appreciation
August 23, 2011 | Filed Under people, personal, weddings | 8 Comments
“Just appreciate how frustrated I was when I saw the shot, ok?” I typed to Jill on facebook chat this morning as I clicked ’send’ on the email and attachment I was sending her way. “It was the perfect shot. It was the defining shot of the wedding even, and of course, it was out of focus. UGH!!!”
I’m pretty sure my jaw clenched harder the more I looked at the picture. How could I have done that!? I toggled between the shot before, THE shot, and the shot after. I take a lot of pictures (taking pictures of horses with ears that flick constantly has gotten me in the habit of taking 4 or 5 frames of the exact same pose) and was hoping, praying, fingers crossed wishing that maybe I gotten one similar (IN FOCUS!) of the same pose. No dice.
I made some excuses in my head. Maybe my focusing drive wasn’t where it was supposed to be. Maybe it was because I was rushed because I had stopped traffic on a main street in a small tourist town on a gorgeous weekend day at dinner time. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention. So I conceded. I missed the shot. I had to live with it. And appreciate it. And appreciate that I had the chance to take the shot in the first place. And appreciate the reality that I’d have the chance to shoot like that again. And, that if this was the shot I was most upset with from the whole set, I should really appreciate how far I’ve come.
♥ Jack and Leah
August 4, 2011 | Filed Under Photoshoots, people, weddings | 5 Comments
“It’s just past North River,” Leah said to me, as I loaded chairs into my car. “Just follow us.” And so I did. And the road kept going and I thought to myself that maybe there was another North River, because I was pretty sure I passed the sign for North River about 15 minutes ago. Jack’s signal went on and we turned left. And we turned left again. And then, right in front of me, was a photographer’s paradise. “What do you think? Is this a good place for pictures?” Leah asked me, hesitantly, as I’m sure the awestruck look on my face wasn’t conveying the look of pure excitement (and photo nerdiness!) that I was feeling. “Yah,” I smiled, “I think this will do.” An old farm house, now vacant, sat directly in front of me. To my left was the front yard, covered in dandelions. Jack apologized, “I didn’t get a chance to mow before you came, I’m really sorry.” I told him it was perfect. To my right was a weathered red barn and just behind that, a path that lead to fields that hadn’t been grazed on in years. This was Jack’s family’s old farm. It hadn’t been worked or lived on in a long time, but it was a perfect spot to photograph new love. I grabbed my bag and we started down the path. They laughed and smiled and kissed and snuggled. They held hands and held each other close. I got to see it first hand, exactly what everyone had said- they were perfect for each other.
Despite knowing Leah longer, I always say Jack’s name first when referring to the two of them. It flows perfectly. It just fits. Just like everything about them. They’re getting married in the town that brought them together and the town that they’ll stay together in. A community that took great care and great pride in raising two fabulous people will get to share in their love next July. And then the year after that, at the very end of June when everyone in Brookfield flips the page on their calendar, “♥ Jack and Leah Roop” will be nestled in there, exactly one week into July, exactly where and how and when they were always meant to be.
