Thursday, June 18th, 2009

I was thinking the other day about a photograph that was taken when I was about three years old of my dad and me. My family says I couldn’t possibly remember that moment, because I was way too young, but I do. I remember the way he knelt down in the grass next to me to kiss me on the cheek while I was swinging from a homemade swing in my Nana’s backyard. As he whispered in my ear, his breath tickled my cheek, and his scent was unmistakable… Old Spice aftershave with lime. I thought all dads smelled like that, that all dads carried a handkerchief in their pockets just for their children’s runny noses and salty tears, and that all fathers seemed to have hands as big as baseball mitts. My dad was my superhero. He could make the boogeyman get out from under my bed, run faster than my bike without the training wheels, and see through watermelon to determine it’s ripeness.  He taught me that all roads lead home, it’s easier to tell the truth than remember the lies, and that if I didn’t wash behind my ears, I could possibly grow potatoes there.

I would give anything to find that photograph. Trust me, I’ve looked in every box in my attic and garage, …hopefully it will turn up somewhere …until then, I have other more recent photos. I just wish I had that one.

I realized in putting this slide show together, that I have a “dad” deficit in my client files. The women usually coerce the men into the photographs and promise them special treats for showing up for the shoot. Smiling and pretending they are not “missing the big game on TV”, the dads tend to be the referee for the gang  (or in the background hiding from the spotlight). I made a promise to myself to change this. I want to pay better attention to the fathers in the events I shoot, and make sure that I can capture them at their best. I want to give those families those significant moments…the ones that define and illustrate the man in their lives… the one they call…Dad.

“For My Father“  music by Andy McKee

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