Traditions are something that are truly important to me. As the years continue to fly by, and everyone's life continues to take shape; I feel very lucky that I am able to continue a photography tradition with Alayna and Nicole.
Before I begin discussing this year's shoot, let me backtrack and explain how the tradition began.
The Summer of 2014 was an important time for me and my photography, it basically created the cornerstone and foundation for my photography today. I was able to have my work published with California Mustang, a Mustang parts catalog, and most notably I was able to work with Nicole on our very first shoot to be published in the July issue of Top Floor Magazine! All of these accomplishments helped convince me to further pursue photography, I finally felt a sense of purpose in my life.
In addition to my accomplishments, Nicole had recently graduated from high school and was looking forward to starting her college career at Central Michigan University. Over the course of that Summer, special bonds had formed between Nicole and Alayna, and Nicole and myself.
As Nicole prepared to leave for college, the three of us decided to spend a day visiting and enjoying each other's company. Somehow, doing a photo shoot was suggested...and that is what we did.
The shoot really didn't have a specific theme or setting. I remember just going for a walk through the trails behind the house and then deciding to go down to Lakeside Park. It was the first time that we did something, just the three of us. As I watched Alayna and Nicole, I got to see the dynamic of their friendship and see their happiness, that made me happy. I truly felt like I was capturing memories and freezing them in time....and that's how this photo shoot tradition was created. We always try to set something up every August, but there have been times where we have waited until Winter for the opportunity to get together.
It's truly amazing and quite humbling to be able to watch Alayna and Nicole both blossom into confident and beautiful women. Yes, there are times when we all fight and argue like siblings, but I will always love and respect them more than they know...
Now, back to this year's shoot... Since we have been doing this for a few years now, I basically let Alayna and Nicole set everything up. From locations and theme to outfits, the girls decide everything. This year, it was decided that they were wearing long skirts and shirts...a simple and classy type of outfit. The overall theme for the shoot was unknown, we were just going to try different places around the yard. Sort of like the very first photo shoot. The one thing that we weren't planning on was rain... (Rain was a reoccurring theme this Summer, I guess) However, the rain created an opportunity to once again pull out umbrellas and have some fun!
Once the rain stopped, we decided to get some group photos. For the first time in a while, I actually used my tripod with my camera. I know there are photographers out there who use a tripod for every shoot, but I've learned that I actually do better and feel more comfortable taking photos free hand. It isn't often that I have a chance to step in front of the camera, instead of being behind it. Although these photos are very simple and far from my best work, they're very important to me. I'm sure they're important to Alayna and Nicole as well.
Tomorrow is never guaranteed, tragedies happen, life gets busy...no matter what happens, we'll always have these memories. I just hope and pray that this tradition will continue on for many more years to come...
