"You gotta kid coming clear from SAINT LOUIS?!?!?"
I would smile and say, "well of COURSE!"
While I would like to pretend we regularly draw kids in from several hours away, the truth is, it's a rarity.
There's usually a local connection of some sort that plants the seed for an out-of-stater to consider doing business from so far away... and this case was no different.
The Wingert family was actually making their SECOND trip up the Avenue of the Saints to eventually get to Central Iowa for senior pictures.
I had photographed sister Molly three years ago as a member of the Class of 2010, but if memory serves, a member of the Class of 2009 was to blame for all of this.
John and Molly's cousin Jessie Kunch, a GMG grad from '09, probably unknowingly convinced the Wingerts at her graduation open house that I was worth the drive. Convincing a senior to make the drive from the Garwin area is one thing... but all the way from the Gateway to the West?
Evidently Tim and Terri thought believed that, because we ended up photographing both kids! Molly is now starting her junior year at Truman State in Missouri, but she made a triumphant return to the studio along with Mom and Dad on the last day of August. Mom got me back up to speed with all things Wingert... Molly got to get in front of the lens for a few more images... and Dad and I lamented how terrible our Cubs are doing again this summer. (stinks to be a Cubs fan trapped in St. Louis!)
I believe that seeing some family (grandma lives in the Tama-Toledo area) and some college visits were also in order on this jaunt, but the emphasis on THIS day was making some images, and we did just that.
It was great to get caught up with the Wingerts... some of the nicest folks you'll ever meet. From the sounds of it, it's a good thing they are out of kids to bring me for senior pictures, however, because the family is now in the process of relocating to San Antonio... and THAT my friends would set the studio record for travel for a senior session if there happened to be a third Wingert. But alas, there isn't... and with gas prices where they are... it's probably a good thing!
So where does the "shade of grey" come in?
It wasn't hard to notice the "distinguished" look that John was sporting just above his brow when he walked in. I suppose some kids his age may be inclined to color that rare grey hair out of his locks until he was older... but not John... and somehow, I'm not surprised.
He'd be the first one to admit he marches to the beat of his own drum, and the little swath of grey is his trademark... and somehow... he wouldn't be John without it, right?
I have no doubt that some day very soon that John will be making way more money than I ever dreamed of as I just got the sense that I was in the presence of a deep thinker... and probably a dude that was way smarter than I... and that's ok. Any guy that works at the St. Louis Bar Association in high school, is way too intelligent for his own good. :)
So, when he busted out the full suit for his session, I got to kidding him about being "Senator Wingert" and such. He rocked that look... and even though, unlike a lot of senior guys, John's smile came very naturally to him... I insisted on some serious looks with the suit and red tie... just to make him look even MORE distinguished! :)
Funny story... while I thought John looked like a senator, Mama Terri took it up a notch (or down as the case may be) when her son jumped into his last outfit.
At the risk of bashing my own Republican Party, I found it hilarious when Terri took one look at her son in a white oxford, topped with a sweater... jean... and tennis shoes and said... "John... you're totally workin' the Mitt Romney look, right there!"
LOL! #fact.
So... maybe he's gonna be a lawyer, a senator... or even president some day... but on this day... he took the cake as the title holder of Stewart Photography's Class of 2013's Most Willing to Travel... and it's not close. Not a grey area there... completely black and white.
Thanks Wingert family to your dedication...
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