Not that every session isn't mental gymnastics for me to wrack my brain into coming up with something different... but when your employee of 3 years has HER turn for senior pictures, the bar has to get raised even further.
Then throw in our top-of-the-line "Rockstar" session into the Friday fray... and it was game ON.
For those of you that are unfamiliar, my part-time helper, Kristin Wacha, has battled with type one diabetes since she was eight years old. Taking her blood sugar counts... dealing with insulin... and trips to Iowa City to the children's hospital there at the University of Iowa every four months to track her progress.
It's not like a cold that she's gonna get over... it's daily... it's persistent... it's her reality. So when I was asked about finding a way to pay homage to this part of her life somehow in pictures... I knew what we needed to do.
Roadtrip.
So K-Dub (as I affectionately tabbed her shortly after hiring her in December of 2009) and I, along with her always bubbly mother, Cherie, were off in the H3 to the 319.
It was a winding drive down there on Highway 6... that found a detour in Marengo that found us on gravel and in the budding metropolis of Conroy (population... well... ummm... think Montour-esque)... and eventually back to the interstate where we shoulda probably been all along. We did find a totally appropriate W-Wall along the way... (you'll have to ask her if you wanna know) and we go what may go down as her signature image. WINNING!
I probably shoulda ordered a better day for weather for the worker-turned-client for her special day. Heat indices in the upper 90s, with sustained strong WINDS and a bright high sky wasn't ideal... but Kristin and Co. would not be stopped.
A year ago, I got kicked out of a mall during a crazy senior session, and we did our best to try to get kicked out of the U of I hospitals on Friday, too... We were sternly questioned about our presence there, but being the schmoozer that I am... I calmly explained Kristin was treated there at the hospital regularly and wanted to have some images taken there for her senior session.
Back off lady... K-Dub comin through! Luckily for this female Barney Fife, I didn't have to resort to sicking Cherie on her. It wouldn't have been pretty. :)
So we got our images around Kristin's battleground... of course we had to throw in some images from across the street at the hallowed ground that is Kinnick Stadium (GO HAWKS!) and then it was off to a place that holds many special memories to me.... The Vine!
No pictures for an hour... we chowed down at the restaurant at the end of the Coralville Strip that I've spent many-a-postgame Hawkeye celebration at... and some pre-games, too.
Our tummies full, we returned to Montour and polished off what was an awesome day with 3 more outfits including her prom dress and for anyone that really knows Kristin, you won't be surprised to know that we had to finish with her paying tribute to her favorite rocker, Bret Michaels.
She's met the former Poison frontman and we wrapped things up with her in autographed Bret Michaels' t-shirt... cowboy hat... and "Every Rose has its Thorn" on the studio's sound system. A fitting end to a rockstar session, indeed.
So, Miss Wacha, I want you to know... that I didn't sleep well in putting pressure on myself times 10 compared to normal... and that's in addition to the midnight hitting of the pillow and the 4 a.m. wakeup call. Sure I've made you wait a whole 48 hours to see your blog... but I think you'll agree... it Was Worth the Wait.
No comments:
Post a Comment