A Good Bye Gathering And A Family Reunion Portrait

I went for the ride and joined a gathering for a good bye party and a reunion of sorts.  Since I was a passenger, I really had no idea where I was but I believe I was somewhere in the state of Massachusetts.

I thought a going away party would be around 20 people at the most, sitting around chit chatting about the weather or what was going on in everyone's lives.  Well, yes...people were chit chatting but I was taken back on how many people were there.  Then I started asking who everyone was and for the most part, everyone was related!

 I can count all the direct members of my family on one hand.  I am not used to a family gathering that looked like this!  I asked how everyone knew each other and the response typically went like this: "that is my cousin and those are her kids and that guy next to her is my cousin's husband and that kid is his son but the other kid next to his belongs to my cousin's aunt who is over there talking to my other cousin's sister in law."

As complicated as it sounded, I think questions would have added to the mix of complications so I nodded as my brain tried to mix and match kids with parents with siblings with parents.

I met Anne Maxon last year while I was in Boston and she has such a beautiful family so I wanted to take a portrait of her, her husband and their four beautiful children.  Her kids are naturals.  We walked behind the house and I pointed to the ground on where to stand and as soon as I put the camera to my eye, they were all smiling and posing.

Later in the evening, the entire family started gathering together to take a group portrait.  I heard one woman say, "there is a photographer that is going to take our family picture." Instantly, I was excited to see who was going to take their picture to meet the photographer and talk about pictures but I soon realized that everyone was looking at me.  I was the photographer they were referring to.  I haven't taken many group portraits, especially this size but I was willing to snap away.  I then took a group photo of the kids in the family which was challenging.  Lucky for me, I had the parents behind me snapping their fingers and clapping away to get the attention of their kids to look at them.

Everyone at the event was very kind to me about my photographs.  I was thrilled to be approached by people I've never met before to tell me they enjoy viewing my images. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the family, if only for a little while.

Lasting Memories

The past few days in Southern California has brought on some record rain, if you haven't heard. It found its way into my driveway and into my garage. I was gone during the day for the first big storm wave and I came home to inches of water in my garage.

Since I live on the road several months out of the year, there are only a few things in my home in case I need to pack up quickly to get on the road. For the most part, I live like I am still living out of my car...but in my home. Most of my belongings are stored in my garage. Some things are in plastic bins (smart choice) however there are a lot of items in cardboard boxes (not so smart choice). All of the boxes on the ground were soaked along with the contents inside of the box.

I wasn't really concerned when I came home, but I looked in the morning and didn't realize how many cardboard storage boxes were on the ground. A lot of them had old family photos in them. I also had framed pictures resting on the ground that are now soaked along with clothes, furniture, and other miscellaneous items. Although it was a bit sad to find, I wasn't that upset about it.

Because I have lived out of my car for so long, material possessions don't mean as much to me as they did in my 20's. I was never one to spend a lot of clothes and things. I think the "treasures" that mean the most are trinkets from places visited and pictures from those trips. Some of the damage leaked into albums of my grandparents. This picture I scanned a while back is one of my favorites of them.

Losing my father and grandparents was extremely painful, but all of the memories I have in my head will never be damaged by a flood. I am thankful that I had the time with them. I am fortunate for that. I can't complain. I am fortunate to have a roof over my head, food and love ones to turn to.

For all of that, I am forever grateful.

During the time the water was creeping up in my garage, I was out snapping these pictures.