A few weeks ago we went up to the cabin with Josh’s family (minus one brother/wife/kiddo combo who were in PA with her family). We had a total blast riding the go-carts and causing a ruckus like the big group of rednecks that we are.
I won’t lie – I adore being from Tennessee. It works as a great excuse when you want to wear no shoes or use “bless her heart” as a backhanded compliment or refer to the police as “the law”. It also doesn’t hurt that this particular weekend we were up in the Sevierville/Gatlinburg area, which just calls to you to let your inner Dolly out.
I digress. What I wanted to share was a picture I took of my niece and my father in law that melts my heart into a Paula Deen sized pool of butter.
I L.O.V.E. this picture. I want to blow it up and frame it in my house, and it’s not even my child.
They were snuggling on the porch of our cabin, he was tickling her in her “pandi” pj’s and she was giggling hysterically. I had my camera out to take some pictures of the mountains, and I turned around and just started snapping the two of them.
The great thing about always using your family as practice when you’re starting out a photography business is that they all become immune to the camera. No one blinks when I pull out the big guy and start taking pictures of them doing whatever it is that they’re focused on at the moment.
I hope that in many, many years, when my father in law is long gone and my niece has children of her own, she’ll look at this picture and remember how sweet is was to be 5 and able to curl up so comfortably in her Papa’s lap. How easy it was to laugh and giggle and wear pandi pajamas and not worry about anything other than where he’s going to tickle next.
Barefoot Chick-A-Dee 