It's hard to watch our babies grow up.
And despite
dragging our feet and severe cases of denial, our kids eventually have
their last first day of high school, their last homecoming... their last
game to cheer at... their last high school play... and yes... they do
have to get their senior portraits made.
Someone might want to give Jackie Pippin that memo.
You'd
think that she'd be fully aware. She just had her first round of
letting go just last year! Her and her husband, Robb, just cut loose
their ton-of-fun son son to Wartburg after an epic high school career.
His session was just as crazy cool as his well coiffed hair and
hilarious sense of humor. Yet, just one calendar year later... to the
exact DAY... the Pippins were stepping back in the batter's box at
Stewart Photography.
September 16, 2013 to September 16, 2014. Brother then sister.
Oh
sure, Jackie KNEW that she needed to plan ahead and call early for her
daughter. And she did... yet the appointment wasn't nailed down for
the longest time.
Seeds were planted... ideas were bandied about, but there was the pesky little issue of actually setting the DATE.
She
claimed that a hectic work situation kept her from finalizing daughter
Sarah's spot, but I'm not so sure it wasn't a healthy case of denial.
Every time I'd bump into Jackie at an East Marshall event it you could count on it like clockwork.
Jackie: "I need to get you called."
I just smiled... knowing full well she knew she NEEDED to... but she just didn't really WANT to.
Finally
the follow up phone call came in late August and I checked when brother
Jake's session was a year ago just as a point of reference. And when
it became clear that the same exact date was available, she jumped on
it.
She could deny it no longer... her baby girl was going to have to be photographed. :)
And
just like a year ago, the Pippins had done an extensive amount of
planning for the day. The kids know what they want... and they aren't
afraid to put in extra effort to get it done... even if it means Dad had
to be recruited to come along to help this time around.
I've
known Robb for several years now, so I knew he was a funny guy... but
about half-way through the session after about the tenth hilarious
sarcastic retort, I told the girls that there could be no doubt as to
where Jake got his sense of humor.
In addition to
Robb's entertainment, he was also the hired "muscle" for the day as the
Pippins quite literally MOVED in when the arrived that morning.
(Did
I mention that I was told that Sarah would be there for her session an
hour early... only for it to end up about 20 minutes early?... Most
would call it running behind... But I knew better... I think Jackie had
locked Sarah in her room and wasn't going to let her leave! Yep... more
denial)
Alas, they did arrive and in came the
STUFF. Cheer poms, golf clubs, bake ware, posters, signs with numbers
on them, chef's hats, inspirational signage, the prerequisite myriad of
outfits and even a full sized purple DOOR. (more on that later)
So, it was clear... my marching orders were set... time to get to work covering all the Pippin Particulars.
The
first order of business was a trip to the Tama/Toledo Country Club to
cover all things golf. We followed that up with a visit to the newly
renovated football/track complex at East Marshall. A Mustang
Cheerleader, it only made sense to get out on the field for some
images... except for the fact that all the gates were locked in
anticipation of the top surface on the new track being laid down in a
day or two. That meant the photographer, cheerleader and father of
cheerleader had to get over the chainlink fence. Let's just say that
THAT was an adventure... and fortunately all reproductive organs were
spared.
After that we were off to the Pippin residence
to hit a few areas we did a year ago. Their property borders the
winding Iowa River and after a half mile trek through muddy terrain...
we got Sarah her sandy shots in her white dress. In drier conditions a
year ago, Jackie was right out there with us... this year? Dad's
department.
Nevertheless, Mom did get to see what
touches her heart the most before we went river hiking. The Pippin
Pasture (where I had photographed big family groups several years ago)
is home to many parties and family memories. What better place then
for Sarah to pay tribute to both of her grandfathers? The image
holding the rose momento that was given to her by her Grandpa Pippin
before he passed two years ago, and shortly thereafter, Sarah held her
Papa Max's Bible in a moving image decorated by her requested Romans
8:28. It's never easy losing loved ones... especially when they happen
one right after the other in a short amount of time. And even though
it's been a couple of years now... I could feel how much everyone there
still misses those influential men. Some may claim that it's sad that
the Grandpa's will never see Sarah's senior pictures, but make no
mistake, their presence was shining down on us in that pasture.
Another
trip to Tama/Toledo was in order to allow Sarah the opportunity to rock
her jacket and heels before we returned back to the studio for her
flurry of a finish.
Saving many awesome options for the
end, we nailed her "2-0-1-5" image of Sarah and all of her "evil twin
sisters." The came all the signs that normally adorn the walls in
Sarah's bedroom for inspiration. The aforementioned purple door had to
be worked in as well as Sarah's tribute to her favorite television
show. For those of you that remember Monica's door from the wildly
popular sitcom, that's the look she was going for. Robb had wondered
why he had to paint his daughter's door purple back in the day... and
September 16, 2014 was the day that the images would be captured in
order to show the rest of the world that Sarah is not just your everyday
fan of Friends.
Last but not least, we had to
pay tribute to Miss Pippin's love of baking. As a local champion
competing for East Marshall in the Cupcake Wars held annually at MCC as
part of the "Spring Extravaganza" that pits local students in various
business, family and consumer sciences, and industrial tech
competitions. While her school has struggled in many athletic arenas
of late, folks at Marshalltown, BCLUW, GMG and WM can only WISH they
could bake like Pippin and her Mustang baking teammates. :)
The
day ended fittingly with Sarah coating the camera room floor in flour
with her face covered in the stuff and her adorable chef's hat flopped
to her left. I gave Jackie a refresher on pricing and what they
ordered a year ago, and after another full day... with a warble in my
voice I thanked the Pippins... as my friends... for choosing my studio
again. They told me that they wouldn't have it any other way.
And
just like Jake's session a year ago... it was hard not to go way
overboard after being given so many ideas that they were clearly
passionate about. So here's a ton of artwork, Team Pippin... I, too,
wouldn't have it any other way.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment