Coming full circle...

As I near two decades in the business... I'm sure moments LIKE these will only continue to increase.

But there will never be another one quite like this.

In late August of 1993, I didn't know it yet. But I got my big break.

Long story short... another man's tragedy led to the former owner of my studio getting desperate.

How desperate? How about asking a 21 year old kid who had two months earlier picked up a 35mm camera for the first time to help him finish a wedding.

A WEDDING.

Most of you are aware that one doesn't get a chance to "redo" a wedding.

Yet there I was... as a last resort... at Mike Dixon and Tana Beach's wedding. Finishing it for John Foley so he could book it from Grinnell to Marshalltown to start ANOTHER wedding.

As fortune would have it, I didn't screw anything up for the bride and the groom that day. And the rest, as they say, is history.

If my math is correct, just 10 months later, the newly weds welcomed a baby boy in to the world. And seventeen years later... on his birthday... I got to photograph his senior pictures.

Eighteen years have passed... and that nervous-as-all-get-out bride... has turned into perhaps the most nervous of senior mom's I've ever encountered. Anyone who knows Tana will nod knowingly... and I think she'll be the first to admit it. It's part of her game.

While it may have nearly driven her son Nate crazy, there's really nothing wrong with planning and being thorough. What I tried to assure Tana of, however... was that while she had GOOD reason to be worried with Mr.-Know-Nothing doing her wedding back in '93.... I was fairly confident that 18 years and 3,000+ seniors later, we were gonna kick some serious tail on Nate's senior pictures.

As thorough as Tana is... I knew she knew this anyway... but she wouldn't be Tana unless she portrayed her Tana-ness by emailing me once daily for a week and a half leading up to Nate's session! :)

The day itself last Thursday was a fun one as girlfriend Samantha... and grandpa Bob joined us for the "reunion." Sam was the perfect assistant to the day... and Bob was there to help with what I was told is Nate's pride and joy... his HARLEY DAVIDSON!

Nate and his grandfather have put a TON of work into this bike to restore it to it's current amazing state. I was told that the Harley shots were of THE utmost importance. I'm proud of what we banged out with Nate's ride... and I hope he and Grandpa Bob are, too.

I recall Nate saying after several hours of listening to his mother ask, "are you ok, Nate?" "everything ok, Nate?"... "how about now, Nate?" that he HOPED that maybe his beloved mom could relax now that it was all over.

Guess what, young Nate? You've got at least another week of it because my eyes tell me you and the family have some BIG decisions to make over some sweet images.

Good luck my man!