I met Bethany a few years ago when we spent three months in Kansas City. I taught a photography class and she was one of my students. We really connected with each other and I told her mom she was going to have to live without Bethany, because I was taking her home with me! That didn’t quite work out, but Bethany did spend a week with me a few summers ago. So when it came time for her senior photos, I know I HAD to be the one to do them.

The session was all that I had hoped for. I was able to capture a range of emotions, from the fun, silly side of Bethany, to the more serious, pensive side, that maybe not everyone gets to see. This is such a pivotal time in young people’s lives and it goes by so fast. It’s an incredible honor to be able to document it this way.

Photographer’s Notes: The day was windy, and I wasn’t sure what kind of challenge that would create for us. It truly worked in our favor. She wore this great purple dress that a friend had made for her which blew elegantly in the wind. We had to be careful which was she was facing so that the wind didn’t blow her hair across her face. The photos near the end were taken after the sun went down. I shot most of of them using my ultra-fast 1.2 lenses at 1600 ISO and the lowest shutter speeds I could get away with. I actually really like that time of day when the sun has just set, the light is very soft, but still has some presence to it.