on sunday, Father’s Day, i met up with a new family to photograph their togetherness before the father deploys for Iraq later this week. i do this work through OperationLove which is wonderful non-profit organization of volunteer photographers supporting servicemembers, both as they deploy and as they return from deployment. the family and i met up at roosevelt island, a little piece of land nestled off the george washington memorial parkway and set off into the potomac river. we walked and talked, and i photographed. that’s how i like to run my sessions in general. less of a session and more of me meeting new people and getting to know them. making friends. finding out all about them. oh, and i take some photographs.
while we were walking, the mom spotted this spider web right off the trail we were on.
.jpg "OpLove-7985")
the lines hook up just so and go around and around.
isn’t it glorious perfection?
the amount of work this must have taken.
and the proud owner sits in the middle waiting for his (or her) dinner to arrive.
the sun hit the web just so,
and well,
wow.
and now as i sit here thinking about my past week, not only in my life, but in those who are close to me and those i’ve met along the way, i look at this web as a representation of life.
.jpg "OpLove-")
wherever you are in the middle of your own life, circles run around you, linking to another.
there are highs and lows. broken connections. repairs made.
a line across what seems to be an impossible distance.
or perhaps that’s not individuals in the midst of their own intricate webs, but that is a higher power in the middle with the rest of us all circling and linking.
who knows.
this is what i do know.
today, a father of two prepares to leave for an unknown land, not quite knowing when he will return.
.jpg "OpLove--3")
one week ago, a friend said goodbye to his 21 year old nephew as the young marine headed off to war in afghanistan.
last week, a friend of mine, father of 3 girls, summited mt. hood, oregon.
today, in northern virginia, a pregnant mother prepares to deliver her 24-week-old baby, knowing the baby will not survive outside the womb.*
a couple weeks ago, a close friend qualified for the boston marathon. she is the mother of 3.
less than a week ago, a friend who is fighting stage IV breast cancer with two tumors in her lungs discovered that she has 20 plus tumors in her brain. radiation has already started. she has 4 young children.
on saturday, i shot at a wedding, two people in love joining together.
every day 4.2 million gallons of oil are being pumped into the gulf.
and on sunday, father’s day, i met this father who was also celebrating his 7th wedding anniversary, as he and his family also prepare to say goodbye.
deployment is in a matter of days.
life.
it goes on.
and on.
love.
births.
struggles.
challenges.
and yet, people continue to get married.
continue to have babies.
continue to live.
continue to hope.
where do you find yours?
i want to know.
xo
A
*i also volunteer for Now I Law Me Down To Sleep, a non-profit organization of photographers who volunteer their services to parents who are suffering or about to suffer the loss of an infant.
**i’m working on a personal project that i would love your help with. hope and encouragement. where do you look for that? where do you find your strength? what helps you? what inspires you to “keep on keeping on”? thanks much. xo A
.jpg)
5 comments
Thank you so much for capturing my nieces, sister and brother in law so wonderfully. Your words were magical and your photos moving, thought provoking and painfull all at the same time. You are an angel, thank you thank you thank you.
Beautiful work here. Well done, Aileen. Love the spider’s web – really cool! We are all connected in this great web of life. Wonderful metaphor, moving and emotional. You are a continuous source of inspiration. Thank you.
I find hope in the rising sun each morning – a clean slate, a fresh start. And I find hope as the sun sets, especially this time of year, with our fields green and lush with the promise of harvest just a few weeks away.
I find my strength in words. Stories and songs, true or outlandish. Pictures. Laughter. Snippets from the past. The people who have come before and who have endured so much – what a walk in the park my little life is.
I find encouragement and hope in the faith that has endured the centuries. The thread that I find throughout all the generations of my many branches of the family tree is a faith in God.
And what keeps me keeping on? 2 boys, quickly becoming men. Goodness, children are such an inspiration. And that warm body next to me each night. He is such a good man, and so good to me.
Thanks Aileen, you truly make me stop and consider life with your words and pictures..
Beautiful pics Aileen. I can feel the love!