Here's to you, Miss Robinson...

Deep breath...

Exhale.

This one I've been struggling with for about a week now.

When I started this blog several years ago, it was done in an effort to allow our clients a peek behind the curtain here at Stewart Photography... a day to day glimpse of what we do... how we do it... who we're interacting with, and while there's obviously some shameless promotion of our family business... I do take great pride in doing what I was really trained to do... and that's writing.

So this thing we call blogging has taken a life of it's own over the past several years.   I've had so much wonderful feedback... usually from tearful mothers and fathers who thank me for telling their son or daughter's story with pride, compassion and thoughtfulness.   I even had one senior fella a few years ago tell me... "I know that my pictures will be awesome... but what I'm REALLY excited about is to see what you're gonna WRITE about me!"

For real.  (If you must know.... it was Tanner Purvis... Gladbrook-Reinbeck Class of 2012)

So, for the most part.... I wax poetically about the predictable stuff.   A guy's passion for football... a girls dreams of being a school teacher... a senior's exciting homecoming week... a mom who cannot believe that she's actually HERE... watching her daughter have senior pictures taken when it was just yesterday they were toting them around in a baby carrier.

But sometimes... life doesn't go as predicted or planned.

Sometimes God throws you a curveball.   A BIG curveball... like one of those big benders that buckles your knees...

Or brings you to your knees.

When you've been doing this job for 21 years plus... sometimes you feel like you seen and heard it all.   Photographed it all.   Written about it all.

And then along comes something that you haven't seen before.

Ashley Robinson was photographed a couple weeks back.   When her step-father came in to book her session about a month ago, I was told that they had a special request.   And while I've had maybe a dozen requests over the years for a senior girl to be photographed with her child that she gave birth to... this one was quite different.

There were two... as in twins.

And... they were almost four years old.

Now, as I age... I feel like while I may be getting wiser... my brain seems to be slowing down annually... but even my Montour Math tells me that if this high school SENIOR has twin boys that are almost four...  She had to have had those boys...

You can connect the dots.

As I swallowed hard and remembered back to when I was in eighth grade... and worried about who I was gonna sit by at lunch... who I might pass a note to in study hall.... who I might play Donkey Kong with on Nintendo after football practice... becoming a PARENT wasn't in the line of thinking then.  In fact... it was more than a decade away yet.   And, quite obviously... it is for most middle schoolers.

But not for Miss Robinson.

And while I don't want this story to turn into a de facto referendum on pro-life vs. pro-choice or teen pregnancy, the story is still there.   It's not just a sidebar... it's who Ashley IS.

Suddenly, when this came to light for me a few weeks ago... I recall my OWN 8th grade girl... four years ago.... braces and awkwardness and all... telling me of a facebook tidbit that she and her friends had come across... and how they couldn't even FATHOM it.

"Dad... there's a girl in OUR grade from South Tama... who's pregnant...  with TWINS!"

News travels faster than ever, now doesn't it?

So while I didn't press Ashley during her session as to her thoughts back then... and how that all must have been so scary and such an anxious time of facing the unknown... clearly many YEARS ahead of when most of us face it... she DID face it.   And four years later... I came face to face with that girl that my daughter told me about back in middle school.

With what undoubtedly has taken great courage and spirit (and a ton of help from friends and family) Ashley has been raising these two ornery boys and there was absolutely no way that Mihkail and Kaden would not be a part of her session... and naturally then at this studio... part of Ashley's story.

Sure we did lots of normal senior-esque stuff.   The swing... the backwards chair... the multiple outfit changes... (in addition to a touching tribute to her boyfriend who is serving our country in the armed forces)... but all of that paled in comparison to what those two little boys mean to this young lady and her inevitable struggle in a world that can be harsh and judgmental... even though we all fall short sometimes.

So when the request to work in Mr. Kail and Mr. Kaden was presented... I pulled up my big boy photographer pants and realized instead of talking normal senior jargon... it was time to get my goofy on... tongue out... (which the boys were MORE than willing to reciprocate... let me tell ya), silly faces, noise makers... puppets... you name it... what ever it takes to get a child to cooperate!

I'd be lying if I said it was easy... because when you get a child... or in this case... TWO of them this age... it's never easy.   But in the end... we did get some fun images of Ashley's two little gifts.

And while some may have let this situation consume them in a negative way... or even stop them from chasing their dreams... I'm thrilled to report to you that Ashley is currently planning a double major at the University of Iowa starting next fall.   A bold plan to be sure... yet, what a wonderful example she sets for her boys that nothing will stand in her way to become the best person she can be for her young family.

While I've photographed state champions and all-staters... valedictorians and future surgeons, there's never been a senior quite like this one.  The backbone that this girl has had to develop in order to do all of this before her high school diploma is put in her hand this May... is remarkable.  

It can be debated as to where you stand on this situation... looking at it from afar... but in this blog space... and at this studio... I tip my cap to Ashley and her strength.  I hope God continues to bless you and your boys.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Hopper-ing over broken hearts, noses and knees...

What I kinda expected... is not what I got... and that's okay.

Instead of more reminiscing and catching up with an old friend... I got to play high school counselor, coach, pre-op therapist, post-trauma empathizer and, oh by the way... I took some pictures, too.

Let's dig in.

From my angle, when LDF-SEMCO Class of 1990 classmate Heather (Daters) Hopper called to book her step-daughter's senior pics, naturally, I thought that maybe it would be a chance for "Date" and I to catch up on 20 years  (ok... it's been 25... but who's counting??  Besides, I've bumped into Heather occasionally when East meets West in the battle of Marshalls that are connected by U.S. Highway 30.   Regardless, it's always fun for me to put on my old sports writer's hat and talk old softball stories with arguably the best softball player in a long line of great ones to take the diamond in LeGrand.

As it turned out however, Heather's hubby, Chad brought his daughter Morgan in for her session a few weeks ago... so chances are... Morgan's session avoided the inevitable hi-jacking by history... and instead... the focus shifted solely on our Trojan bombshell... which is probably how it should be anyway.

Papa Chad did his duty (paying for it, of course!) and then opted to stay out of the way and Morgz and I got after our task at hand.   And just because her step-mom wasn't there to get "interviewed" by the old sports writer... doesn't mean that my journalistic hat got taken off... oh no... not by a long shot.

I found out right out of the gate that Morgan was still smarting from seeing her high school volleyball career come to a close just the night before her senior session.

Deep down, even though her heart ached to see it come to an end, when the brackets come out around these parts, and one sees the words "Grundy" and "Center" on the line next to your team's name... it more often times than not means you're taking a 180 and exiting stage left.

It doesn't make it any easier however.

Thinking back to my own experiences in high school... it's a tough thing to take that uniform off for the last time... no matter when it occurs.   So I understood completely.

My job then was to get Morgan pumped up to put on 3 difference senior picture "uniforms" and get excited about what we saw through the senior picture windshield, rather than looking through the rear view mirror.

Nevertheless, Morgan did get me up to speed with how her final volleyball campaign had gone.   There was no way to avoid it, really because in just two days there was going to be a big reminder of how things went.

And before you bring up the fact that I just mentioned her season had ended the night before... let me finish.

As it turns out, one game into Morgan's senior season... will all of her hopes and dreams still on the table the volleyball gods served up a proverbial spike to the face as she damaged her patella tendon.

Over one half of her season was lost in recovery... and eventually surgery was scheduled to repair the mess in her knee and with "thanks" to Grundy Center... that scheduled surgery could proceed just 48 hours after I met Miss Morgan.

Talk about a busy week in a senior's life!

It's been several days since that surgery, and I'm hoping by now that she's feeling much better...  and looking forward to big things like her final semester at school... graduation and maybe pursuing a nursing degree at DMACC next year!

All that being said... I would be remiss if I didn't razz Morgan just a little bit about another thing we have in common...  broken noses.

Granted it's been awhile for her... and even LONGER for me... but we both have had our schnozes altered by blunt force trauma.

Evidently HER recovery went far better than mine as the proof is in the pudding when you take a look at this blondie and then get a load of a profile from this author... but this blog would not be complete without kidding Morgan about running into a TREE when she was in 6th grade.   I'm not sure HOW this came out, and WHY she chose to indulge this tasty little tidbit with someone she knew may broadcast it to the world wide web... but I'm glad she did... and I'm glad she came to my studio for senior images... even if she didn't bring my old friend with her.

Thanks Team Hopper!

It's elementary for Mr. Watson...

It's been said that behind every good man... there's a good feminine counterpart.

Scott Watson must be very good.

At least on the day of his senior session he was anyway.

As I've mentioned several times, it's usually the case that the senior... and the senior mom is the party of two that I normally deal with in most sessions.

Oh sure... there's additional party-goers sometimes, and in Scott's case... we had two more female guests.

The first one didn't surprise me at all.   Through having the privilege of being East Marshall's prom and homecoming photographer, I was aware that Scott's sweetheart might be in attendance.   Miss Amy Atcher has been on Mr. Watson's arm for quite some time now, and sure enough, her sassy attitude made a repeat appearance (Stewart Photography 2013 Alumna) to keep me us all on our toes for several hours.

In addition, not only did we have Mama Kelly in attendance, but Grandma Peggy was also there... completing the Scott Support System.   Or maybe it was the Torture Triumvirate?   You'd have to ask Scott to know for sure!

Either way, it was a fitting morning for a senior that had some similar characteristics to many of the graduates that I see (love of his high school... and favorite future university) but he also had something very unique about him.

I see lots of future educators, accountants, engineers and those that are entering some sector of the medical field among many other popular tracts of study.

But Scott has a dream that I don't hear that often.

He wants to be a meteorologist.

From what I could gather, I don't think he longs to be the next Ed Wilson or John McLaughlin.  Rather he's more interested in the science and chasing of storms.  

I just calls those types of people a little off their rocker... but hey... they gotta come from somewhere, right?

So it wouldn't have been right if we would have had the perfect weather day of 70 degrees and sunny for our weather aficionado.   No... on Scott's day... a THICK fog had set in (check out image number two in this blog... it was quite obvious early on).   Some area schools even went two-hour delay.

Team Watson would not be delayed, however... so we were off and running.   Being the huge Hawkeye fan that I am... I'll even pretend that the "Cyclone Warning" t-shirt that Scott was wearing had more to do with weather than it did with supporting Jamie Pollard's athletic department in Ames.   Nevertheless, being the pro that I am, I swallowed hard and showed my ability to create solid images that are against my religion. 

;)

One thing that we could agree on was the donning on the Purple and Gold of East Marshall.  Scott has toughed out some rough sledding for EM's football and basketball programs for the past four seasons.  He's also took part in helping the NICL West Track Conference Champions last spring.   All of that running was documented in the form of another of our trademark sports composites.

Finally, even though Scott and his entourage didn't know it at the time when they booked... they became a part of an interesting and totally random footnote in studio history by ending up in the slot they chose.   I'll just call it a Hopper Sandwich.

Close followers of our blog will note that we just chronicled one Emily Hopper from South Tama County High School last week.   And for those that pay close attention to my ramblings here, the NEXT blog after Mr. Watson, will be Morgan Hopper from West Marshall   No relation... and I don't even think the young ladies are even familiar with each other.   Useless and trivial information?  No doubt about that.   But I thought it was a interesting co-inky-dink nonetheless.

Surviving the session with the three most important women in his life and being surrounded by Hoppers?   Well done, my dear Watson.   Well done.

Hoppin' thru the rain drops...

The way the weather's been... I guess we should just be thankful it wasn't SNOWING.

As it turned out, it was (stop me where you've heard this before) rain that we were dealing with as we headed down the home stretch of our senior busy season.   In a late summer-slash-fall where we've gotten more precip than normal, it's made us be creative or reschedule more often than not.  But one way or another, we've gotten through it.

Perhaps the toughest decision when we get to this time of year is whether to try to make the best of a less than perfect day... or reschedule... knowing full well that odds are, if we WAIT... things certainly aren't going to LOOK any better, even if the temps are more agreeable... or the skies aren't dropping rain.

Such was the situation with South Tama's Emily Hopper back in mid-October.   

Miss Emily's original session was slated for Tuesday October 14.   A couple days in advance, it was clear that the 14th was going to give us rain, rain and more rain.   Mama Jodi wasn't afraid to pull the plug and roll the dice that our next available spot on October 23rd was going to be not only better... but the outdoor spots would still be viable.

Those nine days passed, and lo and behold... we got the evening of October 22nd and the forecast didn't look much better.

I called Jodi on the way out the door that night to gauge her willingness to gamble once more... or whether we might try to maybe at least TRY to get her indoor done and then see if it got any better outside by mid to late morning?

Team Emily chose the latter of the two options and our little red-head with a broad smile was finally on her way to our studio.

The original plan was to meet out at Casa de Hopper north of Toledo... just as we had done with older brother, Ricky back in 2011.   As it turned out... just two days short of three years to the DAY of his session... the weather kept us from starting there.

So, Emily and her mother started at 112 East Elm in Montour, and we buzzed through all of the indoor stuff for Miss Hopper while the rain continued to fall.

I learned that Emily was looking forward to the upcoming basketball season where she is one of the school's managers.   What I also learned was that because the weather was letting up... it looked very much like the case we were going to be able to actually get the whole session in!

Furthermore, it became apparent that the girls didn't want to battle what they just KNEW were going to be muddy conditions back home, so I was given free reign to lead them through the outdoor stuff that I saw fit.

In the end, the compromise allowed us to avoid either A) falling in the mud or B) having to reschedule and having what was left of fall color go by the wayside.   I think we made the right call, but I'll let Team Hopper decide.

:)

 

 

 

Everything from A to Z(hand)...

With a name that starts with the letter Z, she's probably used to having to wait her turn.

Whether it was getting in line for lunch in elementary school or roll call, or even when it comes time to get her diploma this next spring... with a last name of Zahnd... chances are you're not going ahead of the Andersons, Browns or even the Smiths or Wilsons, for that matter.

Such is life when you're Savannah Zahnd... she's probably used to it.   That being said... on one October fall day, it was my job to move her to the front of the line.

Numero Uno... the Top Dog... Head Honcho... The Big Cheese... Priority One.   We'd like to think that every senior that goes through the processes at Stewart Photography feels that way... but perhaps this one was even more special.

I had met little baby curly haired Savannah back in 1997 when her extended family came to the studio for visit.   It was the first day of November, 1997.   Miss Zahnd was not quite 18 months old... yet she already had that trademark spiral brown hair.   Her mom and I and her family go WAY back... like all the way to 1st grade back.   And I can't be for sure WHEN it happened for the first time, but her mom will be the the first one to admit that it happened regularly.

For you see, Mama Darcy knew what her strengths were... and school wasn't one of them.   She DID, however... have an ol' pal that WAS into the school thing.   You know... paying attention... doing what the teacher asked... getting homework done... preparing for tests... that kinda thing.

That ol' pal?   He's now a photographer.   But back THEN... he was a sucker for pretty gal that needed a math answer or two... or three... or four.

Ahem.

Time and time again, she'd ask... and instead of just handing over the answer... I'd try to explain the processes... how I actually GOT to the answer.   But, Savannah's mom would just smile... bat her eyes... and then probably punch me in the shoulder and say something like.... "Awww, thanks, B.S.  you're the BEST!"

My friend Darcy found a way to get through high school.   Probably with more "street smarts" than this naive' boy had at the time, but nevertheless she got through.

So fast forward to the family session, not surprisingly, Savannah took after her folks as was perhaps the most gorgeous baby girl you'd ever lay eyes on.   Full of sass, just like mama... it was MY turn to struggle through something... as per usual... when an 18 month old is involved with a family portrait... it's NEVER easy.

But, we got through that as well.

Just a little less than a year later, I was there to photograph the event when Savannah's folks tied the knot.   The day before my birthday in 1998, in fact.  And once again... if there were ever a prettier little flower girl... I'd like to see her.

Fast forward about sixteen years... and through the miracle of social media, I had remained a fan of Miss Zahnd from afar.   I was aware that she had become, among other things, the cutest cheerleader and even the most adorable Rose Festival Queen candidate.   My phone at the studio never rang, however... so figuring that a gal in her league certainly wouldn't wait until the last minute to do senior pictures... I assumed that there would be no life goes full-circle reunion.

Silly for me to assume!

While she's isn't the LAST senior to be photographed this calendar year, she was certainly closer to the end than she was the beginning, and somehow... with her propensity to wait to the end of the line like folks with the letter Z at the start of their name, it was fitting.

Nevertheless, I wasn't about to let this little beauty to feel anything less than FIRST on this day.

Mama Darcy and Savannah came in the door... yappin' at each other per usual.   I hated to have to interrupt, but there would be NO arguing amongst strong willed women on this day.... oh no... it was time to get our fun on... and that's what we did.

Surprisingly, when I asked Savannah if there were any have-to's that she wanted me to make sure we did for her session... she just shrugged and said... "nope... I trust ya."

:)

With a closet full of awesome clothes in tow, I knew that it meant more to her than just a shrug... so it we were off to set the world on fire.

We bounced from location to location and Savannah just lit it up in every spot.   Smiling or a piercing stare... it didn't matter... she made my job easy.

She told me that one day she might end up a dental assistant... but she really didn't know what she wanted to do with her life as of yet.   I wondered secretly if she used that adorable mug to get answers at school like her mom did 25 years ago?  If she didn't have to... that's great... but a quick glance through the images would tell even a blind man that she has it in her arsenal to be sure.

It was so much fun catching up with the girls... and when we were about done... a little of the old ornery B.S. came out in me.   I knew I had a senior wallet somewhere at home of Mama Darcy.   I knew she was photographed by my predecessor back in the day here in Montour... and my thought was... Savannah needed to be photographed in the exact same spot.    The very last outdoor image we did on this day was right back on John Foley's porch where a gorgeous young lady named Darcy Rook was captured back in 1989.   I did dig out that image... and the very last picture on this blog shows you the 25 year span between mother and daughter photographed at the same studio... in the same location.

Things came full circle for sure... And while you might be at the end of the alphabet, Miss Savannah... you get an A from me.

Great to see you both again.