A couple of days ago I headed over to Coronado Island to photograph a family I had the pleasure of working with a couple of years ago. At the conclusion of our session, the father told me a story about an incident that occurred shortly after our last session back in 2009. More on that story towards the end of the post…
To begin, here are a few of my favorite shots from our get together on Tuesday. This couple has two adorable little boys, and they wanted some updated family photos. Check’em out!
We started with just a couple shots at their home before heading over to the beach.
We had to move our shoot up a day at the last minute, as the forecast for our original shoot day was all-day rain. I’m so glad we did, as the light and weather on this day was amazing.
Big brother, sporting his awesome shades:
Enjoying the prize for being so good during our shoot!
Did I mention the light at the end of the day was amazing?
Alright… onto the story. After returning to their home following our shoot at the beach, the father shared this story with me, and I starting tearing up. Seriously.
I first photographed this family on November 1st, 2009, 2 weeks after the birth of their first son. You can check out that session by CLICKING HERE. Go ahead and look. I’ll wait…..
The Dad is a US Navy Seal, and was sent out for deployment just 2 days after our session. You’ll notice at the end of that post there’s a photo of his newborn baby boy wrapped in an American flag. Here it is:
Being a father myself, I CANNOT FATHOM having to leave home for an extended period just days after my first child was born. While on deployment, Dad would take that very same American flag, and wrap it around the armor that was inserted into his vest to remind him of his little boy, and why he was serving his country. I can’t get into any detail here, but shortly into his deployment, Dad was shot multiple times in the chest. He survived, thanks to the armor he was wearing around his chest. When we walked into his house, he told me this story, and then pointed to a wall in his living room, where the flag was hanging, with multiple bullet holes torn right through the flag:
Shivers. That’s about all I can say.
Dad is just fine, and is still serving our country. I received his permission to take the photos, and to share his story here on my blog. For that, and for his service, I thank him. This session reminded me of why it is that I do what I do for a living. Because it allows me into the homes and the lives of some amazing people, and to somehow, however little, help document those lives and the amazing stories within.
View/Leave Comments (3)
Filed Under Weddings, Portraits and Clients
A few days ago I headed up to Carlsbad State Beach to meet up with these two awesome kids for a little engagement session. They’re getting marries later this year, so we took some time to capture a few fun, Southern California style images before their big day. The groom-to-be brought his sweet 1968 VW bug, and we used it in a few of the shots. Loved it!
Here are a few of my faves from our afternoon together. Lots of gorgeous late afternoon sun action going on in these. : )
They’re kinda cute together, eh?
Filed Under Weddings, Portraits and Clients
Leave a Reply