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Hello
Last Sunday was Art’s birthday, and I accidentally gave him one of his best birthdays in a long time.
You see, Art REALLY likes airplanes.
Sometimes in the middle of a conversation, he’ll suddenly jump out of his seat and run out the front door. I used to find it perplexing, but now I know it’s because he hears a “cool” airplane engine, and he wants to see the plane as it flies overhead. He can tell from the sound if it’s something other than a passenger plane - it’s usually some kind of military jet. He’s almost never wrong, and it’s worth it to him to get out there ASAP. Bare feet. Rain. Whatever. He’s going.
So when a friend from the Professional Photographers of Washington invited us to Boeing Family Day on Art’s birthday, I didn't have to think very hard before saying yes.
Family Day hadn't happened since before the pandemic, and it was a pretty amazing event. There were thousands of people, food, music, old airplanes, and, most exciting for Art, the opportunity to walk through the Boeing factory and see how airplanes are actually made.
We saw where they build wings and engines and put all the pieces together. The scale of everything was mind-boggling. Some of the things we saw required 40-ton cranes to move around - and somehow those same things eventually end up flying thousands of feet in the air.
Art was in heaven.
We were exhausted by the time we left, but he talked about the experience for the rest of the day. He came home with a souvenir shirt and a couple of cool keychains, and had, by all accounts, a fantastic time.
Watching Art at Boeing was a little like watching a six-year-old discover a garbage truck. Except Art is a grown man, and his garbage truck flies and weighs 400,000 pounds.
The people we love are special. We know the things they're curious about, the things that make them laugh, and the things they could talk about for hours. Those little things are what make someone who they are.
When I photograph people, that's what I'm looking for. Not just what you look like, but the thing that makes me think, "Yep. That's you."
Sometimes it's obvious - something from a story you told me during your consultation. Other times it's a tiny expression, a particular way of moving, or the way your group interacts with each other. My job is to notice it and make something of it.
I want your portraits to give you the feeling of recognizing someone you know and love.
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