Gayle Barkema had warned me.
I had just photographed her oldest daughter the year before.
Assertive, forward, confident, athletic... not afraid to tell me what she thought she wanted. Daughter Number One... Leah... was all of those things.
Mama assured me that the girls were about as different as you could imagine.
I had a little idea of what I was dealing with. Over the years through doing her dance pictures, you catch a glimpse, so one can make certain assumptions.
So if I was led to believe that Daughter Number Two, Abigail Lynn, was gonna play the quiet, shy, wallflower card for her session, I was led astray.
One glance at the zebra heels paired with her jeans that fit her like a glove and that red leather jacket... and there could be no mistake.... Abby Barkema was making her statement on this day.
And the statement had something to do with kickin' somethin... and taking names.
As the official photographer for Miss Kimi's Dance Konnection studio, I watch as young gals go threw the stages from young and completely adorable... to kinda awkward... middle school-braces-can't-get-out-of-their-own way type stage... and then eventually one day (or annual picture day, as the case may be) you can almost see it. Almost overnight, it seems, they'll announce I'm not a kid anymore. And when Miss Barkema played her hand last Friday, it seemed like she was announing to the world that she had arrived.
She'll be the first to admit that she still struggles to get around in all those jacked up heels that she chose for all of her outfits... but no matter... she was gonna kill it on this day.... even if she killed herself doing it! :)
First things, first, however. I was fully aware that Abigail was an accomplished cheerleader from the well-established cheerlading juggernaut that is BCLUW High School. So the day began with me meeting Gayle and her daughter at the football field in Conrad. We battled the bright sun and then headed to her second love... the dance studio at the Community Y Cutural Center... home of The Dance Connection. In typical Abby fashion, she just kinda let me run the show throughout most of the proceedings, but just when I thought we were ready to pack up and move onto all those high heels...
"Wait... there is one thing I wanna do."
Image number three below here is the "one thing." Miss Barkema piercing you with her intensity... doing the splits... reaching for her toes.
Glad she asked.
Then it was on to all those uptown looks she packed for the day. So, since we were in Marshalltown, we took advantage and hit the streets. Right out of the gate with that red jacket and zebra shoes she was turning heads.... literally. One guy crossing the street, Randy Rubberneck, we'll call him, became the running joke the rest of the session. If I REALLY wanted to make Abby smile, I would just do my Randy impression. Ok... let's be honest... rubberneck was too kind. We called him Creeper Dude.
Head turning aside, I was thrilled with what we were getting. If there were any concerns about siblings being so close in age going to the same studio and getting their own unique look... that was quickly alleviated. It feels great to give sisters well over 100 images with next to zero overlap. Sometimes it takes a little hustle on our end to make that happen... but I knew that the Barkema's trusted me with that task, and I wasn't about to let them down. Mama Gayle even admitted that while they certainly adhere to the "you-get-what-you-pay-for" axiom, that the EXPERIENCE they've had two times now... makes the trip to Montour worth ever penny. And that means a lot to me... and we'll look forward to seeing kid brother Brad in three years.
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