Entrust: (v) to commit to another with confidence

I think I learn something from every session I do with clients. I usually feel it deeply when I'm leaving the shoot, in the quiet of my vehicle when I have time to think. Today was no exception. I had the privilege of going into the home of two people who are committed to each other in a way that is profound and moving. What I learned has lasting value. Power to change. And emotional intensity.

Andy and Annette are the parents of a friend our ours. She gave her Mom and Dad a photo session gift certificate, and remarked that it's been decades since they had formal portraits taken. I'm so glad that I could do this for them and their family. Andy and Annette's silent endurance and love for each other is palpable, and makes me want to be able to someday say that, like them, I have been married for many decades. That's part of the lesson I learned- that through it all, the disappointments we face, the pain we feel, and the illness that seems overwhelming, love and faith can endure and even grow stronger through the storm of adversity. I also learned this: watching one's own grandchildren play can bring a smile of joy unlike any other.

Andy and Annette, I have heard through the years from Paul of his respect and admiration for you, as he's with you in the workplace. I was overwhelmed by your quiet consistency toward each other, the way you can silently communicate, when words are both difficult and somehow insufficient. I thank you, and wish all the best for you both, whatever each day may bring.




I really, really love this one:



Can you tell Andy's watching the grandkids here?



I had just asked Annette how long they were married before this was captured- over 40 years...





I had seen this sign when I first entered the home, and filed it away to remember to get it at the end of the session. One of Andy and Annette's grandsons made this sign: "#1 Gramp."

"Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle."

-Amy Bloom, American writer (b. 1953)