If you read the post "hey mom", you'll know I have a lot to make up for, to my daughter Marissa. Well, I can say in my defense, I have been drumming up a post idea, an announcement of sorts about her & since it's no surprise to her & without further delay...
(Insert the sound of somebody banging on something, somewhere here)-Marissa will now be photographing along side me during weddings as my 2nd shooter. Wooohoooo! I asked her if she would like the experience to see if it's something she would like to persue & she said yes. I'm so excited, I would have loved an opportunity like this at her age. Not to mention the awesome mother-daughter time & the bonus is, sometimes it's hard to be everywhere during a wedding... (Jon wanted to be demoted, it's really not his thing and that's ok, he's the best heating & air guy in town, hands down, he doesn't have to like photography, it's not his talent. I should post about his business success though, thank you God...& tada, he's now happily demoted back to my "waterboy/ guido" lol) so having Marissa help especially watching her get better & better, it's a win-win, plus she gets the joy of spending all of this quality time with her perfectionist mom :) & capturing the moment in her own way. What better experience than to do it.
Marissa has been at a new high school for the last 2 years & loving it, they have a photography class & an art class she takes (which she's also extremely talented in). She uses the Kodak point & shoot I bought her couple years ago but now that she's "my intern" (so to say), she'll be graduating to my 1st ever dslr camera, the Canon Rebel XSi (camera Jon used), adding her love & amazing talent to the weddings I have the honor of photographing, except for the kissing parts right Marissa? (Note this tiiiiiny little clause here, the camera is only to be used under moms supervision & during weddings only, you don't "get" the camera, let's make that part clear, I'm not ready for that expensive ooops, lol but really not that funny). Granted there will be a learning curve (on my part especially & please God grant me the patience & to remind myself how I would like to be taught as a teenager) but worries & joking aside, she has an opportunity to have an amazing photography career in front of her (if she decides to persue it). She is already amazing me with some of the photos she has taken this past year & thought I would give her a little online gallery post with just a few of My favorite photos she's taken. I don't care for buzzards but it's a really nice shot of the ugly, much needed thing.
I love you honey, Marissa has no idea I'm doing this & I hope she doesn't get mad at me for some teenage reason (no offense, you'll understand when you get older) but to say I'm proud of her is an understatement. She is turning into a wonderful person. Glad to call her my beautiful, caring, empathetic, patient, mature, thoughtful to others, (& so much more, did I mention beautiful lol) daughter I could ever have with the most amazing brown eyes (that I love without makeup more but she does look really nice with a little eye liner, I said a little Marissa :)) & to think I helped raise this wonderful young lady but I'll be happy to take all the credit. She is who I would want to be if I were her age all over again & who I would love for my daughter to be friends with. And did I mention beautiful?...
Do I keep bragging, Well I should have done this a long time ago.
Marissa, you will be an amazing woman no matter what you do in life. You see things with happy, unique, kind eyes as any great artist would & every year you will only get better. I'm so proud of you, Yay for you loving art. I should change the name of my business to Kester Photographers, so I can add Marissa & Matt to the mix whenever needed. Matt loves helping on family sessions when he know the kids (& sometimes when he doesn't) & with Marissa now helping with weddings..., the name is totally appropriate.
These are our other dookies. Cleo (Cleopatra) on the left, red & black, Shane on the right, tan & black. Such a cute pic of them together. Cleo is the intense one, quiet & watchful, only barks when she has to. Shane is the goofy puppy & loves his "sissy" (that's how we refer to Marissa with Shane), he gets all goofy when you pay attention to him & mopes when Marissa leaves the house. He would rather love you than ever fight you & looooves to talk, not barking, he does a growl, moan talk to let you know he's there & ready to read you the riot act if you don't pay attention to him. These two dookies are in love & I couldn't separate them plus I had moved into an apt at the time so it was obvious she needed to remain with her main man Shane. I do miss them & seeing these photos only makes me realize how much. Marissa caught their characters perfectly.
See Cleos watchful look, almost scarey & doesn't Shane look a goofy cartoon character but we love them both so much & wouldn't change a thing.
The photo below is 1 that Marissa took Sept 2010 with the Canon Rebel xsi. See, she's a natural with nature photos. It was better than any of mine lol, actually it really was. I can't wait for our first photography job together in June, I know she will have fun & do great (except for the kissing parts right Marissa? lol).
P.S. Marissa recently approached me with volunteering in her photography class, I agreed & so did the teacher but I'm totally freaked out at the same time. It's completely different than what I did at Matt's school but I think I'm ready for this challenge, ....maybe... It will give me more Marissa time, I also love helping others explore the love of photography & it gets me outdoors more, in the warmth of the sun, (I'm a lot like a camera battery, I don't do well in the cold).
I'm so excited for my first day of school (ha ha), I'm really liking charter schools. I'll keep you posted on how much I embarrass myself when a student knows more than me & points it out, lol but I'm not too proud to learn something new from any age. Jon thought it was a great idea too, so glad I have his support in my life, so glad to be where I am in life. It might be late starting over but the joy I continue to experience is bigger than I ever could have ever imagined. Can't wait to see how Marissa grows from it. So, please pray I won't start crying during my introduction & I don't embarrass my daughter & pass out lol.
UPDATE: It's taken me a while to post this & Tuesday has long come & gone (couple days ago). Happy to announce I didn't cry, can't you hear the champagne cork popping in the background. Jon asked if I cried when I told him a few parts of the day, when I said no, he asked if I cried as soon as I got home....Nooo I didn't (everybody wants to be a comedian lol). I know I cry a lot & pretty sad when it's the first question you're asked. Jon knows me so well.
The day was so nice & since it was the first time doing this sort of thing, I felt a little odd not knowing what to expect but overall I think the time went by nicely, I love hearing others get excited about photography as much as I do & it was such a nice feeling to hear someone come up & tell me that I inspired them. That's really why I (we) thought I might cry. Maybe that's why Smitty became a part of my life, so I could learn how short it really is & try to make a difference in others. (Time will tell & God only knows, it's too big to wrap my brain around it all.) The day also included an opportunity to take a student out after school for a some extra camera time to learn the dslr from the p&s. There are so many different settings & rules that apply when taking an image using an slr (when not using it on auto) but so worth it if you have a strong desire to learn how to make the most of your images. I gave a few suggestions of what I "seen" during our walk & gave her a little insight of what makes me tick as a photographer. When you see the difference a camera can make, it can change how you see photography forever. It did me, I hope it did with her & this experience has made me want to do more of this teaching-mentor stuff with others, simply sharing what I've learned with no pressures of time or money. I think it's too much to take on full time right now with still learning & wedding season starting but something to make as a future goal.
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