"Don't you touch my carrots!"

Life is made of moments strung together to create your history with a person or the fabric of a relationship. I remember the first real stitch clearly, sitting on my mother-in-law's back patio when Savanna plopped down in the chair across the table from me. She had a small plate of food, mostly consisting of carrots with some Ranch dressing. She was almost 4 years old. I was the uncle that she had just met. Well, I had been around her, but she was just coming to the age when she was 'aware' of the peripheral people in her family. The situation got 'real' for her in a hurry.

Savanna had forgotten her drink, so it was now necessary for her to leave the table to go get it. That meant that she had to leave her plate at the table with me. We were the only people at the table. She looked up at me and I could tell she was conflicted. "Was I trustworthy?" A short internal deliberation and some four -year -old decision gymnastics later it was settled. She decided that in the sum total, I was 'ok'. However, as she got up from the table she gave me the hard eye and said, "Don't you touch my carrots!" (pronounced care whats). And there it was, the stitch was complete, tied neatly into my memory. I wish I had captured that moment in time, but I had no camera and was woefully unprepared for the magic of that moment. Even though I do not have that image captured, it is in my mind forever.

Look at her now:

She is on the cusp of her adult life. She is beautiful. But, I can't help but see that face and mild threatening look as she warned me off her carrots. Believe me, I did not touch her carrots.

Since 'the day of the carrots', the fabric is richer. Our family moved to Missouri- into the small town where we all live now. In fact, we are neighbors. There is a small creek that separates our houses from one another. When Savanna, her sister and mom moved into the house they said that we should put in a bridge so they could cross over any time to our house. I promptly responded that I was going to widen the creek into a moat and get some alligators to keep them at bay. Ahhh, how the worm had turned. And the look of derision from my teenage nieces served to illustrate the fabric had grown.

Savanna asked me if I could take some pictures for her junior prom. The lead image in this entry is from that session. She was a bit uncomfortable at first, but my wife got her to loosen up and that image is the result. The dark background makes her image jump off the screen. I am very pleased with it, as I believe she is too. Next week I will be taking her senior prom pictures and am looking forward to it. In her gallery there are several pictures that I took for her senior portraits. When she asked me to do it, I asked her, "Do you trust me?" again, she looked at me a bit unsure and said, "Yes." I said no one will have senior pictures like yours, if you trust me. She agreed. We took some shots in Kansas City and around our little town. Some of the wall art in KC is fantastic. These images contain artwork tucked away in alleys and areas in downtown KC. I could not wait to get some shots of her with these works as the backdrop. This artwork has now been covered by new works and I convinced her to go back and pose for some more- and now no one will ever have senior photos like hers.

Here are some of them:

"Every picture tells a story, don't it?"

“Every picture tells a story, don’t it? …”

Rod Stewart

Well, they all have something to say. Photography is personal in many ways. Some people create or capture images that evoke strong emotional responses, while others are more subtle. Photography is particular that way, as it can be very personal for the photographer behind the camera, as well as for the person who views the image. Being in the right place at the right time, focused on the right subject can be magical.

I took up photography for a very personal reason, to freeze moments in the lives of our family to make sure that I can revisit them later, regardless of how forgetful I might become. The more pictures I took, the more addicted I became. I wanted to learn how to become a better photographer, so I read a lot and invested in some ‘gear’. But, that is not what matters. The act of framing the shot and making the effort to see the world from slightly different perspective is essential.

Some people are landscape photographers or are focused on macro images, but I like to take pictures that mean something to me. With that in mind, some of my pictures may be utterly worthless to others, but that is fine with me. Take this image for example:

I was on a trip in China and had a few spare moments to visit the Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou. These three young ladies were touring the pagoda as well. I was struck by how much they resembled each other. I asked my Chinese colleague if he would translate for me as I asked them if I could take their picture. They were kind enough to agree.

Without prompting or coaching, they immediately struck these poses. I love the result because the image might be very similar if I had taken it on top of the Empire State building with three young women here in the US. People are very similar no matter where you go. The only thing missing is an American teenager duck lipping and mugging for the camera. Can you see it too?

I cited their similar facial features to my colleague as the reason why I wanted to take the picture. Knowing that it was very unlikely that they were sisters, I shared these thoughts with my friend. His response was surprising. He looked at me, in all seriousness, and said, “You know we think that all white people of European decent look alike too.” Our entire group, made up of an American, a Dutchman and several Chinese nationals, burst out laughing.

But, it stuck with me.

A few days later as my flight was getting ready to leave Shanghai, I took a moment to look across the aisle at the fellow travelers. Directly across from me were three middle-aged, white males of European ancestry. And you know what? With the exception of hairstyle and glasses, they looked an awful lot alike. My Chinese friend was right, the fact was that I had never looked at it from his point of view before.

My perspective had changed.

That is why this picture is important to me. It reminds me to be open to a new view. So, whenever I take my camera out for a walkabout, sometimes I just stop and turn in a circle, crouch down and look up, or climb on top of something, just to change my perspective. It is a valuable photography technique and a great life lesson as well.