To say that we lost one of the good ones sounds cliche, and may well be, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s true. Last Tuesday morning we lost Anne Boyle, who was one of the kindest, finest, and most compassionate people I ever had the pleasure of knowing.

To her, family was everything. The sun rose and set on them; six children, fourteen grandchildren, and countless friends who were as good as adopted over the years. On any given day, her home was filled with visitors, her children stopping by to see her, grandchildren in for a few minutes between school and sports. It was always lively, always warm and welcoming.

It was Anne who first welcomed me into the Boyle family five years ago, when Mandy and I first started dating. She approved of me – and liked me – right from the start, and from that point on I was family in her eyes. When Mandy and I moved in together later that same year, she approved of it, even when others were hesitant. In fact, I am certain that the warm welcome I’ve received from the family at large is, in large part, due to her approval of me. And I am so thankful for it.

Over the past few years, I’ve shot hundreds of photos of the family – Christmas, Easter, birthdays, regular days. If there’s a gathering, and I’m there, the camera is usually with me. But when I went back to pull images for her memorial, I realized that of all the photos I’ve taken, Anne was present in only a few. She was an expert at dodging the lens. I knew this, knew from experience that she’d rather have photos of her family than of herself. But until I had all the files laid out in front of me, I never realized how good she was at slipping out of the scene.

On one hand it makes me smile, because it’s so like her, never wanting to be the center of attention, always worrying about everyone else and never about herself. But at the same time, it saddens me. I wish I had asked her to sit for an actual portrait, even just once.

She was absent from the family portrait I took this past Easter, already sick from the cancer and in the hospital.

But the rest of the family was together, and at her request we assembled outside before Easter dinner and took a big group shot. I wanted to get it printed and framed for her, but it never happened. She saw the photos on her computer, but her illness moved too fast, and the prints were never made.

I take some solace, however, from the fact that she had another photo of mine hanging in her living room for the last year of her life. It was another group shot, a panorama print of her and her husband, Joe, at their 50th anniversary dinner. Most of the family is there with them. They are all smiling, and Anne herself is aglow amid them. This one I did print, and bought a frame, and cut the matte myself. It was my gift to them for their anniversary, and I know that she loved it.

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That print sat next to her casket at the viewing. Everyone stopped to admire it. And when I saw this, it brought me to tears. I didn’t know her as long or as well as I wish I could have.  But I know that she loved that print, and for that I am incredibly thankful that I was able to make it for her, to do something that brought joy into her life.

I’m going to miss her very much, as I know the rest of her family will. She was truly one of the best.

Had the chance to work with Kelly over the past month, getting him some headshots for his acting career. Kelly is in middle school, and yeah, he has an acting career. Right now, he’s playing Mark in Rent. I am not the theater type and even I know that’s a big deal. Really cool stuff.

We shot a couple of different looks, trying some studio sets first and deciding they weren’t right for him, so we ventured outside and did a re-shoot at a local church. Surprising choice of locations? Not really – the church had all sorts of great, shaded areas, filled with different colors and textures, and we were able to make several different setups all within a few steps of each other.

As a photographer, it’s always great to work with someone who is used to being the center of attention. Kelly is used to people watching him, so being on front of the camera wasn’t as nerve-racking for him. He played it cool and we got some great shots.

His favorite photo is at the printer’s right now. He needed 8x10s on heavier paper stock, which is something that the photo labs I use don’t offer. (Not sure why…) But we were able to find a local print shop that was able to handle it, and in another day or two I’ll be able to pickup the finished prints and deliver them. Which is always a great moment, seeing the full circle of a gig, from shooting to prints!

Here’s one last photo. Although we were shooting headshots, I grabbed a full-length portrait at one point, just because he looked good. It didn’t make the final cut for printing, but I still like it.

Nick is a freshman Wildlife Management major. He’s also an avid rock climber, a competition archer, and an all-around nature lover who is definitely at home in the outdoors. He can start a fire and setup a tent and, I think, knows something about hatchet throwing. Without a doubt the sort of guy you want along on your next camping trip. He’s also my brother, which is probably the only reason that he agreed to don his coonskin cap, grab his bow, and trek out into the woods for a portrait shoot.

Like most guys, Nick isn’t wild about having his picture taken. We’ve worked together a few times before, for his senior portraits and some sports/band shots. It’s one of the perks of having a photographer in the family; the photos experience was more fun for him, and mom got off cheap! But even so, there was always mom in the background. She’s the client because she’s (in theory at least) the one paying for the session, and therefore calling the shots.

This time was different. I wanted the photos for a personal project, but also for the sheer coolness factor of what I had in mind. Which was great, because it meant that there was no one to answer to; so long as Nick and I were both having fun, the shoot was a success, and he was free to just be himself. No traditional poses, no collar shirts – just him in the woods with his gear, looking badass.

So that’s exactly what we did. And it was a LOT of fun! We drove up to Lefferts Pond and hiked about twenty feet into the woods, with Nick on one side of a frozen creek and me and the lights on the other. And I made photos while Nick stalked imaginary game through the woods and shot arrows into the ice in, you know, my general direction. (NOT something I’d agree to with most models!) The we switched sides and let Nick climb up onto a rock, while I shot from below.

Totally badass stuff, and nobody was there telling him to smile, or look at the camera. I let him do his thing because he’s the wilderness guy, he knows how he should look. And the photos came out great because of it. I’ve got some awesome portfolio shots, Nick has some very cool portraits for Facebook, and mom has prints on order to frame and hang at home. Can’t beat that!

This was an image shot for my dear friend Paul Sevensky (who has just signed on as my first staff writer at my other site, The Roving Photographer). The gentleman in the portrait is Paul’s grandfather as a young man, and his resemblance to Paul has always been very strong. Which is something we wanted to celebrate.

A reflection portrait is unusual – from a photographer’s point of view, I’m normally battling reflections, trying to keep them out of my images. So the chance to create one intentionally, and emphasize it, was an interesting challenge. We shot this image in a studio setting, setup in Paul’s living room (Unexpected Photographer’s Skill #3: expertise in furniture relocation). It took a few test shots, a few reorganizations of my setup, but we finally got the photo we wanted.

I have strong family ties, so it makes me happy to take on projects like this one; I like to see family history and connections perpetuated across generations. And I like knowing that I’ve had a hand in it.

Lauren rocked each outfit she brought and I couldn’t imagine things getting any better, but then she finished the set in her black gown, which was nothing short of stunning. I always like ending on a strong note, and it doesn’t get any better than this!

Lauren has appeared here on the blog a lot this year, and several of her photos are in my portfolio. She has been an absolute joy to work with, always up for something different, with an energy and a presence that comes right through to the images. She’s confident in front of the lens – although her years of cheer-leading in front of packed stadiums no doubt helped. I’m going to miss working with her as she heads off to college, but I wish her all the best luck!

In addition to the country look, we rocked a few glamour style shots as well.  This was a bit of an experiment for both of us, but definitely shows potential.