Yesterday I had the unique honor of photographing my dear friend Tara Whitney's family. To say that I was nervous was an understatement. Not only is Tara an amazing person, but she is also an AMAZING artist. And I was suddenly the one turning my camera on her and her loved ones. The night before she photographed us and we had SUCH a great time. Tara has this amazing ability to strip past all the artifice of family life and get to the core. We all had such fun that I didn't want it to end (the sun and two year old Sam had other ideas). Not that Sam was not having fun, he was having a ball. But he was getting tired and a cranky two year old is just plain ugly. Tara and I started our day yesterday by having lunch—just the two of us. We talked and talked and talked. Not about the news or movies, but about real stuff. Stuff you can chew on, as I like to call it. And we were so immersed in our conversation that we had lost all track of time. Her husband Jeff called and let us know that four hours had passed since we had first sat down at the lunch table and we were dumbfounded. So we headed back to the Whitney homestead and started getting the gang ready to head out to the beach.
It was a beautiful evening, a little chilly, but sunny. Both Saturday and Sunday I was struck by that smell I have missed so much since moving to Austin, the smell of the ocean. When I left California I had no idea how much I would miss the water, how much a part of me it is, and each time I come back I am struck by how profoundly it is part of my bones. So we headed down to the water and we started to play.
How does one set out to capture the essence of a family? I feel like a forensic scientist looking for the clues. I look at the gestures of the family members and the quiet moments that are happening when people do not think I am looking. We can all try to put the happy mask of family life on and think we are fooling people, but we can't, not if they are truly looking. But the Whitneys wore no masks. I do not think they even own any. They are so genuine and forthright in their love for each other. I know of no family like them. They don't seem to even notice how special they are. I do not mean that they do not struggle like us all, but their gifts seems endless. From biggest sister McKenna all the way down to littlest Anna they are each special in their own way.
Did I do a perfect job? Of course not. Are the photos perfect? Again, of course not. But they are real moments. You can judge them and I can judge them, but none of that really matters. The true judges will be their descendants. And all they will care about is that their family was photographed at all. I am grateful that they invited me in, opened their hearts and their lives to me and let me try to capture their resplendent family.
- - - -
I actually wrote this post the day after the shoot while it was all still fresh in my mind. I decided to post it now rather than wait for all of the images to be ready after I read Tara's wonderful post today. Here is one sneak peek image of Jeff and Tara, the two who started it all. Much more to come.
