in january, i had a photoshoot unlike any i have ever participated in! i was meeting a friend of mine and her son, who was a senior, for a “quick session.” since i have four boys of my own, i know these quick boy sessions very well. 🙂

i met her and her son, aaron, on a cloudy morning at a dusty loading dock behind a building.  she told me she just wanted a few photos and not to go overboard.  (i do tend to go overboard.)  aaron was in agreement that he didn’t want to spend too much time making these photos.  i kept my focus and chatted up aaron – one of my favorite parts of photo sessions is learning about the person i am photographing.  aaron told me that he graduated early, and he was leaving for bootcamp the following week.

as a mom of boys, and the daughter of a retired air force captain, i am always a tinge sad when i hear the somebody is deploying.  aaron, though, was super excited, and so was his mom.  he had been in rotc during high school, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do in the air force.  his mom was so proud and told me how she was happy he was going to get to see the world.  i had never saw it that way.  aaron went on to tell me that he was going to train in SERE, and that he will eventually train others how to survive in tricky situations.  i was so impressed by him!

we finished up at our grungy urban set, and i asked aaron and his mom if they wanted to try any other locations, or if they felt like we got “it.”  aaron jumps in and tells me about this cave nearby that would ma
ke for cool shots – did this mean he wanted to keep the photo shoot going??  when a senior boy has fun at a photo session, i feel like i have succeeded.

so we agree to hike over to this cave, and i must say i was a bit apprehensive because i am not in my best shape 😉 , and i tend to injure myself just walking normally.  i was also wearing Sanuks, which i can guarantee are not rated for hiking through mud. aaron suggests i put target sacks over my shoes to keep me from sinking in the mud and ruining the shoes.  i felt completely stupid, but i did what he said.  and guess what?? it worked!!  he told me to walk on the leaves instead of the mud so i wouldn’t slip, and that worked too! i have to admit, i was impressed.

we found the cave, and it was absolutely worth it! we got some killer shots, and i learned so much cool stuff.  i was just so impressed with aaron, and i am positive he is going to do great things.  it makes me so proud that young men like him are protecting our America.

thank you Aaron!