Four Amigos
Here's my stream of consciousness: foot prints in frost (yesterday's post) makes me think of foot prints in the sand. Foot prints in the sand make me think of Mexico. Mexico makes me think of family trips. Family trips reminds me of photo I took of the Four Cousins in Mexico a few years ago: Matt, Brian, Jon and Derek. So where do I go from here in the stream? Check back tomorrow.
An Angel Dances the Charleston
Gladys, born in 1912, passed away yesterday at the age of 97. She was my father's sister and when I was growing up, we would make the trek out to Olympia, Washington, every other year to visit her. Like my aunt Betty in California, Gladys moved to the west coast from South Dakota looking for opportunity.Throughout her entire life, she was an amazing woman. She was organized, decisive, caring and deeply involved in her church. She was a driving force that even time and sickness couldn't slow down. Diagnosed with cancer in her 70s, Gladys scheduled her treatments early in the morning so they wouldn't conflict with her home visits to shut-ins and "real" sick people, as she liked to refer to them.In 2004, Deb and I visited her and we watched in amazement as she stood behind her walker in the day room of her assisted living center and, at the age of 91, danced the Charleston. We laughed and applauded.If any angel has a special place in Heaven, Gladys does. And she is no doubt entertaining all the other angels by dancing the Charleston.
03-25-09 Katie & Brian
Here's another one with high sentimental value. I was asked by my recently-engaged son, Brian, to take engagement photos of him and his fiancée, Katie. Of course I said, "Yes." But I was nervous - partly because I hadn't done any studio portraiture in months and partly because I had never done any real formal portraiture of my own family. But both subjects were relaxed and easy to work with. And they were photogenic. (How could a father and future father-in-law say anything else?!)
Brian has been the subject of another post to this blog - Take A Leap (02). Some might argue that delving into a relationship and ultimately into marriage constitutes a sort of a leap of faith, as well. But as I observe Katie and Brian, I don't think this about them. Their relationship seems like the perfect mix of reason and emotion - but it's not a leap of faith.
Canon 5DII f/8.0 1/100 Canon 24-105 4.0L 88mm ISO 100