Lauren and her mother Madaleine burst in the doors of Stewart Photography, and before I could even come around the corner to greet them, mama was announcing "WE'RE HERE!!!"
I couldn't help but grin as I saw both of their wide smiles as they stood there with their arms FULL of outfits. Clearly they were excited.... and that's an awesome thing!
I had bumped into Lauren Welton at East Marshall events over the years, but never had officially met Madaleine. I now see why Lauren is the fabulous young lady that she is, because she has an amazing role model. In her still audible Philadelphia accent (no... she doesn't have a brother named Vinny), Mom insisted I call her Maddi... I agreed, and we were off to make epic memories.
The first of which happened exactly ONE exposure into the session when I took image of Lauren on a white background... looked down at the camera... looked up... and there they were...
Tears.
This phenomenon of a parent seeing 17 or 18 years passing by in the blink of an eye hits some mom's pretty hard when this thing called senior pictures starts. Denial, disbelief... yet full of joy and pride... it's a special moment to be sure. The stoked up senior doesn't quite get it as the tears seem to kill their vibe, but despite the twinge of embarrassment they can't help but know that they are cared for... just THAT much.
It wasn't long and we were hittin' the road to track down some urban looks, a piano on location, and a trip to Grandma Welton's
It didn't matter WHERE we were, it seemed that after the initial crying episode, it was full scale "assistant of the year," mode for Mama Maddi. During the course of our conversation, Lauren (who attends youth group with my only daughter, Breanna) asked me HOW IN THE WORLD I was planning on topping myself NEXT summer for Bre's session. I assured her that I had little control over that impending fiasco... and that I would merely be a minion marching to the orders of the wife and daughter. I suggested that perhaps a flight to parts unknown may be in order... tropical parts, perhaps... but I really didn't know what was in store yet.
And THAT's where the running jokes began.
Most senior mom's know after being through the process with me, that they are going to be pressed into service during the session. Holding a reflector here... a strobe there. Helping me with clothing and hair placement. Make no mistake, mom's extra set of hands and eyes are being put to use.
Seeing that this was the case... Maddi's wheels started churning. From that time forward... I was no longer "Bryan." I was "Boss." Like an over anxious rookie, Lauren's mom had suddenly thought that if she was GOOD enough at this helping thing... maybe, just MAYBE she could parlay this into bumming along for the ride NEXT summer for Breanna's session!
She was kidding of course.... Or WAS she??
One thing I do know is, I could do a whole heck of a lot worse in finding an assistant to help than Maddi Welton. As long as a guy can see past her incessant insistence that every pop song on the radio that has a male lead singer must be Maroon 5, you'd be okay.
"Is this Maroon 5??"
"No mom... it's NOT Maroon 5."
After finishing up our work (or play) in Marshalltown, we zipped off to what the girls called, "Weltonville."
Just north of Highway 30 on Country Road T-47 is a cluster of homes that are all owned by Weltons. We were headed right into the heart of Weltonville as Papa Tim's mother, Joanie was expecting us.
Yet another bubble-bubble-bubbley personality greeted me as we entered Jo's home. Just like Maddi... Joanie was subscribing to the anything-you-need-boss mentality. I spied a nice available light area to use for what I knew might be another emotional spot for Lauren's session... A planned tribute to her Grandpa Gary.
It had been three years since Gary passed as a result of a tragic chemical explosion while operating a bulldozer, but the emotion was still palpable. With a couple of symbols of Grandpa by her side, and the soft light shining down on Lauren... the images couldnt have been any more perfectly clean. As I sometimes will do, I shared the vision on the back of the camera with Lauren and her mom... Of course, Grandma wanted to see, too. I looked up to see that Jo had put on a pair of sunglasses, and it wasn't because it was too bright.
Seeing her beautiful granddaughter... nearly all grown up now... paying tribute to her husband of 52 years... the man she misses everyday, was overwhelming. No one in the room could blame her. And just like the first exposure of the day, I was counting my blessings to be a part of something so special.
We made several images on Jo's property before heading out... but before I did, I heard Lauren's Grandmother lamenting the fact that she had allowed her American flag in the front yard to become so worn a top the flag pole. Since I had a pole very similar to it at my own home... I knew that it was NOT easy to lower and raise the heavy telescoping pole. As a thank you for letting us bust in on her day, I figured it was the least I could do to get down Old Glory so a new one could be raised.
We made it back to the studio... now many hours since we had left that morning, and we still had lots to accomplish. Lauren's Dad, Tim, joined us for a few sets and got to see what all the fuss was about. He was informed that his wife was trying to earn a trip to Hawaii with the Stewarts next summer... and probably heard his wife guess (incorrectly) about whether Maroon 5 was currently on the radio.
Dad then headed out and we weren't far behind him because we still had one thing left to do.
A trip to East Marshall's football field.
If you haven't seen them already, the school has installed a new set of grandstand style bleachers that are now ready for football here in just over a month. They evidently are ready for senior pictures as well, because Lauren wanted to take full advantage of them. Evidently her mother asks her every time they drive by the field now, "when did they put THOSE in???" And, right on cue... the question was asked yet again when we pulled up on the north end of the field that day.
If you're getting the idea that I thought a lot of Lauren and her mom, you'd be right. I had already been told that Papa Tim had been a great influence on my kids' lives at weekly youth group meetings (and TRUST me... they need all the help they can get!) Add in the experience of Lauren's senior session, I think it's safe to say that I sure am glad that Tim and Maddi decided to open enroll their children into East Marshall three + years ago and become a part of our community.
Our Class of 2014 senior slogan has been "Unforgettable." The idea is that this should be more than just great images... more than just another day.... It should be special... a day to be remembered. Unforgettable. Thanks Team Welton... you were exactly that.
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