Not many of you have followed my blog since its inception in November of 2005. My very first Musing revolved around my son Niko who appears in this post. Back then he had an initial interest in photography when he announced to me one night that he wanted to photograph a building by the lake. I was a bit suspicious of a young teenager wanting to venture out on a school night. But in reality he actually wanted to take a simple photograph. So out we ventured during that brisk Fall night and in a moment we forged another memory that will stay with me forever. His interest in photography waned shortly after that event, being replaced by cars, girls and dates. I was disappointed since he seemed to have a natural eye for a scene and its composition.
So when he told me that in his sophomore year of college he had enrolled into a photography course, I was a bit surprised. We ventured out one evening so that he could complete an assignment for his class to capture “Light, Shapes and Lines” for class. He later told me that his professor tagged all of his photos as an excellent example of the assignment, a first for a sophomore.
This past weekend I was asked to document a wedding, which is an event I have so often avoided since I do NOT consider myself a wedding photographer. The thought of group shots and posed photography gives me the hives. I am a street shooter at heart and the more movement and darker the environment, the more I relish the assignment. And since Tracy was on assignment the same day at another event, I asked my son to be my second shooter. He enthusiastically agreed and got what I considered the shot of the day, the one posted below.
This shot eclipses my best of the day and I am both proud and envious.
On the other side of the sibling tree is my daughter. A senior in college she has decided to devote her life to improving the lives of the Autistic. Working with a five year old boy for the better part of the year she conveyed to me that improvement comes in small, yet gratifying steps. Her student has never spoken, but his mother conveyed that during a weekend, when asked if he wanted his favorite cereal for breakfast, the boy replied “Yes.” A seemingly small event, but monumental in the realm of autistic children. My daughter’s feat cannot be displayed in an image, yet humbles me in the enormity of its significance and selflessness.
I fully expect that in 2014 I will again post my next chapter in The Growth of Pride
You are indeed fortunate and to be praised for raising two kids so talented and honorable. I think it speaks well of their father. Congratulations sir.
Hey my friend, thank you!