Saturday, January 9, 2010

365 project #8

I once booked a session for a family
where the father was very much into photography.
He took me aside and let me know that he
had been all over the yard trying to find places
for me to take the photos
and gave me a list of areas he wanted me to use.
I wasn't feeling many of them,
but he was persistent,
so I lined his family up and shot at his suggested locations.
I felt....trapped.
I knew how drab and passionless
the photos were going to be
but I kept snapping away
waiting to be released.
Finally, when I had exhausted all of
his desired locations,
he said, "I hired you for your eye,
so do you have any areas where you want to shoot?"
Like a bird let loose from a cage,
I grinned and pointed to an old weed ridden
stone staircase that had caught my eye as soon as I got there.
He shook his head and told me all the reasons
why he thought it was not a good location.
It was damp and ugly.
Some of the steps were crumbling and
covered with dirt clumps.
It was not something that they saw any value in
and would certainly not want to see in a photo.
I didn't say a word but I smiled at him,
pointed to my eye and then to the staircase.
I was asking him to trust me.
He led his family to the stone steps
and I shot as they sat and cozied up to eachother.
I framed two giggling raven haired girls,
a pleasantly smiling mother
and a doubting, but grinning father
in my lens
and shot what came to be
their favorite family photo
of the whole day.
The rustic stone steps,
darkened a bit from a recent rain,
with bits of green weeds and newly fallen yellow leaves
strewn about proved to be an unlikely
but absolutely perfect perch for
a somewhat controlling father
and his gorgeous family.
In the end he saw what I saw.
In photography it's all about the eye.
The eye is what tells the story
through positioning all of the necessary components
in just the right way.
To the subject it might seems nuts,
but it's nuts with a purpose
if the person in control
sees the big picture.
And so it is with life.
Right now I'm sitting on some ugly, damp steps
wondering what in the world is going to come of a few situations in my life.
But I know that God knows the big picture
and if I just trust his eye,
I will get a beautiful family portrait out of this.
Even if I am sitting on weeds.

8 comments:

Mari said...

Although I love the picture of you...howz about a picture of both his spot and your awesome spot??

KM Black said...

Beautiful words Becca! So true about the eye and of course in trusting God's eyes!

Annette said...

I love this!

JOY said...

open my eyes that i might see.love it

Cheryl said...

Breath in, breath out. Sometimes that's the only way I get through these times with my teen.

The photo shoot was a revelation for both of you. I'm so glad the father had the foresight to at least humor you and see what your 'bad choice' could look like. When you're in the area, I'd love you to do a shoot of Emily and me.

Unknown said...

Hi Becca,

Just read project #7 and have goose bumps. Not only are you an amazing photographer, but you know how to tell a meaningful story. Wish we would have hung out more in WA when I was there.

Carrie

Michelle said...

Oh Becca...you have such a profound talent for writing! I am in awe of how you can tell such moving tales to make us all feel as if we know you personally!

Jillian said...

What an awesome story. I pray God writes a beautiful ending to your story as well. :)