For Daddy

"Cheese.  Cheese.  Cheese."  Nathaniel figured if he was saying "cheese", I was taking a picture.  So he walked around Prescott Park in Portsmouth saying the magic word for about and hour.  If I HAD taken a picture for every "cheese" he dropped, I would have snapped about 500 shots!!  As it is, I took about 200.  Par for the course.

I've been to Prescott Park loads of times...its nice.  A great place for a photo session.  The park strikes a nice balance between old school buildings on the Strawberry Banke side, an urban feel (its just feet away from downtown Portsmouth), and if you like pictures with a nautical theme the river is right there. Nathaniel lives with him mom Kelli, a good friend from college, and his dad, Doug.  Doug is a naval officer and Nathaniel has spent his whole life hanging out in, on, and around naval bases.  So the whole nautical theme worked out.  Prescott Park is across the river from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.  So every time a boat went by, the shoot stopped.  When the deck of a nearby bridge went up, the shoot stopped.  Nathaniel was a little preoccupied.  I never knew how many ships came into Portsmouth.  

I met Nathaniel's mom way back in the day...the 90's.  Kelli and I went to UMaine together, we were in the University Singers together, and Kelli lived in the all-girls dorm I would frequent...there was a study group.  Seriously.  Not only did Kel need updated pictures of Nathaniel, she wanted a few maternity shots, AND the pictures were a surprise gift for Doug.  Like a lot of Navy fams, Doug is in school, or training a lot.  Kel is a stay-at-home mom, and at that point 33 weeks pregnant!  But when Doug is home, he wastes no time, spending all of it with his young family.  I've never known how Navy families do it...I was away from my family for a week earlier this year, and by day two I was ready to call it quits!  I had a few of my favorite pictures with me...it made it easier to be away.  These photos were headed for daddy's desk, so when he's gone at weeks at a time, he's has pictures to remind him what he has at home.  

We took a walk to nearby Strawberry Banke.  Its an historic site...a great collection of weathered, colonial buildings with charm.  I asked Nathaniel to bust out his best "cool guy pose"...and that is what he comes up with.  Cool indeed.  Hit the shot with a little photoshop action, and the result is a photo fit for any daddy's desk.  If that doesn't take the edge of the distance, I don't know what would.

Kelli has a great support system around her.  She's used to Doug being away because her dad travelled a lot.  She's got a great role model in her own mother.  Clearly, Mr. Man enjoys being the center of attention, evident from this nice three generations shot.  It was a good day for the shoot too...slightly overcast.  Clouds act as a natural diffuser for the harsh sunlight.  No unsightly eye shadows, the flexibility to shoot at any angle...even for a recovering video nerd, it rocks.

By now, Kelli is 38 weeks along...baby number two will be here any day now.  Nathaniel is pretty excited to be a big brother and Kelli will have her mom skills put to the test.  She'll do great!  And I'll have visual evidence of those skill soon enough...I'll be taking newborn pictures of baby #2 in a few weeks!  Cheese!

---Jason