Words can barely describe how I feel after I leave some photo sessions. For me, sessions are so much more that photographs. I am a people person and I notice relationships and feelings and try to constantly learn about life from others living their own. Being a photographer at this point in my life is not a career comprised of equipment and physical things like photos. I am just not that type of person. So, it is comprised of moments, feelings, material items built by the subjects or used by them to extract more moments and joys. I enjoy narratives of history or future and how it looks in this moment. This is, after all, what humans are made of and I want to know other people’s stories.
What I took away from the Fretwell’s family session is that there are simply kind people in this world. It is like a little secret or unknown and special thing to have what this family has. Sandy and Joanne were kind and respectful. When you look around their home and listen to their stories, you know they have worked hard. You can capture their values and take parts of it home with you. You just know this is who they are, at their core, because you see the ripple effect of that. Julie, her husband D.J., their 2 boys, and Julie’s brother Jeff. All genuinely caring humans. Calm. Trusting. Want to live in this moment kind of people. This is the the family you know can really sit back and enjoy their hard work and feel they earned it but know it is never a given.
I can picture the family enjoying those moments they earned when they are out on their deck overlooking the beautiful Lake Wapogasset. And, sitting on the swing or hammock on the terrace below. And, being surrounded by Joanne’s flower garden built in to the hill that served as a starting point for Jeff and Julie when they slid down the hill on to the lake in their childhood winters. And now, they can all gather around the fire next to the calm waters and listen to the wildlife and each other’s stories.
Photos of Home are priceless because as the Fretwell family knows, it is only guaranteed to change and capturing life in this moment is most important.
